PRP - Ninth artefact, Designing stage 2

The designing of the game was complete, now onto the flash/coding side and this wasn't easy. Through the tutorial I learnt how to create an array which could detect when the users clicked on the correct symbol, once the correct sequence has been played the array would restart but with another symbol added to the sequence.
Overall the creation of the game was fairly simple and I am getting a stronger understanding as to how the sequence is created, there were many elements that had to be taking into consideration. The coding that had to be inserted included:
- Not allowing the user to click on the lights when the sequence was in play
- If user clicked wrong light then the game would be over
- The timings for how long the lights would work

On top of this I decided that I wanted a 'fake' intro, this included a start button with a loading bar and a 'game over' button which allowed the user to play the game again. I found this part the hardest as I had to edit external document class. What I was unaware of when editing the code was that the tutorial created the document class as a 'sprite'. Sprite classes are purposely designed to only work in one key frame however as I was using three frame I needed to change the sprite class into a 'Movieclip'. Initially I did not realise this and was getting frustrated because the game would automatically start rather then playing the intro frame.

Overall the design of the game ran smoothly, I have past the design over to a few people (children and adults) to get their opinion on the whole design. I have explained to them the purpose of the game so they understand that it is not complete.

PRP - Ninth artefact, Designing stage 1

Wanting to stick to the theme of the Moshi Monster site I decided to look around at the theme's that Moshi Monster used. From looking at the website I had two choices; either place the game within the puzzle palace or move it onto the 'main square'. The aim of this artefact and the overall project however was to highlight education and so the decision was made to design the game around the theme of the 'puzzle palace'.

For the design at this current time I have used a screen print for the background. It will be easy to edit the gaming stage so the whole theme of the design has been easily created. When thinking about ideas for the symbols which will be used like the background I also wanted this to be incorporated into the design. The one thing that has always been mentioned when playing these games is that there is always an incentive, in terms for Moshi Monster, 'Rox' (Moshi Monster money) Having looked at the symbols I have managed to create a design for the symbols that represents 'rox' I have also tried to add a 3D look to the symbols by using colours.

Now that the design has been created the next step will be actually creating the game. As I am very short on time I have found a tutorial that explains how to create a memory game so I will follow that, hopefully it will create a game that could represent a memory game.

PRP - Ninth artefact, The Memory game

Ok after looking at my previous artefacts I have decided that I am going to create a simple memory game. The aim of the game will be to follow a certain sequence be it light or sound. Every time you get the sequence correct the will get longer until the player make an incorrect move.

Having played on these games before I find them very addictive for such a simple game and I think that this would be an ideal game for children and in Moshi Monsters. A good example of this was a simple game that I found on 'the kidz page.com' it is a little different to how I imagine my game but when playing on it I found myself wanting to continuously beat my score so I can imagine the competition between friends. The game is called sequence memory, on each level the player has to memorise different set of imagery. The imagery will then disappear and a set of images will appear, the player has to select the correct images to move onto the next stages.



I plan to design the game around the same theme as Moshi Monster so when I present my ideas to people they will have a rough idea as to how it will look if the game was actually on Moshi Monsters. I think that I will work with sounds and colours as I have played these type of sequence games the most. I have also received opinions from other game players and they all agree with me that the game that I intend to design will be the more successful game to use in a competition for a younger target audience.

My next aim now will be to actually start designing the game,however I think that this will be a ideal way to end my research project.

PRP - Ninth artefact, The Puzzle palace

As I had previously mentioned, Moshi Monster contains a games area called 'The Puzzle Palace'. Within this area puzzles have been designed that are consist of different learning items. When researching into the site for the previous artefact I had a play on all of the games to get an idea as to what the site offers in terms of education.

I was positively surprised at the games that were on offer to the members. Different games including naming countries flags (geography) correct spellings, telling the time and maths. They were all subtle yet if the children were asked these questions in everyday lifes I think that they would know the answers because of playing this game.

I understand why they have placed all of the games in one area however it also gives me the impression that all of the educational side of the game has been isolated in this one area, however I am being picky and so this was a minor detail that I wanted to point out.

In the previous artefact many of the users mentioned that they were not earning enough rox to afford different foods/accessories. A good incentive to make the members play on the game is that for every game you play you earn 5 rox. You can only earn 5 rox per game per day however if the member wants the rox I can guarantee that they would play on all of the games to earn those rox. It is a very good way to lure the members in. Another incentive that I noticed was that the more you play the higher the level you go. Members want to be higher levels because you get the option to go buy better items and have more games to play on.

From the past few artefacts I have mentioned that children need an incentive to continue a game and for that reason that is why I have chosen to make a game a competition against their peers. The incentive could be the person with the highest score wins a prize, in Moshi Monster world that could be rox, or even a free membership for so many months.

