Design Brief :]

Design Brief:

Problem:
We are going to show how technology has allowed us to communicate with different people all around the world with social media and technological devices.
What is the general problem your group is trying to solve?
Making a PSA and a poster about digital communication.

What is the design problem you are trying to solve?
We have to think about what we want our poster and PSA to look like at the end, and start thinking about how we will make that happen.

Concept: (What do you want the user to think about?
We want them to realize how technology has bettered our lives.

What message do you want the user to get?)
We want them to understand what we are able to do now that we weren't able to do before.

Sources: cited

Identify and analyze appropriate source of information you will need to solve your problem.

Any Research?
We need to see the differen't social media websites other countries have.

Actors?
Odalys, Karla, Karla's friend

Materials / Props?
Make up, costumes, cell phone, camera

Sound / Music?
Chinese and American music

Software?-
iMovie

Specifications:

Format: (web video (320 x 240) or PAL D1/DV widescreen

Pixel Format: Square pixels or DV Footage

Tools: (Photoshop, illustrator, iMovie, Premier, Final Cut Pro, After Effects)

Length: (15 – 60 seconds)

Plan

1. What issue/ topic did you choose?

2. Why is this important?

3. Who do you want to reach? (target audience)

4. What is the behavior your looking to change?

5. Why doesn’t the audience already engage in this behavior?

6. What emotional appeal can you make?

7. Belonging; Power/Control; Fun: Safety;

8. Put your audience in a situation/scenario where the issue would come up in their lives.

9. Where are they? (setting)

10. Who is there? (characters)

11. What’s’ going on around them?  ( ambient sound)

12. What are they saying? (dialogue)

13. Who is message brought to you by? ( Station; organization)

Notes :]

1. Digital Communication is the digital exchange of information.
2. Who uses Digital Communication? Almost everyone does
3. Southpark cartoon discusses how facebook can impact your life.
4. How do we use digital communication? We use it in text messaging, IM, e-mail, etc.
5. What is the potential for misuse? Students cheat through text messages, search inappropriate info, and use digital object inappropriately in school.
6. Where is the danger for misuse that impacts you daily? You always run the risk of a car crash because of people that text while driving.
7. What is the expected time you believe is appropriat to change your FB status? You can change your relationship status when you tell the other person.
8. What is your opinion about FB manners? My opinion is that it's a creative way to inform us of the rules we have to follow while using facebook, and the things that could happen if we don't.
9. What are the benefits of Digital Communication? The benefits are you can communicate with anyone, anytime, anywhere, you have access to information, and
10. What is your opinion? Is this proper use of digital communication? No, that is very rude and disrespectful. They have become so addicted to facebook that they would interrupt a religious ceremony to update a status.

1. What issue/topic did you choose?
Digital Communication
2.Why is this important?
It is important because everything we access on the internet leaves our digital footprint online forever. Once we send a text message, e-mail message, e-mail account, it is out in the digital world forever.
3. Who do you want to reach? (target audience)
We are trying to reach students to be careful with what they publish online. If it's something that could emberass you now, it will emberass you even more in the future.
4. What is the behavior your looking to change?
We are trying to 
5. Why doesn't the audience already engage in this behavior?


6. What emotional appeal can you make?


7. Belonging; Power/Control; Fun:Safety;


8. Put your audience in a situation/scenario/where the issue would come up in their lives


9. Where are they? (setting)


10. Who is there? (characters)


11. What's going on around them? (ambient sound)


12. What are they saying? (dialogue)


13. Who is message brought to you by? (Station;organization)

How can my digital footprint affect my future?

• 2.5 billion text messages are sent per day in the us
• more than 100 million yahoo accounts were active in August 2011 
• 355 million hotmail accounts were active in 2011
• China doesn't use facebook
• 175 million people log onto facebook everyday
• 5.3 billion mobile subscribers  
• between 500 million to 1 bln people will have access to the internet by 2015. 
• text messages sent by U.S. citizens is around 110 billion
• Facebook is translated in over 100 languages
• (http://techcrunch.com/2010/02/01/facebook-coo-sheryl-sandberg-world-economic-forum-davos/)
• (http://www.email-marketing-reports.com/metrics/email-statistics.htm) 

Digital Access:]

1) What are the options for better Access?
  
