Sarah's Blog

PRP - Ninth artefact, Designing stage 2

2010-05-10T05:15:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-09T04:56:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-08T08:37:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-07T08:23:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-06T08:07:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-02T09:27:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-02T09:09:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-01T07:42:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-29T06:44:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-29T04:39:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-28T02:40:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-26T01:39:00.000-07:00

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?

2010-04-22T10:11:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-21T00:04:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-20T03:38:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-19T16:02:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-19T03:02:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-18T13:57:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-17T12:38:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-17T09:18:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-14T06:55:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-10T13:17:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-05T11:02:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-04T10:20:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-03T14:27:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-03T09:32:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-03T07:17:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-02T15:49:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-01T14:08:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-01T13:07:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-26T08:12:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-23T14:13:00.000-07:00

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!!

2010-03-22T07:56:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-22T07:49:00.000-07:00

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!

Client project - Search Engine Optimisation

2010-03-21T13:15:00.000-07:00

Now that the site is nearing the finalisation stages I thought that it would be best to have the site up and running on google. Ashley provided me the link to instructions on how to upload a site onto google.

I have also included meta tags within the coding that will help better the websites chances at being the top of the google search list.

Having uploaded the street beatz site to google it is now third in the list which I am happy about because research has shown that the majority of people searching via google only look up to the third page before stopping. It came to my attention whilst doing this search test the name 'street beatz' is quite popular globally and though its on the first page of google, when you only type in the words 'street beatz' it nearer the bottom of the first page. Even though this is ok I want to try and push it closer to the top.

I am going to do some more research into how I can improve the SEO for the site and beat all of its competitors. I have spoken to Jess and it is agreed that I will also upload to bing and registar her with yell.com to put her in the business listings. I am hoping that this will increase the chances of the site becomming more popular as it will have more links to the site.

Having already got a google account I have created a google analytics account for the site so I can keep up to date on how many times the site has be viewed and which are the most popular pages. This will akso help me in my research as I can review back on which pages are the most popular, see what the average time spent on the site is and where the most popular link is to the actual site.

PRP - Fifth artefact, Boowa and Kwala website

2010-03-21T06:28:00.000-07:00

On my searches for game examples I came across this website Boowa and Kwala Home - songs, games, stories...

"Educational games and activities for preschool, kindergarten and primary school kids, or Boowa & Kwala fans of any age !"

The Boowa and Kwala website is a perfect example as to what is needed in schools the site offers games to childrens at all levels of study. The site provides a variety of options to choose from starting from a specific category i.e. pairs, paint, puzzles etc following the desicion the user is directed to another page asking which game to play.

What I liked about this page is it provides information for the parent/teacher by showing what skills the activity will help. The are not all the same as they have been designed to help develop skills in an education world.

I did get slighty confused as to where I was being directed when selecting a pairs game so that could be a potentail issue although this site has been designed to play games and if a child finds a game then I assume they will be more than happy to play any of the games provided.

It is clear that the designers have thought about the target audience when it comes down to the design. Bright colours have been incorporated within the overall design. I also noticed that sounds have been used when clicking on buttons or playing games. Like in my previous artefact positive and negative sounds have been used to clearly specify whats right and wrong.

These elements are are very simple yet prove to work with the younger target audience. I am pleased that I have found this site it has provided evidence to back up my previous research artefacts.

PRP - Fifth artefact, imagery used in matching pairs games

2010-03-20T05:43:00.000-07:00

When looking for ideas to inspire images for artefact five I decided to have a look at the matching pairs games that are actually out there. I looked at pairs games that are suitable for all levels and found four different examples.

The first game was a very basic game with simple icons. I got the impression that it would look like a simple desktop game (minesweeper, hearts etc) the pairing up was fairly slow however, having coded a pairs game I know that it is very difficult to code such things so I do not find this an issue.

I also noted that a timer had been added to the game giving the user the incentive to beat their personal skills.

The second game had a bit more detail and the shapes made it a bit more difficult to match the pairs up. What I liked about this game was that a points system was provided showing the user how many moves had been done and the score.

Seeing this gave myself the incentive of wanting to beat the personal score, time and reduce the amount of moves made. This proves that we need an incentive to complete games.

This game is particularly popular to me because I am very addicted to this game. The aim of Mahjong is to match the tiles however you can only select the free tiles. What draws me to this game is that you don't always win. Personally I find this addictive and aim to get one game complete but this can take many attempts.

This does not really provide a testing memory game but is a strong example of a matching pairs game.

These all provide good examples of what makes good ideas matching pairs games.

Client project - Global flash gallery

2010-03-19T12:37:00.000-07:00

Like mentioned in previous posts I could not get the 'Next Gen photo gallery' to work properly on the website. Reason being that the plugins main purpose was for acting as a side bar widget and not a main focal point of a website.

After discussions with Shaun it was agreed that the best plan of action would be a flash gallery. I initially thought of having a flash gallery in the site but chose not to because of users not having a flash player. However looking back the majority of the people that I know already have flash player downloaded and so I decided to go ahead with a flash gallery, besides it looks more fancy and I believe that it will be more appealing for a the younger target audience.

I came across the 'Global flash gallery' plugin and after looking at a number of different galleries this one looked the most user friendly. I was not only trying to find a smart gallery but I was also looking for a gallery that would be easy to handle by someone who is not familiar with Wordpress. With this gallery the user is able to select the images that they require put them into different albums i.e. classes, competitions, shows etc. The user will then be able to select the photo's that they would like to be shown in the gallery and simply click the 'create gallery' button. this automatically gives the user the option to create a flashy gallery. I opted for the most simplest gallery because of the audience that the website is targeted at. To publish the gallery the user presses the 'publish' button and the gallery plugin code is supplied. The user just has to copy and paste the code on the page where they want the gallery to show.

I am pleased by what I have achieved considering I have been working on the gallery for over a week and achieving little results and even though I am happy with the gallery there are a few issues that need to be raised when handing my project over to my client:
- Each gallery that is upload can only hold nine images. This could be the size of the image even though I minimised the image size and so Jess would will have to switch the images of each album.
- When Jess wants to upload images she will also have to change the size of the images. Luckily I know she has experience in Photoshop so I can easily shoe her how to do this when I hand over the website.

The gallery is now up and running in not only the gallery page but also for the uniform as Jess wanted images of the different items of uniform that could be purchased.

PRP - Fifther artefact. start of design designing

2010-03-19T07:29:00.000-07:00

Having decided what the artefact will be and having researched into different ideas I have decided to create four pair games with different images. The images that will be used are colours, shapes, words and TV characters.

The reason for why I have chosen these is because I want to stick to the learning aspect and research has shown that this colours, shapes and words are specific parts to a learning curriculum. TV characters have been included because I wanted to try and incorporate something that the children would recognise, maybe this could effect the way it has been designed?

I have included these changes within the flash game although this was not easy. I had to make sure that each piece of coding was adapted to seperate games. Problems that occurred included losing the sounding/animation and the overall game breaking. To resolve these problems each game has been put into seperate files with the seperate pieces of coding that is needed for each game.

The overal process was fairly straight forward but it is giving me a firmer understanding of working advanced actionscript coding.

SPP3 - The not so successful images

2010-03-19T05:41:00.000-07:00

Ok so I have been working on a few ideas for while now and I think that I have selected my final ideas, but that process wasn't simple and after going through a number of different designs I selected my final eight but thought I should share the ideas that were designed but not successful in the final outcome.

This image focused on only one shot of my personal portfolio, though the idea seemed good it was only presenting one image and I' prefer more than this.

This image exhibits more then one project however the audience see a minimal amount and so does not get the full outlook on the projects.

Again this shows four separate projects and unlike the previous project it shows the detail in each image, however I am not too keen in this general layout. I prefer the columns.

These are just a few of my extra designs but you can see in my previous blog posts that other design ideas have been designed for the assignment.

PRP - Fifth artefact, the use of imagery

2010-03-19T03:24:00.000-07:00

I found this paragraph very interesting when I was reading a research document on Teaching visual imagery for vocabulary learning, the article can be found here

Scott, et al (2003) stated that creating visual images is useful when learning new words associated with known concepts or when learning definitions. According to van den Broek and Kremer (2000), students use mental imagery in reading to depict key text elements such as events, facts, and setting and to illustrate meaningful relationships between elements. Visual imagery assists students in learning word meaning and in making better predictions and inferences (Center, et al, 1999). Pictures can cue students with learning disabilities with decoding unknown words, can decrease task complexity, and can assist in developing memory for the written word (van der Bijl, Alant, & Lloyd, 2006). Visual imagery, as it is conceptualized by the author's of this study, is supported by Paivio's (1971) dual coding theory which suggests that verbal and non-verbal information are represented and processed in distinct but interconnected mental subsystems. Additionally, using visual imagery requires students to personalize word meanings (principle one), to build on multiple sources of information (principle three), and to connect what is personally known to new vocabulary concepts (principle four) (Blachowicz & Fisher, 2000).

Briefly reading through the paper showed that students use images to remember things, including words. The main aim of the paper was to research into teaching strategies. Teachers are comfortable with their teaching methods that when they go on education programs, the teaching strategies used are rarely used because they are unsure as to how it works.

The paper continued to discuss a test which was conducted based around visual imagery against word representation. The outcome showed that the visual imagery ahd the most popular results.

My initial thought for imagery was to improve childrens design skills on the computer although after reading this paper it has shown a whole new outlook on how the imagery could be used. This will be both useful for this artefact and artefacts to come.

Client project - Next Gen gallery

2010-03-18T15:26:00.000-07:00

The Next Gen gallery has been ranked as one of the top photo galleries to be used by wordpress users. Its easy to use even for new users to wordpress and does require a flash player. Having also been stated in my wordpress book I thought that this would be ideal for the site...I was wrong.

It took me over 3 full days of work to try and get the gallery up and running however wordpress is completely new to me and still comming round to where all the files are suppose to be kept made the process of attempting to create the gallery even longer.

The user is greeted with a user friendly menu (left image) providing a straight forward step by step process on how to create your gallery. Starting by creating a gallery the user is able to create as many galleries/albums that they wish to use. The galleries and albums can also be created for the user if they wish to only use certain images as each gallery has an id number, the user simply has to change the id number the code provided (the code provided is just like the code produced from the contact form, shown in previous post).

Once you have added you images you can manage your gallery (image below). In the manage gallery section the user is allowed to add image descriptions, give the images titles for the users to see. Another section is also icluded to add details about the album i.e. add descriptions about the album. I did not use this part however I could see that it could be handy if the user had multiple albums.

