Help! Student newbie question - Ideas?
Jan 11, 2014
Hi All,
I'm taking a graduate course in educational software prototyping. For this course, we are asked to prototype some sort of an interactive, self-paced eLearning lesson, to be completed individually, as supplemental material for students who are having difficulties mastering a concept, or skill. I've always wanted to learn how to use Articulate properly, so I thought this would be a great opportunity to dive right in.
I just have no ideas for a topic 
I'd like to work with a small idea, based on the loose instructions provided by the instructor. I can't base my topic around general knowledge, it should be grounded in specific learning outcomes. The instructions for our prototype are not very clear, but we are asked to demonstrate a concept, use audio and visual cues and prompts, provide opportunity for students to answer questions, practice, and be assessed, all at their own pace. I'd like to focus on a topic which will provide opportunity to use graphics or illustrations, and potentially embedded videos. I'm not good enough to be able to create graphics myself.
The only idea I've been able to come up with so far is growing some sort of vegetable. I've heard this community is extremely helpful, and I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas which I could borrow for my project.
Thanks in advance,
Ioana
2 Replies
Hi Loana and welcome to the Heroes Community.
Several ideas:
1> Could you ask your students what they might like to learn?
2> Growing vegetables is a GREAT idea...instructions on things they may never have thought about, (soil type, soil conditions, soil preparation, choosing species/varieties to suit variables, variations in geographical and climatic/micro-climatic conditions, sowing depth, sowing medium, thinning, pest control, harvesting etc. etc. - loads of branches (excuse the possible pun...) that you could take them down and through.
3> If you can doodle on a sheet of white paper and you have a scanner, you can illustrate this. All seeds are small circles or elongated ovals (pretty much....!). A grown carrot is a long triangle with a few lines at the top, a sowing furrow is a triangle intersecting two horizontal lines, a beetroot is a circle tapering to a point, (with a few lines at the top) etc. Personal illustrations will give it a consistent theme and character.
Hope this helps, and once again a warm welcome to the community. Let us know how it goes.
Hi Loana,
Sounds like a fun project! Because it's a student project, your topic options are endless. I like what Bruce said about growing vegetables. This allows you some fun opportunities for graphics. Have fun with it. Maybe do a course on how to make a PB &J or something simple and creative like that. Don't over think it.
I would suggest starting by writing a script, outline or storyboard. As you're writing the content, think out how you can visualize it graphically. Remember, almost everything you script, will need to be conveyed visually.
Good Luck!
Tim
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