I enjoyed serving my community this semester -- both my classmates and my organizations. Throughout the semester I met with different classmates and talked about ideas that could be accomplished with Flash, Fireworks, or Dreamweaver. Helping my classmates also helped me to see new ways of acheiving a goal. It felt really nice to share the collaborative effort.
Sharing my Flash Form tutorial was a positive experience. I especially found this valuable because I had spent so much of my own blood, sweat, and tears to accomplish this a few years ago -- it would've been a shame not to pass it on to curious flash designers.
My time creating promotional materials for Canopy Studio was rewarding. I spent a good amount of time working with Susan and other Canopy members to create a mailing package for a fundraising event in late April. I thought this would just be a short time commitment when I agreed and found myself spending a lot of time tracking down details! Nonetheless, I feel that I was able to contribute my skills to an organization that has done so much for me over the past 4 years.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Accessibility Requirement
I've added accessibility features to my interaction that follow the Best Practices for Accessible Flash Design guidelines provided by Macromedia/Adobe.
The main thing I've done is to add a name, description, shortcut key, and tab index to each button and movie clip in my project. For most of these, I've simply chosen the item on my artboard and edited info in the Accessibility window. For all of the counties, I've created a separate function that adds accessibility options. This uses actionscript to add a name to each button and caption as it is initiated. This is helpful in that I don't need to go into the Accessibility panel for all 159 counties. So, when someone rolls over a county button, a text reader should read "whatever county" and then read only the number and unit included in the caption.
I've also used actionscript to add accessibility options to the form components used. Components have accessibility features included but the programmer has to enable the options.
The main thing I've done is to add a name, description, shortcut key, and tab index to each button and movie clip in my project. For most of these, I've simply chosen the item on my artboard and edited info in the Accessibility window. For all of the counties, I've created a separate function that adds accessibility options. This uses actionscript to add a name to each button and caption as it is initiated. This is helpful in that I don't need to go into the Accessibility panel for all 159 counties. So, when someone rolls over a county button, a text reader should read "whatever county" and then read only the number and unit included in the caption.
I've also used actionscript to add accessibility options to the form components used. Components have accessibility features included but the programmer has to enable the options.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Week 9) Final thoughts
This is my final reflection for my 6190 design journal. I still have a few items to wrap up before I can consider my work completed, primarily documenting a few requirements.
Between my last entry and the showcase, I made major improvements to my project and felt like I really had it up to par for the night. Major items that I fixed or added were instructions, a text area for content related to the map information, and separating map functions based on data chosen. This last item was the most difficult -- I had tried to do this about a week prior with no success. The critical piece of information to do this was knowing which value the user selected with the initial combobox. After a lot of false starts, I finally added a trace() to locate what values were being attached to the three different choices. After doing this, I could send the playhead to the right display and make a few other dynamic adjustments.
When 4-H or Print-on-Demand information is requested, the map shows counties colored by magnitude, a bar graph indicating counts, a text area to report county contact information, and the appropriate unit on the rollover captions. For the Impact Statement choice, counties are colored based by having a particular quality. The user is able to further refine the information displayed by program area and topic. The second part of this display allows the user to choose counties from the map to display associated Impact Statements.
I enjoyed talking with various folks at the showcase. I definitely saw some items that were out of place (which I've fixed since) -- as well as design choices that were not clear to the users. I especially liked chatting with folks about other uses for this and thinking of ways it could be adapted for the classroom. Almost everyone chose counties that they were familiar with, which I think struck a personal note for folks at some level.
On Friday, I met with my boss and showed her my final product. I expect that this will be online for internal usage fairly soon. I've enjoyed finding a place to use my class projects throughout the IDD program, it feels good to be able to put things to use as I learn them. I think it's also a positive for my job since my employers can get an immediate benefit too.
In sum, I've enjoyed taking 6190 again this semester and am looking forward to taking 6120 this fall. I feel more confident with my actionscript skills and willing to take some risks and experiment a bit to find solutions. After all, that is the zone I like to be in!
I've been reading Michele Dickey's article on gaming in instructional design. I am intrigued by the idea of appropriating commercial gaming techniques for educational purposes. I think this is a good departure point for me as I look towards the next semester. As a result of this degree, I would love to be involved in creating interactive games or some sort of experiential learning environment. From this reading, I really see a need to be at the crossroads where game design and learning theory converge. It's not so much the ability to program an experience like this, but to understand how to fit educational methods into an ever-more engaging and changing media (and vice-versa). I really think I'd enjoy the Second Life class this fall and am hoping that it may fit into my schedule and graduate needs.
