Session 9 Prototype Presentation

Below please find the prototype of the group assignment of Karen Lee Sau Wah and I. By clicking the back and forth buttons, different reducing bearings will then be shown.

http://iln.cite.hku.hk/com/1374/users/ckcheung5/Reduced_Bearing_04.swf

In this version, instead of manipulating four different points as shown in the storyboard, my group decides to manipulate one point first. We finally solve the problem of anchoring the end of the pointer at a desired position. One may find that it is tedious to click the two buttons hundreds of times before one can explore how the reduced bearing is obtained in the four quadrants. That's why my group plans to manipulate four points. But the use of four points only solves part of the problem. My teammate and I are planning and exploring ways to make use of a slider to move the pointer around. If this problem can be solved, more space can be saved and readers can concentrate more on relevant areas in the visual representation. Note that a nicer and simpler protractor will be ready in the final version.

Finally, I am amused to see that only simple actionscripts are involved and similar effects can be achieved.

Session 8 Reflection

In this session, my group was given chance to introduce our new storyboard to the class as my group has decided to change the topic. Thanks for Daniel's help. He has shown my group how to let a point move along a circular path. Before that, I did try hard to study some books about Flash about how to write (advanced) actionscripts. Daniel used simple tweening skill to let a point move around. With this demonstration, I start to think if I can finish the task without too much concern about writing advanced actionscripts. In the following weeks before the assignment deadline comes, my partner and I would continue to try to explore the possibility of doing the same thing with simpler and lower level of skill.

Based on Daniel's file, my group tries to explore ways of finishing the following items with our simple and limited level knowledge of Flash.
(a) Put a protractor in position.
(b) How to find an angle.
(c) How to show the static text and dynamic text at the same time, and decide which layer the text is to be put.
(d) Show the reducing bearing of the point in the four quadrants.

Here is the result of our exploration during these days after session 8.

http://iln.cite.hku.hk/com/1374/users/ckcheung5/moving_with_value5.swf

Note that my group's final product may not look exactly the same as above. In the above file, my group just wants to study and show some skills required for our group assignment. I hope my group can show some more solutions in the coming prototype presentation.

Session 7 Reflection

According to the point 5 in Daniel's blog about Follow-up on Storyboard, I realize that what I am going to present in the group assignment should be more focus and related to one teaching point only. It is one of the four components of only a lesson (task, resources, support and evaluation). It is a resource to be used to support teaching and learning in lessons.

From point 3, I fully understand the purpose of an interactive visual representation is not drill and practice, quiz questions, tests or games. In spite of this, the representations should allow users to interact and explore in order to construct knowledge which is a smaller part of the teaching points of a certain lesson or topic. In school, normally worksheets will be distributed to students and students have to finish the tasks in the worksheets through the exploration of the visual representation. Therefore, I think Science and Mathematics are good subjects that teachers can prepare suitable interactive visual representation based on a specific concept. The software involved are not restricted to Flash or Authorware. In the case of mathematics, apart from some mathematics software, such as Sketchpad, Cabri Geometry, C.a.R., Geogebra, Wingeom, Winplot and Winstats, even Excel and powerpoint are possible tools.

With reference to the points 1 & 2 that a single representation should be kept and displayed on one go on the screen, the content of our group assignment needed to be reconsidered in order to cut the number of screens involved.

In this session, I learnt how to make a slider. Below is the flash file on slider that I created. Up till now, I find the skills of making a slider and placing a mouse pointer over a hotspot area are very useful. With these skills, I can easily create some simple interactive learning objects. The flash tutorial prepared by Daniel is very useful. More importantly, I can refer to them anytime after the session and when necessary. I know I need to practise many times before I can actually manipulate Flash.

http://iln.cite.hku.hk/com/1374/users/ckcheung5/slider1.swf

Revised Storyboard for Reduced Bearing

In order to keep to a single representation displayed on one go on the screen, the storyboard of the new topic reduced bearing is revised at the following link.

http://iln.cite.hku.hk/com/1374/users/ckcheung5/revised_storyboard.ppt

Storyboard for the New Topic

Karen Lee Sau Wah and I would like to change the topic of group assignment to reduced bearing. This is a topic in Form 1 Geography. Some students fail to remember that directions are measured from the north or the south in the reduced bearing, and the reduced bearing should be expressed as Nx°E, Nx°W, Sx°E and Sx°W, where x is greater than 0 but less than 90.

Please find the storyboard of the reduced bearing at the following link.

http://iln.cite.hku.hk/com/1374/users/ckcheung5/reduced_bearing_v2.ppt

A Small Step Ahead

After a search on the internet about how to draw curves/graphs in flash, I find the following web site very useful.
http://www.toxiclab.org/tutorial.asp?ID=94

By referring to the example 4 in the web site, I made a small step ahead that I can draw a quadratic graph on graph paper. Note that the quadratic graph below is y = (x – 2)^2 from x = –1 to x = 5. But there is still a long long way to go.

Change of the Topic for the Group Assignment

Originally, Karen Lee Sau Wah and I would like to prepare a flash learning object which explored the relationship between the graphs of y = f(x) and y = f(x + k), where f(x) is in the form of ax^2 + bx + c. The anticipated challenges are:
1. How to make a slider
2. How to draw the gridlines in flash
3. How to draw the quadratic graph

The first challenge of making a slider is solved as Daniel introduced how to make it in Session 7. For the other two challenges, I need to learn much more about actionscript. And I find that it is not that easy to learn actionscript in a short period of time, as compared to learn the programming in authorware.

I have spent the Easter holiday to make the gridlines as shown below. In fact, I did not write all the actionscript myself. I just copied a sample from a book about flash and made some simplification. I have tried to understand the commands, but failed. And it is much more difficult for me to enrich the content based on the sample.



As a result, my partner and I would like to change the topic of our group assignment, a topic that requires actionscripts that we can handle during this module.

Reflection on Making a Digital Story

I know there are software like Camtasia Studio and Captivate that one can easily record one's screen to create tutorial screen videos and presentations. However, they are not free. And Photostory provides a possible way for me.

Some advantages of Photostory are that it is free and easy to use. I need not use too much time in learning how to manipulate it. One disadvantage is that I need to capture suitable screenshots using digital cameras or by screen capture. I also need to jog down the titles and scripts that I need to include in the videos before I forget. If Camtasia Studio or Captivate is used, I just need to demonstrate as usual, and the actions and voices will be recorded at the same time.

From my view, it is possible to employ photostory to help new colleagues learn some mathematical software. Tutorial videos with subject-based or task-based topics are preferred because different functions or techniques can be applied at the same time. One more important point is that the tutorial videos are reusable.

Storyboard for Group Project

I find that storyboards are a good and useful way of planning and organizing some rough ideas together after brain-storming. Please click the following to see my group's storyboard and feel free to give comment.

http://iln.cite.hku.hk/com/1374/users/ckcheung5/storyboard.ppt

Digital Story for Session 6

Please find my digital story at the following link:
http://iln.cite.hku.hk/com/1374/users/ckcheung5/PhotoStory1_1.wmv

Click the play button to start.

Another trial on flash

Just a simple trial of using flash. Input two numbers in the first two boxes. Then select the operation on the right.
http://iln.cite.hku.hk/com/1374/users/ckcheung5/calculation.swf