Week 14: Assignments

To do for next week
After our meeting on November 18, the following items are due by Saturday, November 24 (unless otherwise noted). Our goal is to have both units ready for beta-testing Nov 26.

Daisy

• Photos: Directions "click here to see examples of [xyz]"
• Photos: Clear from next frame
• Add caption on plant diagram (U1-L3)
• Photos: Reformat blurry images
• Interface: bookmark for TOC on page
• Interface: bookmark as button tucked under page
• Interface: remove extra tabs on activities, add "Activities" on last tab

HueiHsien

• Interface: move back/next buttons on activity screen
• Interface: add functionality to office button
• Interface: remove "back" from page 1 of each lesson
• Interface: add exit function
• Text formatting: move "Lesson x" to second line on page title
• Text formatting: remove color, button, and underline from page title
• Text formatting: change conclusion text from "review" to "repeat"
• Text formatting: add "Return to the Table of Contents to choose an alternative lesson" to conclusion options
• Content: create Help - overview of interface in HTML w/ screen captures as needed
• Content: site map of each unit
• Activities/actionscript: help create scoring system for U1-L3 (with Kazu)

Emily

• Quizzes: strikethrough non-applicable answers on "incorrect" views
• Graphics: paperclip more realistic
• Graphics: post-it transition to next lesson
• Content: combine pages 1 and 2 on unit overview
• Content: refine feedback on quizzes (send to appropriate author)
• Content: add TOC to activities scene
• Content: add prompt to go to less on each activity in activities scene
• Content: conversation script for U2-L1 activity (send to Kazu)
• Content: case study for U2-L3 activity (send to Kazu)
• Activities/actionscript: Help w/ U2 as needed
• Activities/actionscript: set up printing sample
• Planning: notify Holly and beta-testers of upcoming eval schedule (Nov 26-28)
• Planning: communicate with Duren about final review
• Planning: prepare schedule/assignments for final documentation
• Planning: review and edit PPT for showcase

Remi

• Content: Compile glossary for all lessons (send to Ahram and Emily)
• Content: collect content for notes/conclusion section (send to Ahram and Emily)
  • U2-L1 - 10 questions, IPM form
  • U2-L2 - helpful notes for working "in the field"
  • U2-L3 - info on sample submission, clinics (addresses, sample types per location)
• Content: check consistency between flash file and word doc, edit flash if needed
  • U1-L3 and U1-L4
• Documentation: continue work on Final Eval doc

Kazu

• Activities/actionscript: create functional feedback for U1-L1 drag-and-drop
• Activities/actionscript: create pop-up for glossary
• Activities/actionscript: create scroll function for glossary
• Activities/actionscript: Work with script for U2-L1 activity (from/with Emily)
• Activities/actionscript: Work with case study for U2-L3 activity (from/with Emily)
• Activities/actionscript: create scoring system for U1-L3 (with HueiHsien)

Ahram

• Content: write reflection question for end of each lesson (U1-L1 may not need one)
• Content: prepare conclusion/review docs for Flash display (from Remi)
• Content: prepare conclusion/review docs for PDF download (from Remi)
• Activities/actionscript: Add working dynamic text box for reflection question
• Activities/actionscript: Add docs to conclusion pages
• Activities/actionscript: Add scrolling feature as needed
• Content: compile all parts per lesson conclusion (multiple pages for some)
  • Conclusion text (fr conclusion2.doc)
  • Reflection question & text field
  • Review information + download feature (from Remi)
  • Transition page
    • What do you want to do next? + options
    • Post-it note: "Click on "next" to go to Lesson X: Lesson Title"

Upcoming

• Refine for accessibility requirements
• Nov 26-28: beta-testing and SME review
• Nov 29: Final official meeting
• Dec 6: Studio Showcase
  • refine project presentation
• Dec 10: All docs and project due 9am
• Celebrate!

Week 14: Report

We are getting closer and closer to the final studio showcase and completing our project!! These last few weeks will be busy as we pull everything together.

Last Thursday, the 15th, Remi led a session of alpha-evaluation for our project. The team met Sunday to discuss those findings and determine what work needs to be done to improve our project BEFORE sending this to review with our sample audience. (see Week 14 Assignments).

This week is our Thanksgiving holiday, so we will all be likely working on our own to complete our various parts. We've moved the beta-testing to November 26-28 to accomodate our final changes and be sure to allow time to compile the final report. At the end of this project, I think we will all be pleased with all we have to show for our hard work.

Week 13

This week we've been busy getting ready for the dress rehearsal. Our 6200 consultants have provided work to us, lightening our load for formatting images and importing content. We've had a number of impromptu meetings over the past two weeks, to be sure we've got everything covered for tomorrow night.

