My Studio Project :Counting Sheep
My independent project will be an informative website about sleep. I'm very convinced that many of our health issues stem from improper sleep habits. I saw many students in my years of teaching that were victims of sleep issues. A lot of their learning problems could be attributed directly to their lack of sleep or sleep problems.
When I learned about the independent project, I actually hemmed and hawed over what I would choose. I thought initially that I would do something based (perhaps an orientation page) on my virtual worlds experience (http://www.slthingstodo.com), but when the second timers spoke the second day and talked about breadth of project, I realized that my idea had too big a scope. So I went home thinking…
Thinking continued and as I worked on that night’s assignments I realized how tired I was, and an idea was born. I would create a website that focuses on sleep. Information, quizzes, myths, tips and resources would all be included.
As the days continued, I dug deeper into my readings. I kept finding parallels to my readings and both my classes’ designs. When I first read the Clinton and Reiber article, I understood that the models presented are exactly what we’re going through. The whole idea of constructionism takes place right in our own classrooms, so not only will we be reading about it, but we’ll be experiencing it firsthand. I appreciate when learning institutions don’t just teach/preach the ideas to the students, but they model their entire program around the ideas that they are in fact teaching. As soon as I began working on my actual site I even experienced the flow theory first hand—the mental state in which I became full immersed in my design and found that all my energies were focused on that one activity, so much so that I lost all track of time, hunger, and tiredness, but in the end it was all for the success of my design!
Which brings me to my design. Reading the Footholds for Design article really woke me up to seeing the big picture. I had tinkered with a few ideas, but never really liked them, and they are all in my head at this point, I haven’t even put them to Dreamweaver yet. I kept thinking that I wasn’t making any progress on my design, until I read Gal’s paper. I completely felt a wave of relief as I was reading this because what I am going through is *not* stalling or procrastinating, but in fact part of the process. I’m at a certain place on the mountain, looking for my next foothold. I’ve created ideas in my head, and am looking for the next place to go from there. I tinkered with Dreamweaver to see if a layout should come first or content and it is there where I sit incubating my next move.
My site will have a main page that welcomes, introduces and explains the purpose of the project. Each subtopic will be then linked from the main page to its own page. I hope to incorporate a narrator character (a fluffy sheep) that will be your guide to the entire project. At this point I realize I don’t have time to learn flash, but in the future this could be added as a animated flash character.
Obviously I want to make this page as user friendly as possible, but to look really great too! I want people to have a positive reaction to this site, but also see the fun side it will offer. I doubt it will be the most beautiful site ever made on sleep, but it will be a combination of form and function and fun!
I want to use my reflection journals also as a place I can input some videos I made as I was trying different things out with Dreamweaver. I will provide direct links to my YouTube station here, but my journal will be the main place I reflect on my progress.
By the end of this week I hope to have my project page layout complete.
References:
Clinton, G., & Rieber, L.P. (2006). The Studio Experience at the University of Georgia: An example of constructionist learning for adults. Unpublished manuscript. [PDF]
Kapor, M. (1996). A software design manifesto. In Winograd, T. (Ed.), Bringing Design to Software (pp. 1-9). New York: Addison-Wesley. [PDF]
Gal, S. (1996). Footholds for design. In Winograd, T. (Ed.), Bringing Design to Software (pp. 215-227). New York: Addison-Wesley. [PDF]