     Some options for better access are to receive taxes from the government in order to provide a more inexpensive internet to the community or to provide digital access for rural areas. Electrical and telephone access for more places are helping people get better access.

2) Explain the Final Recommendations?

    Government should be more helpful to the people who want to build new networks. Public needs to know more about the internet. The government should take the fact that some people don't have internet more seriously. They should realize the importance of internet access around the country, and do something about it.


3) What could be done to increase internet access and create more choices for communities nationwide?

     Communities could get together and tell the government that they would like to have internet access in their communities. We can't always be blaming the government. Yes, they are the ones that have the final decision, but we are the ones that can lead them to that decision. The US could also adopt the matching grant program.

4) What actions need to be taken to keep the internet open for users and innovators?


     The government as well as the communities should have the right to internet access at a low price and at high speed, and should have access to the internet, period. It is important that the government keeps in mind that internet access is important  for everybody to have. It is not luxury but a necessity.

Vocabulary :]

Etiquette- The internet would be safer if everybody used good digital etiquette.

Conduct- The conduct of most people on sites like facebook make these sites unsafe.

Courtesy- It is good to have courtesy when sending an e-mail to a teacher.

Flame- Many of these flames start because it is easy to say rude things to someone on the internet.

Troll- The trolls who start these fights are unlikely to say those things to that person in real life.

Anonymous- The fact that these people are anonymous, just proves that they wouldn't do the things they do on the internet in real life.

Emoticon- It is easier to show your true emotions in a message by using emoticons.

Obvious-  The humor or tone in a message is not always obvious.

Tone- When someone types a message in all CAPS, the person on the other side of screen thinks the sender is mad because of the the tone capital letters have.

SMS- SMS stands for short message service.

Ethical- Ethical people are not trolls on the internet.

Unethical- People who like to waste their time in fighting with other people are unethical.

Legal- It is illegal to molest somebody on facebook.

Boolean Search- You are able to get more accurate results when you search with Boolean Search.

URL- It is easier to find a website using its URL.

Evaluation on steps :]

Investigation

     On investigation, I would give myself a 6. I understood that the whole point of this project was to teach the sixth graders exactly what the design cycle was. That would mean using simple vocabulary, correct grammar, and interesting information. Part of the investigation was the design brief and specifications. I knew how I wanted my game and what I wanted my game to include.

Plan

     On plan I would give myself a 6. I planned out a schedule to make sure I would have the project done by the time it was due. For this we used the Gannt chart. I also started searching for simple ways to put in information the sixth graders would understand.

Create 

     On create, I would give myself a 5. I did finish my project on time, but I didn't really follow my schedule. I did a good job on my project, but I know I could have done better. It was just a matter of spending more time on my game. I'm still satisfied with my project, but I just know it wasn't the best I could have done.

Evaluate

     On evaluate I would give myself a 6. I recognize that I should have spent more time on my project and that I should have followed my plan better.  I know and recognize the quality of my work. I have thought about what I would do different if I could do this project all over again.


Attitudes in Technology

     On attitudes in Technology, I would give myself a 6. I am always safe on the internet, and I always do a good job in every assignment. I respect my peers and my teacher. I am responsible and always do my work on time. 

Evaluation :]

     Learning can serve my community because there are alot of people out there that don't want to go to school or don't want to study a career, so they don't know much about the things we learn in technology class. The fact that there are people our there who do know lots about things such as the design cycle or how to use different applications on the computer really help our community. We can be the generation that will get those college degrees and help our community improve. Much of today's world revolves around technology, but we can't use that technology if we don't know how to use it. That's why everything we learn in this class is so important.
     My future projects can become better by spending more time to do them. It's hard to dedicate time to a project because it seems easier to procastinate. Ofcourse, once you realize you only have a little time to complete your project, you realize it wasn't smart to procastinate. For the future, I have to make a time in the day where I will only work on my project. I know that I could do a really good job if I were to spend enough time on my assignments. That's what I'm going to try so my future projects can become better.
    I've learned that I can do amazing work when I actually take time to do things right, but I've also learned that I hardly ever take time to do things right. As I said in the paragraph before, I am going to try my best to change that. I will continue to try my best on every assignment I get, but I will stop putting things to the last minute. I know sometimes I'm just lazy, and I don't want to do something, but if I set my mind on not being lazy, I know I can do it.
    My final product was good. I would give myself a 6 in the investigation because I clearly understood what the problem was, I knew how I wanted my game to be, and I had my specifications. On plan, I would give myself a 6. This is because I know I took the time to plan my product, and I knew what I wanted it to look like. I also knew about how long it was going to take me. On create I would give myself a 5. This is because I know I did a good job, but I could have done better. I took the time to make a good product, but it isn't the best I could have done. On evaluate, I would give myself a 6. This is because I'm really thinking back to what I could have done to create a better project. On attitudes in technology, I would give myself a 6. This is because I respect all my peers and I am safe on the internet.
    Next time, I would actually follow my schedule to create my project. I would try harder to find a website that would have most of my design specifications and what I had planned for my game. I would spend more time on thinking everything through.

