Desk Crits

Natasha Barreto, City Planner

Hello Natasha,

I was completely impressed with your project. We had spoke briefly about it in yesterday's showcase and my general reaction to it was one of amazement. The overall design is very professional and is comparable to software that you can currently find out on the market.

Your action script skills are also very impressive and help to make the program even more interactive. I like that the guy moves during the actual user interaction section (it was a good surprise!) I also just noticed that he blinks. These are very simple things, but it really helps to motivate the learner.

Really I don't have much feedback on what you can improve. As you already know I would just say work on the introduction and instruction text.

Another very minor note ( I am not sure if this was intentional, but in the copyright text you have 'CityPLanner' instead of 'CityPlanner'. It's not a big deal, but I figured since I saw it I would just let you know!
GREAT JOB so far and I can't wait to see the final product at showcase.

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Erin Noh, Why Work at Camp?

Hey Erin,

I was just looking over the site, and I am very impressed with the progress you have made so far. I know you were worried about your flash skills and how you would be able to make the project interactive. but I do believe you have done a good job with that so far, in terms of making the project more interactive.

I did have a few things I wanted to point out:
1. The page sizes seem to be different for each page I click on, which in turn causes the navigation buttons to change a little bit. It's not a big deal, but it can sometimes be a little distracting. Just ensure that the background image is the same for all the pages in Dreamweaver and that the navigation buttons are in the same place on each page.

2. Also in some browsers, the pages are not centered, so sometimes I had to scroll to the right, when there was lots of white space on the left. Maybe you can move it over a little bit.

3. On the last page in Unit 4, the next button is still available, but there are no remaining pages. Maybe you need to remove the next button link, so that the user knows for sure that there are no remaining pages.

4. For the unit 2 activity (the flash one we worked on together.) Is it possible to have it placed inside the page, like you did for the another animation. I know it may appear too big, but in Dreamweaver, you can actually change the size to the size you want, so you can look back at the first one and use the same dimensions for this unit 2 interaction.

Once again, great job so far, and I look forward to seeing the final product at the showcase!

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Sabrina Rabsatt, Sewing 101


Hi there Sabrina,

I am just now taking a look at your project and let me first say that I absolutely love the page design. it is very clean and the colors you choose are very appealing. I also really love the navigation options w/ both a graphics and words!

Just a few minor things I think would make your project pop a little more, for the meet you machine flash project, it may be a good idea to have the objects that you can rollover somewhat distinguished from the rest of the machine. At first it was difficult for me to know what ares I could rollover and what areas I couldn't. Also, this way you will ensure that the user will not miss any of the areas. I would suggest, maybe changing the color of these areas or something. If you need some help w/ this don't hesitate to ask, it's actually really simple!

Also, for the overall project, I would consider making the instruction text a diff. color from the rest of the text. This way the user knows that when they see this color, that it's something that will tell them what they need to do. (for example on the meet your machine section, the 'Rollover this...' would be in a diff. color from the rest of the text).

I hope my suggestions help a little, and I can't wait to see the final product at the showcase. Great job so far!!!

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Melissa Gay, Melissa's Travelogue

Hi Melissa,

First let me start off by saying that I ABSOLUTELY love your screen design. It is VERY visually appealing.

I am aware that you do not have a lot of content so far online, but I did have a few suggestions.
1. You already have the click-able links move when you rollover them , but would it be possible to have text appears that describes what the link is about as you rollover them. For example when you rollover the pen it can say, contact me/leave a message or something of the sort.

Also, I am not sure of what layout you were thinking of the actual content pages of the travelogue, but it would be REALLY neat, if it actually looked like pages from the book!

That's all the suggestions I have so far. But like I said, your project looks awesome so far and I cannot wait to see the final product at the showcase!

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

15/5 #2

At this stage, we as a team are still just attempting to stay as much ahead of the game as we can. Regretfully we were not able to meet all the goals we had set for ourselves last week. However, we were able to get a lot discussed during our second meeting and as a result completed the following tasks:
  • Finalized 6200 consultants
  • Reminded client that the entire content must be received for initial analysis
  • Developed a plan/timeline for completing Needs Assessment documentation

We had hoped to receive most of the content early after we returned from Labor Day; however, this turned out to not be a feasible task. Consequently, we have discussed this with the client and plan to receive the content in its entirety tomorrow. Once we receive this we will be ready to forge ahead at full speed. We have altered our original schedule to reflect this change and the entire team has already expressed their willingness to follow this new timeline. As a project manager, I am confident that we will accomplish all that we plan to in the next week.

Things to do in the next week:

  • Analyze entire content and determine instructional goals.
  • Perform needs assessment and begin Needs Assessment documentation
  • Begin formulating ideas for the design approach.

The remainder of this week and the upcoming week is a critical week for Team Global Solutions, as we will be analyzing and defining elements that will be critical to the success of this project as we move forward.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

15/5 #1

This week was an important week for Team Global Solutions and we managed to complete the following core tasks:

  • Finalized team members and roles
  • Chose a team name: This process turned out to be a lot easier than anticipated. We decided on the name Global Solutions because our team is made up of students that represent 5 different countries. Hence, we believe that we are able to approach Instructional Design from a “global” perspective.
  • Chose a project: For half the members on our team, choosing a project was not a difficult task, as we have had the opportunity to work with one of the clients before: Gywnn Powell, who proved to be a superior client. However, the project description on the STUDIO site was also a great help in helping the team make its final decision. Just in general, the main aim of this project is to provide students that are interested in the Russian Summer Camp Program, with the necessary skills to have a successful learning experience abroad.
  • Met with the client: Our first meeting with the client was held on 08/26. This meeting was a very successful one, as the client went beyond our expectations and provided answers to many of our questions before we even had the opportunity to ask them. As a result of this meeting, Global Solutions now has a deeper understanding of the task at hand and how to move forward.
  • Created Project Management Site: We have decided to use a blog as the central project management site. This blog can be found at: http://6210project.blogspot.com/
  • Determined 6200 consultant roles: Having met with the client, we now have a better understanding of the project and the resources that we will need to be successful. Therefore, we have begun the process of describing job descriptions for the areas we will require the most additional resources.

In the upcoming week it is important that our team complete certain tasks that will be imperative to the successful completion of this project. These tasks include:

  • Hold first team meeting: Our first collective meeting as a team will be held on 08/27 @ 8:00 p.m. In this meeting we plan to establish protocols that will be of dire importance to the success of the project as we move forward. We intend to finalize communication, meeting and document revision protocols.
  • Continue further review of the content and develop a concrete understanding of the project and the goals that we intend to achieve at the end of the semester.
  • Develop a plan for initial learner and content analysis.
  • Develop a timeline and begin assigning tasks to different personnel.
  • Hire” the necessary 6200 consultants.

As a team, we are working very well together and are trying to focus on building a stable platform upon which we will find success during the entire semester. At this point, there are no anticipated red flags and Global Solutions is just eager to forge forward.