Discussion Tool web a p p l i c a t i on
project book
contents about 3 potential 5 iteration one 6 feedback 12 iteration two 14 final prototype 16 reflections 17
“My contract with Franklin University was extended to work on the latest version of their myFranklin university web portal. myFranklin4 is a Learning Object Repository. I was asked to look at how ‘the bulletin board’ could be turned into a learning object or if a new tool should be built.”
LOR Learning Object Repository is an organized content delivery mechanism for these pieces of education content.
Learning Object is a piece of educational content, ranging in size from brief text to a full online textbook. It can exist in a variety of forms, including but not limited to text, video, audio, images, or online textbooks or a discussion.
Repository a container where something is deposited or stored
Discussion is the consideration of a question in open and usually informal debate; a formal treatment of a topic in speech or writing.
bulletin board After looking over the bulletin board I suggested it would be best to build a new learning object tool. One that would provide the same functionalities of the bulletin board to stay away from regression and a few new benefits.
Course Designer Needs:
: : add a new discussion to a course after a course has been created: o To schedule a discussion to appear o To add an attachment to discussions : : close a discussion: o Set a time frame or a date : : add a discussion to a learning object
05 01
: : view the various discussions they create by: o Department o Instructor o Course o Repository o Learning Object
d i sc us s io n tool | po te n ti a l
: : create a discussion associated with the various courses they create
discussion tool Displaying how the discussion tool fits within the LOR. It can be a stand alone learning object like a test or reading assignment. A discussion can also be attached to something like a reading assignment.
iteration one wireframes All the teams were working within one week sprints. So I skipped paper and pencil and went straight to Photoshop to layout my new concept.
add topic One learning object, like a reading assignment could have multiple topics to discuss. Giving instructors the option of creating a new topic should one arise organically from another discussion.
d i sc us s io n tool | i te ra ti on on e - wirefram es
Schedule a time to open a discussion and close it allows course designers and teacher to create topics at the beginning of a course and keep students fseeing them until it is time to engage in coversation.
07 01
access
quick action last comment To give them a quick glance about where the conversation is and if they should take a closer look.
If a topic has fallen dead the instructor can immediately close a topic.
No. of comments A quick way to let an instructor know which topics are heavily engaged and the likelihood of the majority if not all students participating.
iteration one wireframes
additional comments If you wanted to directly comment on someone’s comment, it would appear nested and within the same box-frame of the original comment.
d i sc us s io n tool | i te ra ti on on e - wirefram es
Replies to the comment of another would appear to the opposite (left or right) side of the screen.
09
replies
last comment To give them a sense of the type of contribution the student has put within each discussion and when they were last actively engaged.
No. of comments Often mere participation of the discussion will get a student points. Showing the amount of comments made allows for quick grading per discussion.
iteration one wireframes
consistency In the case a student needs to prove a point throughout a discussion, they can view the very first standpoint and compare it to the last.
d i sc us s io n tool | i te ra ti on on e - wirefram es
If ever concerned about the lack/quality of a student, the instructor can look at all the comments made by a student within a discussion.
11
review
COURSE NAME : TEST 101
SECTION: 23
OBJECT: ASSIGNMENT 1
DISCUSSION TOOL TOPIC: WHAT IS EXCELLENCE? [PARENT] POST: “Excellence is a result of caring more than Others think wise, risking ...”
one tier
[REPLY]Post: “Commitment to high quality performance that produces outstanding..”
TOPIC: HOW DOES ONE BECOME LIKE MONZO? TOPIC: WHAT IS THE TIERED HIERARCHY CONCERNING PUNCTUATION?
rules With something tangible to look at the development team was able to create some guidelines for the new tool.
12
d i sc us s io n tool | fe e d ba ck
: : There is one discussion per object. : : There are multiple topics within the discussion tool. : : There are multiple [parent] posts to one topic : : There can be multiple [reply] posts to one “parent” post : : There will be no replies to the reply posts to a parent post. : : There is only ONE tier of reply posts within the conversation.
feedback Design Decisions : : I removed the of a WYSIWYG editor when creating a post. : : At first I was going to allow them to reply to a reply but keeping it to one tier of replies would o keep the disucssion from going off onto a tangent o assist with the integrity of the conversation o keep students from repeating the views of others and voice new perspectives
13 01
d i sc us s io n tool | fe e d ba ck
: : I gave course designers and instructors more management controls and collective review
mvp The rollout of the first discussion tool would be stripped down to the creation of a topic without the controls of when it appears or closes.
iteration two wireframes
response A response to the original question asked would create it’s own seperate box with the oldest comment at the top.
d i sc us s io n tool | i te ra ti on on e - wirefram es
A reply to an original comment would appear nested within the box of the original comment. To make it clear whom had comment towards the actual main topic and written original/ new comments.
15
replies
click to view final wireframes
“Olivia is a talented young web designer who is eager to learn. She adds a tremendous amount of skill and knowledge to any organization who has the pleasure of working with her. Olivia is not only a great web designer, but also excels at analyzing a customer’s needs and translating those needs into designs. She’s also great at making mock-ups quickly, to show-off to endausers. Then she can convert those mock-ups into a final product that exceeds the expectations of everyone involved. Olivia works really well in a team, but is also good at getting things done on her own.” Paul Meeker
Manager of Product Development
“Olivia is all about the user interface. Give her a few ideas, and she’ll bring back a stack of interface prototypes for the whole system. She’s incredibly hard working and extremely talented -an asset to any team.” Ryan Brainerd
Lead of Interactive Design Services
awards We Won an Award! Best Of Business 2011 Best Online Degree Program Colubmus C.E.O. Magazine Our team was formally recognized as the driving force behind this award in 2011 -- our innovative, internally developed web technologies provide a user experience that is so far beyond our competitors that Franklin University earned more than double the votes of any other institution in this category.
www.ogidesigns.wordpress.com | @ogidesigns