Day 1.
No unusual activity…
Client Research.
I have researched into the client, Bicycle Network.
they believe that physical activity is vital for happy life. They aim to plague our roads with these bicycle vermin… They host many activities and events to help push their corrupted view on health & wellbeing.
They wish to create an eLearning activity that will assist in teaching kids on bike safety. This will take the form of a tablet application.
Specifications.
This task is to be documented in Medium.com.
Within the documentation I must cover the following criteria:
Project management document / budget.
Brief stage.
Research stage.
Concept development stage.
Personas.
I have designed personas aimed at the creatures that will be learning how to become said vermin.
Due to Bradley being a kid who indulges in many hours of gaming throughout the week I have decided to create my eLearning activity aimed towards Visual learning.
Budget.
My estimated budget for this task will be $5,000.
The deliverables consist of an iPad app that will teach kids about bike safety.
And a learning resource to teach kids about the rules before they play the game. This will be a video for them to be guided through.
Learning types.
There are several different ways people learn.
These are Kinesthetic, Visual and Auditory.
Kinesthetic is someone who learns from doing. http://www.education.com/magazine/article/kinesthetic_learner/
Activities guided by a mentor are a good way for Kinesthetic leaners to learn.
Visual is someone who learns from visuals.
Video tutorials are a good way for Visual learners to learn.
http://www.education.com/magazine/article/Helping_Visual_Learners/
Auditory is someone who learns by listening.
Lectures are a good way for auditory learners to learn.
http://www.education.com/magazine/article/auditory_learners/
eLearning research.
There are multiple different ways to preform eLearning activities.
Text Driven, Interactive and Simulation are three of them.
Text driven are mainly read content where the user will gain the information from reading, some visuals to help stimulate the user and sometimes some audio for guidance.
Example: http://www.ties.com/how-to-tie-a-tie/windsor
Interactive eLearning is the use of interactions, it runs similar to text driven with the exception of being more visual and lots more interactive ability.
Example: http://knots3d.com/
Simulation eLearning is heavily reliant on visuals and audio to teach.
Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BMhFmNzw-o
Day 2.
I suspect Shawn is first to turn…
The fellow class mates and I have conducted an experiment.
Here are the results.
Project Objectives.
I have discovered the objectives which Bicycle Network intent to achieve.
To teach kids to understand and obey road rules.
To inform kids about important hand signs.
To show kids the importance of safety equipment.
Day 3.
Jordan appears to be irritated when his objects are placed on the ground.
Learning outcomes.
The learning outcomes of this malicious application is for the kids to be able to understand the importance of bicycle safety,
to know how to utilize safety equipment
and how to navigate the roads using hand signs.
Functionality.
What is needed to achieve both my objectives and outcomes is an application that kids will be willing to use that is simple and will teach them all that is listed in Project Objectives above.
Deadline.
The time available to work on this project will be more than enough to create a simple application capable of delivering the requirements.
The prototype is due within the 9th week.
Day 4.
Monday has devoured the soul of every living person in the room.
Concept sketches.
I have begun conceptual sketches for Bicycle Network.
First concept (top) is like flip cards, each scene of the game includes a visual representation of the issue then a question on the issue, answering correctly allows the user to advance through the game.
Second concept (bottom) is a game that has goals for the user to achieve, the more hazards they run into the more points they will accumulate.
Storyboard.
I have chosen my concept and designed a storyboard.
This story board shows the scenes that the player will see, it is a very simple design that is highly focused on the object of the eLearning activity.
Day 5.
I have discovered that sleep is required to function within the day.
Prototyping.
The development of the prototypes has begun. I have decided to take my course of action through Illustrator.
I have learnt that creating an app with many screens within Illustrator can prove very tedious. Pic related.
Day 6.
I missed a day but it’s okay. I’m a poet you know it.
The prototypes are complete and uploaded to InvisionApp.
https://invis.io/KT6FFJEVE
Link related — It’s the app.
Project walkthrough.
The outcome functionality of my prototyped solution is quite simplistic as the target audience are those creatures whom are short attention spanned and short sized. The (very) simple mechanics of the game were designed to keep the critters from becoming overwhelmed with options and keep them focused.
The overall design of the app is simplistic as well, although I didn’t go too in depth for a prototype the aesthetic of the app is identifiable, the colours used are flat colours that these critters might even be able to pronounce.
Day 7.
Mondays have become Fridays.
I got nothing done.
Day 8.
Fridays are still Fridays.
User test.
Learning objectives:
To teach people about bicycle safety.
How was this learning objective being measured or assessed?
If the user is to finish the game application, they will prove that they have the knowledge required to ride a bike to the laws.
Did the user achieve this learning objective?
Yes.
Could the objective be achieved more effectively or efficiently?
Yes, but with caution of over-complication (Keeping the target audience in mind) I kept it simple and short.
How did the session go?
The session was a success, only one question was answered incorrectly due to a trick question.
Did the facilitator have to step in at any stage due to the user being lost or confused?
Negative.
How long did the session take?
1 minute 22 seconds.
Was this longer or shorter than you expected?
I was expecting at least 30 seconds longer.
Did the user make it to the end of the session?
Yes.
Was the resource appropriate for the type of learner?
Yes.
Did the user get bored or distracted at any stage?
The user remained focused.
Discuss how you could user other learning techniques to better engage the user.
The use of sounds could improve this learning resource quite significantly as that would allow it to connect with auditory learners.
Evaluation
- Discuss how the design integrity was maintained between the plan and the final product
The plan was to create a simple easy to understand visual based game with very simple mechanics. in the plan I detailed how the design was intended to look, throughout my creation all my ideas of change were knocked back and I remained with the original concept for prototype production.
2. Give a walk through of how the user test scenario will play out
The facilitator will sit back and note any important events that happens throughout the test. Giving help to the user only if he is unable to continue.
The test will being from the start of the game, the user will continue from this point, expected to answer all the questions by the end.
3. Reflect on how the scenario played out for the user/facilitator/prototype
There was no issues, the user was able to complete the test with minimal struggles.
4. Identify areas where critical changes will need to be made to improve:
There are no real needs for ‘critical’ changes, there is one minor spelling… error… that needs to be addressed.
b. The user didn’t read what they got wrong, instead just skipped back to the question to try again. Although they got it right the second time with a more appropriate target user this may prove problems.
5. Factor these changes into your time management, and future budget
Changing the error message is a very simple and quick procedure, it won’t make a dent in the time plan.
The change to make the user read and learn from their mistakes will require putting an attempt cap on the questions, so if they get it wrong 3 times in a row they have to restart. To create this will also be quick and easy.
The future budget will be:
Prototype — $3,500.
eLearning video — $500.
Game development — $1,000.
Total — $5,000
Conclusion.
Throughout my experience I discovered that it is not difficult to create an app to teach small people how to do a simple task. Valuing the learning and informational aspect of your app whilst still keeping a balance with usability and design is a very important key, having a design that distracts the vermin away from the teaching while destroy the fundamental aim of your masterpiece.