PRP - Ninth artefact, ideas

For the final artefact rather then creating a game that could be tested I wanted to create a something that could improve the results from artefact eight. The results were not as promising as I expected however a main point that was mentioned was that the children would have preferred if they could communicate with people who they know rather than strangers. I think that this is understandable and to round up my research I wanted to try and create a game that could collaborate friends, schools etc within the Moshi Monster site allowing the players to not only compete against there fellow peers but would hopefully feel more at ease knowing that they are playing with someone who they know.

Another aim of this artefact is potentially create an idea that could work in and out of school, and in a results hopefully improving the Moshi Monster educational side. The game that I plan to design will be quite simple and will focus not so much on education but more on collaborating children and allowing them to work as a team and hopefully result in improving group-working and social skills.

The game has to be something that will make the children compete so a simple scoring system will be in place. I am still deciding on which game to design but the main points that it will have to address will be to allow collaboration and be simple enough to appeal to everyone.

PRP - Eighth artefact, The diary designs

Below I have attached some examples of the diary that I have distributed to 29 students as you can see in the designs they are straight forward and quite simple as the students are doing this in their free time.

The front and back cover

The introduction letter (instructions were also provided on the opposite page)
The inside pages, students would write on these pages.

Overall there was a lot of photocopying involved but they have been distributed to the students and I will be collecting them in the next few days. I am unsure as to what results I will receive but hopefully I will get some feedback.

PRP - Eighth artefact, The diary

Thinking about ways to to get users to test this site wasn't easy. My aim was to get the users to play on the game for a certain amount of time and record their findings, thoughts and potential improvements.

The idea came when I left the school after doing my previous tests. It came to my attention that the test subjects had been in front of me all the time...the school students. Although the task that I was setting required older students (9-10) who had stronger reading and writing skills.

The plan was to create a diary for the students to keep to record their findings whilst on Moshi Monster. Within the diary the students would write about what they, learnt, liked/dislike and improvements. The was contacted and it was agreed that a class of year 5 students would do the testing for me.

The will consist of five days and I will also have to write a letter to the parents explaining my research project. Hopefully I will get some opinions from the children and this will help me see how children respond to this virtual world.

PRP - Eighth artefact, Moshi Monster

After quite a long time of searching I have finally found the site that I want to use for my artefact and that is Moshi Monsters (Designed by Mind Candy). This site has been designed for an audience aged around 6-15.

"Our intention when creating Moshi Monsters was to a produce a ground breaking new entertainment experience that would be fun, safe and educational for kids of all ages."

The site has just hit the 15 million user mark and its been said that Gordon Brown's children are addicted to the game. When I enter the site it became apparent that you had to pay membership to visit the whole of Moshi Monster land but there was also a free membership option that allowed the users access to certain areas of Moshi Monster land.

When I signed up the first few steps were to design my monster. It was made clear to me plus any new member that rules had to be obeyed, if broken you are out of Moshi Monster land. Following the designs and parental confirmation your are free to play. This could be an issue when asking participants to do this test.

Once in Moshi Monster land I could immediately see why the younger target audience would find this appealing. The design used has bright and bold colours, the general illustrations used are fun and with the added animations makes this virtual world for children an enjoyable experience. The main educational part is held the 'puzzle palace'. What is good about these games is they have a rewards system. To get money (or rox) the player has to get as many questions right in order to raise more rox.

I think that the rewards system will work quite well and it is for all of the reasons above that I intend to use this site as my test subject. The only issue that I may have is that the site appears to have separated the educational games away from the other activities, although this is a minor issue (just being picky).

PRP - Eighth artefact, ICT games

When I came across ict-games I thought that reading the name it would be an ideal website for education and a fun source for gaming, however this was not the case. When the site was opened you are greeted to very bland and unstructured site that would not appeal to a younger audience.

The site provides the option of having a numeracy or literacy games and when the chosen option is clicked on a range of games based around the subject appears. Having looked at other games these do not show any creative design work, although having tackled such games I understand that designing these games are difficult.

This site has the potential to be good however the lack of design work detracts users away. If the children are to be interested they need something to be interested in. Previous sites that I have analysed have the design and I predict that they are more popular then ict-games.

PRP - Eighth artefact, Poptropica

I came across funbrain.com however registration was required but, I noticed a tab that sent the user to a place called Poptropica. With the target audience aimed towards 6-15 year olds and the game designed by the 'Family education network' I assumed that this game was an educational piece, although I'm not too sure that I was right.

The game is free for all users to play with no sign-up required. The game has been pre-scripted so communication is free from profanity, making the environment fairly safe. The main aim of the game is to travel to the different islands and complete
the missions on each island by solving clues. The character has the choice to battle against other characters.


Although I only played on the game for a short amount of time I found myself wanting to solve a mission. Even though there was not actually any games to help learn I found myself having to work out the puzzles, could this be a learning source? In my research document I spoke about how games could be a good learning source not just for school subjects but social skills and generally training your brain. This is what I feel the aim behind this game is. When children play this game they have to put find links in the clues to complete missions, you are constantly thinking about how to solve the mystery.

