Preliminary Assignment Proposal

Sorry for my late here, because I am still on sick leave at home now. Because I absented last Friday, I am not so clear about the requirement of this proposal, so please tell me if anything I don’t know.

I have a very preliminary idea of my assignment. I want to create an information learning object called “Where you find item you want”. Actually, I am working in an academic library, the users ask where they can find particular book, periodical …etc everyday.

Because my library has different collection (location) like book collection, periodical, microform, reference, and reserve located at different floor, they are all in the same call number order (A-Z) by LC classification. Now, I can only make use of printed guides.
If there is a tool for them to input the information, like location name, call number prefix, and the tool provides the location guide (exactly location if possible) by the floor map like the red box in the above picture, there is a useful information tool.

I think this is a tool used at a PC. But ideally, when this tool can be used in the mobile media like PDA and mobile phone if incorporated with technique like J2ME, this tool will become a mobile tool used everywhere in the library.

(The picture source: library.ust.hk)

Size impacts shapes of Raindrop

I found this is quite difficult to complete this task that only use Microsoft Powerpoint, so I am not satisfied for this product.

This is the first time I think about the real shapes of raindrop, but actually I like the cartoon shape more.

Main Source: http://www.amastro.org/at/w/wrds.html

Thank Daniel to remind me for the accuracy of information in the above presentation. Actually I have compared the above information to the following two sources:

http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/13646/91232
http://pao.cnmoc.navy.mil/EDUCATE/ZEUS/student/trivia/phenomen/raindrop.htm

Although the figures are not exactly the same, but the different is within 0.05". I expected the different is acceptable. What do you think?

Reflection - Lesson 4

In this lesson, Daniel showed us a lot of learning objects, some are simple (like y=ax+b) and some are complex (like simulation). I agreed that whatever you do, the planning is most important part, because it combined your creative ideas and philosophies behind. A simple theory need to explain in thousand of words, but can be expressed in a small screen. Because visual is much easy to understand than "word by word", so learning objects become important in our education.

BTW, as I am not a teacher, I don't know the reality in the school. Learning through using learning objects should help our children to absorb knowledge more easily, however, I think it is also helpful if they can learn through designing simple learning objects, i.e. the children to do simple task like us, it is an interesting way to facilitate their investigation of knowledge.

Reflection of session 3

Last lesson, we learnt how easy to create interesting digital story. I tried both photostory and moviemaker, and they are easy to handle. That's why children can make interesting movie. In fact, objective of technology is helping people to do tedious jobs in a easy way.

However, creative thinking is not something technology can help us to do, it is talent. Honestly, I have no such talent. That's why I always imitate the idea from TV or other media. I agreed that we have not encouragement of creativity when we are in school. We studied in the way of duplicating the previous knowledge. The examination was encouraging to memorize and recite from the textbook.

But now, I think it is right timing to encourage children to be more creative. I think this kind of story telling can help students to think more.

My Digital Story: Sad Story of Library Books

Boring?!! Be patient!!!

Task 2

Please click here to see my powerpoint file. Please feel free to give comments. Thanks.

After last lesson, I felt that interactive visual representation is not just the combination of text, graph, picture, and animation... etc. It seems a story to present what you want to express to your audience by particular purpose. Let's take the Giant Squid task in the class. When we justified which poster is the best, we considered which is most easy for audience to understand and receive the critical information. Of course, different people have different interpretation, that's why, we have different reasons to support our choices.

I agree with Daniel said, we should understand the information and knowledge before designing the visual, but also we should know what the purpose is. If you want your students to answer a set of questions regarding the poster, you should include the information in some way. If you want to let user know the direction, the floor plan should include all the critical locations.

Guess who am I?

I must work hard for my presentation. Haha....

I am a library staff in a academic library, so I am studying MLIM. Teacher is an unique professional, I think I have not the talent to be a teacher la. Hahahaha.....

Thanks Amy for your comment!