Reflection

I would give myself an 5. I know sixth graders like playing games, so I am satisfied with my decision to make a game. The game I created is interesting, but I'm giving myself a 5 because maybe I could have found a website that had more options and creativity than the one I chose. My game gives instructions to the game at the beginning and there's 5 different games the students will be able to play. I like my survey. I know it's going to be easy for the sixth graders to fill it out. I decided to do my survey online because I think that's more interesting than doing it on paper just like any other handout.
The links to my project and survey are below.
Project
Survey

Progress

This is what my game looks like. It was easy to make and it's also easy to play. I told my 6th grade cousin to play it and they thought it was pretty good. The link to my game is on the post under this one.

This is my survey. I want to do the survey before they play the game and then after they play the game. This is to be able to see what they learned. The link to my survey is on the post below this.

Survey

http://www.purposegames.com/game/design-cycle-survey/info

This is the survey I am planning to give the 6th graders after they play the game. This way I will know how much they are actually learning from the game. The survey has ten questions. If they get atleast 7/10 correct, then I will be successful.

Create

http://classtools.net/widgets/quiz_2/kRbHd.htm

So this is the link to my game. I decided to do it on class tools after all because the other website made it too easy for students to guess at the answers. I am satisfied with how my project turned out. I am finished with my product, and now I will work on my survey.

Create

I've been working on this game. I'm not finished with it, but I have the background so far and I already have the questions I am going to include. If I end up doing another game on class tools, I will still use this website to create my surveys. I noticed that when you enter long questions, only half of the question shows up. That's why I am considering using another website for my game.

Gannt Chart

I have a total of 450 minutes. That's seven hours and a half. Our project is due on October 11, so I need to organize myself to finish the product.

9/29 - Day One - 3 designs - 60 min

9/30 - Day Two - create product - 60 min

10/1 - Day Three - create product - 60 min

10/2 - Day Four - test product - 60 min

10/3 - Day Five - test product - 60 min

10/4 - Day Six - create survey - 30 min

10/5 - Day Seven - evaluate product - 60 min

10/6 - Day Eight - create chart - 60 min

INVESTIGATION REFLECTION

     The problem in this investigation is to find a way to teach the design cyle to a sixth grader.  I was aware of this problem throughout the investigation, and I investigated it in detail. I answered a set of questions our teacher gave us to make sure I understood the purpose of this product. After taking the time to ask some of my 6th grade cousins how they would learn best, I came to the conlclusion that an arcade game would be a good idea. I compared two game websites thoroughly. I created an account on one of the websites to explore all the different functions and made sample games to see how the games were. I checked for simplicity, creativity, backgrounds, and quality. I wrote four paragraphs, with atleast eight sentences each, for each source to evaluate the product against the design specification. I made sure the websites were user friendly as well as how simple it would be to create a game. I checked the ratings on both websites and saw the amount of people subscribed. I compared every single function for both websites. For all of these reasons, I think my investigation was at a level 5.