The design adapts well to the idea of a child's virtual world, and with the added animation makes it more than a game. The avatars are small characters not looking like any real person (again good for safety) but the player has the option to dress the character up how they like. The option is given to save the stages you are at, giving freedom to come and go to play the game as you please.

I will not be using this game as there is no actually educational learning outcomes however it is a good example of a virtual world for children, if more learning games were added then this would be ideal.

PRP - Eighth artefact, Fun School

Having browsed through many sites through this project is starting to make it more of a challenge to find new sources, especially when looking for a certain thing that I know will be beneficial to my research and now be a good test piece for children to analyse.

I came across 'funschool' (designed by Kaboose) through my searching and it looks like a site that could appeal to all ages.
Design

The overall design has used bright, bold colours that could catch the users eye from a distance, pink appears to be a popular colour used on the however this has been toned down by the use of the blues and oranges used on the navigation and tabs . Imagery has been used throughout the whole design with clear labelling. This is useful for the younger children who may not have fully learnt how certain words but recognise images.

The navigation of the site is packed with small interactive pieces i.e. sounds and animation that would appeal to a younger child. Although these aspects can be entertaining there are a number of different tabs that potentially a younger child could find confusing and so parental guidance could be needed.

What is noticeable is the advertisements sprawled all across the website. Its a big part of the site and this could easily detract users away from the website.

Interactivity and Learning

Browsing through the site it is clear that many games are available and for all subjects. From english to art funschool is guaranteed to have a game that would suit the child's needs. Many themes have been incorporated throughout the design work including dinosaurs for history and cowboys for descriptions. The majority of the games have a learning outcome and what is good about the funschool site is that all aspects of learning is included. Games have been designed to build on children's knowledge about the meanings of words, fractions and biology.

On the whole this site is a great example of an educational site. Apart from the large amount of advertising the design relates to the target audience and the interactivity has a quirky effect. The navigation could be a little less complicated although with all of the tabs labelled well with imagery and text this is not a big issue.

PRP - Eighth artefact ideas

Throughout the entire project I have been testing what teachers know, what children know, what makes a game, what subject suits best for computer technology etc and I have learnt a lot since starting this research and my views have definately on the computer learning subject. Throughout the research projects I have been observing the participants and taking notes on the way they act around computer technology, the way they act as a group/individually and listening to their thoughts and opinions.

In artefact five, I created the test from listening to the childrens opinions about imagery used. From doing this it brought to my attention that even though imagery and colours did not have a major effect on the game play, computer games could be a useful learning support source for certain children (lower literacy level skilled children adapted to the game quicker). From listening to the childrens opinions artefacts six and seven were created, both provided interesting information.

So for artefact eight I decided that I would like to pursue down this route again and get the child's view. There are many online sources that claim to be educational and fun, but are they? My aim of the research was to see whether games and learning could be combined to help with learning strategies. Rather than myself anaylising these websites and assuming I know the outcome I am going to have the children analyse these sites. After all they are the target audience and they will provide me with an honest answer.

I am going to research into some potential test sites that I think will be interesting to the children and also claim to be educational and fun.

PRP - Do brain training games work?

A program on BBC tested whether brain training games actually worked.



The results showed that there was little difference in the results between the users on the brain training game and the user not on the brain training game. My opinion since finishing my research document has not changed and I think that these programs are not looking at the larger picture. I believe that game can assist in learning, it will not make much improvement but it will develop social skills and will make learning, for some students a more enjoyable experience.

PRP - Seventh artefact, Second design attempt

After the first design attempt, the general coding of the game was finished however the overall design did not have any appeal that would attract a child. So before this artefact was tested a redesign was in order. I occurred to me that my previous artefact used characters that children recognised and it was decided that the same theme would be used across this test.

I decided that I would you the famous 'Looney Toons' characters as they are a recognisable group. The main frame of the game was to be kept i.e. the spellings, but as said before in my previous post I wanted to add something extra to the spelling to add to the childs experience. Looking back at my research some games added sentences with the spelling, giving the child an example of where the word could be place. Doing this not only provided the child with spellings but could also potentially help with reading skills. Adding the imagery automatically added character to the game. The previous design was plain and a bit dull but with the characters, there was more sense as to who the game will be aimed at.

The first design had a green background as this was classed as a neutral/creative colour, in spite of this I have changed the colour to a light blue. A few background colours were tested however the blue provides a more light-hearted look, using red was too overpowering and was drawing my attention away from the game, using purples/deep blues I thought might effect the game play when it comes down to a boy or girl playing and so a light blue seemed the best option.

As the main intention of the test was 'learning' a blackboard was also incorporated within the background to signify that this game is for learning, it is very subtle but I feel that using a blackboard does show that this game has bee built for learning.

If I had more time then ideally I would have liked to have created animation or sound to the game, although it might have resulted in being a distraction I think that it would have given the game a little more amusement. However time is up and it is now time to test the game on my participants to see how they act towards the game.

PRP - Seventh artefact, First design attempt

Ok having a look at the other spelling websites I decided to create a simple spelling test although I am not sure as to whether this will be the final choice. As previously said I am opting to go for a more learning appeal as opposed to the fun factor so this first design is a simple see the word and spell the word.