Even though a slider effect (image would slide on to the screen) was included Next Gen gallery also allowed a Lightbox option though you had to have the plugin for this for it to work.

Even though the gallery sounded perfect and very user friendly it did not work for me. The first problem which occurred was that I could not alter the CCS code. However like I said before I am new to wordpress and without realising I had uploaded my CCS file to another folders when I had been previously working on the site. So whilst I was working on one file the wordpress site was pulling the information from another file.

Once this had been solved I managed (with help) to make the image display in line, but there's more. When I clicked on the images rather then displaying on the same page I was directed to another page. After days of working on the gallery I come to terms that I needed help.

With Shaun having a lot of knowledge on wordpress sites he immediately explained that the problem wasn't with what I has done but it was how I wanted to display the gallery. With wordpress being a site designed for blogs the Next Gen gallery was built to be a side bar widget, and so I was trying to ise it as a full gallery when its main purpose was for a side bar widget.

I understand this now but it is a little frustrating to know that the three days of trying to solve why it wouldn't work was all pointless because it was never built to work the way I wanted it too. But its good learning process and so its better that I know about it now rather then later.

Client project - Contact form

2010-03-17T14:33:00.000-07:00

Another requirement for the website was to jhave a contact form that would go directly towards Jess's current email address. I have set up email account in one.com that was provided with the hosting address however, Jess had already printed all of the lealfets off with her email address and so the obvious solution was to create a contact form that was would send to her current email, keeping everything together.

"Plugins can extend WordPress to do almost anything you can imagine. In the directory you can find, download, rate, and comment on all the best plugins the WordPress community has to offer."

The beauty about being on wordpress is that is provides users with endless of plugins that makes blogs/sites easier and better to use. In my Wordpress book and a suggestion made by Ashley I used a plugin called 'contact form 7'.

This plugin is a very simple and straight forward plugin and I will show you how:

1) find and activate the plugin (blue box) once it has been activated click on the 'contact' button (red box)

2) You will be opened to a page providing you with the contact form layout. This is the standard form that people want, if you require something different then click on the 'edit' tag under the contact button (that was previously clicked in the last instruction) here you can change the size of the size, input check boxes, quizes etc.

3) If you scroll down you will see how the form will be presented in the users inbox. In these boxes you have to add you email so the plugin knows where to send the form.

4) Once all settings are set scroll down to the bottom and click save. A piece of code (contact-form 1 "Contact form 1"]) will appear in the brown box at the top of the page (see in image 2) simply copy and paste that code on to the page you want it to appear and there you have one contact form.

I wanted my contact form to have smaller font then the rest of the site so I have created a new div and inputted into the page, creaing a new CSS rule for this. When I create the user guide I will have to make it clear to Jess that she must not delete any of these tags.

PRP - Fifth artefact ideas

2010-03-17T03:01:00.000-07:00

Results from artefact four came out quite positive. For the first time since conducting the research artefact my predictions were correct. By adding the sounds and animation made the general game play a lot easier for the child to understand how to play the game.

With my predictions correct I decided to take a new route in the research. While observing the children play the matching pairs game I noticed that a few of the children made comments about the imagery used within the game. This gave me the idea that imagery could have an effect on the game play and learning.

Through the research carried out so far I am starting to realise that games are used within schools and are proving to be a good support tool but I am now trying to see what subjects computer games could be beneficial for. The aim of this next artefact is to test whether different images would effect the pairs game.

Sticking to the research subject I am going to use images which consist of words, colours and shapes. Using these different images could work out whether the use of different images effects that game play. I plan to test school children for this artefact as I will be visiting the school on the 22nd and the previous artefacts suggested that new test subjects would be beneficial and provide better results.

I am unsure as to what to expect from this artefact, preferably maybe show that matching words will be more difficult as they are not a shape however like already said I am unsure as to what the outcome will be.

Supersized background image

2010-03-16T13:30:00.000-07:00

For one of the requirements Jess asked for the website to look specifically like the leaflet that has been produced so I was provided with a copy of the files used for the design of the leaflet.

Taking into consideration of different browsers, screen sizes and resolutions I had to think of a way to create an effect background that would appear the same in all of the things that I considered to be a problem (stated above). Having attempted to create a standard background in the HTML page which was unsuccessful a jquery plugin was mentioned called supersized.

Supersized was a plugin created to make any image fit the browser screen whilst still maintaining the image. In other words the user can resize the to constraint and the image would remain the same dimensio ratio (until the screen is too small).

Whilst this all sounded a good idea and simple instructions were provided it was not as easy as it was made out to be. Setting out the code was fine and I understood that the image had to be a certain constraint however some of the coding became quite hard to understand. One big problem that always occurred was that when the browser window changed size the image would slide down the screen, showing a white background...not very appealing. The problem? a simple change of CSS coding. The problem is shown below:

The CSS code that caused the problem

#supersize img, #supersize a{
height: 100%;
width: 100%;
top: 0;
left: 0;
position:absolute;
z-index: 0;
}

and the CSS code that solved the problem

#supersize img, #supersize a{
height: 100%;
width: 100%;
top: 0;
left: 0;
position:fixed;
z-index: 0;
}

As you can see it was a simple change by switching 'absolute' with 'fixed' however this took many hours of work as we believed that the problem was with the code inserted into the HTML, but we were wrong and have learnt from our mistakes.

Another problem that occured was that my supersized background worked fine in FireFox however did not work in Internet Explorer (what a surprise). Having tried different options including contacting the designer of the leaflet and redesigning the background myself I found a simple solution, changing the image from a 'jpeg' to a 'gif'. It now works fine across all the broswers. HOORAY!!

SPP3 - Catalogue Ideas 3

2010-03-15T16:48:00.000-07:00

My third attempt of designs are starting to give my work more of an effect so I feel that I am going in the right direction.

This image would show the users a variety of my work that I have produced over the years at university.

Since I found the transform tool in Photoshop I have felt the need to experiment with it, attempting to give the work a more 3D feel.

Not very keen on this idea. I was trying to experiment with layers but I feel that I was unsuccessful but I like the idea of incorporating my logo in with the design.

I like this idea. I have only stuck to three pieces of work but I have merged three separate pages from each of the sites together giving the viewer more visuals on each project.

PRP - Fourth artefact evaluation

2010-03-15T02:46:00.000-07:00

The results collected from artefact 3 were clear; having observed the children whilst conducting the test immediately showed that the child needs to have an incentive to continue game play.

The aim of artefact 4 was to test the use of sounds and animation. Pursing the creation of the pair’s game, positive and negative sounds were included within the game play with a ‘well done’ animation inserted at the end of the game. The aim was to test to see whether positive sounds changed the child’s reaction during the game play.
Results received from the artefact were positive. The results showed that the added sound effects gave the participants the enthusiasm to pursue the game play.

Observation showed that the child’s behaviour changed because the sounds represented a correct/incorrect answer making the general game play clearer to understand. Adding the animation also made it clear to the participant that the game was completed; this was another issue from the previous artefact that needed to be addresses.

During the testing a few of the participants made comments about the images used. If the option was given to redo the test then possibly changing the imagery from the previous test would have been beneficial as the same participants had been used for the same tests and this could have potentially affected the results.

With the results proving that positive sounds and animation make an impact on the game play the decision has been made to a different aspect of the game. Like previously mentioned children commented on the imagery. The next test will be based around imager. The aim will be to see whether the type of image used makes an impact on the game play. This will also test to see which imagery will work most successfully in a learning environment.

SPP3 - Catalogue Ideas, sticking to the right size

2010-03-14T10:47:00.000-07:00

Having previously said before that I was struggling with compressing my work into boxes I thought that I should think of how to get around this. I found a simple solution and that is Photoshop editing.

The people who see the catalogue wouldn't know any different as they are only seeing the image on paper and so I think that I will have a look at how I can make my work stand out more by editing them in Photoshop.

Below is an example of how I have changed a screenshot to make the image look of a higher standard in a small area.

As you can see I have put them in order starting from the original image followed by the cropped image and finishing with the image that I edited in Photoshop. As you can see the Photoshop image has managed to include all of the main features whereas the standard cropped image shows little detail and does not really show people the whole design.

I have seen previous catalogue designs and the ones that look the most impressive have the full site in view.

SPP3 - Catalogue Ideas 2

2010-03-12T10:23:00.000-08:00

Bearing in mind that we have a 11cm x 11cm space I thought that I would experiment with different templates as like we said in the previous lecture each student can do what they want with their own page.

I want to show various ideas so I though the best way to do that is have multiple boxes in which I can place my work in. Examples of these are shown below.

Having a template does give me the opportunity to exhibit more of my work so I think that I might take this approach. Though I am struggling to work with the spacing, I can't fit the work into the boxes that I want so this is something that I am going to look into later on.

SPP3 - Catalogue Ideas

2010-03-10T08:50:00.000-08:00

Below are some more ideas on how to advertise the catalogue.

(This one was Ashley's idea but I was just testing to see what it looked like, will not be using this idea)

PRP - Fourth artefact, BBC interview

2010-03-10T02:34:00.000-08:00

I came across this interview when searching for ideas. Derek Robertson who is apart of the consolarium (in previous posts) has an interview with the BBC. Robertson is trying to put the point across that computer games have proved to be successful in a learning environment.

Whereas the opposing side 'Michele Ledda' argues that using computing games is a bad choice. Ledda believes that the key way to motivate children are the teachers themselves. Ledda also thinks that computer games will soon make the teachers roles less important. If children believe that computer games are the source to learning then why should they listen to teachers? This is a point that I believe but I don't think that games should be completely wiped out of the learning system as they have been proven to be beneficial.

Robertson makes a good point at how its a new form of learning for not only maths and science but social skills. What we don't realise is that all games have some sort of learning outcome. What would be ideal is if a balance between gaming and learning was evolved. The teachers need to stay in control but, games are very strong supporting resource.

This interview has backed up my theory written in my research document and my opinion still stays the same, games should be in schools.

PRP - Fourth Artefact, can games be motivational?

2010-03-08T02:14:00.000-08:00

The issue with artefact three was that the children had to be continuously encouraged and praised in order for any progression to occur. A reason why I chose the subject of games and learning was because I genially believe that gaming could be the key to the support of some pupils. Everyone has different methods and I think this could be a possibility.