This article does make me reflect on my own gaming experiences... the things that motivated me, the methods that I enjoyed that may be usable in other narratives. Metroid Prime and Paper Mario were the last games I really got in to in the past few years. Paper Mario was so heavy on a written narrative in the first part of the game, I nearly quit. I enjoyed the doing, the action, the exploration, and puzzle solving much more than reading a back story or practicing moves. It was the environment that was fun to me, not the rote details that set the scenes. Metroid Prime was an awesome game that did put me in the flow state for some time. This game was great as more parts unfolded the more experienced you became. Most of this was based on an ability to find tools and acquire special skills. The playing world was limited, yet I remember returning repeatedly to various places to unveil yet another layer of game play. I think this is important and I see how this builds on experience and a strong story line or end goal for motivation. In the end, I hit a foe to hard to beat and slowly lost interest based on frustration. After a while I got to the point that I knew I would have to start again from the beginning to get back to my previous skill level. I think that is also important to consider -- the critical point where a learner may proceed or completely withdraw from a gaming environment. I suppose this is the ZPD in gaming, but if acquiring a life skill depended on it (versus entertainment only), it would be crucial to keep up the student's motivation, self-efficacy, and attention.
I also remember the old, early video games. Playing pong on my friend's TV, learning how to uncover hidden secrets in Super Mario Bros. As a designer and amateur programmer, I now understand the limitations that drove some of the games I played. I hadn't thought about the limits of a scrolling screen until I read this article. Moving from Super Mario Bros. to Super Mario Bros. 2 was a big step because technology changed between the two games. Someone discovered how to scroll back! You could now retrace your steps and travel throughout a level! Of course, now, the technology is improving at a steady clip... we've moved on to truly immersive MMOG games and systems like the Nintendo Wii that require physical interaction for game play.
References:
Dickey, M. D. (2005). Engaging by design: How engagement strategies in popular computer and video games can inform instructional design. Educational Technology Research & Development, 53(2), 67-83.
Between my last entry and the showcase, I made major improvements to my project and felt like I really had it up to par for the night. Major items that I fixed or added were instructions, a text area for content related to the map information, and separating map functions based on data chosen. This last item was the most difficult -- I had tried to do this about a week prior with no success. The critical piece of information to do this was knowing which value the user selected with the initial combobox. After a lot of false starts, I finally added a trace() to locate what values were being attached to the three different choices. After doing this, I could send the playhead to the right display and make a few other dynamic adjustments.
When 4-H or Print-on-Demand information is requested, the map shows counties colored by magnitude, a bar graph indicating counts, a text area to report county contact information, and the appropriate unit on the rollover captions. For the Impact Statement choice, counties are colored based by having a particular quality. The user is able to further refine the information displayed by program area and topic. The second part of this display allows the user to choose counties from the map to display associated Impact Statements.
I enjoyed talking with various folks at the showcase. I definitely saw some items that were out of place (which I've fixed since) -- as well as design choices that were not clear to the users. I especially liked chatting with folks about other uses for this and thinking of ways it could be adapted for the classroom. Almost everyone chose counties that they were familiar with, which I think struck a personal note for folks at some level.
On Friday, I met with my boss and showed her my final product. I expect that this will be online for internal usage fairly soon. I've enjoyed finding a place to use my class projects throughout the IDD program, it feels good to be able to put things to use as I learn them. I think it's also a positive for my job since my employers can get an immediate benefit too.
In sum, I've enjoyed taking 6190 again this semester and am looking forward to taking 6120 this fall. I feel more confident with my actionscript skills and willing to take some risks and experiment a bit to find solutions. After all, that is the zone I like to be in!
I've been reading Michele Dickey's article on gaming in instructional design. I am intrigued by the idea of appropriating commercial gaming techniques for educational purposes. I think this is a good departure point for me as I look towards the next semester. As a result of this degree, I would love to be involved in creating interactive games or some sort of experiential learning environment. From this reading, I really see a need to be at the crossroads where game design and learning theory converge. It's not so much the ability to program an experience like this, but to understand how to fit educational methods into an ever-more engaging and changing media (and vice-versa). I really think I'd enjoy the Second Life class this fall and am hoping that it may fit into my schedule and graduate needs.
