Practice based research

The question I will be answering is; How can the uses of interactive learning tools help to further understand and promote kinaesthetic and visual learning?

I will be producing several different types of interactive learning tools. This will include Flash based games and possibly also offline learning tools. This will be determined as the research progresses.

I will be using a variety of different evaluation techniques; this will be dependant on the exact nature of each artefact/experiment. It will include participant observations, Action Research (i.e. reflection both in and on action), online journal entries, and possibly interviews and/or questionnaires.

Over the Christmas holidays I will be carrying out secondary research into kinaesthetic and visual learning. I will also be creating my first artefact in Adobe Flash in preparation for testing at the start of term.

For my first artefact I will be producing a Flash based interactive learning tool that will test the use of online interaction to promote visual and kinaesthetic learning. This will be tested on a range of students aged 16-25 years old. The testing will involve observations and timing of the participant during the use of the interactive learning tool and a short discussion afterwards. I will also be carrying out a quick test to determine if the participant prefers the audio, visual, or kinaesthetic style of learning.

Assignment One Rationale

As part of the Successful Principles and Practice module I was asked to submit a selection of eight images and accompanying text for a brochure to showcase the work of all the students on the course. I decided straight away that I wanted to show a variety of work not just one specialty, such as websites for example. Multimedia, as a subject, is very broad, ranging from video production to web design. Over the past few years I have been concentrating on the specific area of Interaction Design. I believe that interaction design is the future of multimedia; it is new, exciting and challenging. Although this is my specialisation at present I am also extremely interested in other areas of the Multimedia industry, such as advertising and the use of 3D in web design. I feel that it is better for me to show a wide range of work to give me opportunities in a many areas of design.

I have chosen work from both university and college. The first of the images (see Fig. 1) is from the final major project carried out at college. This is one of a selection of posters designed to advertise a fictitious film festival. This was one of my all-time favorite projects I have undertaken in my career so far as a multimedia student. I feel this image shows my creativeness and abilities both as a designer and also technically in using design software. The second image (see Fig.2) was also selected from a range of college work. This is a comic strip designed to help promote diversity at Newcastle College; again this shows innovativeness and a good use of software tools such as Adobe Illustrator. I feel it is important to show clients and prospective employers versatility in my works as this is an important attribute to have as a designer in industry and therefore makes me more employable. Although both of these images are from earlier on in my studies than the others, I think it would be foolish not to include them as they demonstrate an aptitude for design and help to show my development as a designer.


Fig. 1


Fig. 2

The next three images in my selection are screenshots of websites I have created whilst at university. The first is of a website built to promote the Multimedia course at Nottingham Trent University (see Fig.3). I really like the colours I used in this website and I feel it has a youthful look about it which is good for the target audience of prospective students. I also like the photo used which I took myself, this shows I am always willing to try something such as photography even though it is not my specialty and I have little or no experience. The other two screenshots are from a website promoting Climate Change which I have just recently completed at university. The website is aimed at young children and I believe this shows my ability to design for a range of age groups. This is an important skill to show when applying for employment in the future, as companies want to employ a person who is versatile as a designer, rather than someone who is only able to design for particular target audiences.


Fig.3


Fig. 4


Fig. 5

The next two images are screenshots from two 3D visualizations created in my second year of university (see Figs. 6 and 7). Attempting 3D was a challenge for me as I was out of my comfort zone but after an enthusiastic effort I was very pleased with what I produced. These screenshots are a good representation of what I designed and created. Again this shows my willingness to try new things and also that I possess a range of skills in many different areas of design and software technology.


Fig. 6


Fig. 7

My final image is a screenshot from an interactive product I created that uses Phidgets (see Fig. 8). The product used different phidgets including a joystick and a vibration sensor to allow the user to create their own piece of art. This was quite an experimental project but I believe what we created was an interesting and fun way to use of the interactive tools available. Although it is not as self explanatory as the other images I have selected I feel it is a needed variation and a good talking point when people view the brochure, but it is also quite an attractive picture were it not explained.


Fig. 8

The text I have provided to accompany my images is aimed to briefly summarise both my skills as a Multimedia designer and also my attributes as a person that would attract prospective employers. I have tried to keep the text short and sharp. I have also endeavored to be persuasive and to the point as this is more likely to keep the attention of the reader and make more of a bold statement.

