Sharon Jordan @sharonjordan - Tumblr Blog

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Interesting article about personalisation by Ashley Friedlein, an ex-colleague (from pres.co / wheel:) that relates to the research I did for my MA media discourses essay. The notion of personalising for both anonymous and known customers in particular highlights the reality of the digital footprint we all leave behind whether we choose to remain annonymous or not.

sergioalbiac

Confused - Generative portrait

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www.sergioalbiac.com

A useful source for identifying page width for websites, and advice on grouping resolutions for mediaqueries in your code.

Hello,I just seen your blog, it is very nice. And you please tell me how to display the archive list on sidebar just like yours?

Archive was a standard option that came with my theme (I think it comes with most themes), but I created the other options as follows.

First you need to tag posts with a keyword. Tumblr restricts search to the most recent 15 posts tagged with a keyword, so I choose to change the tag after every 15 on the same topic.

When you have tagged your posts go to your search box and do a search for the tag – eg on my blog, forefront 1. Make a note of the URL of this page:

http://sharonjordan.tumblr.com/search/forefront+1

Then you need to create a new page in your blog and redirect it to this url.

To create a new page

Dashboard > Settings

Theme > Customise

Panel appears on left with info about the theme etc. Scroll down to the heading pages, and click arrow to reveal.

Select add page – launches pop up with info for new page.

Change 'standard layout' to 'Redirect'

Enter page url (eg http://sharonjordan.tumblr.com/forefront1) and in the redirct field enter the URL you noted earlier

Select the option for the link to appear and enter the name of the link next to the check box.

You can change the order of the links by dragging the pages up and down in the side panel that lists the pages.

Hope that helps...Good luck!

Will the application suit both girls and boys, particularly with regard to the interface design?

Mixed gender appeal is something that I have considered throughout the development of my work, evident in my approach from the very beginning in the user testing process, whereby I split the children into single and mixed sex groups to test any bias in terms of functionality and interface appeal.

I have tried to maintain a neutral approach to the interface design, and have included a range of colours for the sections as seen on the homepage.

I chose a robot as the main character to hold the points as an object that has possible appeal to both girls and boys - and this functionality could be enhanced if the children were able to personalise it by changing it to a colour of their own choice. The robot is such a prominent feature that simply changing the colour could have a large impact on the feel of the interface. For example, a pick robot would give a more feminine feel.

This notion of personalisation is an area that could be explored in more depth, and could significantly enhance the usability of the system. User settings would need to be saved to the database to ensure the experience remained consistent across multiple platforms.

Image quality on Android

I've been concerned abut the quality of some of the images when viewed on the Android device. The images look fine on the mac/pc, but on the android device there is banding on graduated backgrounds and poor image quality on other images such the stars used for helping to count the sums.

I have tried to look into this, but have been unable to find any reasonable solution that works fully. I also noticed today that the background image that came with the device also has some banding on it.

I believe the problem is related to image density rather than resolution, but at this stage I feel that it required more indepth research to resolve adequately which will not be achieved before submission.

It's added to the bug list!

#technical 4 #Build 3

Directory issues on Android

I noticed yesterday that the images for the sums in the blast off app were not loading when the app was deployed to my Android device, even though it was working well on the mac and on the website.

I tried adjusting the image sizes to be the exact size, but this made no difference.

The solution came from checking back through previous versions that I knew had worked and looking at the differences.The key difference was will the directory structure because I had started to tidy up the images folder. When the images were in the images folder it worked, but adding them to any sub directories didn't work - but only on the Android device so that path in the code was correct.

Therefore I have moved all the number images back into the images folder as a solution to the problem.

#Build 3 #technical 4 #device testing

Right and wrong answer indicators

Earlier in the development process I discussed the work I did for practice 2 with the Nursery teacher at school and talked about different approaches to indicating whether an answer was right or wrong.

Current pedagogical thinking for early years education places an emphasis on the positive, encouraging the child and giving praise when they achieve rather than placing too much emphasis on wrong answers or things they didn't do as well with. This approach is evident in the methods teachers use to mark work - using a tick for correct answers, but not using a cross for wrong answers. Children still know that they did not get those answers correct because of the absence of a tick, but the force of negativity has less impact with the absence of a cross.

When designing the interface for the blast off app quiz, I wanted to use this same approach to indicate right or wrong answers, so adopted the use of a tick when the answer was correct and decided against using a cross for the wrong answer because of the negative connotations.