This article does make me reflect on my own gaming experiences... the things that motivated me, the methods that I enjoyed that may be usable in other narratives. Metroid Prime and Paper Mario were the last games I really got in to in the past few years. Paper Mario was so heavy on a written narrative in the first part of the game, I nearly quit. I enjoyed the doing, the action, the exploration, and puzzle solving much more than reading a back story or practicing moves. It was the environment that was fun to me, not the rote details that set the scenes. Metroid Prime was an awesome game that did put me in the flow state for some time. This game was great as more parts unfolded the more experienced you became. Most of this was based on an ability to find tools and acquire special skills. The playing world was limited, yet I remember returning repeatedly to various places to unveil yet another layer of game play. I think this is important and I see how this builds on experience and a strong story line or end goal for motivation. In the end, I hit a foe to hard to beat and slowly lost interest based on frustration. After a while I got to the point that I knew I would have to start again from the beginning to get back to my previous skill level. I think that is also important to consider -- the critical point where a learner may proceed or completely withdraw from a gaming environment. I suppose this is the ZPD in gaming, but if acquiring a life skill depended on it (versus entertainment only), it would be crucial to keep up the student's motivation, self-efficacy, and attention.
I also remember the old, early video games. Playing pong on my friend's TV, learning how to uncover hidden secrets in Super Mario Bros. As a designer and amateur programmer, I now understand the limitations that drove some of the games I played. I hadn't thought about the limits of a scrolling screen until I read this article. Moving from Super Mario Bros. to Super Mario Bros. 2 was a big step because technology changed between the two games. Someone discovered how to scroll back! You could now retrace your steps and travel throughout a level! Of course, now, the technology is improving at a steady clip... we've moved on to truly immersive MMOG games and systems like the Nintendo Wii that require physical interaction for game play.
References:
Dickey, M. D. (2005). Engaging by design: How engagement strategies in popular computer and video games can inform instructional design. Educational Technology Research & Development, 53(2), 67-83.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Week 8) Gaming, education, and interactive worlds
I recently listened to Dr. Henry Jenkins discussion on Video Games and Education with Dr. Moira Gunn of Tech talk.
First, as a student and as an Instructional Designer in-training, I have to admit that I was shying away from this because I'd rather read than listen. Unpacking that a little bit further, I think I at least like some visual cues with my learning and information access -- this can be text to follow along with, a face to watch, etc. I have a strong aversion to audio in my individual education and pursuit of information online. I say this with my current education in mind because it seems that this is a very easy path for me to avoid and miss serving students who are better listeners than visual learners. Of course, an entertaining lecture on technology that requires little more than my comprehension of the concepts being discussed is easier fare to digest aurally than an intense how-to course with no visual, spatial, or hands on experiences.
All this being said, I enjoyed listening to Dr. Jenkins discussion and will probably return to Tech Nation for more tidbits in the future.
My discussion of my own learning does tie into this lecture, as Dr. Jenkins describes the future of entertainment and education as offering experiences across multiple media. For instance, a video game may be associated with a movie. The game does not necessarily repeat the movie but adds another dimension, timeline, and/or perspective on the storyline. The Matrix Revolutions did this with comic books, the trilogy, video game, and anime shorts.
As to education, Dr Jenkins talks about interactive games that add an immersive element to the experience of a child's education. This departs from the old drill-and-practice games that most of us, if at all, have experienced in our own primary, secondary, and (yes) post-secondary educations. I like how he brings up the notion of field trips and special situations in the course of an education that stand out because it gives the students a context and experience to hinge upon the learning, memory, and potential application. Games, when done right, can do this. Offering the learner a space to explore, make decisions, and create an experience will add to their capacity to learn the presented material.
The New Media Institute on campus is offering an undergraduate course on virtual worlds this fall. I think this would be a fascinating medium to study as a potential community for learning. For instance, what learning takes place now in virtual worlds and community-based online games? What is the educational potential for these virtual realities and online role-playing venues? How can the medium be tweaked to bring better education experiences to the table? What would a educational communication package like BlackBoard, WebCT, and other collaborative tools look like -- modified to fit in these worlds?
