Prototype Evaluation Presentation

We were given the option of recording our final class presentation for our prototype evaluation. Because of the time difference and prior commitments I am not able to attend the synchronous session on Wednesday so i will be recording. My first try at the recording is HERE.

Prototype Complete

Well my prototype is finally finished.

The first round of testing went well and i was able to get some very constructive feedback from the teachers that used it. Namely I put text boxes into the flash tutorial to aid the visual learners we have out there. These along with the narration that plays during the tutorial will ensure that multiple intelligences are recognized and accommodated for. A screen capture from the first slide looked like this...
After hearing from teachers I includedtext boxes in the final prototype. I think these add a lot to the quality of the prototype and will make it that much more user friendly for teachers. I also love the fact that anyone viewing the tutorial is able to start and pause it anywhere during the duration of it while it is playing. This is key for teachers who want to play and pause and try out their new skills while they watch. It also allows for users who may for some reason be unable to watch the whole tutorial at one sitting to pick up where they left off.


All in all, i am happy to be more or less done with this project. I have finished my protype handout for the final 3 minute presentation. You can view it HERE.

Wink

For being a piece of freeware, I was initially a little sketchy about using Wink to do my prototype. However, after messing aound with wink and doing some test recordings I feel that this tool is amazing. I have already used it to produce two other tutorials for teachers in my building. One was for adding a network printer, the other for working in our online grading systems. The teachers liked them both and I had good feedback from them. Here is a short sample I developed for inserting an image from my Design concept. you'll need Flash Player to view it.

Inserting Image Tutorial

Design Concept Complete

Finally!!!!!....

Well my Design Concept is complete. After a couple weeks of working and reworking it I think I have finished my Design Concept. This one was a lot of work but I am pleased with my effort. Now I have the prototype left which will be a biggie too but with the framework i have set up for myself I think I should be in good shape.

Design Concept Ideas

I have been messing around in Wiispaces andI think I have an idea of how my slides will work. i am posting some of my "sketches" here.

Design Concept-Some Ideas

The Design Concept will be a large document that specifically outlines the rationale for our training product (in my case-using Wikis to Create teacher Web Pages). It will also spell out what the instructional product will look like, how it will function, how it is intended to meet learner goals, and the methods that will be used to produce it. As I mentioned in my previous post, we are expected to develop some rough mock-ups of what the instructional product might look like to the learner. Right now I am looking at using Wink, an open source screen capture and voice recording piece of software, for my presentation. Since essentially Using Wikis will be an instructional product used to teach processes an how to use different features of a wiki, it should work nicely. Also, doing it in wink will allow me to render the final product as a flash movie that can easily be uploaded to my web server and then I can publish a link to it. this will allow for the anytime/anywhere type of training product that i see as being most beneficial to teachers considering their unusually busy schedules. Here are some rough some rough ideas i have come up with. I used wikispaces.com to develop my tutorial as this is what we outlined as the wiki space of choice in our System Specification presentation. Wikispaces was a good choice because it is probably the most recognized wiki space on the web today and I find its features to be very intuitive and user friendly. These attributes will suit it nicely since most teachers do not have experience using wikis and it can be intimidating for them.

System Specification Presentation and the Design Concept

This morning we presented our systems specification to Joe. We all met using Adobe Breeze. Joe had uploaded our PowerPoint presentation before hand and we were all given presenter "rights' for our presentation so we could click to progress the slides as we worked through our respective topics within the System Specification. All in all the presentation went well, although I think I talked a bit too long during the presentation. However, we did do a lot of work as a group and I was anxious to show it off during our meeting. Ann and Melissa both did a great job and spoke effectively during the presentation.

From here we are moving to the Design Concept which is described as:

Submitted in the form of a 1,500-2000 word memo, the Design Concept will use crisp narratives, concise lists and outlines, and other textual and graphics devices to help readers envision the design of a small instructional product or portion of a product that is consistent with the Design Team's System Specifications. The Design Concept must be sufficiently developed to allow readers to understand the purpose and justification for design.

This part of the project has me a little intimidated as it is probably going to be the largest assignment that we have to individually develop for the class this semester. There are some case studies from past projects that are very useful in guiding us as to the different aspects that are to be included. Also, I will need to brush up on my reading of Ruth Clark's "Developing Technical Training", as I have fallen behind in my reading and I need to catch up. Much of the foundation that she lays here, specifically the chapter(s) dealing with instructing processes, will be used in my Design Concept (DC). As part of the DC we are also expected to include some screen captures of what our instructional product might look like to the learner. I have some ideas on this, but I need to get them down on paper and i should be posting those mock-ups/sketches in the next week or so. it looks like a lot of writing, but this is the part of the project where the "rubber meets the road" so to speak.