Remembering back when I was younger a method was used to help children spell; look, cover, write and check. This is the type of game that I am trying to create but on the computer. The design below shows an example of what the game currents looks like.



I decided to use a green background because the previous artefact showed that green represents 'creativity' and is overall a more neutral colour. The game consists of mainly four frames:

- The spelling
- The writing of the answer
- The correct screen to move onto next spelling
- The incorrect answer to retry the spelling

Sticking to the theme of colours I used red to signal that the participant made an incorrect answer, green to signal a correct colour and blue, as the neutral colour to check the spelling. The aim of this was make the participant aware of which button represented each move they make.



When coding timings for the game, the initial time was 3 seconds to look at the spelling however after continuous testing it proved to be too long a time to look at the spelling and so it was decided that the time was brought down to 2 seconds. This first initial game has been completed however I am not entirely happy with this outcome and I feel that it is the design that needs to be worked on.

I am going to include more imagery to the games to see if this makes any improvement but I also think I need to add another element to the game. Perhaps including a sentence that shows the user an example as to what the spelling means, which could potentially improve reading skills as well as spelling.

PRP - Seventh artefact, Spelling strategies and patterns

I came across an interesting book written by Sandra Wilde called 'Spelling strategies and Patterns'. Wilde's approach to spelling is to let the child construct their own knowledge on how language works, basically build on what the children already know through conversations.

Wilde continues to explain that actual set spelling test are not the best solution when it comes down to teaching children spellings. Rather than spelling tests perhaps through continous reading and writing will help the child remember the words and therefore help to spell. What people miss when teaching children spellings is in order to actually spell the child needs some knowledge on how to read and write first. Through reading and writing children can then pick up words through doing reading and writing activities and hence help improve spellings.

The overview of the book continues to explain that children at first represent letters as imagery. Through drawing/scribbles the child will slowly form the shape of the word and will start to recognise what that shape/letter represents.

However the overview goes on to explain that different children (and adults) have different strengths when it comes to learning. Overall the intro to the book provides an interesting point as to what makes children successful learners.

This makes me wonder does the traditional spelling tests work for some students? With a interactive spelling test I could perhaps create a spelling test which includes both reading, spelling and typing as children need to learn how to use a computer keyboard, something that could be beneficial for the children in future activities.

PRP - Seventh artefact, Spelling City

I came across spelling city when looking for inspiration for my design artefact. The whole site is based around helping people learn how to spell. What I noticed about this website however was that it allowed the user to input there own spellings, so this could work in either a classroom or home environment.

Spelling City gives the user three options: 'Test me, Teach me and Play me'. Test me is a simple spelling test, the user inputs the words which they are required to be tested on and a spelling test is created where the words are verbally said and the user has to type the correct answer. The 'Teach me' section provides the user with examples of how the word is used. Firstly by spelling the word followed by an example of where the word would be used. This is a good method to help the children learn where to use the spellings and not just know how to spell them. The final option is 'Play me' the user can select a game where they can learn the words whilst also play a game.

The website has support for the teachers and parents by providing tutorials on how to work Spell City. Not only is online support provided but the designers have also incorporated printable worksheets for users to print off and practice hand writing skills.

Overall I think that this site is a very strong source that would be beneficial for teaching students spellings. In my opinion is would be a stronger source for spelling exercises at home as the general User Interface is not very appealing to the younger target audience to whom I am looking to help. Even though games are apart of the site the home page does not represent this.

Even though I did mention that the aim of this test was to have more learning appeal rather then the fun factor I still think the general layout/interface needs some element that will interest the child.

PRP - Seventh artefact, BBC education

Through the research project the BBC education site has been a valuable piece of source for my research. The BBC learning site has been around for many years (since I was at school). Since I have returned to the site it has improved dramatically. Originally the learning was dedicated to schools, looking at the site now the site now aims to provide support to not only pupils but to teachers, parents, adult learners etc creating a central hub for people to help when learning.

The BBC site provides KS1 games, the level at which I am testing at. When viewing the KS1 revision support the main focus is on english and maths. When viewing the english revision games it appears that a number of options are provided that all support the english subject. This artefact is only testing spelling however the BBC Bitesize site not only offers spelling games but provides support in all aspects of english. Punctuation, rhyming words and the alphabet are all of the things that help support the childs learning ability.

Each game has clearly labelled the instructions with the added speech explaining each game (incase the child cannot read) When playing on the games simple animations have been included which I believe keeps the children interested as they the learning source as a game and not a learning task.

What the BBC website and my research has in common is that both sources have both computer and non-computing activities. This shows that this my research is going in the right direction. I need to find a good balance between activities on and off the computer, but the main aim is to seek out the best computer games that could help support learning.

PRP - Seventh artefact, Example of spelling games

Having a look at the different examples of spelling tests showed many different examples of how children can be tested on spellings but still have an enjoyable experience. I came across a number of different sites that provided spelling tests for all ages and in different forms of game play.

