SURVEY (10 minutes)
Please take this anonymous course evaluation survey– it’s different from the one given by the college.

Project Presentations

SECOND LIFE MUSEUM – Final Project Presentation

• Project is presented to the class via the Wiki and SL sim. (The group should collectively decide how each member will contribute equally to the presentation).
• All contributions to the Final Project should be viewable on the Wiki. (If you made contributions to the project that are not documented on the Wiki, they may not be taken into consideration during grading.)
• Review Second Life Project requirements.
• Presentation Time: 10 Minutes

EMERGING MEDIA BLOG – Final Project Presentation

• Each student will present 1 post from their own EMB and 1 comment/response from a classmates blog.
• Second 1/2 of the Emerging Media Blog Project is due (7 posts/7 comments).
• Review Emerging Media Blog project requirements.
• Presentation Time: 5 minutes

Lab/Homework

• Finalize all project documents and content.
• All coursework must be available online by Wednesday, May 20th @ 6pm for grading.

THANKS FOR A GREAT CLASS!

Final Project and Grade Review

1. Overall Grade
   • Based on course grading scheme and timely completion of project requirements, what grade do you think you deserve?
   • Use the contact form to send your suggestion and how you determined the grade.
     
2. Final Project Requirements

Lecture / Lab / Homework

SL Photographs and Photo Sharing

• Take a photograph in SL and note the slURL (Open the big map and find the button that says, “Save SLurl to clipboard” and then paste that into your browser. or build your own SLurl using the SLURL Builder)
• Upload to the Citytech Second Life Flickr page (you have been invited to the group- check your email)
• Include tags, description and slURL

This Week’s Goals and Final Student Assignments (Production- Week 14):

• Felicia – Finalize Content and Research & Design Documents/Wiki
  • Make sure all images are properly named and in appropriate week sorting boxes
  • Write and collect all R&D content and organize on Wiki
  • Transfer all Wiki content to Word doc layout
• Adam – Finalize Content and Research & Design Documents/Wiki
  • Make sure all images are properly named and in appropriate sorting boxes
  • Write and collect all R&D content and organize on Wiki
  • Transfer all Wiki content to Word doc layout
• Andrew – Finalize Interactivity and Interaction Flow
  • setup teleport pads from CityTech center to Welcome Center and back, Welcome Center to Gallery and back (Tutorial) | (teleport script)
  • make sure all picture frame scripts are functioning
  • Create a slURL and post to wiki (slURL builder)
• Matt – Finalize physical gallery space
  • Bring image sorting boxes down to gallery and install
  • Finalize any structural or aesthetic details in physical space

Student Presentations

1. Emerging Media Blogs
2. Design Process for Second Life Project:
   • Felicia – Design Documents
   • Adam – User Journeys, Interaction flow drawing ,
   • Andrew – Sketches of physical space, wireframe of proposed built environment
   • Matt – Prototype of physical space and image slideshow

Lecture / Lab / Homework

This Week’s Goals and Student Assignments (Production- Week 13):

• Felicia – Content management – upload, label, sort images
• Adam – Content management – upload, label, sort images
• Andrew – Interaction flow, welcome center
• Matt – Build physical space

Student Discussion

REVIEW Emerging Media Blogs

• hmmmm…
• Post to your blog.
• Comment on a classmates blog.

REVIEW Design Process for Second Life Project:

• Initial Concept (Week 10)
  • Discovery
  • Research
• Refine Concept (Week 11)
  • Content Analysis
  • Content Mapping
  • User Personas
  • User Journeys
  • Technology Selection
• Final Concept (Week 12)
  • Sketches
  • Prototyping
  • Presentation
• Production (Week 13-15)
  • Testing
  • Launch

REVIEW Refined Concept and Design Documents

What’s missing?

• 1 Content Inventory
• 3 User Personas (Profiles )
• 3 User Journeys (Use Case)
• 1 Sitemap
• 1 Wireframe
• Interaction Flow Drawing

Lecture / Lab / Homework

This Week’s Goals and Student Assignments:

1. Felicia – Package all Design Documents into a professional presentation
2. Adam – Survey landscape/SIM and create interaction flow drawing based on User Journeys, sketches of physical space
3. Andrew – Based on survey  and interaction flow create wireframe of proposed built environment
4. Matt – Review Prof. Smith’s work on the technology implementation, work on prototype of image slideshow