I came across the 'consolarium' whilst writing my research document and this company has the same theory as myself. Searching the website I came across a page describing reasons why gaming could help students.

The piece below has been taken from the page.

To develop successful learners the Consolarium argues that computer games can:

* act as a powerful motivational context
* provide powerful contexts for challenging and demanding problem solving
* implicitly develop the science model of enquiry in terms of developing learners ability to observe hypothesise, test, evaluate, conclude and refine ideas
* allow other curricular areas to be explored, enriched and excited by using the context within the game or by using the game as a context to jump into the more traditional curriculum
* provide contexts in which metacognitive awareness and development are essential for success. This means that the player must think about their thinking and understand they are a complex individual who can develop an awareness of how they think and learn and in so doing become an equal partner with the ‘more informed teacher’ in terms of the learning relationship.

As you can see I have highlighted the top quote. This was the problem which occurred when testing artefact three.

What I would like to find out however is what draws the child to play the game. From what I can see the consolarium tests the games on children, but do they actually know which components of a game keeps the child interested? Results from artefact three showed that encouragement is needed (prizes, incentives, levels etc), without any encouragement would the child actually play the game/? My results say that they would not.

Full details of the article can be found here

SPP - Image ideas

2010-03-07T14:21:00.000-08:00

Starting on the new task of creating new images for task 2 I had a think about how to advertise my images. Below are some images on what I have created today. It's working progress but it's a start.

I got the inspiration from browsing through previous catalogues, these certain designs were the ones that caught my eye, the ones that made the web designs stand out. It wasn't until I started designing that I realised that it will be qutie difficult to capture a good image of a web site. The image after all will be all that the people at the exhibition will see.

So below are a few examples of ideas that I designed, some work and some don't but it has given me a good starting point.

All the sizes are different as the template that will be chosen for the catalogue will have different size images.

catalogue

2010-03-07T08:01:00.000-08:00

PRP - Fourth artefact design

2010-03-06T07:02:00.000-08:00

Well the design work is under way and it is going pretty well, even though I'm still struggling with the coding I am slowly making good progress. As you can see in the image below the current state of the game is just a basic matching pairs game with no sound, buttons, levels or animations. As I previously said that I wanted to add an incentive to the game to give the child encouragement to continue to playing I decided to opted for positive sound effects and animation.

I have kept the same 6x6 grid (something to possibly change at a later stage) so they only have to make eight matches.

Having to think about how to give the child positive feedback in a digital form was quite hard. Having already decided that a simple animation would be placed at the end of the game I had to think about how to draw the children to carry on playing. The only solution that I could think about was using sounds. When the child made a match they would receive a positive sound, and if no match then a negative sound.

Finding the sounds was the easy part it was the animation that was the most time-consuming. I had to create a new scene because there were a lot of tweens, also having the animation on a separate scene made the flash layout easier to understand and locate things.

I had to also consider what animation to design as I did not want to make an animation that would be more appealing towards the girls or the boys. Thanks to my housemates advice I chose to go for balloons, like a party. After many hours of creating balloons I managed to complete the animation and place it in the coding.

I've tested it and it all works well, the next phase is put it to the real test...the children.

Client Project - Website drop down menu

2010-03-05T14:36:00.000-08:00

Well it has taken me nearly 7 hours to create the final version of the drop down menu but it's now done and I am happy with the outcome but below is a short story board on how I got to my final stage.

1) First attempt of creating the drop down menu proved to be harder then anticipated, working with the alignment seemed to be impossible to get right, I found the code via the web (see previous post) however once opened the code there were many CSS elements that I did not understand even when I played around with every CSS rule.

2) As you can see I continued to work on this drop down menu and managed to get it to work to the websites look. The sub menus aligned well in firefox however, when I opened it in Internet Explorer I found that it did not work correctly. The 'hover' statement doesn't work on Internet Explorer and so after an hour or so of trying to tackle the problem I had to admit defeat and try a new piece of code.

3) Finding another code I thought more about the design, whenever I inserted a menu it would appear in a rectangle shape and it did not look right to me next to the logo, so I created a shape that I could put behind the menu giving it a more rounded edge effect. Finding a new code (WebDesignerWall) which I could easily implement meant that I could edit the code of the menu to blend in with the background.

4) As you can see in the image above the initial design had a pinky/red coloured background but it did not look right to me so working with a few colours I tried using it with a black background, and if you look below this is the most recent image of my work.

It may not look much but I'm happy with it and this is the actual site loaded onto Wordpress. I have been testing it across the browsers and apart from the background image on Internet Explorer like I previously mentioned it all seem to be working very well. My plans for the weekend now consists of getting the entire layout completed on Wordpress before tackling the plugins to get the gallery and comments up and running.

Client Project - Suitable drop down menus

2010-03-05T12:41:00.000-08:00

I wanted to make the streetbeatz website look as clean and user friendly as possible and so I decided that a drop down menu would be a good idea...though a little bit harder then your average menu.

When creating a drop down menu you have to take into consideration the different cross browsers, not to mention checking everything else because you need to make sure that the layout is compatible with all the browsers. The drop down menus has the same effect. Certain browsers are only compatible with certain CSS rules.

I tried creating my own drop down menus however none would work across Internet Explorer so I looked over the Internet for some suitable codes that I could perhaps work with.

CSS Play

CSS Play provided a good example of a CSS drop down menu, the article said that it was compatible across all browsers and even pointed out the bugs that occurred in IE6. However on reading further I noticed that the article/coding had not been updated since 2006 which meant that this coding may not be up to date with the current browsers.

Pure CSS menu

Pure CSS menu was an application that allows the user to easily create a drop down menu on the site. It gives you the option to change the colour, font and sizes. I had a go at it and it seemed pretty straight forward however when I tried to edit it I found it quite hard to understand the CSS coding and so thought that it would be wise if I created a drop down menu through a tutorial, that way I would follow the coding and would understand it which will enable me to edit the coding.

WebDesignerWall

As we all go on this site for some handy tips it was this one that I finalised my design for my menu with. The coding was explained in way that made the CSS a lot easier to understand. However I tried to edit the drop down menu I had to mix the coding up a bit because I could not get the code to go horizontal.

It has just shown me that creating a CSS drop down menu really isn't as easy as I thought it would be however I have found a lot of sources that could help me for future references.

Client Project - Wordpress upload

2010-03-04T15:40:00.000-08:00

Well the beginning stages of uploading the site to Wordpress has begun so its full steam ahead and a lot of work in the next couple of weeks. Today Ashley showed me how to upload the site onto Wordpress and it's not as bad as I thought, obviously I received help (again thank you Ashley) but once you get the basics it quite straight forward and I think it will be a lot more user friendly for Jess.

As you can see in the left image the dashboard does look quite complicated however I intend to provide Jess with a user guide and will walk through the site with her to explain the different elements. The Dashboard is the first thing that Jess will see when she opens the page, I must clearly specify that the only pages that she will need to edit will be under the 'Pages' tab.

Each of the the pages will be provided with a simple text box where Jess could easily change the text.

I am still unsure as to how to edit the images yet but that will be next weeks job my aim for this weekend is to set the whole website out including the menu. I also need to test it across browsers but like I said the display of the site is the main aim.

I found it quite difficult to figure out the plugins but I think that this will be something that I will have to research further into. I need these plugins for the gallery, contact form and the comments page so this is definitely something that I will focus on next week.

I am pleased that its now on Wordpress as this was a big part that was worrying me however it is now up and technically running so fingers crossed I will make progress over the weekend but I will keep you all informed.

PRP - Fourth artefact, positive feedback

2010-03-02T15:06:00.000-08:00

The results from the last artefact showed that the only reason the child continued to play the game was because he received positive feedback from me so it made me think maybe the game needs a reward at the end or positive feedback throughout. So I thought I would work around the idea of positive sounds.

I found an articles that discussed the issues between positive and negative feedback when playing a game. The article made a clear point that there has to be a balance between positive and negative feedback.

"While positive feedback has the effect of protecting a lead, negative feedback does the opposite. Negative feedback either constrains the player in the lead, or gives an advantage to the player or players trailing."

Positive and negative feedback differs in a multi player game (see example here). You have to make sure that you balance out the feedback. For example the players in the lead will have a more positive reaction because they have a chance at winning whereas the players who are not winning automatically lose interest because they are not gaining anything whilst playing.

When it comes to a single player game (what I will be testing) you still have to think strategically about balancing positive and negative feedback. If the game is too hard it could work in two ways; the player could get frustrated because of the difficulty of the game giving out a negative reaction or this could give the player more drive to want to complete the game.

On the other hand if the game was provided in an easier format where the player can complete the level/game then the player will perhaps be more positive towards the game and will want to persist in the game play.

Overall this is a tough subject to decide on and hopefully once I create and test my artefact I will get a clearer idea in the subject.

PRP - Fourth artefact ideas

2010-03-01T02:06:00.000-08:00

When tested the the third artefact the results showed that the children enjoyed the interaction with the game but lost attention quite quickly in order to get out of this positive feedback was to given to the child, this made the child more enthusiastic and more enthusiastic to continue the game. In previous blogs you can see that in my previous artefact I created not only a matching game but I also created a digital version of the matching pairs game.

As the coding is quite technical I could only create a matching pairs game where the child had to match the pictures together as opposed to my hand made game where the child had to match the picture to the word. Giving that the results showed that children need positive feedback to keep playing I thought that I can test sounds/rewards. If I added sounds to when the children match the cards (make a pair - positive sound, make no pairs - negative sound) my aim is to see if the children show more of a response to the game if a reward was at the end, this could be animation for this artefact.

From doing this artefact I hope to see what the childs next response will be, whether adding positive sounds/feedback will change the childs reactions at all to the game, I am not too sure on what the outcome will be as I thought the child would enjoy the game in the previous artefact. The results could also show me that this game isn't even the right game for the age group (even though research suggest this game)

I have started updating the game now so shall blog my next designs shortly.

Client Project - Website CSS

2010-02-25T14:34:00.000-08:00

The CSS has now been pretty much put in place and the images on each page are fitting in nicely but like the background this wasn't an easy task either. Having started the designing last week I thought it would be a simple task. I had managed to set the master div up but this went wrong.

I had not tested the coding in Internet Explorer and when tested the layout was completely wrong. (Please ignore the background as this was test)

The alignment was all wrong and so after many attempts I came to the choice to restart from scratch, I knew the layout but I thought it was best to restart the site and test it on both browsers. I managed to get the layout look correct on both browsers however the CSS for images I still had a few problems with.