Spin and spell test

The spin and spell wheel game gives the players the option to play individually or with a friend providing the social activity between people. Giving the user the freedom of which test to participate in the user selects the chosen subject and then clicks on the image that they would like to spell. The user would spell the word, if its correct they move onto the next question and if its wrong then the user has to retry.

However there were a few issues that were found when playing the game and could be a slight issue when younger children try to play the game. Every time the user clicks on a letter the wheel spins, bearing in mind that this is the title of the game however it is more time-consuming and the player has to relocate the letters every time a letter is picked. This does not effect the user spelling the letter more wastes more time.

The game relies on the game player knowing how to spell the word by looking at an image, the game provides sound to say the word which will be helpful. Research in the previous artefact showed that children can spell when relating to an image however does this mean that they have to see the word with the image to make this work?

The Spelling match game

The spelling match game consists of the player to finish the words. Like the pairs game that has been created in the previous artefacts, this game has the same game play however rather than matching the same image the player has to complete the word.

The game is limited to how many games the player can participate in before they repeat the spelling tests. The game is a good way for people to create words and a good way for children to learn words. The game provides all level of spellings giving the option for the students at all levels to play this game, although the general imagery is more appealing to the younger target audience whereas the some of the games are aimed at an older audience.

Word Safari

The word safari I believed is more based around the fun factor rather then focusing on learning spellings. The user has to write the spellings that they intend to spell, using the keyboard controllers the players has to create the words by catching the letters. If they make a mistake they receive a warning.

Bearing in mind this is aimed at helping people to spell however I do not think that this is good example of a spelling game. It is clearly aimed towards creating a fun game element rather then improving spelling. However the game could help the participant remember the words that are needed in each word. The game animation is the most appealing out of all three games and this could also attract more games players.

PRP - Seventh artefact, ideas

Ok I know that we were only suppose to do seven but my research wasn't finished. In aftefact six I tested the children on 'art and design' skills on and off the computer. With the results showing that the children enjoyed playing on the paint program however overall the standard colouring activity using pencils appeared to be the popular choice. After testing this artefact it occurred to me that having tested the children on their creativity skills and the non-computer version being successful I have decided to test the children on literacy skills.

Literacy is an important subject within an the curriculum vitae and it will be interesting to see how computer technology could assist in a students in this area.

On my visit to the school I another teacher was testing children on spellings. From observation I assume that the students had to learn the spellings at home and were tested on how meant they learnt. I think my aim from this artefact will be to create an interactive element that students could potentially use as a learning source for when they need to study 'spellings' as homework. All previous results from my other artefacts have clearly shown me that children appear more enthusiastic when they know that they are going to do an activity on the computer.

I think that another aim for this artefact is to try and create a simple interactive element that could not only useful for the children but also in terms of learning. The previous artefacts have been based around designing an interactive element that is a good learning source but also a fun activity. This artefact will be based around more on creating a successful learning source.

Having observed the spelling test when doing my previous testing I think that I will create an interactive spelling test. I will research into different examples and see which ones relate to my artefact.

PRP - Sixth artefact evaluation

The aim of artefact five was to test whether different imagery would affect the timings of a game play. The results showed no dramatic difference although the timings showed that students with lower level skills in literacy finished the game quicker then children with higher literacy skills. With the findings showing this it was decided to test a different element of computing activity. With colour and shapes proving to have the slowest time in the previous artefact it was decided that these elements would specifically be analysed.

With the main intention to analyse how children work with colour and shapes, a colouring activity sheet was designed. Four well-known Television characters were chosen that would appeal to both boys and girls. The main intention for this artefact was to see how children with different literacy levels worked with colour and shapes not just on the computer but off the computer. Testing both methods allowed me to analyse how children reacted when having to ‘colour’ in different techniques.

Overall the to both methods were the same with all groups. The children appeared more enthusiastic when having the opportunity to work on a computer however after five minutes the participants turned their main attention to the colouring activity off the computer. The majority of the higher-level pupils focused more on following the colour key, it was noticeable that the lower the level the less interested they were to follow the instructions.

This outcome showed that the children with the higher-level skills had more focus to stick to the instructions, although struggling with the activity they continued to pursue the test. Knowing that their skills are higher in literacy I will design an online spelling test. The test will be to see how well their performance is when typing/spelling with computer technology.

Client Project - User testing

A requirement for the evaluation was to conduct user testing on the final product. My aim for this survey was to check that I stuck to the client brief and provided a website that would appeal to the target audience and would provide information for both members and non-members.

Eight questions were put together that I would hope give me the answers that I needed to conclude my evaluation.

1) Do you think the overall design relates to the current leaflet design?
Everyone agreed that the website related to the leaflet design. Looking back at previous posts you can see the background in all of the website images have the same background. This was taken from the leaflet design and I think this is why people relate it to the leaflet design.