I feel, that as a Multimedia designer, I have an extensive collection of skills and I believe this will help me move into the beginnings of my career as it could give me the opportunity to undertake a variety of projects in different areas of the industry. The images I have chosen demonstrate my creativity, knowledge and wide-ranging skills that are important as an up and coming designer in the industry. Excluding the last image (see Fig. 8) all of my chosen images are self-explanatory as to what they are, they do not require any additional information to be given alongside which works well for the brochure as there will be a limited amount of space for each student. Multimedia design is constantly evolving and changing along with new technologies. It will never be at a constant because it has to move with the times, adapting to what people want. This is why it is important to stay versatile as a designer if I am to be successful in the Multimedia industry.

Brochure Text;
I am a passionate and determined multimedia designer. I specialise in interaction design, but also possess skills in other areas of design. I feel that my highly developed interpersonal skills, enthusiasm and motivation will give me an excellent starting point in my career. I have chosen to show my versatility and creativeness in design through a varied selection of works.

Primary Literacy Scheme

I have just completed my induction and first couple of days in Greenwood Infant School. The induction was very informative and I was introduced to key members of staff and the class I will be working with. The class is the oldest year in the school and consists of both six and seven year old children. My first day was a bit daunting and I wasn't really sure what to expect. The staff and children were all really welcoming and I was eased in by just helping the children prepare for the dress rehearsal of the Christmas play. I really enjoyed getting to know the children and on my second day I was asked to listen to a few of them read. It was nice to do something completely separate from university and I feel that throughout the year this will be a good break in routine for me.

Assignment One

For this assignment I have been asked to submit eight images with accompanying text to be part of the multimedia course brochure. I was very disappointed when we were given the size requirements for the images as they have to be square, this was difficult as hardly any of my work is square such as the websites I have created. I decided the best thing to do would be to put my images into square boxes although I do not think this makes the work look the best that it can. I decided to create my portfolio using Adobe Flash, I wanted it to be a very simple slideshow of my work as I feel that sometimes if portfolios are over-complicated with different navigation the viewer could lose patience. I have only put a selection of about ten images in my portfolio but as the year progresses I will be able to add work to it very simply.

Primary Literacy Scheme

I am very pleased to announce that my application onto the Primary Literacy Scheme was successful. I am really excited to start on my placement, I feel it will give me some additional experience for my application onto the Primary PGCE next year and also help me with my projects I am doing this year that look into different ways of promoting learning and understanding. I have been to the training sessions for the past couple of days and I really enjoyed it and learned a lot about different aspects of schools and what will be required from me. I have been given a school in Sneinton and which is quite a small infant school so I am really pleased and can't wait to get started.

Evaluation

I started work on this project straight away after being given the brief; this made me more confident at the start about what I was going to be doing and how I was going to do it. I defined a clear objective from the beginning and because of this I was able to organize my time effectively for the production of the product.

The website I created was kept simple but not plain in design. After looking at other websites I decided that colour coding would be a good way to make the website easy to navigate round for young children. Each button that linked to another page was a different colour that matched the colour of a picture that represented the topic without words. I felt this was an important aspect to the website because it makes the website accessible to the young target audience I was aiming for.

In the website I used bold and bright colours to attract attention, large text that is easy to read, and big images that clearly represent the topic of each page. There is a clear sense of continuity throughout the web pages which important so the children know they are staying on the same website and have not accidentally navigated away.

Throughout the production of the website I received peer feedback and made adjustments to design and function, for example I added a simple logo to the pages which doubled up as a second homepage button which made the navigation even simpler. If I had more time I would have liked to test my website on my target audience but as I found out that primary school children are a vulnerable age group I would have needed permission from both the schools and parents and this was not feasible in the time frame given.

Overall I am very pleased with the product I have produced to fulfill the brief given. I feel that it is an effective use of multimedia to support a public information campaign about climate change. I would have liked to make the site slightly more interactive but due to a lack of skills in that area it was not possible in the time given. The website could easily be used in schools as it complies with the key stage one national curriculum, at the same time it is not too complicated for a child to use at home. I am hoping to continue with this website in my own time to experiment and possibly add more interactive elements.

Adjustment

I decided to make the pictures on the homepage, that are colour coded to the buttons alongside, alson link to the appropriate paes as this will make the website even easier to use and navigate around.

Final Page Designs

I'm really pleased with these designs, the site is easy to use and not too overcrowded. The pages have a good sense on continuity between them and are kept simple. The large writing and colour coding makes it suitable for the young target audience.