Though I think the main issue was with the image I tried to use.

Once I had all of the CSS put together I found it easy to create the rest of the pages. The main layout is pretty much all there however I have to add a couple more templates before I can will put it into wordpress.

I am quite happy with the outcome so far, its still looking a bit scruffy but I intend to work on the CSS to add shadows and jazz up the font a bit. I am deciding on how to display the timetable so some designs will be put up shorty. The colours as you can see are still being worked on but its slowly getting there.

I am still a bit anxious about inputting the site into wordpress but I have planned to have the site finished in three weeks...looks like a lot of hard work to come.

Client Project - Website Background

2010-02-25T13:43:00.000-08:00

Today has been good progress on the website though it has been a very long day full of coding and editing the pictures but I am happy with the progress made. One of the issues that I had to deal with today however was the background.

In the final choice design Jess liked the design with the current leaflet background. This was all well however, actually doing that was a lot harder than anticipated. I started off with the basics by putting it in the CSS background however as you can see in the picture below the image just repeats itself. This would make it look unprofessional so I needed to find I solution that would prevent the background image from repeating.

Myself and Ashley researched into a number of different methods that could work. Looking at pure CSS codes, it gave the user a full image but the image was stuck to one size, so the user would not see the whole image.

A piece of code that Ashley has been using is called 'supersized' its a piece of Javascript that stretches the image to any size resolution.

As you can see the image has been stretched,it works well in Firefox but I could not test it in Internet Explorer. The images that I was sent from the designer would not be excepted so I need to email Jess to get hold of the designer of the graphics to see if he can send me anymore files.

Client Project - Website Update

2010-02-25T03:12:00.000-08:00

Well the website is underway and I'm hoping to get the main template of the of whole website finished by this week ready to start WordPress next week. I have had a few little gliches that have not only been annoying but frustrating to try and work out but I think I have managed to solve it...well at least for now I have.

As you can see I have added a temporary background just so you can get an idea on what it will look like but I am unsure about this at the moment, it just seems a little too much red. I have tried not making the picture of the girls not red to try and tone tone it down which makes it a little better but it still needs tweaking.

I would also like to try and make the navigation bar stand out so maybe add a bar behind it to make it more obvious to users that it is the navigation bar.

As you can see in the image above I have tried to make the background darker and I have had mix opinions. Some like it and some don't so again its something I will be playing around with.

I have be having problems with the layers, as everything overflows the container div alot of the div's have margins. I was struggling to align the text with the image and getting the master div to move in according to the amount of text being inputted. I tried changing all of the CSS settings but for two days I was just going round in circles. My final outcome that actually works was putting the picture div in the text div, making the image aligined with the text and the container div change with the amount of text used.

I have started reading up about the Wordpress and so we start with that next week giving me three weeks to get my head around this new program.

PRP - Third artefact evaluation

2010-02-22T06:54:00.000-08:00

Artefact 3 proved to be more of a challenge to decide as the results from artefact 2 resulted in a number of different outcomes. Through discussions it was decided that the best route to take was to create a game to test how a child would react throughout the game play. Research showed that a ‘matching pairs’ game was a good game to use in research, this game was created both computer/non-computer based. This was to see how the children responded to a game in different format.

Conducting this test showed me there are other elements to the game that have to be taken into consideration. From the start of playing the game the children enjoyed the interaction with both games (trying to find the pairs) yet after a few attempts the children began to lose interest. Positive feedback was continuously being used to give the children the incentive to continue the game play. The outcome shows that perhaps the game itself is not the only main aspect but other components need to be included in order to make a successful game.

The results collected were useful and showed that children respond well when receiving positive feedback however looking back the artefact, ideally more test subjects were needed to gain stronger results. Working with children was always going to have constraints however more test subjects would have provided solid evidence and would be a lot clearer.

With the results showing that feedback was needed for the child to stay focused the next artefact will look into this issue. I intend to use the computer version of the pair’s game but add positive sounds and an animation at the end of the game, giving the children an incentive to complete the game.

Client Project - Creating website

2010-02-17T03:04:00.000-08:00

Ok so I have posted a blog about client in a while but its mainly because I have been trying to finish spp module but I have started creating the site, well at least the template.

So this is the current layout that I have done so far. I don't have a screen print but I have also made a template that has set the image of the dancer to be on the left hand side, just under the logo. As for the colours these are not set I am using these just until I create the right background.

So far its going ok and I am just waiting for Jess to email me over the content needed for the site but knowing her she will reply asap as she's eager to get the site up and running. Once the content is here its just a matter of inputting the content and working on the CMS. My Wordpress book also arrived on Monday and it looks very useful so I am going to have a tackle with that over the next week.

Even though there's still a lot of work I am happy with my progress I will be aiming to get it finished a week early as I am returning home for a few days for my research project and so I am also going to take this chance to tweak and test on Jess's actual dancers and see what they want.

Spp3 - And the final results are....

2010-02-16T08:59:00.000-08:00

So over the past few months I have been researching into different courses and Jobs that I can look into for future reference and complete an application for. After the long list (see below) I have now come to my decision for my final 8 choices....and not only that I have selected which I am going (mock) apply for.

So for the postgraduate courses I looked at the following universities:
- University of Glamorgan
- Edinburgh Napier University
- University of central Lancashire
- Middlesex University
- Kingston University
- Arts University college Bournemouth
- Brunel University
- Goldsmiths London

and my chosen final four are:

- University of Bristol
- University of Westminster
- London College of Communication
- University of Hertfordshire

I will be applying for the University of Bristol because this was the course that I have the most interest for, all will be explained in the rationale.

And for the jobs I looked at the following adverts:
- MacPeople recruitment
- Junior Digital designer - Blue Skies
- Junior Creative designer online marketing - UK2.Net
- Aquent
- Junior Designer - Nakama
- Microsoft MACH scheme
- Web designer with CSS for web 2.0

and my chosen final four are:

- Junior web interface designer - Star guided media
- Guru careers design design graduate - Guru careers
- Flash developer - Mind Candy
- Game Artist - Playfish

I will be applying for the job at playfish because doing some research I found that

Client Project - Website Update

2010-02-15T13:44:00.000-08:00

Well the website is underway and Jess has been helping me in anyway that she can, when I ask for content, the content is ready and we're currently in the process of buying a domain name so its all systems go.

I have been trying to sort out a CMS for Jess for when I finish with the site and I need to show her how to change the details of the website. My main aim is to learn the WordPress layout so I have purchased a book edited by Smashing Magazine, it will hopefully aid me in my editing. However I have to come to terms on how to work Wordpress.

If I do not succeed in WordPress then there are many open source CMS that I can use, I just wanted to use WordPress because its the most popular blogging program, has useful plugins and has ratings when it comes to usability.

PRP - Third Artefact computer design

2010-02-15T13:40:00.000-08:00

As shown in the previous post I created a game where the children would have to match the picture to the word. When thinking about testing the game I thought about my main research 'computer games' so I thought alongside the memory game that I had already created I would also create a computer version of the game.

So far I have learnt that coding a matching game is not very easy at all and very technical but if I want to learn then I'm going to have to carry on with the coding. I am not sure how many pairs I am going to have but I may keep it quite simple to start off with.

There were some issues that I had to overcome but also gave me a stronger understanding on the coding. Classes were used when creating this document which I was not very familiar with however they proved to be very useful and makes the coding a lot more user friendly. The entire pairs game was created in a single movie clip making it a lot easier to alter the cards, I did not realise this until I started focusing on the coding. With the cards in one place it makes it easier to change the amount of cards.

However working on this project will not only help with my research project but also my personal portfolio.

Spp3 - London college of communication 10

2010-02-15T09:55:00.000-08:00

This is the final course that I am going to post because this course is the final piece to my puzzle. I have now chosen my four jobs and this course will be my fourth chosen postgraduate course.

Based in London College of Communication Like I said in my previous post it seems that I have got most success at finding a postgraduate course when searching for interactive media/design. London college of communication offers an Interactive media course.

About the course
This dynamic MA course, one of the longest-established in the field, is designed for people who want to work in interactive media, website creation and interactive art.. It combines theory and practice, covering conceptualisation, planning, design, coding, production, project management and usability testing. As a student you will be encouraged to explore, experiment and take risks.

LCC has an outstanding team of practitioners and published researchers and enjoys a powerful programme of visiting speakers. The course also benefits from a cross-European collaboration with media industry professionals and higher education institutions and there is an opportunity to visit at least one other centre in Europe during the course.

I think what caught my eye is they claim to be the longest established MA course in the field. If this is true then they must know quite a lot of information. Its based in London so I can move there, though the fees are pretty expensive £4,075 to be exact.

I meet the requirements needed so really its just a choice of where I would ideally like to go? Having now picked my final four I need to narrow it

Spp3 - University of Hertfordshire 10

2010-02-15T03:48:00.000-08:00

Having taken an interest in interaction design courses I thought that I would conduct a search based on based on this, and I came across the University of Hertfordshire's course called Interactive Media.

Interactive Multimedia (Information Design) is an award inside the Postgraduate Media Programme. Throughout contemporary networked culture, multimedia is a main form of communication for reporting factual information, for providing explanations, for the sharing of ideas, and for various social and economic transactions.

The effective design of these types of interaction brings together a detailed design understanding of visual and sonic elements, of the ways users may behave, and a body of technical knowledge and skills. In Interactive Multimedia (Information Design) there is an interest in things like web pages, point-of-sales and point-of-information displays, public space guides, screen and sound based instruction manuals for products and processes, information architecture in virtual spaces, the interface of databases and other information resources.

Interactive Multimedia Design is about the careful design of interfaces that communicate clearly, accurately, effectively. It is concerned with understanding people, developing Design Heuristics, and creating artefacts that work well. There is an emphasis on design-for-purpose, on usability, legibility of text, image and interactivity itself.

What interests me about this course is that its main content is about the front end designing, not just for digital aspects i.e. computers but also focuses on point of sale and usability.

It is just under a hour and 30 minutes away from home so I am happy with distance and the fees are not badly priced this potentially a contender for the final four. Having looked through quite a few courses I can now see a pattern on what I am looking for in postgraduate courses.

Spp3 - The Arts University College Bournemouth 9

2010-02-14T07:21:00.000-08:00

Its stupid really why I have never looked into this university considering that I've already been there and I know about the courses. Initially the Arts Institute Bournemouth the name has now changed but I found a course that I have taken a liking to its a Masters in Interactive Media.