To reinforce this message, I added a green band around the correct answer and simultaneously showed the answer in green next to the sum. I chose the colour green because of the semiotic connotations - go, yes, good, right.

This approach worked well for correct answers, but there needed to be some form of indication when a wrong answer was selected. Following on from the use of green, I applied the same semiotic theory and used the colour red for a band around the wrong answer. I chose red because of its typical interpretations, meaning stop, no, bad, wrong.

To maintain the reinforcement of the positive, I decided to emphasis the correct answer at this point, adding a green circle around the correct option and the correct number in green next to the sum. The absence of the tick and the red ring around the selected answer provides distinct differentiation between right and wrong selections, and there is an additional delay before moving onto the next question when the wrong answer has been selected to allow time for the child to understand what has happened and read the correct answer.

This solution worked well (although most adults who saw my work questioned the lack of a cross!) and my son responded well to this. When he got an answer wrong, his typical reaction was:

"I didn't get a tick that time"

I have decided now to add a cross-bar to the circle to add further emphasis without the additional negativity of a full cross. The inspiration for this came from the inflight safety card on board a recent flight. These cards use icongraphy and a series of images with no words to convey important safety instructions that have to be clearly understood quickly by all nationalities. I noticed that the symbol they used for not doing something was a red circle with a line across, and I felt that this more clearly conveys 'not' or 'no' than a circle without the cross, but is still in line with current pedagogical thinking.

#learning #creative decision making #semiotics #interface design 3

New learning - summary evaluation

There has been a considerable amount of new learning during the course of this module ranging from learning new skills (such as how to create and upload Android native apps) and brushing up existing skills (such as using Illustrator and photoshop) to extending my knowledge and understanding in all aspects. Looking back through my work, I can identify new learning throughout the duration of the project in all aspects of the work, but the key areas can be summarised as follows:

Development of apps for multiple devices – technical specifications and differences, upload process

Design and technical considerations for cross-platform application deployment/delivery

Software – Gannt project, Gliffy, Illustrator, Photoshop, Flash, Dreamweaver, Audacity

Coding – AS3.0 (particularly using new functions such as record and play), Using external classes more effectively, XML integration with Flash, Modular application design, Design patterns, PHP, mySQL database integration, HTML5

Usability best practice for mobile sites

Interactive interface design best practices

Pedagogy and early years education

Project management and project processes

Self reflection – a deeper understanding of myself, my core skills, strengths and weaknesses.

In addition, I feel that my knowledge and understanding of my field has developed considerably during the process of this module, and the processes I have adopted to maintain the currency of my knowledge have become almost second nature. This is a significant development for me as a practitioner because it is vital to keep up with developments in the field to ensure any future work is at the cutting edge. It is easy to become absorbed in project work and loose sight of what is happening around you.

On reflection, I feel that I have tried to extend my learning at every stage of the process and have continually pushed the boundaries of my knowledge. I found the build phase the most difficult to manage and the cause of much frustration because of the skills needed to deliver the solution I was proposing. In my professional capacity, my role involved specifying the ‘right’ solution to meet the requirements of the brief and push the boundaries of functionality, working with specialist programmers to successfully deliver the solution. The contrast of not having a specialist team of developers to hand over to made me feel very anxious about my artefact because I wanted to deliver the right solution rather than something tailored to my programming skills. I feel that I managed this process well, and although this has resulted in an incomplete artefact, I have laid the foundations for what I believe is the right solution.

The learning process through the build phase has also highlighted my need to understand the bigger picture as I found it very difficult to implement some aspects of code without fully understanding the bigger picture. PHP is one example of this, where I was adapting PHP files used in an exercise completed in Practice 1. I found the syntax difficult to understand and this caused me much anxiety whilst I was working on this aspect because I felt very unsure of what I was doing. Looking back I think I should’ve taken time to familiarise myself with the basic syntax of PHP and then looked at the files, rather than muddling through feeling lost. This alternative approach possibly would have reduced the anxiety and made the development process quicker, with less tutorial support.

Reflecting on the project as a whole, I can clearly see where my strengths lie - usability, user experience, information architecture and interaction design - and the differences in my levels of confidence across all areas. I felt most anxiety during the build phase, and had a moment of complete meltdown during the period of more complex programming. With hindsight there was no need for this anxiety because I was able to work through the issues with tutorial support and have proved to myself that I am more capable than I thought! As a practitioner I can learn valuable lessons from this experience, better understanding my limitations and gaining more confidence in technical aspects of development. This doesn’t mean that I am aspiring to be a developer, but if I were to run this project again, I would allow more time for the build, and definitely plan technical architecture in more depth before embarking on the build phase.

