Major Project
Ahmed Yaman Ibrahim (0341119)
Major Project
*Professional Development Week reflection is in the Week 8 section of this post.
Week 1
Ideas
1. Gamification platform for schools
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| Sample layout for homepage |
- Class subjects as individual topics with sequential objectives
- Reward and scoring system for work submission, to be reflected on a leaderboard
- Leaderboard that displays students based on performance to encourage competition
- Badges as a part of reward system
2. Fitness app
- Tracking goal progress based on weight
- Workouts section with list of exercises that can be included in a custom workout plan
- Meals section with a list of recipes that can be used to create a custom meal plan, with calories indicated
- Articles section with reading material about health and fitness
3. Platforming game
- 4-5 levels, with a tutorial stage at the start to familiarize the player with the controls and a boss level at the end
- Puzzle elements that hinder progress
- Melee and ranged combat
- Enemies of increasing difficulty as you progress through levels
Week 2
Gamification platform
Week 3
Continued working on prototype - added pages for students (topic pages for lesson material and submitting work) and teachers (gradebook pages).
To-do:
- Add navigation
- Work out the leaderboard system (to include additional points, not just from work submission)
- Submenus
- To add content (class and class material) - Teachers
- Gradebook pages - Teachers
Week 4
Added most of the major function pages to the prototype and consulted with Mr Razif. After we discussed the current pages on the prototype he advised me to finalize the master plan for the app by next week and double check with the prototype. I was also provided with a list of resources on gamification so that I may get a better idea of how to gamify my platform.
Week 5
Based on Mr Razif's feedback, I came up with the master plan for the app and restructured most of the pages I had designed to follow the plan. After consulting with him again this week, I was given some general feedback on how to structure the information on the app, some discussions on how to make the gamification features effective and how to differentiate the app's features between mobile and desktop view. We then agreed to go through all the changes in detail during the next consultation session.
Week 6
Continued working on the prototype - made a few minor changes to the mobile pages and start working on the pages for desktop view based on feedback from Mr Razif on how the two views could display content differently.
Week 7
Was not able to consult this week due to conflicting schedules, but I made progress on the desktop view of the prototype and kept Mr Razif updated on progress.
Week 8
Most of this week was spent on refining the mobile and desktop view pages in between the PDW seminars.
PDW Reflection
Quite a lot of my learning hours this week were spent on the Professional Development Week seminars. The first seminar I attended was on financial literacy by a spokesperson from Allianz. She talked about how our current generation's expenses are compared to previous generations, and how we have to take into account things like subscriptions and other internet-based payments. As such, she stressed that early financial planning has become even more important that before. She also explained various things such as the financial needs pyramid, how to prioritize between earning, spending saving and investing, as well as the factors that affect them such as capital, risk and time. She also highlighted the importance of insurance. Overall it was quite informative and I now feel like I have a better grasp on how to start planning my finances.
The second seminar was about career prospects in the media industry and how AI affects it all. Kiron from Omnicom Media Group spoke about the importance of understanding your target audience and being culturally aware, as well as how to make use of AI to boost productivity such as with number crunching and predictions. He also specified that it is prone to making mistakes and that we should not rely on it too much. He stressed that regardless of how powerful AI is, it is not able to create stories and therefore cannot replace humans completely, but that it is still important to study and understand its capabilities and limitations.
The third seminar was the PDW keynote. The speaker provided details on career development, how to handle various situations related to your career and managing a proper work-life balance. He provided several tips on how to take responsibility in navigating your own career, which includes basic habits such as simply showing up on time and being proactive, as well as other insightful tips such as treating all situations as neutral and understanding the difference between perfection and excellence.
The fourth seminar was quite informative, it was about succeeding in a multirole creative industry. The speaker was an alumni from Taylor's and arguably the most insightful speaker from the seminars I've attended, as his advice directly applied to my situation. He gave several pointers on how to excel in one's own field while also learning about related fields so that you always have a solution or plan in mind for any situation you are in. He also highlighted the importance of being passionate while also having a rationale for all the work you do. Overall it was an incredibly helpful seminar and I'm glad I took the time out to attend it.
The next seminar was on the importance of Linkedin in the professional environment, how and why to use it as well as the different ways employers track potential employees through the platform. The speaker also provided tips on how to make one's profile more appealing to employers as well as how to conduct emails and interviews.
The next seminar was quite unique, it was called "How to have an idea." The technique spoken about in the seminar is based one from a book by James Webb Young, and it spoke of how an idea is a combination of several old elements put together. The idea rests on the ability to see relationships between several related things, while each individual fact is a separate piece of knowledge. Overall it provided me with a few new ways to look at things when it comes to idea generation and was a very interesting seminar.
The last seminar was generally about work experience and the speaker's own story of how she found her occupations. She spoke of the importance of being self-motivated and working to earn your place, and provided several pointers on the difference between full-time and freelance work. She also spoke of making sure not to burn bridges and keep options open when it comes to opportunities, while also ensuring that you are constantly learning even at work. It was quite motivational and the other students who attended also seemed to enjoy it greatly.
To sum up, the PDW was quite insightful and I'm glad I took the time out to take part in it, as I came away with several new ideas and information on how I can better myself for whatever I have in mind for my future.
Week 9
Finished up the low-fidelity prototype of the desktop view and the majority of the initial final design of the mobile view.
Week 10
Spent most of this week catching up on other pending assignments, while touching up the mobile design in a few places.
Week 11
Had the first presentation this week; based on feedback, the overall content of the app is fine, but the supervisors feel that it is not visually appealing enough for its target audience, and that the gamification elements need to be highlighted more. As such, I've started redesigning the visuals from the ground up.
Week 12
Week 13
Ran into several visual bugs in the process of building the desktop view, and spent most of this week trying to fix them. Was able to make one or two pages work properly but the majority of them still have issues so I will most likely be spending the next few days trying to work them out
Week 14