2) On the scale of 1 to 5 (5 being the highest) which elements do you think are important to have on the website?
Choices were: About us, Gallery, Timetable, Uniform, Party info, Competitions, Shows, Contact
For this question I was trying to see whether the members and non-members would find certain pages more important. To my surprise the majority of the testers thought all of the pages had some importance. The 'party info' page was the least popular, which was expected because this is mainly aimed at parents wanting to throw parties for their children.
I was not expecting for non-members to have an interest in the competition pages however I was wrong.

3) Which page did you find most appealing?
As intended the 'gallery' page was the most appealing to he users although some users preferred the larger gallery on the uniforms page. I could understand this as this was something that I wanted on the gallery page however the gallery limited you to the amount of pictures allowed per album. I was surprised that some users also found the homepage the most appealing, perhaps because it is the first page that you come across.

4)Do you think that the site appeals to current members, people wishing to join the club or both?
Every user apart from one selected the answer 'both' this was what I intended when starting the project, I did not want the site to be just for potential new members but for current members, hence why the gallery and competition pages are important.

5) On the scale of 1 to 5 how easy was the navigation?
Another issue when I browsed other dancing websites was that the navigation was at times quite confusing however my results showed that my menu was clear and easy to navigate through. The aim of the site was to have a minimal looking menu with a drop down to provide extra pages.

6) Were all of the pages clearly labelled?
Nearing the end of the project it occurred to me that there were no titles on the pages. This was noted and changed making it now all clear to the audience which page they were on.

7) Can you think of anything else that could be included on the website?
When asking suggestions for extra elements I received some useful feedback. Some people suggest music/video, this was something which myself and Jess discussed however we decided to leave it until there was some actual footage to put on the site. A few users also suggested having a feedback/comments page, like said in previous posts this was tried but could not be achieved although we are adding an announcements page so Jess can write updates for Street Beatz.

8)Are there improvements that you could suggest to make the website more appealing?
The one improvement that was suggested was to tone down the red on the people, some people found that they blended into the background too much, which I agree with.


The user testing has been very beneficial and has clearly shown that I have fulfilled the client brief and so I am very happy with the outcome.

PRP - Sixth artefact, designing the activity sheets

Like I said in my previous post I decided to create a activities which involved the children to colour in a character, one on the computer and one using pencils. Having selected four images from google I edited the pictures on Photoshop taking all of the colour out and creating a simple activity sheet.

However looking at the page I thought that there was something missing, with the help of some family it was suggested that the pictures were made into a colour in numbers activities sheet. The aim of the activity would be for the child to colour in the each part of the activity sheet according to the number colour key provided. Doing this adds some more activity to the sheet and will test to see whether the children will link the colour key to the image.


When the test is handed out I do not want to tell the children what to do. I want to see how they react to the test. If they ask for assistance I will help them, but I do not want to force them into colouring the picture with the correct colours, if they want it to be different then I will let them, if they want the picture to follow the key then I will let them. I want this test to be a fun activity for them.

Like the previous test I think that having the children tested at their level of literacy skills because the previous test showed that the children with higher literacy skills had slower timings on the games. This artefact will be testing activities both on and off the computer so maybe will highlight the more creative children who may not have the higher literacy levels but stronger creative flair.

PRP - Sixth artefact - The designing

After the previous artefact showed that after three tests the children lost interest in the game and so the test was cut short. The TV characters were left out because this was the game that I was not so bothered about being tested.

However wanting to keep the children amused when carrying out these tests I decided for the colouring activity I would use characters that they were familiar with. Looking at the Cbeebies website gave me some idea as to what the children liked to watch.

I plan to do two versions of the colouring test. One on the computer and one off, with this in mind I have chosen to do two different characters for the boys and two different characters for the girls. I predict that the boys and girls will choose the pictures that I have designed for each gender. Doing this I can test how well the girls work in this test vice versa the boys.

For the boys I have chosen Bob the builder and Horrid Henry and for the girls Wendy (from bob the builder) and Dora the explorer. I chose these images because Looking from the TV listings it is these programs that are aired when the children finish school, fingers crossed my guessing will be correct.

Having researched images I have chosen four pictures from google that would be appropriate for the tests. The next step will be to edit the images in Photoshop.

Client Project - Wordpress install

When I was first introduced to Wordpress by Ashley I found it all very daunting, however once you get it all set up its not really that bad so below I have provided the 'famous 5 minute install' provided by Wordpress.org. This is just to show that its not too scary and it is doable.

Famous 5-Minute Install

Here's the quick version of the instructions, for those that are already comfortable with performing such installations. More detailed instructions follow.

1. Download and unzip the WordPress package, if you haven't already.
2. Create a database for WordPress on your web server, as well as a MySQL user who has all privileges for accessing and modifying it.
3. Rename the wp-config-sample.php file to wp-config.php.
4. Open wp-config.php in your favorite text editor and fill in your database details as explained in Editing wp-config.php to generate and use your secret key password.
5. Place the WordPress files in the desired location on your web server:
* If you want to integrate WordPress into the root of your domain (e.g. http://example.com/), move or upload all contents of the unzipped WordPress directory (but excluding the directory itself) into the root directory of your web server.
* If you want to have your WordPress installation in its own subdirectory on your web site (e.g. http://example.com/blog/), rename the directory wordpress to the name you'd like the subdirectory to have and move or upload it to your web server. For example if you want the WordPress installation in a subdirectory called "blog", you should rename the directory called "wordpress" to "blog" and upload it to the root directory of your web server.

