File Uploader.

That is a picture that makes my life easier.

IMCE is "an image/file uploader and browser that supports personal directories and quota."

This means a quicker way to add files without going through your normal FTP manager.

You can upload image, resize them, create thumbnails or preview them all through IMCE.
You can add users, and set separate permissions for each user. There is also support for private file systems.
The basic idea of this uploader is to be able to access your files quickly and effectively. Once installed and configured, all you need to do is type in your URL and then /imce and you can access your directory.

I use it specifically to add SWF's to the database, and then access them using CKEditor SWF.

This module is quick and easy to set up, and adds some extra functionality to your site. I highly recommend it.

Adding SWF's to Drupal.

I love Adobe Flash. It is a great program to create in. So, naturally I wanted Drupal to support SWF which are the files that are used to play Flash Files through.

Well, Drupal does not come with a way to add flash files to your website. Luckily, there are plenty of modules that add that functionality to your website.

I chose the module: CKEditor SWF. This is an add on plugin module for the module I talked about previously: CKEditor.

This is a fairly simple module, but adds so much to Drupal. Being able to add SWF's into the body of an article is great. The picture that I have added on to this post is of me adding Wilderness Adventure, my senior capstone project, to my Drupal page.

Now, adding this module and configuring it wasn't pleasant. At all. It was actually pretty frustrating. It took me quite a while to configure the module, and getting it working on my site.

Downloading the Zip file, and adding it to my hosting site was the normal routine. But there were a number of steps that had to follow. You had to have the CKEditor module downloaded and configured, but also the CKEditor editor downloaded to the site as well.

You have to make sure that the Wysiwig module is configured to accept the buttons added with CKEditor SWF.
Once finally configured, you have to make sure that you have a way to host the files that you want to add to your site. If you are working from a local server that is great, and this process will be much faster.

If not, I suggest using IMCE. I will talk more about this later, but this basically is a file up loader that allows you to browse through your content quickly.
I uploaded my content through IMCE, then used that link that is connected with the file to then post the SWF to my site.
There may be an easier way, but that works for me. The hard way seems to be a 4/10 for ease of set up.

CKEditor SWF is a great module to add SWF functionality to your site. If your ready to tackle the configuration of this module, it is a great module to have for your Drupal site.

Drupal Functionality.

What you are looking at might not seem to special, but believe me, this module adds so much to a Drupal site.

This is the Wysiwyg module that harnesses the CKEditor module.
The Wysiwyg module allows users to access client-side editors to edit content.
In particular, I chose to pick CKEditor, which is a visual HTML editor.

That basically means that you have the ability to edit the of body of the text you submit into a Drupal article, or any other content type. This makes it so you can add color to text, links, spell check your work, among other functionality that is built into the editor.

This adds a lot of versatility when you are adding text into Drupal. Instead of boring, plain text words, you have much more visually pleasing text.

The Wysiwig module itself was really easy to install. Then all you had to do was pick an editor you want to install, go into the configuration of the Wysiwig module and install it! Configuring the editor to your specifications is easy as well. Some editors require you to download a separate file as well to go along with the editor. Overall a 5/10 for ease of instillation, and I highly recommend it.

Wilderness Adventure Paper Prototype

The much belated posting of my paper prototype for Wilderness Adventure!

Symmetry.

Kyle Cooper is without a doubt a master of typography. Looking at his work blows me away. They way he integrates text and motion into his work is amazing.

It is no different with the title sequence for Wild Wild West. Although this movie wasn't exactly praised as a masterpiece, the title sequence was beautiful.

The title sequence is what seems to be very symmetrical. Boxes contain images and film, and then text appears that complements the space. It is symmetrical, yet asymmetrical at the same time. The text comes flying in, or appears out of nowhere. It gives added excitement to the sequence.

You feel drawn to the text. The "old west" typography is quite fitting as it zooms onto the screen. You are a part of the action.

The boxes that hold the action within them, are intruded upon by movement, and overlapping lines. The text is overlaid in such a way to accent the motion perfectly.

That is exactly want I want to accomplish. Typography that accents the scene. That adds to the overall effect while having a purpose. Kyle Cooper does this flawlessly in the title sequence.

Video Games as a Form of Assessment

Students minds have been trained to operate differently in this day in age then they were, say 20 years ago. Students are learning and interacting with the world in entirely different ways.