Student Discussion

Initial Concept REVIEW

• Final Project: Image/Video Gallery for Brooklyn is Watching
• Class Project Wiki (Forum and Second Life Project): Review brainstorming research  (ideas, images, URLs) about online and SL art galleries, presentation, possible technology and applications to realize the project.
• The wiki will contain the final Design Document:
  • Project Goals
  • User Experience
  • Content and Functionality
  • Project/Site Structure
  • Visual/Concept Design

Refine Concept

Information Architecture & Interaction Design

• Content Inventory
  • Understanding your Content (slideshow). One way to do this is review and categorize all the content that is going to be used in your interactive project. Some Information Architects (IA) create genres, taxonomies or “keywords” that the user might use to navigate the content. This helps with the next step “organizing the content.”
  • BiW Project: images and video of SL art. These are found here on Flickr. What data/tags are available here? How could this content be organized?
• Sitemap
  • Organizing Your Content. Once you have an understanding of the types of content you are going to be working with, you can begin to create a visual map – “chunking” or dividing the content into categories. This map provide the framework upon which to base project navigation.
  • BiW Project: organize the information structure and categories in order to navigate the images and video.
• User Personas
  • Personas act as stand-ins for real users. They are based on real data from interviews and research and help the interaction designer determine who the potential users of the product will be and what they will expect.
  • BiW Project: Read the BiW blog comments. Who are the artists and visitors to the blog. Find out a little bit about their background- why do they visit the site?
• User Journeys (Use Case)
  • Narrative. User Journeys are narratives that examine the user’s needs and the content they are seeking in a time-based progression. User Journeys need a beginning, middle, and end, just like a story.
  • BiW Project: Interview SL artists or visitors to the BiW sim or extrapolate based on blog comments and posts. Create user journeys. For example: Imagine what an SL artist would be looking for in the BiW image/video archive vs. a viewer.
• Technology Selection
  • After organizing the content, understanding the users and how they will move through the information to get what they need, we can clarify the technology we will use to communicate.
  • BiW Project:Determine if the project will be web-based, use Flickr or some other image database, or if the collection of images will be housed in SL.
• Interaction Flow
  • This is a series of diagrams that explain the interaction between a user and a chosen system’s processes.
  • BiW Project:Determine how the user will move through the site or space. Create a diagram on paper.
• Wireframes
  • Convey the general structure and content requirements for the interface. Wireframes are blue prints. They do not convey design – e.g. colors, graphics, or fonts.
  • BiW Project:Create a wireframe drawing of the structure of the interface, whether it’s web-based or 3D.

Lab

Guest Lecturer: Prof. David Smith will demonstrate some SL building techniques.

Homework

Divide up the Information Architecture Deliverables and Diagrams discussed above. Use this reference for specific information about each type of design process tool. This TUTORIAL is also a good place for structuring your final Design Document.

Next week you should have created the following:

• 1 Content Inventory
• 3 User Personas (Profiles )
• 3 User Journeys (Use Case)
• 1 Sitemap
• 1 Wireframe

NOTE: Review Spencer Museum of Art Second Life juried art show A Prim Life: Photographs from the Virtual World.(PDF) The deadline for entry is May 1, 2009 and show dates run mid-May through mid-June on the Spencer Art Museum Island. Each student will submit 3 photographs of locations in SL.

Student Discussion

• Field Trip to ESI Design – What did  you learn about Design Process? POST to your EMBlog!
• Final Project: Image/Video Gallery for Brooklyn is Watching
• Class Project Wiki (Forum and Second Life Project)

Lecture

REVIEW DESIGN PROCESS for Second Life Project:

• Initial Concept (Week 10)
  • Discovery
  • Research
• Refine Concept (Week 11)
  • Content Analysis
  • Content Mapping
  • User Personas
  • User Journeys
  • Technology Selection
• Final Concept (Week 12)
  • Sketches
  • Prototyping
  • Presentation
• Production (Week 13-15)
  • Testing
  • Launch

Initial Concept

• Discovery:
  • Explore Second Life
  • Explore Brooklyn is Watching sim
• Research:
  • Setup Wiki for final project
  • Define the interaction design problem and ASK QUESTIONS — what are some possible solutions to this problem? what are the things we should consider in terms of user interaction, user needs, technology?….
  • Begin collecting ideas, images, URLs, and create a space on the Wiki to collect, document and share these ideas with your group.

Lab / Homework

• Complete the basic video tutorials for Newbies.
• Explore Help Island and CityTech Island.
• Take a walk around Brooklyn is Watching and take a few pictures.
• Post your research about online and SL art galleries and how SL artists document their work on the Wiki.