I have also learned a great deal about the way that I work and the way that I learn new things. Early in the development process I adopted the approach of doing small technical experiments to see how aspects of functionality might work and how the code was structured. I found this to be a very effective way of working, and it was easier to integrate the functionality knowing that any minor issues had already been resolved. The blog was a very useful tool for managing my learning and reflection, something I will continue to use. I have a memory like a sieve and found it useful to blog daily with short posts that I could then look back through using the archive to retrieve information or reflect on a process at a later date. I have particularly enjoyed the stimulation of applying a more theoretical framework to my practice, and found the early stages of my work the most exciting. Generating new ideas for functionality was very satisfying, especially when trying to think outside the box without any technical constraints. I found this process to be fun and reflective of my professional practice.

I feel that I now have a better understanding of myself as a practitioner – how I work, things I find easy, things I find more challenging, likes and dislikes. During the course of this module my working methodology has adapted to these aspects to help me better manage the process. For example, deciding to set regular targets and reviews to accommodate my need for some pressure and deadlines throughout the process, not just at the end. I have learned to how to stay calm and reduce anxiety and frustration during more difficult moments in the process (taking a short break can work wonders), and I have demonstrated an ability to juggle a multitude of things and still meet all the required deadlines.

Even though there are aspects of the process and artefact that I would do differently next time, I feel proud of what I have achieved during this module and hope to continue the project after submission.

#Reflection #my learning

Creative decision making - summary evaluation

Throughout the duration of my Major Study there have been numerous points where I have made creative decisions, from small details such as the creation of an icon to larger decisions about the interface or functionality to include. Looking back through my work (on my blog and in my sketch book) I have managed these processes in different ways to reflect the project status and development process, and I can identify a flexibility in my methods of managing this process, adapting my technique to the needs ot my work.

On reflection I feel I managed this process better in the latter stages of the project as my my knoweldge accumulated and I was able to reflect on research and creative development to inform the final decision taken. Earlier in the project the creative decision making was broader, often following multiple routes before making a final decision. Whilst this approach gave a solid basis for later decisions, the reality has contribted to time pressures later in the project, when decisions have had to be made much more quickly. I feel some of this was due to the time span of this module as a part-time student because I find planning a project to work on it a few hours each week over the course of a year harder to manage than working full time over a shorter period. I think this is reflective of myself as a practitioner, demonstrating that I work more effectively under pressure with tighter deadlines. However I feel that my management of this process was effective, drawing on my previous experience and setting short, tight deadlines throughout the duration of the project to help maintain a clear focus.

One area that I could have managed more effectively were the decisions taken during the build phase. The technical build was my biggest concern during this project because I was worried about not having the technical skills to build the solution I specified. Against my better judgement from a professional/commercial perspective, I took the decision to start the build phase before fully completing the specifiction documentaion (architecture, wireframes, tech spec) and design phase. Whilst this enabled me to push ahead with the technical build and ease my rising panic, I think that many issues arose during that phase that could have been resolved more quickly prior to build. For example, I began with the book app but without the technical architecure planned out in full I quickly ran into difficultly and had to spend time restructuring the work I had done (details were logged in my blog).

On reflection I can see that I overreacted to my feelings of concern about building the app, and should have stood my ground and continued to specify the project in full. It has also confirmed and given me more confidence in my core skills – usability, user experience, information architecture and interaction design – although I’m not sure that my work conveys the full extent of my abilities because I cut these phases short.

In general I feel that the creative decisions I made were well supported and documented throughout the process on my blog, in my sketch book and in my research notes. I found the methods of documentation very useful as a method of continual reflection which help the creative decision making process throughout, but particularly in the latter phases of the project.

#Reflection #creative decision making

Kindle apps are native to each device, with the exception of kindle cloud reader which is a web app with offline storage. These apps offer a seamless experience of being able to read your kindle books on any device with app installed.

I can look to this model for inspiration for my work because the data is sycronised across all device and the experience on each device is very similar (in contrast to Amazon, where the experience differs due to the volume of information and the screen real estate available).

#forefront 3 #native #HTML5 #research 1

Comparison between Amazon's website and iOS native app. Both tailor the user experience to the device but account details are syncronised across all devices.

This model is highly relevant to my work because I want to maximise functionality by building native apps but syncronise data across all apps.

