Timer or count down that controls feedback?

Sep 10, 2013

Hi!

I am building a course about safety routines in a hotel. The course will consist of different scenarios where the user needs to act quickly when being exposed to different acute situations as fire, robbery or sick customers.

This is how I would like the scenarios to work:

In every situation the user is faced with an acute situation/question and needs to make his/her decision/answer the question within for example 30 seconds or 1 minute. The user will probably click a button when answering the question.

The feedback the user gets will depend on how fast he/she answers. One feedback for answering fast and one for answering slower. This means that I need a timer or count down that will also regulate which feedback shows when. I have seen some examples of timers and count downs in the forum but no one that works this way. And for me personally, who are not so much in to "programming", they are quite hard to understand.

I would be so greatful for ideas, suggestions or solutions that ables me to build scenarios like this

Thank you! 

Hanna

10 Replies
Michael Hinze

I didn't know if you wanted an actual visual indication of the time passed. But for providing timed feedback, one 'low-tech' option would be to:

- extend the timeline of your question slide to 60 sec.

- add an offstage object to the timeline from 0sec. to 30 sec.

- add two triggers  to this object which set a variable to True/False at the beginning and end of this object's timeline

- based on the value of this variable show a 'fast response' or 'slow response' message/layer when a button is clicked.

See a quick example here. When you click either button within 30 sec., you get a 'fast response' message. After that, you get a 'slow response' message. You can adapt this concept to your specific requirements.

Hanna Danielsson

Hi there!

And thank you so much Michael for this great idea and for enclosing the story file for me aswell. This is more or less the exact solution that I need. And I appreciate the simplicity of the solution.

As you noticed I forgot to mention that i DO want a visual indication of the time passed. Meaning that the user should see the timer/count down. It should work a bit like a stressor or motivator for the user.

I have experimented with a solution i the attached .story (sorry the text is in Swedish but I think you get the point).

1. The user enters the page.

2. A layer with a instruction will display first. The user reads the instruction which describes that the user will only have 30 seconds or one minute to answer the question.

3. The user closes the layer. 

4. On base layer the timer immediately starts counting down, the user reads and answers the question. Etc.

In my version om Michaels LowtechTimer.story I experimented with the possibility to use a gif-animation as a timer. But the timer won´t pause even though I have marked "Pause timeline on base layer". And when viewing the html-output the gif does not run as in preview mode. So using a gif-animation is probably not an alternative.

So. The ultimate solution would be to have a timer that the user can see, which will also paus along with the base layer when viewing layer Instruktion. Is this something that is doable in a simple (or not simple way?

Thank you!
Hanna 

Michael Hinze

Hanna, before you go the custom-developed timer route, you might want to try encoding your animated Gif as a video (or try to find a timer video); that should pause when placed on the baselayer. Failing that, here is a good thread on custom timers.

Also a while ago, I had done a sample for a community member with a timer (created with layers and triggers on the master slide) that displays a lightbox every 2:30 min.

Andy Iakobson

Michael Hinze said:

Hanna, before you go the custom-developed timer route, you might want to try encoding your animated Gif as a video (or try to find a timer video); that should pause when placed on the baselayer. Failing that, here is a good thread on custom timers.

Also a while ago, I had done a sample for a community member with a timer (created with layers and triggers on the master slide) that displays a lightbox every 2:30 min.

Hi Michael! The sample you posted is exactly what I need. How does that work? Is there any chance I could get the file from you?
(Sorry to re-awaken an old thread!) 

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