There are ideas of other growths for technology -- some only imagined, some being unveiled. I think of Jeff Han's interactive drafting table and how that might influence the way we interact with technology and the information we pursue/create/experience with it. I also think of Jakob Neilsen's concept of an ideal virtual world for folks with disabilities -- creating an environment that becomes 3-D for a blind user to make choices spatially instead of with a computer keyboard.
Project testing this week:References:
First, as a student and as an Instructional Designer in-training, I have to admit that I was shying away from this because I'd rather read than listen. Unpacking that a little bit further, I think I at least like some visual cues with my learning and information access -- this can be text to follow along with, a face to watch, etc. I have a strong aversion to audio in my individual education and pursuit of information online. I say this with my current education in mind because it seems that this is a very easy path for me to avoid and miss serving students who are better listeners than visual learners. Of course, an entertaining lecture on technology that requires little more than my comprehension of the concepts being discussed is easier fare to digest aurally than an intense how-to course with no visual, spatial, or hands on experiences.
All this being said, I enjoyed listening to Dr. Jenkins discussion and will probably return to Tech Nation for more tidbits in the future.
My discussion of my own learning does tie into this lecture, as Dr. Jenkins describes the future of entertainment and education as offering experiences across multiple media. For instance, a video game may be associated with a movie. The game does not necessarily repeat the movie but adds another dimension, timeline, and/or perspective on the storyline. The Matrix Revolutions did this with comic books, the trilogy, video game, and anime shorts.
As to education, Dr Jenkins talks about interactive games that add an immersive element to the experience of a child's education. This departs from the old drill-and-practice games that most of us, if at all, have experienced in our own primary, secondary, and (yes) post-secondary educations. I like how he brings up the notion of field trips and special situations in the course of an education that stand out because it gives the students a context and experience to hinge upon the learning, memory, and potential application. Games, when done right, can do this. Offering the learner a space to explore, make decisions, and create an experience will add to their capacity to learn the presented material.
The New Media Institute on campus is offering an undergraduate course on virtual worlds this fall. I think this would be a fascinating medium to study as a potential community for learning. For instance, what learning takes place now in virtual worlds and community-based online games? What is the educational potential for these virtual realities and online role-playing venues? How can the medium be tweaked to bring better education experiences to the table? What would a educational communication package like BlackBoard, WebCT, and other collaborative tools look like -- modified to fit in these worlds?
There are ideas of other growths for technology -- some only imagined, some being unveiled. I think of Jeff Han's interactive drafting table and how that might influence the way we interact with technology and the information we pursue/create/experience with it. I also think of Jakob Neilsen's concept of an ideal virtual world for folks with disabilities -- creating an environment that becomes 3-D for a blind user to make choices spatially instead of with a computer keyboard.
Project testing this week:References:
- Jenkins, Henry. 2004. Videogames and education. Tech Nation interview. [podcast] Available: http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail435.html
- Nielsen, Jakob. 2003. Alternative interfaces for accessibility. [Online] Available: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20030407.html
- Han, Jeff. 2006. Unveiling the genius of multi-touch interface design. [Online] Available: http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/65
Putting on the polish
I've been working on my GA Flash Map interface tonight. I think it's come along quite a ways since yesterday. Here's my latest file: flashMapApr25
I've added an intro page that gives a bit of an explanation.. this page is still horribly blank though. I may add more text on the right side to explain the differences between the options that can be chosen. Another option would be to include a screen shot of the actual program with a brief "how-to".
I'm at a stopping point for the night though, I think. I want to divide the application into two different functions -- magnitude (gradient) display for 4-H and POD, and something separate for the Impact Statements. Unfortunately, I can't seem to figure out how to determine when the user has chosen the latter. So, I must hope that I can talk to Keith tomorrow with a final hour solution.
I also want to include more information about each county, such as the county office information. This is data I need to feed in. I'm not too sure if it will happen so I'll sleep on it and hope that Plan B will transpire overnight!
If I can divide the program into Impacts vs. other, I can use the link and select options on the county buttons to interface with the Impacts database. If I can't get that to work, I'll just focus on one feature only tomorrow.
I have learned two cool Photoshop effects tonight:
I've added an intro page that gives a bit of an explanation.. this page is still horribly blank though. I may add more text on the right side to explain the differences between the options that can be chosen. Another option would be to include a screen shot of the actual program with a brief "how-to".