Hint: If your FTP transfer is too slow read how to avoid FTPing at : Step 1: Download and Extract.
6. Run the WordPress installation script by accessing wp-admin/install.php in your favorite web browser.
* If you installed WordPress in the root directory, you should visit: http://example.com/wp-admin/install.php
* If you installed WordPress in its own subdirectory called blog, for example, you should visit: http://example.com/blog/wp-admin/install.php

That's it! WordPress should now be installed.


For more information about the Wordpress installation please click here to be directed to the wordpress site.

PRP - Sixth artefact - The meaning of colours

With many research articles suggesting that colours can effect peoples emotions I thought that it would be a good idea to look at the meaning of all of these colours and see what they actually mean. Below is a brief description on how the colours can be related to emotions:

Cool colours - Blue, Green, Turquoise, Gray, Silver, White

These colours can have two effects. In some ways they are classed as cold and impersonal on the other hand they also relate to calm, peaceful and tranquil. Cool colours are usually overpowered if laid against a warm colour though though some people say that these cool colours bring a room a nurturing feel.

Warm Colours - Red, Pink, Yellow, Gold, Orange

Like cool colours warm colours have two different effects. On one side of the spectrum these warm colours can represent excitement and have a vibrant appeal when looked at. Although these striking colours can also trigger violence, anger and danger.

With colours representing different emotions this could maybe help me suss out what children are relating to when participating in my colouring activity.

PRP - Sixth artefact, The colour of learning

From different research articles it has become apparent the the use of colour effects many different ways in how we learn.

"Of all the forms of non-verbal communication, color is the most instantaneous method of conveying messages and meanings."

Colour influences how people learn and so educators have to take into consideration which colours to use at certain ages levels. I was not aware of this. An interesting piece of information that I found whilst reading this information was that certain events from when you are at a younger age can cause you to like or dislike a colour when you grow up.

"Learned. People and events from your past can cause you to like and dislike certain colors in the present. For example, a favorite grade school teacher's blue dress can stimulate an appreciation for blue in your adulthood. Yet, an intense dislike for that teacher might cause you to "turn off" to blue. In adulthood, you tend to respond to stimuli the way you were conditioned in childhood."

Apart of the article that I found particularly interesting is how children in today's world are being effected by the use of Television and video games. According to research watching video games (colour from screens) is improving the capabilities on the right side of the brain but the result is leaving the left side alot weaker. This makes me wonder whether when I test artefact five, will the children use certain colours to when colouring, affecting the look of the image.

Also when testing the children will the different level of literacy skills effect the way they work when it comes to using the computer.

"The collective research over the past decade suggests that children today are developing awesome capabilities in their right cerebral hemispheres "at the expense" of the left-hemisphere skills. Apparently, children have been immersed in visual imagery, such as television and video and are therefore quite adept at using the neural systems that carry this kind of information. On the other hand, they have become weak in skills that demand left-hemisphere strengths, such as the ability to "translate a narrative from a book in to a visual image in the mind." The home environment has changed substantially. Video (right brain) is king, while books and stories (left brain language) have been neglected. The result, for classroom teachers, may be children who have difficulty in taking the time or harnessing the skills involved in many language-heavy, left-brain draining activities. We seize the power of the visual and need to use color to stimulate learning. By using color carefully, we may be able to use visual imagery to coax more left-brain language activity. Admittedly, it is an inexact science; more of an art, but definitely worth a try!"

For the full article please click here

PRP - Sixth artefact, colouring examples

I was browsing the internet to find some inspiration for colouring activity when I came across a page advertising interactive colouring. The article from 'Surfing the Net with kids' explains how colouring sheets have been provided all across the internet however, it has now become more apparent that virtual colouring is becomming increasingly popular for young children.

The interactive colouring pages provide children with a colour activity sheet on the computer.

There were three in particular that myself and Kirsty had fun playing on, which shows that these sites can be fun for everyone.

Coloring.com


Coloring.com offers children a range of images to colour. Almost identical to a standard colour activity sheet coloring.com allows the children to colour and if a free account is open, you can save all of the pictures that you create and advertise them on the website. It is a simple yet fun interactive activity that children would enjoy. However it makes me wonder whether the children will enjoy it more if the application allows them to colour outside of the image lines, making the picture a lot messier.

Kaleidoscope painter


I have never played with something like this before however I could not stop making patterns. The Kaleidoscope painter creates a picture by the movement of the mouse. Every direction you go the paint will follow and make a pattern. You are given the option to set the paint to automatic and watch a pattern be created however there is no fun in that. This activity is suitable for all ages but I am not too sure how long a younger audience would be amused by it.