Reading the course structure it seems very vague and open for 'artists' to do as they please though all the Masters are set in the same structure...or so says the courses description.

The Interactive Media pathway supports advanced artists and designers who wish to develop and refine their practice in and through a wide range of digital media.
This pathway is of particular relevance for practitioners wishing to engage directly with skills in interaction design, installation and user-centered design, whilst challenging perceptions of the production and delivery of content in this new-media world. This pathway provides the support necessary for such personal professional development: an informed critical environment, the use of professional creative design methodologies and exposure to industry-standard design and development processes. Areas of continuing interest that provide starting points for individual work include Future Cinema, Sensate Spaces, Interactive Narrative, Digital Post-Production and Web 2.0 Technology.

As you can see the description is very vague but I know that this University is recognised for a top graduates pass rate and would look very good on my CV. Another bonus is that its only 30 minutes away from Southampton so that would make living costs a lot cheaper, doing this I could potential do it part time and work as I study gaining work experience and a qualification.

Fees for a full time is £3,600 per annum and £1,800 per annum for part time. Doing this would mean that I would have to hold London for another couple of years so there are many issues to consider but its a strong option.

Spp3 - Kingston University London 8

2010-02-14T04:15:00.000-08:00

This course would probably suit more virtual environment students but I don't care because I like learning/want to learn new skills. Kingston University has a Masters course called 3D Computer Generated Imagery.

What you will study?
In the introductory part of the course, common across all DMI courses, you will develop a specialised practice of your own whilst participating in digital media team production processes such as iterative design and agile development, along with project management skills.

The second part of the course is shared with the Games Development MA/MSc students and develops a portfolio of project work including modelling skills, shading, lighting, rendering, animation and rigging and associated skills such as rotoscoping and match moving.

In the specialist modules there is a strong emphasis on digital modelling and texturing with the option of character rigging, and developing innovative project work that can be produced in collaboration with other students from across the whole suite.

For your final project you will take a professional role (e.g. shading/texture supervisor, digital painter, shading TD, texture artist/texture painter etc.) in a team with students from the other courses to produce a professional piece of work.

The course has a strong industry panel including Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, DreamWorks and Samsung Design Europe, this is a bonus. But the course offers a door to good internships and work placements. Being in London I think that that would be very very useful.

I have read through what the modules consist of and from looking at them they have a varied tasks, but they have included mobile computing which is interesting seeing as this course is computer imagery.

I don't think I will apply for this course however the whole aim of the course itself really interests me and the subject is something that I would like to pursue in the future perhaps when I have finished university.

PRP - Third Artefact design

2010-02-14T03:44:00.000-08:00

Having decided that creating a memory game would be appropriate for my third artefact I have designed a simple game that I am going to test on the children. To make it more educational I found out via research that one teaching method was to have the children match the picture with the word, so the game is potentially helping there learning.

How did I make the artefact?

Going back to my art attack roots I cut up two pieces of card. I have used two different colours, one that represents the word and the other the picture. Next I found clipart images of different objects/animals that I know young children can recognise. I next simply drew these images and the wrote the word and hey presto!! you now have one memory game ready to be tested.

As I cannot test this on the school children until March 22nd I have found another group of children that I can test this game on until I get to the school. The main reason why I want to test these artefacts on the same children is because I will get a more fairer results.

"It's possible to train a child's mind to catalog information even when it's not that interesting to the child. Prime your child's mind for remembering details and paying attention to the task at hand by using fun memory games and consistent encouragement and praise. "
Match and Reading help website

I found this small article how parents can teach children simple addition and subtraction via the use of memory games and imagery. It states that children have strong observational skills and if your patient they will start to remember different things. This is one of the reasons as to why I have chosen this aspect of learning. I will show my results via a camera and watching how the child reacts to the game.

Spp3 - MacPeople Recruitment 10

2010-02-13T14:40:00.000-08:00

This will be my last job search as I've come across now 10 different potential jobs that I have taken an interest to, in the right location and offer a good wage for the job. The final job advert was from a recruitment agency called MacPeople.

Browsing through the website it looks as though MacPeople recruit for all different sectors of the creative world. Though what I noticed that was different to other recruitment agencies was that they recruit for people wanting to move to Sydney. I don't really want to do that but its interesting to know that they give the option.

They offer freelance work and permanent work places so they make it suitable for most designers needs. I came across two jobs actually that I took an interest to quite similar but different titles, in London and with a good wage.

Job 1
Title: Graphics/Web Assistant
Office: London Location: Surrey Salary: 20,000...25,000
Large organisation need a Marketing Assistant to support their Sales and Marketing teams in providing research, administrative and project based support. Needs someone who is detail conscious and flexible who can multitask. Ideally you will have some knowledge of both web and print methodologies. Experience of Quark/Indesigne Photoshop and Dreamweaver are needed Managing the company website content, design development and branding ensuring consistency of the branding is adhered to, producing work for on line and printed materials including Posters, banners etc.

Job 2
Title: Junior Web Designer
Office: London Location: London Salary: £25,000
Leading fashion retailer have an exciting opportunity on to join their digital team. You will have the chance to be involved in all aspects on-line marketing including emails,banners and landing pages. You will be responsible for maintaining and updating all site content and product information and making sure that concepts are consistent and clearly communicated. Previous experience in a digital/e-commerce team is essential as is some level of a retail or fashion creative environment.

Both jobs look interesting though I think I prefer the second advert purely because it would be working for a fashion retailer, not sure who for but the other adverts that I have been looking at have been for the standard web site design agencies.

The wage is good for both but I like the work aspect of job 1, purely because they want someone to work with both online and print so the job offers various aspect of work.

PRP - Third Artefact: What is memory?

2010-02-12T12:02:00.000-08:00

Basing that my third artefact is based around the memory game it made me wonder, why is researching into memory so important? I chose to create this artefact based on when browsing through the internet it was these games that seemed to be the most popular.

I came across an article based on memory. Through this article I found out what memory actually was, the difference between short and long-term memory and general guidelines on how to improve your memory.

You can find the link to the article here.

The parts of the article that I found particularly interesting was based mainly on how to exercise your brain and improve your memory. It was information which I should really already know but I never really thought about it until now. So the main aspects that I should try and look at when creating a memory game is:

- Is the child paying attention, for you to remember things you need to be focused.
- Taylor your information to your learning needs (some people are better at reading information and some are better at listening)
- Involve as many senses as possible, use colours, textures and sounds to represent the objects you wish to remember.
- Relate information to what you already know, build on information that you already know if you relate it to things you already know then you will gradually improve your memory.
- Organize your information, place information into categorizes i.e. addresses, birthdays etc
- Understand and be able to interpret complex material, understand the basic idea of complex material, if you can explain the basic material to someone else then you will remember more.
- Rehearse information frequently and "over-learn", go over what you learnt the same day you learn it. Cram the information in so it becomes second nature.
- Be motivated and keep a positive attitude, if you want to learn it and keep telling yourself that then you will remember it because you want to remember it.

The article is very interesting for my project but for other people so I say have a read of it.

Spp3 - Junior Digital Designer 9

2010-02-12T11:00:00.000-08:00

I thought that I would expand my search for a job and look elsewhere besides London and I came across this advert.

Company: Blue Skies
Location: Warwickshire
Industry Sector: Automotive, B2B, Creative Design Agency
Job Type: Contract
Work Experience Level: Assistant / Graduate
Salary: £18,000 to £20,000 per annum
The agency are an award winning one and have a number of clients in the automotive and FMCG sector and they are now looking for a Junior Digital Designer to join their team for 12 months due to growth.

The role of Junior Digital Designer will be based around an internet system and will consist of:
• generating lead design look and feel for the system
• proactively reviewing the system and testing new technologies to use
• building and amending site construction
• using Photoshop and Word to create page layouts and navigation

To be considered for the role of Junior Digital Designer, you must:
• be an experienced designer who can work within constraints of an existing corporate identity
• have a basic knowledge of Flash with the desire to learn more
• competent in using both MAC and PC, Photoshop and Word
• have a strong awareness of design and web usability
• have experience of client liaison

Apply now to avoid disappointment.

Junior Digital Designer - 12 month fixed term contract - 18,000 - 20,000 - ASAP - Warwickshire.

The job to me seems very basic in comparison to other jobs that I have looked at but what caught my eye was that they want someone who has the desire to learn more. Looking at the advert now however it seems a bit insulting to graduates. The main criteria that they want is someone who has basic knowledge of flash and competent in word and photoshop. I can safely say that the majority of our entire course is competent in those programs.

I am starting to notice that employees cannot see the potential of graduates and rather then even considering them they are just stating that they are looking for people with experience. Give us a chance we have gone to university to learn some new skills, we can do the job.

Update for exhibition

2010-02-11T08:34:00.001-08:00

Spp3 - Middlesex University 7

2010-02-11T05:53:00.000-08:00

Having come across interaction design in a number of different courses I thought that I would actually look at an interaction design course. Middlesex University popped up and the course looks quite interesting though its verging more towards the product design side.

You will develop the ability to apply systematic techniques to conduct research to analyse the needs of users, create innovative product designs to address these needs, construct physical and screen-based interactive prototypes that can be used to evaluate the usability of the design concepts they embody and the user experiences they engender.

You will develop your ability to function as a member of a design team as well as your ability to conduct individual research-style projects, and present the results in high-quality written reports and presentations.

The programme is built around development of a five-point generic skill set

Understanding people and what motivates them;
Designing the best possible interaction experience for users of products and services;
Building experience prototypes to communicate across product development teams, to user-test new product concepts and to make compelling proposals;
Work productively as design teams on real-world, professional level projects;
Engage with leading edge research to develop the next generation of interaction experiences, for products and services with a tangible market advantage.

What interested me was that the main focus was on the user interaction experience design and the as such the design of the game. From the description it looks as though they want the students to gain a stronger insight as to what the best design solution is when it comes to the computer interaction experience.

A disadvantage is the fee and its not cheap. At £5,400 this course doesn't come cheap and with this in mind it means I am going to be alot more in dept. It is further south nearer London which is great but its just not appealing enough for me to agree to pay so much for a course, possible idea would be to go part time.

After looking at quite a few courses now I think that I've got an idea as to which courses I would go for but there are so many courses out there that I didn't realise and this research has helped me see this.

Spp3 - Junior Creative Designer Online Marketing 8

2010-02-11T03:24:00.000-08:00

Yes on Gumtree once again and this job was the first one I saw today.