I'm at a stopping point for the night though, I think. I want to divide the application into two different functions -- magnitude (gradient) display for 4-H and POD, and something separate for the Impact Statements. Unfortunately, I can't seem to figure out how to determine when the user has chosen the latter. So, I must hope that I can talk to Keith tomorrow with a final hour solution.
I also want to include more information about each county, such as the county office information. This is data I need to feed in. I'm not too sure if it will happen so I'll sleep on it and hope that Plan B will transpire overnight!
If I can divide the program into Impacts vs. other, I can use the link and select options on the county buttons to interface with the Impacts database. If I can't get that to work, I'll just focus on one feature only tomorrow.
I have learned two cool Photoshop effects tonight:
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
ever more refinement
So much further to go in the next few days... I think I can make this happen, as long as I stay focused on my end goal. Contrary to my sparse postings of late, I have been working on my project.
It seems that when I get deep into a problem in an unknown territory, I spin my wheels about 10x greater than I effectively move forward. This is frustrating, but at some level, I know that all that wheel-spinning has its fruits as well. The dynamic multiple choice experiment I was distracted with a few weeks ago was useful recently as I tried to duplicate dynamic text boxes as movie clips.
I spent about 5 hours on Saturday trying to set up a way to switch the kind of data is displayed in the bar graph. Right now, this is showing county data relative to values in the other counties. The highest value on the chart is equivilant to the highest county value for the dataset. A different way to view this would be to frame the data as it is distributed throughout the state, so what percentage of the state data exists in a particular county? I was able to create code that would do this, partially, but it would not toggle well between the two views. After 5 hours of struggling, I had to resign myself to keeping my graph view to only one option for now. Even as a second view would be valuable, the percentages of a single county in a state of 159 are very very small and mostly evenly distributed (well, for the data I tested). This can be accomplished or further explored in my next version, the after the studio version!
I've also been struggling with labeling each of the bars in the graph with the appropriate county name. I have tried every way I can possibly imagine to generate text fields that label these bars. What I have determined is that some part of my code is taking a major chunk of processing power and the code I wrote to dynamically generate this information was dropped. I could be presumptious with this... but I've tried so many things and proven that my code works in a clean document! I had to abandon this to some degree too. What I have done to solve the problem is to create a separate flash movie that contains all of the county names at the appropriate angle, size, and order. I'm importing this movie into my graph movieclip. It works, but it would be a pain to edit later -- Georgia does change its county names from time to time, but that has to be a pretty rare event.
I've also adapted the graph to mimic the color scheme of the map. I hope this will eliminate the need to make a legend that explains what each color gradient is equivilent to. When the user rolls over the map, the value in question is focused in the center of the graph and all the other information fades into the background.
I think I can move on from the graphing feature! The only refinement point for that is to find decent placement for the scrolling arrow buttons.
Here's the file in question: barGraphASedited
The next problem I need to solve is finding a way to effectively communicate the purpose of my project with my users. I've gotten quite a few comments on this, and I know that my project is not necessarily self-explanatory. I'm exploring methods to separate the dataset choice from the map and graph page. I've got this working halfway, but my map buttons no longer work. *sigh* I'll need to comb through my actionscript a bit closer and determine what must be displayed at what time to make everything to work seamlessly.
Here's that file: barGraphGettingBetter
What else do I need to accomplish?? Well, if I can make this entry page communicate the right information, I might be able to bring back some of my concept work from earlier -- this would primarily include using the map to interface with the Impact Statements system.
Does this project need to be pretty? I'm not so sure. It won't really serve as a stand-alone item in its actual usage. It does need to be useful and non-intimidating.
Onward onward! Tomorrow is going to be a busy day.
It seems that when I get deep into a problem in an unknown territory, I spin my wheels about 10x greater than I effectively move forward. This is frustrating, but at some level, I know that all that wheel-spinning has its fruits as well. The dynamic multiple choice experiment I was distracted with a few weeks ago was useful recently as I tried to duplicate dynamic text boxes as movie clips.