My 3 Designs :]

Design 1:
Part 1: Background with the names of the different design cycles
Part 2: Definition of the stage asked at the top
Part 3: Student matches up the stages to the definitions

Design 2:
Part 1: Background with the definitions of the stages
Part 2: Stage asked at the top
Part 3: Student matches up the definitions to the stages

Design 3:
Part 1: Make a multiple choice game with both matching up stages to definitions and matching definitions to stages.
Part 2: Student answers all the questions during the time designed for the game
Part 3: Student plays until they win and learn the design cycle

Design Brief :]

Design Brief

10. Write a short statement of what you are going to make, why you are going to make it, and for whom you are making it.

I am going to create a game. I am creating this game to teach sixth graders about the design cycle. I chose to create a game because in sixth grade we were really into games, and I’m pretty sure it’s the same for most of the sixth grade generations.

Formulate a Design Specification

11. What are the requirements for this assignment?

• For this assignment, we are required to teach a sixth grader about the design cycle. 
• We have to do a good job, but we have to do our project in a way that a sixth grader will understand what we are trying to say.
• Game should be played in 3-5 minutes. 

12. What are the limitations you have with this assignment?

A limitation for this assignment is to be creative enough to have a sixth grader play your “educational game”. Many will not want to play a game knowing it’s educational, but you have to find a way that they will want to play your game and that they can memorize what they’ve been learning about the design cycle.

13. How will you "test" your presentation?

Maybe I can have some sixth graders play my game and have them tell me if they liked it and what they learned from it. I can create a 5 question mini quiz. I will be successful if 6th grades get at least 3/5 correct. I can also take a sophomore and have them play my game. Then I can ask how easy they thought it was and make changes to my game from there.
DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS

• 3-5 minutes
• simple and effective for a sixth grader 
• interesting enough to catch a sixth graders attention 
• easy-to-use functions
• able to access it from anywhere with internet

REFLECT ON YOUR LEARNING

There are a lot of things you have to think about when designing something. You have to really compare all your different options and go with the one you think will do the best performance. You need to have an idea of what it is exactly that you want to do and then improve your ideas.

Class Tools :]

     Creativity- Class Tools is not very creative, so I scored it a 2. There are only 5 game options you can choose from.  One of the options is a flashcard game. Another one of the options is just a matching cards game. The third option is a little robot that you control with your keyboard that has to chase the answers. The fourth option is a cannon that you point toward the right answer. Then you try to hit the right answer with a cannon ball using the space bar. The fifth option is based on the space invaders game. If it is not creative enough for me, sixth graders will not think it is creative either and will not want to play the game. There is nothing you can customize on class tools. Everything is pretty much set for you. All the creator has to do is make the questions.

     

     Backgrounds- I scored backgrounds a 0. This is because since you choose from pre-set options, you can’t choose your background. Background is what catches the players attention. It goes back to the theme of the game. One of the pre-set backgrounds is a sky with little clouds, another is a star background. The third is just plain white; the fourth is plain black; and the fifth is green. The background is something you should be able to customize, especially if you are the creator of the game. What is the point of saying you created your own game, if you can’t even say that you designed your game’s background?

     

     Simplicity- Even though this website lacks creativity and doesn’t let you customize your own background, it is very easy to use for both the creator and the user. All the creator has to do is visit the website which directly takes you to the page where you insert the questions you want to include in your game. After that, you just click on create. All the user of the game has to do is click on the set of questions you designed for your game, and it will take them to the different options of the game. They will choose between 5 different options. The game will then take them to the instructions. After they read the instructions, they click play and start playing the game. This website is very simple which is good for a sixth grader. That’s why I scored it a 4.

     

     Quality- What I don’t like about this website is that it gives the player plenty of chances to get the question correct. This doesn’t assure me that the sixth graders are actually learning about the design cycle. If they have many chances to get the answer right, they will just keep on guessing until they hit on the right answer. This doesn’t benefit me or the sixth grader. I would have just wasted my time on creating a game, and sixth graders would be wasting their time on playing it. But this may not be the case for all students. Some students will still try their best on trying to learn the design cycle. I decided 3 for quality because possibilities of students learning the design cycle with this game can go both ways, and 3 is an in between number.

Purpose Games :]

      Creativity- I scored creativity a 4. This is because you have the option of customizing your game. First you get the choice of multiple choice games or place-it-on-a-map game. From there, it takes you to a page that formats your game. You can choose between different colored backgrounds, different font styles and sizes, game title, timers, hints, etc. You then insert the questions you want in your game and create your game. This page is more creative because you actually have the option of customizing your game.

