Software

So after meeting with my supervisors I was told to try and gather what information I could on the software I was planning to do my project on.

I was really interested in Layar and seeing what it could do, however there is a chance that there may be in adds if i choose to do it, but i think it is a small price to pay for a seriously helpful tool.

I now plan to slightly alter my project. Since an interactive screen on the wall isnt really possible, I am thinking that I can bring in the idea of an app. Using a tablet or phone, I am hoping to use they camera as a sort of way to see information that will be displayed on the wall. The idea will be that you are holding up a magnifying glass to try and uncover what happened in the past.

I really think this is the direction I want to go in, hopefully my supervisors think so tomorrow!

Archives in Kings Hospital

I went out to Kings Hospital to meet Andrew the archivist of the school about their records on the 1916 rising. He was more than helpful about the whole thing and even helped me with trying to contact St Peters hospital for more information. However, I told him that I couldnt go too heavy on the research I was gathering since I was trying to teach Primary School children.

Andrew read me some accounts he had online and let me freely look at the books, having already told me the ones to search for. I was allowed to even look at the originals, which was amazing holding the manuscripts (in white gloves of course!)

The only thing that is having a bit of difficulty on my project now is the software. It turns out that it actually cant do touchscreen through a projector, however I hope to discuss it on Friday and come up with a solution

Here are the photos that I was able to take:

Commencement of Ideation and Experimentation Phase

I was a bit nervous telling my supervisors at the meeting about my angle for my final project. I thought that wanting to get into certain archives would be too much and maybe a bit off track when I should be keeping to how my interface is going to look. That being said, it was well received and I was told that I should definitely try and get as much information about the angle I was going for as possible.

What I was trying to get access to in the Kings Hospital Private School archives was the accounts of a few boys who witnessed the Easter Rising from their rooms in Dublin City Centre. With this information I was then going to try and recreate what they saw onto the walls of a classroom so that the student feels like one of the boys at that time. 

I emailed The principal of the school who then put me onto the archivist of Kings Hospital. Andrew, which is the man who runs the archives, told me that he would be more than happy to show me around and to have a look at the documents. After telling him my schedule we both agreed on Tuesday morning.

Im looking forward to seeing what the documents have inside them to finally get the information I need for my project! Even if I don't get the information Im looking for, I think maybe a fictional approach would also be useful for this angle by still using factual information

Synthesis

When looking back on my inspirational Phase its easy for me to see what Ive learned and what Ive stuck with as apposed to the ideas I have left behind. In the beginning I was trying to understand how to teach. Not so much as teach a classroom for myself, but how teaching techniques work when it comes to slideshows and movies. I tried to learn as much as I could from that to try and come up with a new way for kids to learn. I didn't want to be repeating something from the past.

I found some useful and some not so much as they were out dated. I start becoming more and more focused on the technology side of the project and which technologies are being used within the classroom. I kept track on notes and applications that classrooms were using incase I could implement my idea into one of them. I found an app that could fit with my overall project really well called Layar. It is very popular and helps developers work on an augmented reality to their liking. I was excited about it, but after speaking with my supervisors, it could be too much work overall, not to mention it would mean working on two different platforms which I haven't been thought in yet.

My direction has changed towards my Final Year Project. I was too focused on different technologies and how many I could use for my project then thinking of my angle. After looking into my topic a bit more of 1916 I found that there may be an account of some school boys during that time and what they heard and saw. If this is true, or even not, I will be doing the 1916 Rising from the viewpoint of a school boy to help better students in understanding what it must have been like back then.

For my prototype I hope to have at least some kind of touchscreen interface working. even if it is one sample. I am still waiting to purchase the application that will help me do this, but once I get the money for it Im hoping to get started on the technical side straight away. In saying this I am also trying to get in contact with a teacher in The Kings Hospital Private School who a friend of mine knows to try and gain access to the archives which holds the accounts of the boys I am basing my project on during the Easter Rising. I need to start gathering the information I wish to include in my project as the technical stuff I can learn at home. The history however will be more of a challenge but I feel with my angle will also be a lot more interesting than I first thought it would be

Inspirational Phase

One of my ideas that i thought of after looking at the "Layar" site was an application that could scan the walls of a classroom. On the walls, would be pictures of famous historical features and buildings. Each one would come with a question. Using the app, you scan the image or QR codes to be brought to a page detailing about the picture. This could be a biography, or a story about the building. In it will be the answer to the question on the wall. You then type out the answer on the wall and the image will disappear. The aim of the game would be to make all the images disappear so you can start fresh on the new world, after knowing your history! I think it could be a good idea if done right!