Live Client Project

When we were first told about the live stage of the client project I was really anxious as I didn't have a clue where to start looking for a client. I am also not very confident in my abilities as a multimedia designer so I was concerned about finding a client and letting them down along the way by not meeting their expectations. I recently spoke to Deborah about this and she made me feel so much better about it and together we came up with the idea of asking a head teacher in Newcastle, whom I had worked with over the summer, to be my client. I decided I would really like to design a website for the parents of primary school children to help them help their children outside of school and when I spoke to the head teacher about she was very excited by this idea. It turns out that there is a lack of information available to parents to guide them through helping at home, especially for parents of children with special needs. I am now really looking forward to starting the next stage of the client project and also feeling a lot more confident rather than dreading it.

Further design adjustments

I adjusted my original home button slightly so it would tie in better with the other buttons, i did this by adding a layer of yellow under the picture.



I think adding this simple logo to the all the pages apart from the homepage would increase the sense of continuity through the site. I then decide that this button should also link to the homepage as some children may be click on this one rather than the home button at the bottom of the page and this way they can use either option.

Design adjustments

I decided the title on the homepage didn't really tie in very well with the rest of the homepage or the other pages so i thought putting it in it's own box similar to the buttons would make it look better. I also thought the other titles would look better if they looked like larger versions of the buttons they had linked from.

The background on my pages seemed a bit too simplistic and plain so I decided to add a series of footprints across the page.

Research

I have been looking at some research in preparation for writing my review and I'm starting to feel a bit overwhelmed. I need to learn how to to be able to skim read things because I seem to be spending too much time reading through some very lengthy documents and then finding out that they aren't much help. I have not always found research difficult but I think that because it has been quite a while since I have written any sort of research document I am finding it quite challenging to get back into it. I have also never written such a formal research document and I am worried that I may not be able to word it correctly or write it in the right format. I think that by looking at other research documents whilst carrying out research for my own is not only giving me information but is alos helping me lear more about the style of writing that is required.

Website design

I have started to design and create my website and it's going pretty well. I have decided to use bold bright colours and a colour coding system for the buttons. Here are the mock ups of the first couple of pages.

Simulated project proposal presentation

PRP tutorials

I am really pleased I chose Simon to be my personal research tutor. He seems very interested in my topic and has given me lots of helpful links to look at. Everyone in my tutorial group seems to get on well which is good seeing as we will be working together for the next year. Each member of the group contributes when we are coming up with ideas or helpful research for different topics. Even though none of our topics are very similar in the group I think it is a good mix and all the topics are interesting to hear about.

Time Management

I am already finding it challenging trying to concentrate on the two main projects this term at the same time. I think this year, more than any other, is going to test my time management skills. I am getting myself a lot more organised and trying my best to stay on top of things and not let deadlines creep up on me as they sometimes have in the past. I feel that the simulated client project is already taking up the majority of my time which is difficult as both the simulated brief and the personal research project are both worth an equal amount of credit points. I will have to reorganise my time quickly so this does not carry on this way, at the same time I need to make sure I don't let the PRP project take priority.

Simulated project proposal

Although I was shocked to discover that my first deadline was only a week after the start of term I found that writing my project proposal has helped my a lot. It has made me start thinking straight away about what I am going to do to fulfill the brief. I hate to admit it but often I do spend the first couple of weeks of a new project not doing much of anything trying to think of ideas, but by having this very early deadine it has made it much clearer, not only for the tutors, but also in my own head what I will be doing in the project. I now have a very clear goal of where I want to be and what I want to have created by the end of the project.

Basic Page Layout

Production Plan

Site Navigation

Simulated project proposal

The brief for this project is to produce a piece of multimedia that can be used to support a public information campaign. In this project I am going to raise awareness of global warming. Global warming is a hot topic in the media presently and there are many public information films on the television informing people about reducing their ‘carbon footprint’ to help combat global warming. Recycling is another topic that, just a few years ago, was a new public information campaign. From that campaign recycling is now a common habit in most households around the UK.

By creating a website my audience will be able to access more detailed information than they would be able to gain from a short television or poster advertisement. A website is also accessible at any time which is useful as most people will not remember every detail from an advertisement and may want to double check a fact or find helpful tips.