NOTE: Your Midterm Grades have been posted under Check Your Grade. Please request a password to retrieve your grade.

MIDTERMS DUE

PODCAST – Midterm Project Presentation

• Podcast is presented to the class via the Wiki and Podcast Blog. (The group should collectively decide how each member will contribute equally to the presentation).
• All contributions to the Podcast Project should be viewable on the Podcast Wiki. (If you made contributions to the podcast that are not documented on the Wiki, they may not be taken into consideration during grading.)
• Review Podcast Project requirements.
• Presentation Time: 10 Minutes

EMERGING MEDIA BLOG – Midterm Project Presentation

• Each student will present 1 post from their own EMB and 1 comment/response from a classmates blog.
• 1/2 of the Emerging Media Blog Project is due (7 posts/7 comments).
• Review Emerging Media Blog project requirements.
• Presentation Time: 5 minutes

Lab: Uploading the Finished Podcast to iTunes

In order to submit a podcast to iTunes it needs to be on a server with a publicly accessible URL and it must include the necessary tags.

1. Test your podcast in iTunes:
   • Login to iTunes
   • Go to Advanced >Subscribe to Podcast
   • Enter your podcast feed (http://feeds2.feedburner.com/TauPodcast) or location of your feed on your blog or host.
   • If your podcast starts to download in iTunes you can proceed to the next step
2. Submit a Podcast to iTunes Store
   • In order to submit a podcast to iTunes it needs to be on a server with a publicly accessible URL and have a valid RSS or Atom feed.
   • iTunes Submission Process: http://www.apple.com/itunes/whatson/podcasts/specs.html

HOMEWORK: Field Trip Prep

NEXT Class we will be going on a field trip to ESI Design “one of the world’s foremost experiential design firms — creating physical and virtual spaces for people to interact, exchange ideas and learn from each other”.

In preparation for our trip please formulate 3 questions based on a thorough review of the company website. Your questions should focus on the ESI “Design Process.” Come prepared with a notebook, pen/pencil, and an extra hardcopy with your three questions (for collection).

NOTE: We will leave together from V321.

Student Presentation & Discussion

• Students present completed TODO List items (homework) on the Project Wiki
• Students and Professor discuss missing data and suggest next actions for Podcast Project.
• Tasks are given to each team member for in-class and out-of-class (homework) refinements.
  • Create a new topic on the Wiki Forum discussion where members can discuss how the Podcast Project Design Process and collaboration could have been more effective.
  • Clean up any stray pages, paragraphs, typos, etc. on the Podcast Wiki (the Podcast Wiki section should be the final archive of the design process.)
  • Create a section of the Wiki called Branding: include: a link to the Podcast Blog,  the Podcast logo and any other images or links associated with Podcast brand.

Lab: Production Phase II – Releasing the Podcast

BRANDING:

1. Create a new blog on WordPress.com for the podcast. Name the blog URL something related to TAU Podcast… maybe taupodcast.wordpress.com is available.
2. Customize the blog so that it presents an effective BRAND (custom image, tagline, etc.) Use the Podcast Project Wiki for all your blog content.

PUBLISHING THE AUDIO:

1. Upload  your audio file to a free hosting service that allows for hot-linking  (http://www.fileden.com)
2. Create a post on  your new blog using the audio support technique described here.

CREATE THE FEED:

1. Login to Feedburner (if you already have gmail account you can use that otherwise use the student.citytech.cuny account mentioned in class) and add a new feed using your blog rss feed.
   • http://nameofyourblog.wordpress.com/feed/
2. Add you feedburner feed to your wordpress blog. Here’s how!

Homework:

PODCAST – Midterm Project Presentation Requirements | Grading

• Podcast is presented to the class via the Wiki and Podcast Blog. (The group should collectively decide how each member will contribute equally to the presentation).
• All contributions to the Podcast Project should be viewable on the Podcast Wiki. (If you made contributions to the podcast that are not documented on the Wiki, they may not be taken into consideration during grading.)
• Review Podcast Project requirements.
• Presentation Time: 10 Minutes

EMERGING MEDIA BLOG – Midterm Project Presentation Requirements | Grading

• Each student will present 1 post from their own EMB and 1 comment/response from a classmates blog.
• 1/2 of the Emerging Media Blog Project is due (7 posts/7 comments).
• Review Emerging Media Blog project requirements.
• Presentation Time: 5 minutes (Prepare and run through your presentation ahead of time)

NOTE: The Podcast Project and 1/2 of the Emerging Media Blog Project are due on March 23rd. Grades will be determined not only by project completion and quality, but by effective collaboration and the completion of scheduled/assigned tasks. Not completing the project tasks on schedule affects all project members.