Tuesday, most of the group met to discuss our showcase presentation and any other details for Thursday. Tonight, Wednesday, a number of us are meeting to be sure everything is ready to go with Unit 1.

Our evaluators have been contacted and our schedule is being formed for when they can review our product and when we will need to have the material ready. This involves studio students for alpha-testing, our subject matter expert for final review, and sample learners for beta-testing.

It's good to see everything come together, although it is still a bit nerve-wracking as the majority of our work to date has been divvied out in separate parts. I hope it fits together as well as possible for tomorrow. Of course, we will have until Dec 6 to finalize any problem areas, but are hoping to be done with development far before then.

The next few weeks will be busy. We also need to finalize remaining documentation and package our product for delivery to our client. The to-do list is a bit insane at the moment, but should be quickly pared down.

Week 12

Team meetings... weekend work session...

Week 11: Report

Since I haven't written over fall break, I have to say the past two weeks have been busy. Contrary to my post for Week 9, our team really did further work on our storyboards -- formatting text, making placeholders for images, adding basic ideas for interactions, etc. Our prototype will likely be the actual work we present at the dress rehearsal. So, that's the work ahead of us.

I've met outside of the studio with a number of team members over the past two weeks. Daisy and I had a productive graphics session, zeroing in on buttons and screen design for our module, as well as brainstorming a basic template for our Flash files to follow. Daisy, Kazu, HueiHsien, and I met to review the Flash file and talk more in depth about how the interactions would be integrated into it.

We did meet last Thursday for another intense work session. We went through all the storyboards again to iron out any issues with content, images to be used, illustrations needed, and further clarification of ideas. Most of our concepts are pretty solid and ready to be put into action.

Yesterday Kazu, HueiHsien, Ahram and I met to determine our approach to building the interactive items. We continued to iron out problems with the sample Flash file and decided to meet this upcoming Saturday for a work session, to output as much of our interactions as possible -- working together will be more effective for us since we can stop and talk about ideas and problems as needed.

Remi and I have been in contact by email and phone, as she's been testing the use of our sample Flash file. My goal tomorrow night is to assign our consultants to help migrate our static content from the storyboards into the Flash file. Remi has noted items that are unclear and need direction. I've also set up directions for our consultants to follow to help format images that we will import into our Flash file.

We're two weeks out from the dress rehearsal on November 15. I hope our work will fall into place quickly after this weekend's session. Remi and I have talked about starting formative evaluations on November 12.

I feel confident that we will get this work done. I realize that my experience with Flash may make me a bit more assured about this than my teammates, considering the degree of interactions we'll need to produce this weekend. If all goes as planned, we could spend the remaining weeks after the rehearsal doing minor tweaks and finalizing our various documents.

Not to forget, all of our documentation to date has been approved. Our client temporarily passed authorization of documents to the PDCs. This was good since they weren't entirely up to speed on the project's current status.

Documentation and reporting are useful, although awaiting approval for the next steps isn't always how things work here internally. More often it's the case of getting a project done and delivering a final product -- with meetings for Q&A along the way.

Working Project Documentation

Finalized docs (awaiting approval)

Supporting work

• Flash template (in development)
• Screen Design
• Treatment Rationale
• Storyboard: Unit 1, Lessons 1-3
• Storyboard: Unit 1, Lesson 4
• Storyboard: Unit 2
• Learning System Design
• Flowchart: Unit 1, Lessons 1-3
• Flowchart: Unit 1, Lesson 4
• Flowchart: Unit 2

Week 10: Assignments

To do for next week:

• Edits to storyboards (assignments below)
  • changes discussed in 10/18 meeting
  • further development if missing test/activity items
  • review images for your section, specify which ones to use where
  • if lacking images, note what you want and where - including illustrations, graphics
  • if lacking content, note what you need and where (specifically test/activity items)
  • tell Emily what content/images you need

• Lesson 1 - HueiHsien, Emily
• Lesson 2 - Ahram
• Lesson 3 - HueiHsien, Remi
  • HueiHsien add in all content
  • Remi help develop test questions
• Lesson 4 - Emily
• Unit 2 - Kazu
• Prepare flash file for development
  • interface, symbols, design guidelines - Daisy, Emily
  • plan for consistency between files (Flash guidelines - layers, scenes, names, etc.)
• Submit documents for review - Emily
• Contact Holly for content needs - Emily

Team meeting: October 25, 4-6pm, 603 Aderhold
(regular meeting room, Em check availability)

• show group plan for Flash file
• divvy out development work based on storyboards