My target audience will be key stage one children aged between four and eight years old. It is important to raise awareness in children as information we learn when we are young can often influence us more as adults. I plan to create a website that will inform children of what global warming is and what they can do to help.


The concept for my project is to help children learn about global warming in a fun and interesting way. A website is an effective way to accomplish this as the child can navigate around the site themselves, look at the different areas in their own time and have fun at the same time as learning. A website could also be used in classrooms on a smart board and the children would then be able to learn as part of a group in school.

The website will have to be easy to navigate through as the young audience is not capable of navigating through a complicated system of pages like an adult is. By keeping the navigation simple and easy to use the child will not get bored as quickly as they will be able to do more on their own without an adults help. It is also important not to overcrowd the interface with too much text or imagery, as this would confuse a young child. Although imagery is important when designing for children, too much would look chaotic and, most likely, would distract the child from the learning element of the website.

Visually, the website will have to attract and keep the attention of children. Continuity is important in the colours so that the audience can quickly grasp which colour will take you where, young audiences often need help reading text on buttons so if a button matches the colour of an image it will be easier to navigate around the site on their own. Large font and sufficient spacing is key when designing for children who are only just learning to read. Typeface must also be thought about carefully as young children do not recognise certain letters in some fonts, such as the ‘a’ in arial, chalkboard or something similar would be more appropriate, e.g. ‘a’.

Personal Research Project - Stage One

This term we are required to produce a literary review looking at a topic of our own choice. My topic is 'Exploration into the use of interaction within an educational context to promote learning and understanding'. I am happy with this topic as i feel it will give me a broad area to start looking into and also the option to narrow the topic by looking at specific age groups if necessary. I think this topic will be really interesting to explore and will give me a good base for starting on my PRP experiments in term two.

Client Project - Simulated Brief

I've just been given the brief for our first project for this year. We have been asked to create a piece of multimedia to support a public information campaign. The options we have been given include climate change, healthy living, sustainability, and sexual health. I would really like to create an informative website for young children about climate change. I am currently applying for a primary PGCE and I think by designing and building a site for key stage one children it will give me the chance to learn more about the national curriculum and also expand my knowledge of designing for education. I will be looking further into this for my live client project and my research project so I feel this will give me a good starting point to get me going with my work.

3D Update Room Two

Again I have been messing around with some textures, the doors and table aren't texturing properly and a note keeps popping up before it renders telling me to do something but I'm not really sure what it means. I will discuss this with Roma tomorrow and hopefully get it sorted.

3D Update Room One

I've been playing around with texturing and it doesn't look too bad now. I'm still not 100 per cent happy but it's finally getting there. I can't seem to decide on the floor, every texture I try just looks wrong, but I think I'll just play around again tomorrow and see what I come up with.

A Darker Alice In Wonderland

When I told my friend I was creating two 3D environments inspired by Alice In Wonderland he sent me this link; http://xahlee.org/p/alice/alice_am.html.




These images are from the video game American McGee's Alice. I really like the whole different spin this puts on Alice In Wonderland. I don't think I'd ever be able to create something this extraordinary in 3D, but it's something to aim for I suppose. The detail is amazing and someone has clearly spent a long time thinking this through, designing and creating it. It always stuns me how something this brilliant can be created in 3D.

Quote from Wikipedia;
Set years after Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, Alice features an older, more cynical and macabre incarnation of Alice.
Alice's parents are killed in a fire. Driven catatonic and having attempted suicide (note her bandaged wrists), she is institutionalised in Rutledge Asylum. Years later Alice is called by the White Rabbit to the aid of a radically altered Wonderland, under threat from the Red Queen, the evil despot who has enslaved its people. The Cheshire Cat is a frightening incarnation, and is her constant companion throughout the game, popping up now and again to guide the player or offer advice.

Here is a video from the game that can be found on the address above and on YouTube.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=rmwE1QZE3EI

Really Good 3D

This is a small render created by my friend from college, Chris. I really like all the little details in this doorway that I just wouldn't think of, like the wooden paneling. I also really like the marble texture on the upper half of the wall which Chris created himself. He often sends me bits and pieces of work he's creating and it's always getting better and better. After seeing this I think I will go back to my modeling to see what details could be added as this proves that it's the details that make all the difference.

Screenshots Room 2

This room is quite an awkward shape and I wanted to make the doors fit in with this so I made the doors into editable polygons so I could drag individual parts of them and manipulate them.