I spent about 5 hours on Saturday trying to set up a way to switch the kind of data is displayed in the bar graph. Right now, this is showing county data relative to values in the other counties. The highest value on the chart is equivilant to the highest county value for the dataset. A different way to view this would be to frame the data as it is distributed throughout the state, so what percentage of the state data exists in a particular county? I was able to create code that would do this, partially, but it would not toggle well between the two views. After 5 hours of struggling, I had to resign myself to keeping my graph view to only one option for now. Even as a second view would be valuable, the percentages of a single county in a state of 159 are very very small and mostly evenly distributed (well, for the data I tested). This can be accomplished or further explored in my next version, the after the studio version!
I've also been struggling with labeling each of the bars in the graph with the appropriate county name. I have tried every way I can possibly imagine to generate text fields that label these bars. What I have determined is that some part of my code is taking a major chunk of processing power and the code I wrote to dynamically generate this information was dropped. I could be presumptious with this... but I've tried so many things and proven that my code works in a clean document! I had to abandon this to some degree too. What I have done to solve the problem is to create a separate flash movie that contains all of the county names at the appropriate angle, size, and order. I'm importing this movie into my graph movieclip. It works, but it would be a pain to edit later -- Georgia does change its county names from time to time, but that has to be a pretty rare event.
I've also adapted the graph to mimic the color scheme of the map. I hope this will eliminate the need to make a legend that explains what each color gradient is equivilent to. When the user rolls over the map, the value in question is focused in the center of the graph and all the other information fades into the background.
I think I can move on from the graphing feature! The only refinement point for that is to find decent placement for the scrolling arrow buttons.
Here's the file in question: barGraphASedited
The next problem I need to solve is finding a way to effectively communicate the purpose of my project with my users. I've gotten quite a few comments on this, and I know that my project is not necessarily self-explanatory. I'm exploring methods to separate the dataset choice from the map and graph page. I've got this working halfway, but my map buttons no longer work. *sigh* I'll need to comb through my actionscript a bit closer and determine what must be displayed at what time to make everything to work seamlessly.
Here's that file: barGraphGettingBetter
What else do I need to accomplish?? Well, if I can make this entry page communicate the right information, I might be able to bring back some of my concept work from earlier -- this would primarily include using the map to interface with the Impact Statements system.
Does this project need to be pretty? I'm not so sure. It won't really serve as a stand-alone item in its actual usage. It does need to be useful and non-intimidating.
Onward onward! Tomorrow is going to be a busy day.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Desk Crit #4: HueiHsien
Hi HueiHsien,
I hope you enjoyed your weekend. I've attached my desk crit for your project. For the most part, my critique addresses some usability issues. Take a look, I can clarify any points you have questions about. I think you've done a really good job with this!
Cheers,
Emily
Designer: HueiHsien Liu
Project: Epidemics and Pandemics
Project URL: http://lhh0418.myweb.uga.edu/6200project/direction.htm
Reviewer: Emily Pitts
Review date: 4/23/07
Interface:
- Subheading needs "How does" to make it a question, otherwise, no question mark.
- Page numbers would be helpful, within each major section. Maybe between the Back and Next buttons, as "page 1 of 5" or "1/5". This helps to keep an idea of where I am in the program. Alternatively, you could list the page numbers between the Back and Next buttons, and make them links to those pages... that would make all of your pages easy to access.
- At the end of each session, could you include directions to proceed to the next Session?
- Check spelling, grammar, and punctuation (you may want someone to go through this part with you, it isn’t that bad – just little things on various pages)
- It seems like a number of the figures include information or terms that aren't included in the text, at least not in the text on the page the image is on. Also, can any of these be made bigger?
- Could you name the buttons to include the subject title? For instance, instead of "Session I", write "I: Antigenic drift". This gives a constant outline of the program and reminds me what is ahead when I read (for example, at the end of the introduction you mention antigenic drift and shift, a description on the session buttons would indicate that I'll learn about this if I continue).
- Within your sessions, I think it would be more effective to place the subsections underneath the session button in the left menu. When I see these at the top of the page, I think that it will take me away and I'm not sure what will happen (I can't see the Next button unless I scroll). It also looks like I can just click whichever subsection instead of clicking next after I read "What is it?" -- this isn't right, because there are more pages in this subheading (if this is just to provide a place to skip ahead, linked page numbers would do the same trick, without diverting the first-timer's attention!)
