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.