Mind/Shift is a website devoted to exploring how education is developing in a technological world.
According to Mind/Shift, "Kids between the ages of 8 and 18 spen 11.5 hours a day using technology — whether that’s computers, television, mobile phones, or video games – and usually more than one at a time. That’s a big chunk of their 15 or 16 waking hours."

Technology has a huge impact on students lives, and can be harnessed to help them learn more effectively.

http://mindshift.kqed.org/2011/02/how-technology-wires-the-learning-brain/

Dr. James Paul Gee, a professor at Arizona State University and a leading authority on literacy and the potential of educational games, has great insight into how video games are improving learning. He has researched how video games can be used to teach students more effectively. He argues that video games have instructions integrated into them, and ways to test those instructions built right into the very making of the game.
Gee says,
"The algebra student must take a test to assess what he knows on the day of the test. The Halo player has mastered the skills needed to get to the final level -- and that's his ultimate goal. No need for a test in that context. "

Gee sees a real need for a change in how we determine students learning, and the way they are learning.
Gee says, "Learning and assessment are exactly the same thing," Gee said. "If you design learning so you can't get out of one level until you complete the last one, there's no need for a test. There would be no Bell Curve. It's unethical to test a student based on one day's knowledge. We have to change the attitude about testing on a government level."

This is a great video of Dr. Gee talking about some of his theories on video games as teaching devices.

Watch the full episode. See more Digital Media - New Learners Of The 21st Century.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tina-barseghian/education-technology-video-games_b_829460.html

The Progress of Interactivity.

These days Interactive Learning is really starting to take off.


I love how developers are working on making games that are truly innovative and make a difference in the educational world.



Recently I have been interested in the development of mobile interactivity. I would enjoy being able to make my interactive game into a mobile version. But, I am not sure time wise how it would work out.

Accessibility of these games are getting better and better. Students can now use mobile phones to access Applications that are both fun and educational. The touch screens, accelerometers, and portability of the devices make the development of mobile games so interesting. Students can actually touch what they are doing, and control the game in front of them.

Mindsnacks is a company that takes these ideas to heart. They have games to learn Spanish and French. They are also developing games for SAT prep. They use fun interactive games to teach vocabulary, writing, reading, and listening skills to foreign language learners. They use the mobile platform of the iPhone to reach the masses.

Interactivity is a huge key to learning.

Principal Sharyn C. Gabriel has taken steps to use interactivity to help educate kids in her school at Ocoee Middle School outside of Orlando, Florida.

"It is deliberate and conscientious that I am putting technology in kid's hands," Gabriel says. "You can't teach them if they're sleeping or disinterested. It doesn't work."

Tina Rooks is the vice president and chief instructions officer of Turning Technologies in Youngstown, Ohio. Turning Technologies provides an audience-response system to schools.
She has been watching the progress of Ocoee Middle School.

"The reality is these kids really are engaged in this digital world," she says, "and we bring them into kindergarten and say, 'Power down.' We lose them, and we lose them early."

By using interactive games to motivate students to learn, they feel a connection and a more positive engagement in the learning.

Interactive Learning

The goal of my project is to make an interactive game that engages the player and allows them to learn something.

Merriam-Webster says that learning is "the act or experience of one that learns."

That's it. The Experience. I want the game to be a learning experience.

I have been doing some research on how students learn.

Sara DeWitt, the vice president of interactive at PBS Kids says, "When kids are engaged, they're more likely to learn."

If students are engaged, they are drawn into the subject.

I have been working at the Pre-school on campus at Shepherd University this semester and part of last semester. I have really enjoyed it, and I believe I will be making my game to fit the ages of 3-5. The Pre-school to Kindergarten age. It is a really fun age range to work with. The absorb everything. It will be fun making a game that the pre-schoolers can play and learn from.

Read more:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703300904576178421595916308.html#ixzz1FlVY2qQf

Learning.

Relearning. That is what I have been doing lately.

I am relearning Flash, not because I am rusty with the program (although doesn't help), but because I am learning a whole new scripting language.
Actionscript 3.0 is a different animal.

I originally learned my Flash programming on Actionscript 2.0. Now learning AS 3.0 I realize how different it is.
I am pretty excited about it though, because this scripting language has a lot more to offer then the last version. I am ready to learn the ins-and-outs of the code, and to be able to put it to use.