Student Presentation & Discussion

• Students present completed TODO List items (homework) on the Project Wiki
• Students and Professor discuss missing data and suggest next actions for Podcast Project.
• Tasks are given to each team member for in-class and out-of-class (homework) refinements.
• NOTE: Please keep in mind the project is due on March 23rd. Grades will be determined not only by project completion and quality, but by effective collaboration and the completion of scheduled/assigned tasks. Not completing your assigned tasks on schedule affects all project members.

Lecture

Production Phase II: Releasing the Podcast

1. Optimizing your audio file: Once your file has been edited and is ready to go, we need to make sure it’s in a format that is acceptable to iTunes and other podcast aggregators. Formats exported by Garageband (.m4a) and other audio applications (.mp3) are acceptable for audio podcasts.
2. Distributing your Podcast: Once your podcast has been optimized for the web, you need to look at the different options for distribution.

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW:

• Podcasts are distributed using FEEDS.
• Popular types of feeds are RSS and Atom (Common Craft Video: RSS in Plain English)
• Many podcasts and blogs use a service called Feedburner for syndication. Here’s a example from RadioLab. Feedburner makes sure your content is properly formatted for all of the major podcatchers and directories, like Google, Yahoo, Odeo, etc.
• Many Podcasts also available exclusively through the iTunes Store. Here’s an example from Realtime with Bill Maher (caution the link on this site will attempt to open iTunes).

Distributing your Podcast:

Let’s look at few different ways of making our podcast available to the public: 1) Using a free podcasting service, which incorporates hosting, blog and RSS feed creation;  2) Using a separate free hosting service, a free blog (like WordPress), a free feed service (feedburner); 3) Using your own host and creating an xml file by hand (the old fashion way).

1) Using the free podcasting service like Podbean.com

• You can use this free service, Podbean, to host your podcast. What’s nice about this service is that it also lets you set up a website to host your podcast. Here’s a set-by-set tutorial to setup a new account and upload your podcast: http://www.podbean.com/podcast-quick-start-user-guide

2) Finding a “free” option using WordPress.com, free file hosting service, and feedburner:

1. Create a new blog on WordPress.com for your podcast (for example)
2. Upload  your audio file to a free hosting service that allows for hot-linking  (http://www.fileden.com)
3. Create a new post on  your blog using the audio support technique described here.
4. Login to Feedburner (if you already have gmail account you can use that otherwise use the student.citytech.cuny account mentioned in class) and add a new feed using your blog rss feed.
   • http://nameofyourblog.wordpress.com/feed/
   • EXAMPLE: http://citytechstudent.wordpress.com/feed

3) The old fashion way: If you have your own web host, you can upload your audio file, create an RSS/Atom xml file, and submit the URL to iTunes or Feedburner for distribution.  If you create your feed the old fashion way you need to make sure  your XML file validates.

This is an example of an audio file and corresponding XML file posted to my server:

1. Audio File: http://jennaspevack.com/podcasts/jenna.mp3
2. XML file: http://jennaspevack.com/podcasts/artisttalks.xml
   Please choose View Page Source from the browser menu to see the actual XML file

• Compare these two completing feed types: RSS feed and Atom feed
• This Feed Validator will make sure your XML file validates: http://validator.w3.org/feed/
  Test this feed using the validator: http://feeds2.feedburner.com/ArtistTalk

Submitting your Podcast to iTunes Store

In order to submit a podcast to iTunes it needs to be on a server with a publicly accessible URL and it must include the necessary tags. Any of the three options above should work.

1. Test your podcast in iTunes:
   • Login to iTunes
   • Go to Advanced >Subscribe to Podcast
   • Enter your PodBean podcast feed URL (http://yourusername.podbean.com/feed) or location of your feed on your blog or host.
   • If your podcast starts to download in iTunes you can proceed to the next step
2. Submit a Podcast to iTunes Store
   • In order to submit a podcast to iTunes it needs to be on a server with a publicly accessible URL and have a valid RSS or Atom feed.
   • iTunes Submission Process: http://www.apple.com/itunes/whatson/podcasts/specs.html
   • For more information about submitting your PodBean feed to iTunes: http://faq.podbean.com/2006/12/10/how-to-submit-podcast-to-itunes-in-podbean-account/

Lab / Homework

Finish audio recording and effects/intro/outro

1. Record Mamalade and Steel Dragon.
2. Remainder of Dr. Sussio
3. Mix and edit intro and variations
4. Update TODO list

Question: Have you commented on a classmates blog in the last 2 weeks? If not, we will have to return to the weekly posting and commenting schedule. Sorry Matt.