Company: UK2.Net
Location: City of London
Job Type: Full Time – Permanent

Junior Creative Designer – Online Marketing

Background

UK2 has been a major player in the web hosting industry since 1998. We have been a profitable company since day one and today we've sold over a million domain names, and we host thousands of websites and dedicated servers for customers in various countries. We can also proudly say that we are one of the biggest and fastest growing web hosting companies in the UK!

The Role

We are recruiting for a Marketing Executive to join our marketing communications department with a background in design. As part of this team you will contribute to the development of new marketing project and be responsible for the execution of all creative materials.

You will also be responsible for the development of creative materials for all our marketing channels such as online advertising, affiliate marketing and print media.

Key Responsibilities

· Contribute as part of the marketing communications team to the development of new marketing communication strategies
· Creative design of banners, email templates, print ads and any other marketing communications project
· Write and review marketing copy for marketing campaigns and new product launches

Your Profile

· Come from a design background and have a proven creative portfolio.
· Have a strong background with design packages such as Photoshop and other design packages. Illustrator, Dreamweaver and Flash are highly advantageous.
· HTML & CSS skills.
· Good communications skills to be able to put together and review marketing copy.
· Be able to clearly pitch creative ideas.

The Package

Basic salary £24,000, plus £5,000 sales bonus.

Its a bit different from the other jobs as its main aim is web hosting rather then designing but reading the description I would be apart of a design team on the marketing team. Like I have said in previous posts all the skills that are required I have, it also points out presentation skills which I feel I am constantly improving on. An advantage is that its based in London (and I didn't even put that as a specific requirement in the job search) and the salary I feel is really good though I am unsure as to what the sales bonus is, possibly if the marketing goes well you get the bonus.

However the only concern I have is will I enjoy the job. This is really important to me as I don't want to be stuck in a job that I dislike, I want to enjoy going to work. But I do enjoy flash.

PRP - Third Arefact ideas?

2010-02-11T02:41:00.000-08:00

After the second artefact presentation it was clear that I was still unsure as to which route to take for the third. Luckily Simon realized this and so on Tuesday we had a talk as to which direction I should take, and through some guidance I know what I have to do.

Simon pointed out that this is a research project and made me realize that I need to know what makes the game successful, I know how the educators feel and I know what the children like so now I think its time to look at what aspects of a game makes a game successful i.e. sound, levels, the interaction etc over the next few artefacts I will pick these things out and hopefully be able produce strong research to show and explain how these games engage these children.

Researching last night I found a range of games for children (aimed at 5-6) the most popular games I found were memory games, number games, making/building games, guessing games and interactive stories.

Each game had strong aspects that are all similar but could potentially be the reason why they are so successful. These aspects being sound, simple and clear instructions, levels of progression and interaction. Through discussion it was agreed that to test some of these aspects out I will have to create new games but not necessarily on the computer.

I have decided for the next artefact I am going to create a memory card game, the children will have to match the picture up with the word. I am going to be looking at their 'interaction' with the game. I want to see if they enjoy playing the game. As I am not too sure at which level the children are in terms of spelling I will play the games in two different ways. I will first perhaps have the cards showing to see whether the children know how to spell, once this has been done I will then produce a second game however this time the cards will be turned over and they have to find the cards.

From doing this I hope to see how enthusiastic the children are towards the game, it would also act as a form of group work like I said in my research project, games can help children gain group working skills. I would like to analyse the way they respond to the game and hopefully will show me what makes a memory game an enjoyable experience in the childrens eyes.

PRP - Second Artefact evaluation

2010-02-10T07:48:00.000-08:00

As proposed, my second artefact was aimed at finding the opinions and needs of the children who could potentially find learning support in the form of computer games. The difficulty of this artefact was how to collect the information because of the age difference; I had to take into consideration how the children would respond. Through research I came to the conclusion that a recorded group discussion would work well for both me and the children participating in the discussion.

When listening back to the recorded discussion ideally I needed to have gathered more information for my final outcome. From the start of this artefact I understood that collecting information from children at such a young age would be a challenge, it was clear that they were more interested discussing the games they liked rather then what they learnt.

On the other hand from conducting this discussion it was clear to me that children have a much stronger understanding of gaming technology then anticipated. They can identify different consoles as well as explain what games provide an entertaining experience. It was also clear throughout the talk that boys were more enthusiastic about gaming as opposed to girls. I assumed that girls would have more of a passion because of the change in the way that we are now more interactive with the games.

Looking at the results from artefact 2 I feel that there are two issues that should be looked further into. Having noticed that the girls showed less interest in gaming I could potentially design a game that focuses on their interests. However what I would also like to address is how the designers themselves create these games. Presenting my ideas to a designer may give me a stronger understanding as to what makes a successful learning game.

Spp3 - Logo

2010-02-10T06:45:00.000-08:00

Below is a potential logo that I may use for myself on my CV and covering letter. I'm am going to work with colours though because I get the same reaction from everyone, they like but there is something missing. I need to find that missing thing!

I am also currently finishing off my new CV though as we all know it won't stay the same because you CV has to be adapted to the specific job that you are applying for so I plan find the key points in job descriptions and make my CV work around that description.

Spp3 - University of central Lancashire 6

2010-02-09T05:18:00.002-08:00

I have to thank Ashley for finding this for me. The University of central Lancashire has a course titled Interaction Design and if you read on I think you would agree that this course would be good for me.

Interaction Design is the branch of computing that is concerned with how users interact with computer systems. This includes the roles of users in the analysis, design and evaluation of systems, as well as methods for the system developer to create usable and useful interactive products for people, and extends to consideration of social aspects of computer use. This course is ideally suited to students who want to specialise in usability, social aspects of computer use and the design and evaluation of effective interactive systems. It builds upon the existing and emergent research interests in Interaction Design in the School, including website accessibility, multimedia for learning and Child-Computer Interaction (see www.chici.org). The course includes modules covering analysis, design, implementation, and evaluation of interactive systems, as well as theories of Human-Computer Interaction, and a look at current trends in interactive systems.

The following requirements are needed:
* A good honours degree (normally 2:1) in Computing or related subject
* A degree and substantial relevant experience in a HCI related field
* BCS Postgraduate Diploma plus PGD project
* Qualification deemed by the university to be equivalent to the above
* Students will be expected to display communication skills appropriate to an Honours graduate. In particular, students whose first language is not English will be required to demonstrate competence in the language. The normal minimum standard required is IELTS 7.0 or equivalent.

The main thing that caught my eye was 'multimedia for learning and Child-Computer Interaction' My research project is based around this and so this course would be ideal for me at this moment in time. Although looking at the course it looks like it involves a lot of writing and writing is not my strong point at all, though I did see design in description.

One big disadvantage that would potential be the reason why I say no is that its in the north!! if I moved further north there are alot of things that I would have to take into consideration. Cost of living/traveling home, finding accommodation and could I live that far away from my friends and family, I am already 3 hours away and thats far enough.

Spp3 - Junior Web Interface Designer 7

2010-02-09T05:18:00.001-08:00

I haven't been on Gumtree to look for jobs in a while so I thought that I would have a browse around again and I came across this job. The company advertising the job was called Star Guided Media From browsing the website I can see that they are an online media company. Specializing in Online marketing, video marketing and interface and ad design.

What I like about this job is that there looks like a variety of things including filming.

The job description is:
* Designing engaging online advertisements, landing pages, e-mails, presentations, print collateral, video graphics, social media and more! that drive traffic and conversion
* Applying design techniques to marketing initiatives be prepared to contribute and grow.
* Capacity to turn and burn when necessary to meet tight deadlines.
* Ability to create multiple revisions of material to meet standards.

The description to me looks interesting and I want to ease into a job, the description of the job fits to what we have learnt at uni so I could grasp more knowledge on my current skills and build on more skills whilst working.

The company require that I must:
* Bachelor’s degree or equivalent
* 1-3 years of interactive design experience
* Rock star Photoshop skills.
* XHTML, CSS skills are required.
* Flash AS3 skills are a major plus but not required.

The only thing that I do not have is the experience unless...they included my experience in university because then I have had 3 years!! The only downfall that I notice about this job is that its nothing to do with children gaming which over the past few weeks I have gained a lot of interest in.
However at this time I can't be picky because there is no doubt lots of graduates applying for jobs. The competition is high.

SPP3 - Guru careers design graduate 6

2010-02-06T07:30:00.000-08:00

I came across this job advert and at first I wasn't sure whether it was aimed at my area of profession but more for graphic designers but then I read on. And I have to say that I was wrong.

The job being advertised is for a company called careers guru, below is the description of the job.

Joining a multi award winning, Soho based marketing agency ranked as one of the top 30 in the UK (NMA) you will get the opportunity to work extensively within the entertainment sectors (Film, Games, TV) with some of the world’s brightest brands (Disney, Miniclip, Xbox, BBC, Chorion). We are looking for a talented Junior Designer with illustrative skills and bucket loads of potential that can grow and be nurtured. Your portfolio should already demonstrate strong design/illustration skills but most importantly it will give us glimpses of your future brilliance.

You should be the type of person that loves to make clever connections between technology and the needs and desires of your audience. If they are on Twitter, you’re on Twitter. If they are on Miniclip, you sign up and play along. With this role nothing is off-limits for your curiosity. The digital landscape is your playground!

Collaborating with other Designers, Creative Directors, Producers and everyone else in the agency necessary to bring ideas to life you should have a natural enthusiasm that makes people want to work with you and most of all you will want to learn everything you can whilst doing it.

In return your CV/portfolio will need to highlight the following:

* A degree in design (preferably interactive design) combined with creative flair and plenty of ideas.

* Experience creating highly engaging and effective websites, media creative and games

* Understanding of social marketing including Twitter, Facebook, Bebo, YouTube etc

* A interest in kids, youth and family audiences

* Enthusiasm and a good sense of humour

* Good knowledge of the usual creative tools, especially Flash

* Cartoon-style freehand and illustration skills, for scamping as well as final art

* An good portfolio of Flash design and animation that demonstrates potential as much as actual work

* A strong desire to learn and develop

What I find interesting about this application is that the description of the job requirements was not only based around skills but they were also focusing on high lighting want they want from an employee as in terms of personality traits. They clearly point out that they want someone who is enthusiastic about the work, also having strong connections with the technology world.