#forefront 3 #research 1

At the forefront

My work by it's very nature sits at the forefront of my field - apps are still relatively new and the technologies involved are still evolving. Most educational games apps on touch devices are native to the devices, storing information locally specific to that device. In contrast, web apps can more easily be delivered across multiple platforms and syncronise data across all devices but lack the ability to deliver the same level and quality of functionality required for game applications that native apps can deliver.

My work is at the forefront of this debate because I want to maximise the benefits of both methods by producing native apps that sync data across all devices. Some native mobile apps already achieve this, but these tend to be m-commerce such as Amazon or Kindle apps. Educational apps have yet to take full advantage of this structure and technology.

Identifying the forefront

The field changes so rapidly and there are so many strands of specialism (technology, user experience, interface design etc...) that it is difficult to identify specific people who are at the forefront of the field. I find it more productive to maintain an awareness of the main players in the field and current thinking through a variety of resources to ensure that my work remains at the forefront. I achieve this through news and information sources specific to the industry (New Media Age, The Register, MIT Technology Review, Nielsen's Alertbox, UXMatters, TED Talks, twitter feeds), networking with industry contacts through twitter and linkedIn, LinkedIn groups and discussion threads and further reading around the subject from key theorists to gain better insight and understanding (such as Nielsen, Druin, Murray, Rosenfelt and others listed in my bibliography). This variety also enables me to consider any bias or opinion, such as the recent controversy over the content of TED talks. Another example is Jakob Nielsen, who is a prominent figure in the field of usability, but his purist ideas should be considered alongside the development of the whole experience (Bolter & Gromala 2003), particularly as we move towards multi platform solutions where the user needs and experience may differ from one device to another.

Key works at the forefront

Throughout the process I have also conducted extensive research into apps and website that relate to my work, and although the majority of this work was complete in the research phase at the beginning of my project, this process continues throughout to ensure that my work is at the forefront and maximises the benefits of any progress made in the field.

Technological developments

A key concern throughout the process has been the technical build of my work - should it be HTML5 or flash? Initially I thought that HTML5 web apps would be the most appropriate solution, but as I have followed developments in the field, I have become less convinced that this approach would work at this point in time. Many commercial practitioners are developing hybrid solutions as an interim solution until HTML5 catches up, and this approach is appropriate for my work, maximising the benefits of both approaches to provide greater functionality combined with cross platform delivery and data syncronisation.

Maximising the benefit of each platform

My work also aims to maximise the benefit of each platform whilst also ensuring the solution works across multiple platforms, for example, integrating activities that use the camera and microphone. Many apps in the field don't take full advantage of this, and young children could benefit from some of the additional functionality the technology can offer. For example the ability to record their own version of a story.

#native #forefront 3 #research #HTML5 #multi-platform #Commerciality #theory 2

At the forefront

These are the slides I used in my presentation at the symposium. Although my work relates to the forefront of my field in numerous ways, I focussed primarily on the technological debates and aspects of developing multi platform solutions because time for the presentation was limited to 5 minutes.

I think the presentation went well and there was no specific feedback given to improve my work, although I took some pointers from the discussions during the rest of the session (there is always room for improvement).

This presenation also provides a good basis for developing my final presentation.

#forefront 3

Architecture overview

I have created an overview of my artefact that highlights the active pages. This will be useful both for submission for assessment purposes to identify which routes are active, and may also be used in my final presentation.

#information architecture 2 #build 3

display chain issues

The issue:

items added to the 'my things' section and made into dragable items were remaining on the screen when you moved away from that page.

It was not possible to reference the name of the item that was added as a child of the stage because all references to it (including the variables) had to remain within the function in order that each item in the array was added to a new sprite and made dragable independent of the other options.

The solution:

I tried various options for removing the child but had lots of errors. A set of traces helped identify the position of the items in the display list and I used 'removeChildAt ' to reference the object directly. I put this within a loop so that as more objects are added to the array the code will automatically cope with removing more items.

The last error to overcome related to the changing position. Initially I used removeChildAt (6+i) because the first item was always at 6, then the rest followed. But as one item is removed the others move further up the list, therefore an item at 7 will move to be item 6 if the previous item 6 is removed. Therefore the final code that worked is

removeChildAt (6)

this may change if more elements are added to the screen so I will keep an eye on this.

#technical 4 #build 3

Snap shot of the updated database table.

#technical 4

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Sharon Jordan