MIDTERM PROJECT: Production

Goals:

• Come to the next class ready for continued production : Podcast Audio Recording
• Script should be finalized and content (including band/music recordings) should be collected and available for editing.
• Class is being observed, so please be prepared for a short lecture on preparing a finished audio podcast for distribution. The class podcast won’t be ready for another week, but we will get the T.A.U Radio Show blog up and ready for launch on March 23rd.

Actions:

• Designate ‘next actions’ for each member of your group based on today’s class discussion and project evaluation.
• Post and complete actions on the Wiki todo list
  
• Use the discussion forum to communicate.

MIDTERM PROJECT: Final Concept Work and Pre-production

Goals:

• Come to the next class ready for production.

Actions:

• Designate ‘next actions’ for each member of your group based on today’s class discussion and project evaluation.
• Post actions to the Wiki task and todo list
  
• Use the discussion forum to communicate.

Midterm Project Discovery and Research Continued

Goals: Come to the next class (02/23) with the following:

• finalized SHOW OUTLINE
• complete SCRIPT
• finalized podcast NAME & DESCRIPTION
• at least 2 USER PERSONAS based on interviews and research.

We will begin recording next class.

Actions:

• Designate ‘next actions’ for each member of your group. Post all documents to the Wiki and use the discussion forum to communicate.
• Follow Planning Your Podcast: Step-by-Step Development to complete your SHOW OUTLINE, and SCRIPT.
• Follow the Planning Your Podcast: Importance of Branding to develop a finalized podcast NAME & DESCRIPTION – no more than two to three sentences long.
• Listen to the Usability Tools Podcast: Robust Personas to develop at least 2 USER PERSONAS. These can be presented as 1 page descriptions on the Wiki. Personas should include these areas.

Post and Comment to your Emerging Media blog

• This is the last week you will be reminded to Blog. It should become a routine activity.
• Choose a day or evening to research a topic and post, that way you won’t forget.
• Choose a day or evening (perhaps Sunday) to comment on another classmates post.

Midterm Project Discovery and Research

Goal: Come to class next week with a well-written description of your project and a rough storyboard or narrative of your podcast. We will have a visiting lecturer next week who will discuss online Research and Documentation methods. Come prepare to do some research related to your project.

Actions: Based on the brainstorming session with your group, designate ‘next actions’ for each member.*

References:

• Planning a Podcast (Voices)
• Planning for a Podcast (TreeofLife)
  
• Eight Rules of Effective Podcasting

* Make sure you have the contact info for each of your group members.

Post your first Emerging Media blog post and comment.

• See Week 2 post and Emerging Media Blog project page

Every time we turn around there is a new device, system, or application to embrace or ignore. As designers, consumers, or wranglers, however you define yourself, we are living in a hyper-connected world with opportunities for interactive experiences never thought possible by generations before us.

This course explores the unique challenges of designing experiences for emerging media platforms, objects, devices and systems. We will look at current TRENDS in emerging media and learn about a DESIGN PROCESS that will help us realize our own designs and collaborate with people with different strengths.

Some Trends in Emerging Media

• Social Media
• Virtual Worlds
• Web 2.0 (Rich Internet Applications, Service Oriented Architecture, Social Web)
• Mobile Design and Computing
• Assistive Technology
• Audio, Video & Performance
• Sustainability
• Wearable Technologies
• Algorithmic Art
• Tangible Computing
• Robotics
• Data Visualization
• Gaming/Interactive Video/Animation
• Mashups
  

Design Process (Diagram)

• Initial Concept
  • User Research
• Refine Concept
  • User Personas
  • User Journeys
• Final Concept
  • Sketches
  • Prototyping
  • Presentation
• Production

Question | Homework:

• How do we determine what is Emerging and what is Emerged?
• Find three websites that discuss Design Process and come prepared to present to the class.
• ATTEND Dr. P. W. Singer’s talk:
  “Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century”
  Thursday January 29th, 2009 | 2:00 pm-4:00 pm
  New York University
  Greenberg Lounge in Vanderbilt Hall
  40 Washington Square South | Map