- Can the text be broken up a bit more? Bulleting select items within the text or numbering steps will make information stand out on the page. If you had more time – this would be a great help from your SME.
- The many different buttons on the page can be distracting and confusing. If you require that the user view all of an animation or quiz before going to the next page, your last Flash frame could include the next button, to the next HTML page – by doing this, you could take off the extra next button on the pages with Flash interactions.
- Think about using different navigational language between the flash interactions and the lesson interface. For instance, instead of saying "back" in a flash quiz, you might say "try again" on the button. That way, the buttons will not conflict.
- Can you make the text darker in the Flash movies? The gray text doesn't stand out well and can be hard to read on some pages.
- Your animations look good! The only odd thing is in the Mutation of genome movie, after you zoom in to the cell, it skips to a pink box. Do you need help with this?
Content
Help
I would include this information on a single help page. If someone needs help while they are in a lesson, they will only have one page to view. (I didn’t understand where I would go with the “next” button; I thought it might take me to the introduction).
Introduction
- Include "Fig." with letters in parenthesis. Figure C seems out of place – are glycoproteins explained in the second paragraph?
- Intro p.2 -- how does "Surface of Virus" fit with content?
Session I
- add footer links (help, site map, etc.) on "What is it"
- What is "facilitating information" on the incorrect feedback? Do you mean "Hint:" or "Helpful tip:"
Session III
- The left menu has different spacing from the other pages.
- p. 2 - the image doesn't enlarge
- Exercise 2: You may want to be clearer about the two symbols above the radio buttons. I recommend just "T" and "F". (this applies to any of your true/false quizzes)
Quiz:
- #13 -- "Visit your grandparents" is pretty funny. I like that.
- #15 -- This isn't a question.
- What happens at the end? I was hoping to get a score. I think I got 4 right. :(
Ending the program
It would be helpful to have a conclusion. The program just ends abruptly after the 15th question. The conclusion could be a really short outline of what was learned or a short summary and link to the site map to review any particular section.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Multiple Choice Quiz
I've worked on multiple choice quizzes with a few different people throughout the semester. Attached is a file that HueiHsien, Rita, and I worked together to create. This is using content from HueiHsien's Epidemics and Pandemics project.
This is more than just a multiple choice quiz...
This interaction keeps score for correct answers and lets users attempt to answer each question as many times as possible. Only the first attempt will count towards scoring.
View quiz
Download .fla file
This is more than just a multiple choice quiz...
This interaction keeps score for correct answers and lets users attempt to answer each question as many times as possible. Only the first attempt will count towards scoring.
View quiz
Download .fla file
Week 7) Learning by exploration
Tick tick tick... I'm thinking about counting down to the final showcase showdown next week. Just seven days to go! I have a lot of work to accomplish in these seven days to put the final touches on my project and work out any programming kinks.
I've just been reading Dr. Stephen Draper's article More than we think. This is really interesting because he points out the differences between designing a product and using a product in the context of human-computer interface (HCI). Essentially, programmers create actions that match actual tasks that users may perform. While this will work for these specific actions -- there is little to predict how one individual will approach a specific task. So, user testing may uncover many different features of a product that are dysfunctional or inappropriately labeled. He proposes that instead of designing individual tasks for each action, that instead actions need to be viewed as being the result of sets of tasks.
This article points out a number of areas where designers may fail to grasp a user's difficulty with their product. For instance, even while the icons may be cleverly designed and logically (to the design team, no less) placed -- as user may not get this meaning. Three things can happen -- 1) the user completely ignores the icon, not recognizing its importance or function, 2) the user chooses the icon out of curiosity, frustration, or boredom when attempting a task, or 3) the user chooses the icon with no idea of its function and thereby assigns it a personal function unlike the original purpose. I find it especially interesting that users relate to an interface entirely at a personal level. There must be some similarities between groups of people as they become more experienced with a particular program or have expertise in similar fields. That aside, a user may gravitate towards and assign behaviors to interface elements based on shape, color, or location, with no regard to function! I like this because it demonstrates just how wildly diverse individual cognition can be.
This exploration of programs can be labeled as “learning by exploration”. Downe divides this concept into three groups of experience: “guessability (first time use), learnability, and EUP (experienced user performance).” It is important to grasp the range of experience and expectations that our users bring to the table when using the products we develop.