Inspirational Phase

Layar

I thought this application was amazing when I first used it. Not only can you scan images and it searched the web, as well as QR codes, it also lets you develop your own take on it!

After searching around and looking on the site it seems like its one of the fastest growing augmented reality applications! The possibilities I thought of if I could some how combine this with my project kept on coming. It allows anyone to create a "layer" in the application for whatever sue they want. I think this could mean I could bring both an interactive class and an application together into my project, making it a lot more versatile and interactive!

Inspirational Phase

Google Goggles

I think everyone knows about this application. It is surely the stepping stone into the highly anticipated Google Glasses and is just a glimpse of what our future will be like. Google glasses uses the images taken from your camera, of say, a menu, to search the web showing you what restaurant your in and then its reviews. With this being said, could this be what the future will be like. The world our database just waiting to be explored. It got me thinking that if i made an app of the GPO during the rising, what if I somehow integrated Google Glasses into it so that if tourists took a picture of a certain point of the building, it will say what happened in there, give pictures, and even some audio

Inspirational Phase

1916 Easter Rising Centenary Historical Guide from Jules McDee on Vimeo.

I was told that I should look at Jules McDee's project how it had some similarities to mine and i have to say after seeing her video I was impressed and even wanted to download the app. It really got me thinking though if I should be focussing on something that is also mobile. What if I could create a simple app that could somehow benefit the interactive classroom? Maybe just information on a biography of characters around the room, just something that could act as a notebook for anyone who wants to learn

Inspirational Phase

I was watching "The Wind That Shakes The Barley" recently and an idea came to mind. If I could include video clips into my project, maybe reconstruction videos or even someone just speaking to the audience, it would give a more "life like" appeal to my project. After watching the film I felt it was easier to understand the heartache and pain of Irelands History by watching it being acted out instead of reading it. I thought maybe not having so much text in my project but focussing completely on visual and audio. Maybe this would be easier for the audience to take in information as it is just like a movie

Inspirational phase

I was looking through my old History books from secondary school when I came across some things about the political party Sinn Fein. While scrolling through I found out or well, remembered, that in the beginning Arthur Griffith actually wanted to propose a dual monarchy. Not many people know of this as Sinn Fein has been constantly shown as a full republican, independent party. It just made me think that I could include maybe parts of 1916 that people didn't know, rather than what they do know. If I could include small stories around the time rather than main ones it would spark an interest for people and perhaps even help them in the future by having more knowledge on that particular time.

Inspirational Phase

Interactive Whiteboard Ideas

This website was useful for tips, sites and applications that could help teachers for their lectures or classes, to make them more appealing to their students. I found some of the ideas good but it made me think that there is a lot out there to try and create the normal classroom a bit more interactive. No one has created something that has the students move around, take on a hands on approach and reach out and change what they see. It just seems like the same thing over and over. Makes me want to push my idea even further and perhaps change how most people will learn in the future

Inspiration Phase

Interactive Classroom Solutions

This website actually shows the interactive whiteboard they use in a classroom. It talks of a "Hitachi’s FX-Duo & ultra short-throw interactive whiteboard system". This is a very expensive type of equipment and got me thinking that not every school would be able to afford such a thing. In my project i wanted to create something that all schools could use rather than, perhaps say private schools. Education is a key factor in my project. I want to help tech kids about history and make it more engaging and after seeing this website I want to make it for all schools and not just ones who can afford it

Inspiration Phase

I tried looking up some good teaching techniques that good maybe inspire me to implement them into my own project when I cam across this video. It walks about how teaching techniques have changed since technology is growing. iPads are huge for children and are learning more from them then their own parents. It brought me to the thought, would my project be better as an app? Or would I be okay with just an interactive classroom? Im still unsure as to what solution I will eventually be ending up with but hopefully it will be one with enough appeal.

Inspiration Phase

Being a hug poetry fan, I came across W.B Yeats' "Easter 1916" in which he talks about the 1916 rising and how everything has changed. I felt inspired by reading this that I was doing my project on this particular project. I thought what could be done is maybe the poem could also be included in the design. Maybe some writings on the wall and when touched the scene then begins, to have the user more in touch with the event about to take place. I really think this could be implemented well and useful as it can show the audience a more romantic side to history

Inspiration Phase

Making History Fun

The blog link above talks about making history more fun in classrooms with a low budget. It was trying to get the kids into the mindset of adults which is a hard thing to do especially to kids. How do you tell kids to try and imagine the courage and respect you'd have for your country that you'd die for it? Cant see them getting it, but with a few techniques this site says you can get them more in-tuned with the lesson. One simple one was performing a mock mummification on a student. The kids feel or imagine they're actually back in those times. The scene could even be performed dramatically having the kids playing different parts. I liked the idea of having the class play a role, like a game, so that them learning is more so them playing. Id like to have something like this in my own project.

