=*=Maddie’s E-Learning Experiences=*=

YAY ELD is now finally all done, even tho their are still a few hitches with the educational technologies but i hope its all good now.

The assessment is due today and im having problems trying to get my stupid bloody storyboard onto the stupid webpage. After spending two and a half hours agonising on how and why doesnt Inspiration and Edublogs let me transfer my storyboard across i finally gave up and decided that its probably time i went to work

Came back from work at 11.30 and called up my boyfriend who told me i could probably get my storyboard up on my webpage by using an image site such as tinypic or imageshack to host my storyboard. Will work on this tomorrow.

Well i guess its finally over. Today is our last ELD class and i cant believe this semester has gone so quickly. Everyone was going awol over the final assessment that is due on friday. Im not that concerned as i have pretty much all of my information and what im going to talk about. Im going to try my best to get it done on friday even though i have to work on thursday and friday. I think im going to use a cognitive approach to my learning theories and for my storyboard. Im still a bit confused about the content for the storyboard but ill figure it out.

<a Target=”_top” href=”http://www.flamingtext.com/” ><img src=”http://blog.flamingtext.com/blog/2008/06/06/flamingtext_com_1212807919_21649.jpg” border=0 alt=”Image by FlamingText.com” title=”Image by FlamingText.com”></a>
<br>Image by <a href=”http://www.flamingtext.com/” >FlamingText.com</a>

arghhhh i am becoming overrun with assessments and exam preparation. Why do universities like to give out assessments and have them all due at the same time????? I dont think I will ever be able to comprehend the reason to that question if there actually is one… Ohwell i  guess i will be losing quite a lot of sleep in the following week

Today in class we undertook Assessment Part 2. :):):):):?

The assessment comprised of around 6 questions that required us to look at 3 different e-learning multimedia websites. The three multimedia websites were all very different and had unique visual features. I think that my answers were ok and i am hoping to get a credit grade for that assessment

Arghhh assessment 2 part 2 is tomorrow!!!!!

 I think that I should be fine I have been reviewing the information we were given last week. I have also researched some aspects of visual design as well just by typing “visual design aspects” into google. I have also been looking and analysing specific websites to adjust myself to the conditions i will be subjected to tomorrow.  I now know what websites are effective and ineffective when it comes to the visual design.

Hmm been thinking a lot about the next upcoming assessments. I think that they should be quite easy and fun to complete hopefully… lol I wonder for the integration of technologies I should include podcasting from the first assessment. I think  I will choose virtual worlds for the other technology they seem like quite fun.

Majority of this class was spent looking at websites for next weeks assessment. Mark highlighted to us the following aspects that would be looked at and analysed:

• What is the purpose of the website, does it communicate its message across effectively, are the colours appropriate, are there many graphics or big chunks of text, is it easy to read and does it involve interactivity.

THE DESIGN EVALUATION

1. Describe the screen layout
2. Visual Heirarchy (Evaluate the use of contrast to draw attention to key elements)
3. Placement of Graphics (Evaluate in terms of multimedia principles,alignment and proximity principles)
4. Style of graphics

COGNITIVE LOAD- too much attention all at once. Overloaded pages with text, graphics and colours

VISUAL DESIGN

VISUAL HEIRARCHY- The size of the image/s, a common mistake is that images lesse the focus of the actual content, Movement of pictures can be annoying, Placement of graphics, consisttency, page dimensions, page length

COLOUR- Contrast between colours, businesses love blue, colour schemes, Colour associations (For Ex. Red is often associated with emotion, danger, blood etc), Is it harsh on the eyes, Use of colours to be selected enhance or detract from the content

TEXT- Text is elovated and is bigger for importance, big chunks of text are often overlooked.

MULTIMEDIA DESIGN PRINCIPLES
Important things are often put in the foreground and less important things in the background.

STYLE OF GRAPHICS-

• Choice of graphics
• Are they appropriate/relevant
• Multimedia coherence principle
• Are static pictures best
• Animations
• Should the graphic be animated
• Is it best to use a video
• Interface design

WEBSITES LOOKED AT:

BBC WEBSITE- Bold font, bright colours

AFR (Australian Financial Review)-Text is dominant

SMH- Big graphic in the left hand corner grabs attention,

CNN-no big headlines, pictures and statistics, eyes are drawn to the colour red

CIRQUE DU SOLIEL- Entertainment focused, Highly visual, colour scheme is appropriate, bright colours, moving graphics, pictures distract the eyes

McDONALDS- Highly visual and highly effective- Simple graphics, 3D graphics, very interactive, simple and easy to use, graphical interface, no big chunks of text, text is a medium size

There are 4 basic principles of design:

C-Contrast- Avoid elements of the page that are similar. Make elements different. The main purpose of contrast is to create interest, aid in the organisation of information and support visual heirarchy. An example of contrast is using colour

R-RRRRepetition- Repeating visual elements throughout such as colour and shape. It develops organisation and strengthens unity. The main purpose is to unify, add interest and create consistency. For Example, Navigation, colour identifiers.

A-Alignment- Nothing should be placed randomly on your page. Every element should have some visual connection with another element on the page. This creates a clean and sophisticated look. The main purpose is to unify and organise your page design and be conscious of where you place your elements

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P-Proximity- Items that relate to each other should be close together. Items in close proximity become one visual unit rather than several separate, unrelated units. The purpose of this is to reduce clutter and confusion, organise information (reduce your cognitive load) and make logical information remembered.

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After looking at how various websites use colour i would like to post what i came up with:

Viewed >http://www.mecabrush.com/images/icons/airbrush_color_chart.gif<

>http://www.carlosulloa.com/blog/jpg/ExperienceColour.jpg<

>http://www.computerarts.co.uk/__data/assets/image/602305/varieties/7.jpg<

>http://www.geoexplo.com/colour_map.jpg<

>http://xpress101.files.wordpress.com/2007/06/black-and-white-flower.jpg<

The following pictures and images show and illustrate how colour can be used in many different ways and techniques. Colour plays a key role in how we see things and influences our emotions.