I also noticed that it points out that they want someone who can makes good connection between technology and the audience aimed towards. This is exactly what my personal research project is about (making connections between video game, learning and children)

Like I wanted the job is in central London however the closing date is 3rd March so I cannot apply for it however this is a very interesting job and when I finish university I would be looking for jobs that look exactly like this description.

Spp3 - University of Westminster 5

2010-02-05T08:20:00.000-08:00

Following my previous posts and clearly pointing out the importance of interactivity I came across the University of Westminster. As soon as I saw the word interactive it had my attention.

The course involves all of the aspects that our current multimedia course follows (flash, dreamweaver, premiere etc) however from what I can see the course then goes onto focusing mainly on human interaction design, usability and marketability. Reading on the course description also states that project management will also occur.

A subject like this I find really interesting and being that game consoles with human interactivity is increasingly becomming more popular I think that doing a postgraduate course like this would be ideal for todays world.

Modules Offered

Core modules:
Interactive Multimedia Systems Design • Multimedia Development Environments • User-Centred Interface Design • Research Methods and Transferable Skills, and Research Project

Option modules, choose from:
Applied Sound and Music Production • Digital Video Technologies • Electronic Documentation and Hypertext • Multimedia Systems • Virtual Reality Environments

When I look at the core modules they all look interesting and I like the sound of 'Virtual reality environments' in the option modules but a question that is stuck in the back of my mind is that, will it be the same as what I've learnt already? I don't want to go on a course to learn things that I already know. Also being that the University of Westminster is based in London the fees are not going to be cheap.

The course is open to everyone with a first or second class honours and you do not need a computer background.

I browsed around the university's other courses and found some that looked interesting so there could be a few more posts on here for the University of Westminster.

Spp3 - Jobs at Playfish 5

2010-02-05T07:48:00.000-08:00

Playfish are very similar to Mind Candy in the way that they design games for multiplayers, however the majority of Playfish's games are facebook application games, so millions of people can see and potentially play these games. The company is based in London which is ideal because like I have mentioned before this is where I intend or will be moving to when I leave university.

Playfish are currently recruiting for the London office and there is one particular job that has caught my eye.

Game Artist

London, UK

As a Game Artist at Playfish you will be creating art for games across multiple platforms, primarily web and mobile. This includes creating characters, environments and UI. You will be involved in the complete development process from start to finish and have a strong influence on our overall product. We are looking for people with strong foundation art skills, solid understanding of colour and the ability to take something from concept to completion. We believe that raw talent combined with a positive attitude is what is needed to make great games!

If this sounds like you we would love to hear from you!

Key Requirements:

-Strong foundation art skills, solid understanding of colour and the ability to take something from concept to completion
-Experienced with Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash and similar
-Varied portfolio
-A wish to learn from others and be in constant development
-Someone who is open for input and enjoys working in an iterative and agile process
Specific Flash knowledge is a plus
-Ex demo-scene and/or relevant game experience is a plus
-Most important of all, you need to love games!

Please send your CV including any demo's and examples to inserting “Game Artist” in the email subject line.

The reason why I like this particular job is that it has a variation of requirements. You have to draw...I love drawing. You have to have experience in Photoshop, Illustrator and Flash...I have that experience. My portfolio currently under construction will be vaired. I want to learn new aspects of gaming and I love games so it seems like this job was written for me.

However a very BIG issue that I know will come up is that I'm a graduate and I'm worried that they want someone who's already had experience, the rate of pay wasn't mentioned either so could this also be an issue? I don't think that would be but really the main thing that I'm looking for is a place that I'm going to enjoy working not how much do they pay me.

PRP - Artefact 2 Update

2010-02-05T07:29:00.000-08:00

Well artefact 2 is completed and I have to say that I really enjoyed doing it. This morning I went into Moorlands primary school and intereviewed a year 1 class about games and learning.

The children were lovely and very enthusiastic to give me answers though when listening back to the recording some of the answers were hard to understand but it has given me an idea on what children think about gaming.

I started off by asking quesiotns about what game they played at school, names were mentioned like ace monkey's, rigby and superstars. Though some of the children found it hard to explain the games I could see that they knew understood how to play the game but just had diffuculties explaining them.

From certain questions it was obvious that boys are still the ones showing a stronger passion for computer games, even though the girls mention games and are able to explain the learning games in more detail its the boys who show more enthusiam towards playing the games.

When it came to talking about games out of school it was Nintendo that was mentioned almost everytime. I got the impression that the children love the interactive elements that Nintendo offers with the consoles. What I was paeticularly surprised at was that these children play on the games that I also enjoy playing. For example Mario Kart and Super Mario bros was mentioned on numerous occassions.

I think now that I have spoken to the children I can see that the enthusiasm is there but it is shown more when they are playing interactive games. My next artefact could maybe look into how more interactivity could be used in a learning environment.

After the interview the the teacher said that I was allowed to come back for a whole day!! and do tests, it is not until 22nd March but that will give me time to create more tests that I could create to help invovle the children, maybe possibly introduce the Nintendo Wii if I'm allowed. We shall see.

Spp3 - Job hunt, Mindy Candy 4

2010-02-03T15:15:00.000-08:00

Well I'm still on the job hunt for the spp3 module (and moi of course) and it was my boyfriend who came across this company for me.

Mind Candy was launched in 2003 by Michael Smith. It is one of the leading developers for social multiplayer games. One of its more popular games is called 'Moshi Monster' The company also caught my eye because of this game and I hope that it will help me in my PRP project, but I'm not talking about that, I'm talking about the jobs in Mind Candy.

The company are currently recruiting a 'flash character animator' and a 'flash/actionscript developer' however they quote
"we’re always happy to receive speculative CVs for positions we’re not actively recruiting for."
So I could be in with a chance.

The reason why I like this company is mainly because its what I would like to do in the future, help design games for kids. Hence why my research project is based around this as well. I find the whole concept of designing games for kids interesting and with the company not being that big it looks like the company has a friendly atmosphere.

The main application process is a standard CV and covering letter and I think that I am going to apply for this job but this means that I am going to have to adapt my cv to reach the criteria that they are looking for. Luckily for me they have employee profiles and a blog so I could potentially pick up ideas on the companies interests via these sources.

PRP - Second Artefact, how to interview children

2010-02-03T12:16:00.000-08:00

Research shows that you have to prepare an interview with children differently to how you would with any other interview. Young children will tend to be more nervous around people who they are unfamiliar with. When I prepare for the interview I have to take this into consideration, they don't know who I am and so it could be quite daunting for them.

I found this article from a site called 'Newslab' a site dedicated to giving advice to journalists. I came across an article 'How to interview children' and the article provided some useful advice about to interview children.

Look for children who are directly involved in the issue you are covering. Talk to them in their own environment, where they are most comfortable.

A good way to do this is in the classroom where they are at school and in an environment that they know. I am hoping that having them in a group they will be with everyone they know so I will look less intimidating. I could make it into a group discussion.

Listen. Listen more than you talk. Ask fewer questions than you might of an adult. Let the child fill the silence.

When I plan my questions I will have to think about how to word them. If its going to be a group discussion then I could perhaps use the same question but let the a number of children give their opinion.

Crouch or kneel when talking to little kids. Don’t stand above them and put a stick mic in their faces.

I must remember to be friendly and not intimidating in any way, so kneeling does sound like a good idea. I have to take all these things into account if the interview is to be successful and I can get good feedback. When talking to the children I must be patient and wait for the child to finish what they are saying, even if they are struggling I must be patient. The children have the information that I need so if they are comfortable with me being around then I will get better results.

Client - 2nd meeting

2010-02-02T14:03:00.000-08:00

Well its been a while for client but I have returned to Southampton this week to focus on PRP and Client. This evening I met up with Jess to catch up on both our ideas and to capture some images for the site. So this evening for 3 hours I have been with Jess taking images (nearly 300!)and discussing ideas for the website.

I spoke to Jess about hosting as she is not very aware about how to purchase a domain name. When I had a look for a hosting name for 'streetbeatz.com' they were all taken but to my relieve Jess told me that she does not want this and instead wants the name to be 'www.streetbeatzdanceacademy.com' and it is avaliable so the name is safe.

I received an email a few dqays ago showing images of the uniform and Jess mentioned today that she wanted a page for the uniform, so I will have to rethink the site map slighty, only slighty because she is happy with what I have done so far so just a bit of tweeking.

Jess is also interested in trying to add video content to the site so I may have a look for a simple plugin that will allow Jess to add her own video content, we agreed that I would help her the first few months the site is up and running just so she gets the hang of editing the website by herself but I am pleased that she is still eager to get the site up and also willing to help me in whatever way possible. It is certainly making my life easier.

Spp3 - University of Bristol 4

2010-02-01T13:42:00.000-08:00

Its been a while since I mentioned postgraduate courses, mainly because I have no interest in taking one however when searching some postgraduate courses I came across a few that looked particularly interesting.

I have decided to minimise my search down to Multimedia in the south area. Main reason is because if I was to ever do a postgraduate course I would be looking in the south, for costs I would prefer to live at home whilst studying just to make money matters easier so, I might as well look at the courses in the south.

One that particularly caught my eye was in University of Bristol

Course title: Advanced Computing - Internet Technologies with Multimedia MSc
Course type: full time
Duration: 1 year
Fees: £4450
Entry Requirements: A good (at least upper second-class) Honours degree in a Computer Science or related discipline. International equivalents are also accepted.

About the course

This programme aims to introduce you to the most important aspects of networked applications and digital media information. Graduates will be equipped for a wide variety of employment in computing, business and the entertainment industry, and will have the opportunity to be leaders of the media revolution and its emerging technologies.

The programme will also give you the knowledge and experience to continue studying for a PhD, or to enter a career in research.
(This description can be found here)

What did I like?

What caught my eye was that the course offers a wide variety of resources that potentials freelancers need. From looking at the course description and learning schedule the course is not only designed to help students gain a more thorough knowledge on web designing and databases but the course also takes into consideration oher aspects that effect the internet i.e. mobile internet, law and the economic aspect of IT. Things that could be very useful in the future.

The only thing that I worry about is that I my strongest learning method is 'doing' and not 'listening' I rather learn via step by step instructions and looking at the description I have a feeling that this may involve quite a few lectures and 'Sarah + lecturers = not much focus'

The application deadline is not till 1st August so there would be plenty of time to apply, so I may keep looking around for a few weeks.

PRP - Artefact 2

2010-02-01T13:24:00.000-08:00

After a very time consumming and many many hours spent sending emails my first artefact has been complete and after presenting my results I have been given the go ahead for artefact number 2!