Furthering Functionality.

Our assignment was to check out eBay's new "sidebar" feature. In theory this sounds like a pretty good idea. Having a sidebar button that shows updates should help make things a little faster, right?

Well, I had a pretty bad time getting this to work. First, it took me forever to find where to download the plug in.

If eBay wants this to be something that is helping their customers, it would be good for them to put it in a more visible place.

Second, it wouldn't download! After a few tries it finally downloaded.

Third, when I loaded it, it didn't recognize safari. This was a sad time. After many times trying to get it to recognize, it did. But then, the eBay sidebar didn't let me log into my account.

I can't consider something functional that doesn't do the function that it is trying to accomplish.

It was pretty frustrating overall.

I can see this being an interesting addition for eBay, but I don't see it being much better than the traditional method of watching and buying items. For now, I will stick with what is familiar and works!

I have to use what?

Where do your eyes focus when you look at this image of a website? Having trouble focusing on any given part of the image? That is exactly the problem with the image. Clutter.

Sure, looking at an intricate web layout with many images is great, but once you try to navigate through the site you will become frustrated quickly.

Smashing Magazine did an article on beautiful websites that were unusable. Many websites like the example I have here are ripped apart for their lack of usability. It doesn't matter how beautiful or complex a site is, if you cannot clearly and effectively deliver content to the consumer, it is a failed website.

People have short attention spans. If you cannot catch their attention And captivate them, they will quickly leave your site. By having simple yet elegant navigation, clear goals, and a smooth layout, your website will catch people's attention and keep it.

Color: Use it.

This video has some really cool complimentary colors. I love when the arrows are moving across the screen, the use of blue and orange is great to compliment each other.

This video has some beautiful hues. The blue, pink yellow combination with the contrasting white is quite stunning. Although the video is only 11 seconds long, it catches your attention quickly. The colors really stand out.

Research: good times.

I am pretty excited about researching for my Capstone project. Monica helped me with some ideas for where I will start my research. In Game Design which I took a few semesters back, we read the book Rules of Play by Katie Salen. This book will be a great resource for looking into the design aspects of my interactive games.

I have a number of scholarly sources that I plan on using to explore the ideas behind interactive learning.

Katie Salen has also implemented many of the ideas of interactive learning in educational settings.

http://www.instituteofplay.org/

I will jump into these sources and gain a better direction for this project.

Ideas? I have them.

As I think through my years at Shepherd, I think of all the enjoyable projects that I have done. Thinking of possible Capstone project ideas has been interesting. I became slightly nostalgic as I reminisced about projects that I have done over the years here. I have enjoyed how they have stretched me, and taught me to think out side the box.

That being said, there are a few that really stuck out to me, and I would like to use the knowledge that I learned from them and apply it to my Capstone project. I would love to be able to do a media campaign of sorts. Which would entail a full fledged viral campaign: a website, videos, Facebook, Twitter, all the works. I would do this campaign on something that I care about, either something on campus or a topic of interest.

Another idea that would be wonderful to do would be an awesome Flash game. Through my semester in Game Design and Flash Games, I jumped into the world of flash. I really enjoyed coding and working with the program to create new things. It was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot from it. It would be great to devote time to making a full working game or some type of interactive learning experience using Flash.

My last possibility would to make a video, or series of videos. I am not sure as to what would be the main content of the videos just yet. I love comedy, and may try to tie in comedic elements to the video.

"There's an app for that"

How many times a day do we use apps? I know that I do regularly. I have an app for checking the weather. I have an for facebook. I have an app for the latest gadget update. Just about anything that interests you, there is an app that correlates to it.

Applications are one of the reasons why it is easier and easier for me to not use the web as often as I used to. Since I receive emails on my phone, I now spend even less time on the web. The information age is changing. This new form of technology is evolving rapidly.

The streamlined convenience of apps make it quite easy to use them instead of the web. Each app normally has a specific purpose for something we want to do. This makes it really simple for me to click the app and get my information, instead of loading up a browser and searching for something. This convenience is key in our on-the-go society, we want information, and we want it yesterday.

The invention of the "smartphone" has revolutionized how we obtain data on a daily basis. Apps have completely changed how the internet is used, and I think for the better. Sure, I love the web, and I want it to stick around. I still use Google daily to find information, but the idea of having specific applications that get the job done quickly and effectively is amazing.