Design phase

Hello everyone. 

I hope this blog finds you well. 

   

As long as we are getting closer to the presentation of our project, the topic for this week is "Design step of the DDD-E model". We have been working on the project for weeks. Let's suppose that by deciding the topic we are going to teach, we created the trunk of a tree and step by step we are "dressing" it with branches and leaves. 

We could read in the lecture that the design phase helps us “chunk” and organize the information to convey meaning; specify the necessary graphics, sounds, animations, and video; and sequence the project elements in a flowchart. It consists of five sub-phases,which are as mentioned: 

1. Outlining the content
2. Creating flowcharts
3. Specifying screen design
4. Writing storyboards
5. Design guidelines

We all have finished with the outlining of the content in the Step 1 of the project and we now we know that we dealt with making the requirements of the project clearer. It also includes knowing who the target group is and which the group's needs are.
In additon, what I found interesting of this phase, is working or "exploring" the flowcharts. It turned out I had been using them during all of my life and I didn't really know they would be this helpful in teaching. Last week, we presented our Powerpoint project, so I am reflecting on how my group worked, what we used and how it helped us. Firstly, we used a linear structure, which is Powerpoint. Using Powerpoint made our goals, lesson and activities more precise. We worked step by step in each slide, trying to use the main materials. Out of the Tree structure, Star structure and Cluster structure, we decided to use the last one, as it was more appropriate for that particular topic. We found it way easier and organised rather than just explaining in a Word document.
I think I am not the only one who has found herself in such a situation where everything was disorganized and I have just lost motivation to go on, as it seemed that there was no light at the end of the tunnel. It could be the same situation, if we would pretend we could make a good presentation without organizing its structure. So, we have to deal with the screen design. I have personally seen people who put a lot of effort into a project, even struggled to find the materials and they still ended up not doing their best in their presentation. Why so? Well, some examples include not using the proper colour of the words and background and we couldn't read the material; including too much writter informations in the slides or the otherwise, there was no information at all leading to vagueness; there were missing instructions on where to click and so on. But no need to worry guys, because it is not that difficult and afterall, that's why we should pay attention to the Screen Design.
I am not mentioning the steps of Specifying screen design, because we all were given the lecture, but I would like to write some advices on how to make the presentation more interesting for our audience. 

1. Use Hyperlinks. It is very easy to insert them and it will guide the students to another document or a website, giving additional information about the topic or to some new activities or exercises. For example, if you are teaching Present Simple and Present Continuous, just use hyperlinks leading your students to a Youtube video explanation of their uses and so on. You should always let the audience know where or how to click on each hyperlink. 

1. Use Visuals. Visuals may include Images, Videos, Charts, Tables. In this way, you attract more attention, but more importantly, you make it easier for the message/information to be conveyed to the target audience. A useful tip is to accompany the visual with a short description. 

1. Use a light coloured background and dark coloured words or the otherwise. Never forget to write a Title, so that it will be obvious what the intention of each slide is. 

The next step is writing the storyboards. It means to collect and chunk the information that will be needed in any platform you may be using. There are some "tricks" on how to use them properly, stated in the Guidelines. The Guidelines include: 

1. Guidelines for Text
2. Guidelines for Menus
3. Guidelines for Icons and Navigational Buttons
4. Guidelines for Color

I think these Guidelines are life "life-saviours", due to the fact they learn us how not to become boring, which might be a teacher's and students' nightmare. Back in my high school, I would almost fall asleep because my classmates would include many long sentences, so many long paragraphs or small fonts that challenged our sight. As teachers, I think whenever our students have to work on a project, we should provide them with these Guidelines.
To sum up, I learned a lot about the design phase and it helped me reflect on my past experiences and also on what I can do better on the final project. We know the story of the Tortoise and the Hare, so I would like to finish the blog a simple, but meaningful message:
"Slow but steady wins the race!". 


P.s. Don't forget to stay safe :) 

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog, I appreciate it! 

Please feel free to share your opinion!