Learning by exploration is such an important concept that includes the experimentation and successive failure and triumphs we go through when approaching a new interactive program. At the somewhat meta level of this is my role as a designer of a product that will be used by a learner (for instance). Even as I am attempting to preempt how my product may be used, I am in turn interacting with a different program to complete my product! I find myself interacting with Flash like this a good bit. Sometimes I know what I’m doing and have a straight shot at a solution, other times it’s much more of a meandering path of errors and successes.
This reminds me of my methods to programming. I’ve learned my way around more dynamic code on an essential trial-and-error basis. I find myself able to communicate with the hard-core programmers yet have often been addressed as “approaching this like a designer’ (implied – not a programmer). Clearly, my own cognition for the tasks I complete has been modified by my own experience.
Project testing this week:
References:
I've just been reading Dr. Stephen Draper's article More than we think. This is really interesting because he points out the differences between designing a product and using a product in the context of human-computer interface (HCI). Essentially, programmers create actions that match actual tasks that users may perform. While this will work for these specific actions -- there is little to predict how one individual will approach a specific task. So, user testing may uncover many different features of a product that are dysfunctional or inappropriately labeled. He proposes that instead of designing individual tasks for each action, that instead actions need to be viewed as being the result of sets of tasks.
This article points out a number of areas where designers may fail to grasp a user's difficulty with their product. For instance, even while the icons may be cleverly designed and logically (to the design team, no less) placed -- as user may not get this meaning. Three things can happen -- 1) the user completely ignores the icon, not recognizing its importance or function, 2) the user chooses the icon out of curiosity, frustration, or boredom when attempting a task, or 3) the user chooses the icon with no idea of its function and thereby assigns it a personal function unlike the original purpose. I find it especially interesting that users relate to an interface entirely at a personal level. There must be some similarities between groups of people as they become more experienced with a particular program or have expertise in similar fields. That aside, a user may gravitate towards and assign behaviors to interface elements based on shape, color, or location, with no regard to function! I like this because it demonstrates just how wildly diverse individual cognition can be.
This exploration of programs can be labeled as “learning by exploration”. Downe divides this concept into three groups of experience: “guessability (first time use), learnability, and EUP (experienced user performance).” It is important to grasp the range of experience and expectations that our users bring to the table when using the products we develop.
Learning by exploration is such an important concept that includes the experimentation and successive failure and triumphs we go through when approaching a new interactive program. At the somewhat meta level of this is my role as a designer of a product that will be used by a learner (for instance). Even as I am attempting to preempt how my product may be used, I am in turn interacting with a different program to complete my product! I find myself interacting with Flash like this a good bit. Sometimes I know what I’m doing and have a straight shot at a solution, other times it’s much more of a meandering path of errors and successes.
This reminds me of my methods to programming. I’ve learned my way around more dynamic code on an essential trial-and-error basis. I find myself able to communicate with the hard-core programmers yet have often been addressed as “approaching this like a designer’ (implied – not a programmer). Clearly, my own cognition for the tasks I complete has been modified by my own experience.
Project testing this week:
References:
- Draper, S. (1996). More than we think: Facing up to the plurality of goals, methods, needs, and resources in HCI. Australian Journal of Information Systems, 3(2) pp.31-35. Retrieved April 19, 2007, from http://staff.psy.gla.ac.uk/%7Esteve/oz.html
Sunday, April 15, 2007
graphing
I've been working on an interface (not linked here), as well as displaying county information in a bar graph. See it here: barGraph.
So far, I have comparable data in the graph as is shown by the colored counties. If you roll over the counties, the graph shifts to the county value in question. I'm having problems labeling each bar, which isn't satisfactory. I'll need to look online for a solution for loading text 2 MCs deep, as well as unloading dynamically drawn items.
(Unfortunately, at the moment it appears that my dynamic information isn't loading online. I'll need to talk to Keith about this tomorrow... it's working fine on my local computer.)
So far, I have comparable data in the graph as is shown by the colored counties. If you roll over the counties, the graph shifts to the county value in question. I'm having problems labeling each bar, which isn't satisfactory. I'll need to look online for a solution for loading text 2 MCs deep, as well as unloading dynamically drawn items.
(Unfortunately, at the moment it appears that my dynamic information isn't loading online. I'll need to talk to Keith about this tomorrow... it's working fine on my local computer.)
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