     

     Backgrounds- I scored backgrounds a 3. This is because, unlike the other website, you now have the option of choosing your background. The reason I didn’t give it a 5 was because there isn’t many backgrounds to choose from. That doesn’t really matter though because you can choose backgrounds from different colors, and colors influence the player’s attention. You can research what color would be best for a game, and you have the choice of putting that color as your background.

     

     Simplicity- I scored simplicity a 4. This is because the website automatically gives you the steps you have to follow in order to create your website. It’s not a complicated process you have to go through or anything like that. As you complete the different pages you have to fill out, the website automatically puts the next step on the screen. It’s the same thing for game users. All they have to do is choose the game they want to play. The instructions will then pop out. Once they read the instructions, they will click play and play the game. This website is very simple to use and that’s good for sixth graders.

    

     Quality- I scored quality a 4. This is because many people are subscribed to this website and the reviews of the games are good. This tells me that there is possibility of creating a good game on this website. Also, unlike the other website, this website allows a timer, or only a certain amount of chances to answer each question. It also allows you to insert hints and things like that.  This lets me know that sixth graders actually have to try and use their brain to answer the game questions correctly.

Design Stage :]

Design Brief

10. Write a short statement of what you are going to make, why you are going to make it, and for whom you are making it.

I am going to create a game. I am creating this game to teach sixth graders about the design cycle. I chose to create a game because in sixth grade we were really into games, and I’m pretty sure it’s the same for most of the sixth grade generations.

Formulate a Design Specification

11. What are the requirements for this assignment?

For this assignment, we are required to teach a sixth grader about the design cycle. We have to do a good job, but we have to do our project in a way that a sixth grader will understand what we are trying to say.

12. What are the limitations you have with this assignment?

A limitation for this assignment is to be creative enough to have a sixth grader play your “educational game”. Many will not want to play a game knowing it’s educational, but you have to find a way that they will want to play your game and that they can memorize what they’ve been learning about the design cycle.

13. How will you "test" your presentation?

Maybe I can have some sixth graders play my game and have them tell me if they liked it and what they learned from it. I can also take a sophomore and have them play my game. Then I can ask how easy they thought it was and make changes to my game from there.

REFLECT ON YOUR LEARNING

There are a lot of things you have to think about when designing something. You have to really compare all your different options and go with the one you think will do the best performance. You need to have an idea of what it is exactly that you want to do and then improve your ideas.

Day 2 reflection :]

One of my options is to create an arcade game. This is a web based tool, so I can access it from wherever. This website only has certain game options. You can only choose between 5 different games, but you get to create your own questions. There's not many room for creativity in this website. 

Another one of my options is purpose games. This is also a web based tool, so it's easy to access. With this website you can create many different types of games. You can choose your topic and there is more room for creativity. There is more people following this site than other game websites. 

Questions 1-9 :]

INVESTIGATE: (Write in complete sentences) Identify the Problem

1. What is the problem you need to solve?

Explain to a 6^th grader what the design cycle is in a presentation.

2. How does the Design Cycle apply to the real world?

Before you complete any product, you have to go through a process. That process is the Design Cycle.

3. How will this project serve my community?

This project will allow us to teach other people our knowledge about the design cycle.

4. How can my learning help my community?

My learning can help by sharing it with other people.

5. How do we live in relation to each other?

We all know different things so we need to share what we know.

6. How does this help others?

It helps because that way sixth graders will also know what the design cycle is, and they won’t have problems going over it when they get older.

7. What are the requirements for this assignment?

You will read your section of the design project. Then we will make a 2-minute presentation about whatever we got.  

8. What is the Design Cycle?

The design cycle is a process in which a product is created. Includes investigation, design, plan, create, and evaluate.

REFLECT on your learning.

I understand that we have to do a project that explains the stages of the design cycle that is easy to understand.

Day 2

9. Spend one day experimenting with DESIGN CYCLE your presentation. List five things your learned about the Design Cycle:

There are many steps to the design cycle. You have to experiment with the different choices for your project. You have to analyze each one carefully and decide why it would be a good idea or why it wouldn’t be a good idea. You have to have reasons of why you think this way. This helps you be organized and be sure that you’ve made the right decision.