Up to ten


This site has been previously mentioned in another post however, it has come up in this article so I am going to briefly blog it. Like the first activity page mentioned up to ten allows the children to create a variety of images. The site offers a number of different colouring activities that will be sure to amuse children. This one is not so appealing the older audience although as this site is aimed at a younger audience it does its job.

It is becoming apparent that virtual colouring is appearing on the internet, with paint a very popular application on computers its now a question of how long until this is updated to a more virtual experience.

PRP - Sixth artefact ideas

Following the positive results from the fifth artefact showing that sounds and animation makes an impact on the game play it was decided that the route to be taken for artefact six was to focus on colours and shapes.

Previous research it showed that visual imagery provides a good learning resource for number of subjects including literacy. The aim for this artefact is to see how a computer could potentially support pupils in art and design. From the previous artefact (3) two versions of the game was created, I feel that this would be ideal for this artefact.

The idea for this artefact will be to create an activity that will involve the children to colour on and off the computer. Hopefully by conducting this test it will show how children relate to the use of computer when it comes to colouring in objects.

Even though this test is suppose to be the final artefact I am going to pursue the testing, the main reason being is that I have not finished my research and I want to find more results to explain my findings, actually create a story.

Client Project - The final Product

Well it's done!!!! and I am very happy to announce that the Street Beatz dance academy is now live so please feel free to have a look at the Street Beatz Dance Academy website

PRP - Artefact 5 evaluation

In the previous artefact the predicted results were correct however some of the participants made comments about the imagery used for the pairs games. The main intention for artefact 5 was to experiment the use of different imagery and to test whether using different images (colours, shapes and words) would make an impact on the participant’s timings and opinion to the games.

Following previous tests it was decided that new test subjects would partake in this artefact to make results fair as no child knew what to expect. The results received were interesting. The test subjects were split into literacy level groups to be tested however the results showed the children with lower literacy skill had quicker times than the higher literacy skilled group. The assumption was made that the children with more skills would work quicker.

The prediction was made that the ‘word’ matching game would take the longest although this was incorrect as it was the ‘colours’, which took the longest however the colour pairs game was played first so the participants were not aware of the game rules. Looking back the games should have been switched after each participant, making it fair.

Conducting this artefact has been very useful and has proved that imagery does not have a major effect on children with games, in spite of this gaming could potentially be a helpful learning source for children with lower skills. With artefact 5 showing that colours and shapes took the longest time in the pair’s game I have chosen to work around the theme of ‘colours and shapes’. The test will potentially consist of imagery and colour, possibly a colouring in picture. The aim will be to see whether computer technology can assist teaching methods in the subject of art and design.

Client Project - Validating/cross browser check

After having a few CSS issues with the drop down menu, the website now validates which is another tick off the box.

When it came to user testing I was happy to find that the website works across all browsers, this includes Opera, Safari, Firefox and Internet Explorer. However the only browser where I found an issue was in Internet Explorer 6. The drop down menu that I designed did not work in IE 6. Having tested it across all browsers it worked fine in spite of this IE6 would not allow the sub menus to show.

I edited the code in some places to try and get it to work however getting near to the deadline it was advised that I left this implication and made sure that it was noted down. Talking to tutors they advised me that this was the best solution, the majority of the users are now on updated versions of Internet Explorer however its more frustrating that it does not work in one browser.

PRP - The school visit!!

Ok I have just got back from the school and it has been the most useful day for testing that I have ever had. When I arrived the reception staff were very helpful. I arrived early to meet the other teachers as I had planned a range of activities which would be used across two different years.

Meeting Sarah (the year 1 teacher) she suggested taking groups of six to the ICT room in there levels of literacy. This turned out to be very ideal as I now could test the artefact on different levels of skill and see how that changed the result.

The children arrived at 9:15 and strangely starting doing a wake up exercise. I haven't been to school in years but this certainly was a good way to wake the children up. Having previously met the class for artefact two (interview) the chidlren recognised who I was immediately because I was named 'the game lady'.

When conducting the first group it took a little longer than expected because I wasn't too sure what would be the best way to work with the children. I was testing a number of different artefacts because I only had the one day to test so it was decided to allow the children to colour in whilst one child was taken aside to test the matching game.

I did not realise how much you have to take into consideration when working with children but everything had to be timed. I managed to get four groups done and recieved alot of data but I will have to review this later on.

Whilst at the school I also managed to hand out diaries to children in year 5. I found a site called 'Moshi Monster' that claims to be a helpful learning resource and also very amusing. Speaking to Sarah she thought that this would be ideal for the age group. A letter explaining the aim of the project has been written to the parent and a diary has been included so hopefully fingers crossed I should have some results.

PRP - Fifth artefact, design update

Going into the school today so very excited but before I leave just wanted to post images of what I will be testing. My idea will be to test the participants by observing how they play the game and timing each game, noting each time they complete a level.

I am not sure how I will be working with the children but I will make sure that I report back after. Wish me luck!