OLR: Exercise 1 – Topic 9

1. The user testing in the scenario was primarily done through the use of prototypes. This allowed users to be observed while testing the functionality of the product. The users were thinking out loud, to give the team an idea as to how they used and interacted with the prototype product. The majority of the testing done does fit into the 5 common methods by Preece.

 

2. Personally had I been a tester in this project I would have felt like a stake holder as the information and recommendations were sent straight to the programmers who were writing the product thus allowing a sence of belonging and contribution to the project.

 

3. My personal preference were I to do a study of an online community would be  usability testing. This is what the users are there to do use the community and its services. To see how they use the service would achieve greater understanding of improvments and new services to offer. The other one that I would use is surveys to gather feedback from the testers and garner their input on the services.

OLR: Exercise 3 – Topic 8

A) The term tag is in the context of social bookmarking sites a single word  used to describe what your post is about. A bit like keywords.

“Tags

A tag is simply a word you use to describe a bookmark. Unlike folders, you make up tags when you need them and you can use as many as you like. The result is a better way to organize your bookmarks and a great way to discover interesting things on the Web.”

(http://del.icio.us/help/tags)

B) Youtube, myspace and flickr are all similar in the fact that they let users share content and self created content. For example youtube is video and flickr is photos.

Youtube lets users upload video content and create their own channels. These allow people to subscribe to them  and share video. Most recently both Australian and American Politicians have taken to Youtube to deliver their message to a younger audience.

Myspace allows users to post info about themselves as well as music and movies.

Flickr allows users to share photos.

Each of these sites performs the same basic functions of sharing user created content and networks. The main difference is the mediums they allow people to share.

C)  Another web 2.0 site that I have mentioned previously in this blog is curse.com this site allows users to submit modifications for various games as well as share stories and video that is video game related.

OLR: Exercise 2 – Topic 8

RSS

RSS is as described by Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_(file_format))  “RSS is a family of Web feed formats used to publish frequently updated content such as blog entries, news headlines or podcasts. An RSS document, which is called a “feed,” “web feed,” or “channel,” contains either a summary of content from an associated web site or the full text.”

Aggregation is described as by wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aggregator)   “In computing, a feed aggregator, also known as a feed reader or simply as an aggregator, is client software or a Web application which aggregates syndicated web content such as news headlines, blogs, podcasts, and vlogs in a single location for easy viewing. ” This allows feeds to be brought in from various sites into one central location for people to read.

Syndication is “Web syndication is a form of syndication in which a section of a website is made available for other sites to use.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_syndication)

These technologies have allowed for the increase distribution of information both to users and between websites. This sharing of information gives realtime news and information to users. RSS feeds are becoming alot more commonly used and useful then mailing lists as they allow users to feed live data straight to their website or RSS reader.

AJAX

The Ajax patterns website is a repository of all types of AJAX related tools, these include frameworks, libraries etc. One thing of interest to note is that this site uses Wiki software to drive the site.

Perhaps one of the best descriptions that I have found as to what AJAX is for the layperson is this “Ajax is just a style of design, one that milks all the features of modern browsers to produce something that feels less web and more desktop.” (http://ajaxpatterns.org/Whats_Ajax)

The Ajax patterns website seems to be community driven with the users contributing to the library.

OLR: Exercise 1 – Topic 8

Upon first logging into the site we are presented with a screen where we can see all of our documents created and stored in docs.google.com

 It may be my connection but this screen seemed to take a bit to load. Once in there we simply click New and then spreadsheet to take us to a new spreadsheet section.

 The new spreadsheet screen seemed to come up very fast and from all accounts looks like your standard spreadsheet application. The spreadsheet could easily be mistaken for a standalone locally installed spreadsheet application such as Excel. It is fully functional and allows data to have formulas applied to it as well as sorting.

 This application would be great for people that travel alot and dont neceserally have a laptop to carry around with them. It would also allow them to access their data while away from home and share it with a number of users.

OLR: Exercise 2 – Topic 7

[OLR] Exercise 7.2 Nintendo and Wii.com
New devices come into being due to market competition. Visit the Nintendo company’s Web site and find abour their new Wii devices as a game interface device. Describe how Wii works, what makes it different to other game devices and how does it improve the game experience for the user. [250 words]

The Wii is a very interesting and innovative device. The first thing that grabbed my attention was the way that users interact with it. This product does not use the standard game controller that we have come to know from console game systems. This system users a wireless controller that users move around to interact with the system. An example of this is someone playing a tennis game would swing the controller around as if it were a tennis racket. This type of interaction gives users a much more immersive experince to the games that they are playing. It also in itself is a form of exercise, and there have been a number of cases of injury and damage caused by the new interaction method.

This vide provides a great example of how users interact with this system.

http://uk.wii.com/movies/54/

OLR: Exercise 1 – Topic 7

 The two devices that I have used alot recently are the Internet Phone and the Joystick.

Joystick

This input device allows me to interact alot more effectivly with certain games such as flight simulators easier taking control better and improving interaction with the software. A noteable example of this is in the game Battlefield 2 where I commonly switch from keyboard and mouse to joystick when entering aircraft in the game. This joystick allows for better control and precision when interacting with the ingame vehicles.

Internet Phone

I recently started using Skype alot to talk to a company overseas that I have my webserver. This device, that I was able to borrow from someone at work allows me to use skype like an ordinary cordless telephone. It means that I can walk around the house and use the service like I would a normal phone. This allows me to not be tethered to the computer when making calls.

OLR: Exercise 3 – Topic 6

Trust online seems to be something that happens in general alot more easily then in the real world. Daily we hear about people having their information phished from various sites and emails. With this in mind what is a way to foster and build trust in the online world. There are a number of things that I look for when trusting a site.

These include: Who owns the site? e.g. A large company like Google or Microsoft.

What is their reputation like? have I heard about this site from other sources both external organisations or through word of mouth within various communities.

What does the site believe in? Do they have systems in place to protect users and their information?

With these in mind its important that sites build up their reputation. For example I first logged into a site called curse.com which I discovered through word of mouth of the community. The site has grown expenentially since I first discovered it. The site offers files for download for the Game World of warcraft and over the years has done a number of things to build trust within the community. They have implimented virus scanning to prevent the uploading of viruses. They have also modified their advertising to move away from unethical advertising e.g. Real money transfer sites. In addition to this they have complied with the standards of Blizzard Entertainment to gain status in the official fansite program.

Another site is Facebook. I have heard of this site talked about alot in the mainstream media positivily which has given me the impression that the site is legitimate. In addition to this I was refered to the site through some good friends which also gave me someone I knew providing a word of mouth recomendation to the site.

OLR: Exercise 2 – Topic 6

Through out this course I have used a number of moodle and wiki style sites. Each of these sites have similar core functionalites as each other. The easily allow the user to input data through a web interface using a common technology called WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get).Moodle has a very basic interface where as a system such as Media Wiki which is the technology that Wikipedia runs on has alot more functionality and customisation. These in themselves can both be good and bad as too many options can confuse users. The choice of which system to use would really be dependant on your intended target audience.

OLR: Exercise 1 – Topic 6

Purpose:

The forums for CSU for every subject have been a way for me as a distance education student to interact with my lecturer and my fellow students.

 People:

The forum community is made up of fellow students both internal and Distance. The forums are also participated in by the lecturer running the course. This allows people from many backgrounds and experiences to come together bringing a wealth of experience and personalities under one roof.

Community Size:

Community size is determined by the number of students enrolled within the chosen course. Some of these I feel may be too small and interaction via the forums can be almost non existant. Too many students would  deter from the educational experience and not provide the adequate interaction that learning needs.