As you can see in my evaluation of my first artefact below I did not expect the results that I recieved and so a change in direction was needed in my artefact designs. I thought too quickly and assumed that I already knew the outcome... well I was wrong and so I thought that it would be good to inteview the opposite to teachers, and that would be the pupils.

In previous blog posts I have mentioned that I have been in contact with my old infant (now primary) school. After a few emails and meetings they have agreed to let me interview the children. I am going to have to think carefully about how I talk to them though as they are only in year 1 (age 5-6) but my main aim is to find out:

- What do they know about games
- What do they enjoy about learning/school
- What activities do they enjoy participating in

They are going to be general/simple questions because I know that they maybe a bit nervous having a random person comming into their classroom asking them questions so I have to make sure that I come across as a friendly person.

Potential Issues

- Children may get nervous and not speak given me little information.
- Wording the questions that I need to ask maybe difficult because it has to be said in a easy to understand format.

Positives

I have managed to get a school willing to help me with my research project. When I mentioned my project to other peers the majority said that I wouldn't be able to do much however here I am with an interview planned.

spp3 - Edinburgh Napier University 3

2010-01-30T08:39:00.000-08:00

Course name: Interactive Entertainment
Course Length: 1 year, full time

Course description
This ground-breaking course blends the principles of immersion and engagement as evolved by the global games industry over the last twenty years with practical storytelling and script development strategies from Film, TV, Radio and Theatre.

You will explore applications across a wide range of digital media rather than computer games alone and aim to develop valuable content and intellectual properties for Entertainment, Life, Health and Educational applications - or any other where interactive storytelling strategies are deployed.

Saw this course and thought it looked interesting. Besides from games it doesn't have much linked to what I am currently doing but it quotes 'programmers with an eye for innovation' could I be that person? I want to escape the boundaries of web design and look for courses that not only do web design but give you a taste of everything.

Maybe something that would link to my prp project would be more interesting. I like the description of the course however I would not pursue this as its in Edinburgh and I want to move back down to the south if I ever did plan to pursue a postgraduate degree, still at least its giving me an idea.

SPP - Postgraduate course University of Glamorgan 2

2010-01-29T08:47:00.000-08:00

I came across this course and wanted to post it purely because of this reason, its a course that I should be looking at but I am just not finding it appealing. The course title is Multimedia computing. The main modules/content consists of:

* Multimedia and the Web: the principles of multimedia and web development and critical application to website creation and usage
* E-learning: the theory and practice of educational software development
* Principles of Computing: the fundamental principles and practices associated with ICT technology, computer programming and systems modelling
* Information Architecture and Hypermedia Systems: theory and practice of developing and evaluating hypermedia applications and aspects of current research
* Project Management and Research Methodology
* Independent Study
* Project: design, implement and evaluate a multimedia system/ application of your own choice

Looking at this has just convinced me that I do need a career change. I still really enjoy web designing but I enjoy learning more of the front end designing rather then the coding.

I need to look for a course that has more of a design modules as opposed to the theory and coding.

SPP - Aquent

2010-01-24T12:25:00.000-08:00

I came across Aquent and wondered what it was. Its actually a temping agency for designers. This includes web, graphics, typography etc it looks really interesting and whats good...its located in London yay!!!

Below is a job that I found them advertising:

*
o Company: Aquent
o Location: Central London
o Salary/rate: £25,000 to 27,000
o Contract: temp to perm
o Job posted on: 11 January 2010
o Job start date: 01/02/10
o Closing date: 08 February 2010
*

PRINT (60%):

Creating layouts for books/brochures/leaflets with existing house style in Quark XPress and InDesign.
Immediate position will require importing text and photos into Quark Xpress templates
with set Style Sheets for a new edition of a nuclear book.
Creating and updating cutting edge graphs
* Building an image library

WEB (40%):

Updating web pages in HTML (Dreamweaver) and in Content Management System
Making new web pages from scratch, linking and applying existing CSS
Working with CSS
Preparing illustrations and photographs for web

SKILLS:

Information Design, Typography, Layouts for print and web, Exhibition design, Following existing house style, Ability to work and communicate with various people from different backgrounds, Persevere and Perfection is a must.

PROGRAMMES:

This will be PC BASED. Must have: Good working knowledge of HTML, CSS and Dreamweaver, QuarkXPress, Photoshop, Illustrator, Microsoft Word, Powerpoint.

It is essential for the applicant to enjoy working in information design; they must be able to present significant data to very high standard. Accuracy and attention to detail are crucial. It is very important that the applicant enjoys working in nuclear energy environment and has a positive attitude.

I think the main reason why I chose this job was because there was a variety of work available. When thinking about the future now it makes me think; do I really want to spend the rest of my career in web design? And I am not sure that I am. I really enjoy web designing however I miss drawing which is something that I loved before uni.

I would like to go back into that hobbie and if a job includes that then I say great, where do I reply.

PRP - Artefact Evaluation

2010-01-24T11:42:00.000-08:00

Creating a questionnaire as my first artefact worked to my advantage. My chosen research subject in my opinion was still very broad and I needed to narrow my research by gaining a more thorough idea on what the teachers thought. With the questionnaire I managed to do this. By sending out a simple multiple-choice questionnaire via email I was able to get a quick response and given the time that we had I am satisfied with the amount of feedback received.

Looking back at the questionnaire I should have reworded some of my questions. When looking at the comments I think that some of the participants thought that I was insinuating that infant/primary schools had no ICT facilities, this was not the case. My aim was to try and reconfirm my theory and see how educators felt about computer games assisting their teaching methods. If I could go back and redo the survey this is something I would change as I feel that the participants did not completely understand my aim.

From doing the questionnaire it showed me that educators are already highly aware of the benefits when using computer games. The majority of the questionnaire participants have knowledge on computer games, this including knowing the different types of games that could/are being used. Overall the results were not what I expected. Before conducting this survey I believed that educators were not well aware of the benefits of computer games but I was wrong. Games are becoming recognised as a strong learning tool and becoming more widely used in schools at all levels.

Looking at the results from artefact 1 I feel that a change in direction for my research is needed. Now that I am aware that educators understand the benefits of games in education my next step is to see what the children think about games. Hopefully gaining information from both educators and pupils will give me a view from both sides and thus maybe find a connection that suits everyone and improve computer game based learning.

SPP - Job Nakama 3

2010-01-23T11:22:00.000-08:00

After having a talk to Jools it was clear that I was searching jobs in the wrong way, or to be correct I need to start narrowing my choices down because this could potentially be the chance for me to get a job.

Going back on the creative pool website it is now clear to me that I would be applying for junior level because even though I have the skills of some jobs, they are looking for someone with experience and this is something that I have very little experience in. Bearing in mind I intend/am moving to London when I graduate so I have now narrowed the job search down to 'junior' and 'London' making it more clear to me what jobs are out there for me.

One job that I came across is Nakama. With there main target industry Digital, Marketing and print and integrated industry the company seems interesting. The job they are advertising is briefly stated below:

* Company: Nakama Global
* Location: Central London
* Salary/rate: £20,000 to 25,000
* Contract: perm, temp to perm
* Duration: Ongoing
* Job posted on: 20 January 2010
* Job start date: URGENT!
* Closing date: 17 February 2010

This lovely small to medium sized creative agency in the West End are looking for a junior to join their team. You will be working with the senior developer and senior designer in digital on all aspects of digital marketing campaigns. This is an ideal opportunity to take your AS2.0 and AS3.0 skills into some lovely creative and give you a good grounding to digital advertising from a creative and technical point of view. The work will include rich media advertising (banners), viral executions, website build, microsites and games. A well-known set of clients and a team you can really learn from this is a great opportunity to build a nice portfolio from the start. You’ll ideally have some commercial experience but we will consider fresh graduates with the right skills and attitude! Immediate start, temp to permanent salary £20-24k.

It sounds ideal and whats better they are welcome to graduates. Having a look at the website the job looks interesting, the deadline is 17th February so I may pursue with this application.

PRP - First Artefact Results

2010-01-23T03:48:00.000-08:00

Well I've finished my questionnaire and after sending out over 400 emails and receiving 40 replies I feel that for the short amount of time given I have done pretty well as the majority of schools will not even look at the email.

Below I have summarised each of the questions up to give you an idea about what I found out.

What I learnt from the artefact.
Q1) Received a mixture of educators, all at different levels, from Nursery to Secondary.

Q2) Educators have an open mind and that gaming can be used in education as well as a form of entertainment.

Q3) The amount of knowledge educators have on computer games is very varied, with the majority of the answers being at number ‘3’ it suggests that the educators are aware of the gaming concept but are not aware of the full benefits. The majority of the answers were more on the side of having a stronger knowledge of computer games.

Q4) The majority of educators felt that if more information was provided on computer gaming then there would be more enthusiasm. However a couple had no opinion, this could appear as having no interest on the subject or they already have a strong knowledge on games.

Q5) It is clear that the majority of the educators understand the different types of games, but I should have included a question asking about which type of game teaches which subject.

Q6) Educators have a mixed opinion on this question. With the majority feel that it will boost pupils confidence, a few feel that it won’t make any difference. Perhaps educators are still unaware that pupils teach themselves how to play computer games and hence gain more confidence. Some comments made think that it won’t effect the pupils confidence.

Q7) Educators support the fact that games could support teaching, in the others comments it states that games are already used in schooling. Perhaps need to change my research aim.

Q8) It is very clear that my research was correct and teachers are aware about teaching them skills asides from the National Curriculum. In fact in the early years it seems that social skills are of more importance then teaching. If creating a good learning environment then the pupils will perceive learning as more enjoyable experience in the future.

Q9) Educators support the fact that games could support teaching, in the others comments it states that games are already used in schooling. Perhaps need to change my research aim.

Q10) As some educators agree with this reason some disagree. From reading the ‘other’ replies it has comes to my attention that the implications noted have been seen and security has been put in place.

The results are not what I expected but I suppose this is a good thing because it has shown me that teachers and schooling have taken games into consideration and that they are successful. So my next artefact could maybe focus on which games the children prefer to help enhance the learning experience.

Client project - Designs mixed up

2010-01-21T03:49:00.001-08:00

As I like both designs as have others I thought I'd mixed them together to tone down the reds but make it more keep the dancers. I will be emailing all of these designs to Jess and will hopefuly get a final choice that I can use in my proposal.