Inspiration Phase

While speaking to one of my friends about the history course he studies in Trinity I told him about my idea and then asked him what did he think of it. He thought it was good but wondered how interactive it would be. I started telling him about the ideas i had of having some things on the wall when before I knew it I started coming up with ideas I didn't before. After speaking with him I thought of having the room in a current state. The user or will then have to try and move different things to help try and piece together what they think is the right outcome. I felt it would be more interactive if the choice was completely up to the user, even the history lesson, but at the end, they would be corrected, but told how it should have been done. Learning from mistakes!

Inspirational Phase

I never thought that an interactive Whiteboard could help a teach as much as this video shows. I really liked how the teacher can create a lesson that fits their teaching technique, almost making it personal. The only thing I wasnt really sure of was that it seemed a bit like a slide show. Although you can pick things up and change its state, it still felt very picture based. I still liked the idea and found it a useful idea to take onboard

Inspirational Phase

How To Make Class Active and Interactive

The link above to the website was something I came across by scrolling around the net. It talks about the activities and interactive tasks you can give to a class to make it more engaging. I found it useful as it expressed the idea that a class that moves around and engages will learn more. You're not sitting in one position seeing the same thing over and over, you're getting different views of the room, different ways to think, everything. I really enjoyed it and the activities it lined out. I was thinking I could probably put a few of them in my interface for my FYP

Inspiration Phase

The main thing I liked about this was how the lecture interacted with the classroom. She tried to come up with activities, each seeming like they were nothing major, but got the students talking to each other, feeling comfortable, moving and even exchanging information to each other. All these things keep the student more interested and alerted in the classroom which is exactly what I want the student to feel when I create my project. I want them to be interested and active rather than sitting down and skimming through it as though it is a boring news article you might find scrolling through the net. I really liked the idea of engaging with your audience and having them participate.

Inspiration Phase

Although the animation and audio in this is not quite the best I found the idea really interesting. There was an article I remember reading where it said that kids raising their hands in a classroom was asking too much of them as many shy students would feel left out or fall behind being put on the spot. in this, it talks about an application that locks the tablet to the teachers request. Meaning no facebook or any games can be played, instead, the students must pay attention to what the teacher is showing both on the screen and the tablet. There is also a digital hand raising device within it so that even the shy students can answer the questions. When the teacher sees fit, they can also create a small mini quiz to see if all the students are on track! I thought it was very clever and I think bringing more technology into the classroom is definitely the way forward.

Inspiration Phase

This is a video I found on youtube of an interactive classroom. The idea here is that everyone communicates with each other to create a different learning atmosphere. When they find something useful or new in the books they read they write it on the walls to help each other out. Not only that but instead of the teach interacting with the classroom as a whole, she interacts with them in small groups. The students find it useful as they feel a closer connection not only to their students, but also the teacher and the subject at hand. I was really impressed with the way the idea worked and how much the students benefited from it. Rather than just reading from their books and listening to the teacher, it was a different way for them to learn, something i would really like to create myself. A new "classroom atmosphere"

Design Thinking

After the workshop I had in college on how to start thinking creatively, I tried to find the raw idea that was at the root of my project. I started to think of different things such as how I would finish my project, the end solution, but found this to be a distraction from coming up with something more original.

I began thinking of an app, thinking this was the raw idea. Something on the go and easy access. But once I dove deeper I noticed that the original thought was "interactive". All I needed was to work from that without trying to jump to a solution straight away.

Finally coming to my final idea, I began thinking of solutions. My idea was an interactive classroom, and after searching around on the net, I discovered a program that could help me through the use of projectors and camera's. It was giving me the ability to actually create interactive walls and turn the room into anything I wanted. The program may cost money, but it isnt a lot. I will be purchasing it and learning how to code from its instruction and soon being able to come up with a prototype for Christmas

THE PITCH!

So the nerve wrecking day where I finally talk about my project happened and it went really well! My idea is that I want to bring History into the now so that kids wont find it boring anymore and could have it maybe as an interactive class room! Im basing it around the 1916 rising as it is coming up close to the 100 year anniversary so even after I leave, it wont be out of date!

It was well received with good comments and after speaking to a lecture I was told its best to hit the ground running and contact the GPO for pictures as soon as I could!

Thats really it at the moment, hopefully Ill have some stuff organised for the next post!

Signing Off
Paul