Problem
In this project, I had the opportunity to introduce the learner
to several well-known female artists. I am interested
in art and like the idea of promoting awareness and appreciation
of
it.
The objective is to inform the audience about
these artists, some of whom are not household names, and
to show several
female artists who were influential in the art world.
Upon viewing this
program the viewer should be familiar with basic background
information about each artist, and some ways that
their style is distinct.
Background
The intended audience for the Women in Art project is anyone
who wants to learn about the history and
work of artists, especially the female artists shown
here. The
viewer
could be a college
student, or anyone interested in learning
more about
art.
The program is designed to be viewed online using a
browser. There are no conditions of use,
rules, or regulations.
Constraints
for the learner would include the need for
them to have basic computer skills, and a computer available
with
the
ability to access the Internet. The Flash
player
plugin
would need to be installed for the browser
to display it. To hear
the sound, a sound card would need to be
installed and speakers attached
to the computer.
Method
I designed this Flash movie to include interactivity
to better engage the learner. The home
screen is designed with 7 separate "reveals." Each consists of an image containing a series of buttons for each artist. The
buttons show a portion of each artist's
work, and a photo of the artist is provided as a rollover
on the
button.
When the
learner clicks the button, a negative image
of the artist is shown. An additional disjoint rollover
shows
the artist's
name.
I set the buttons on the palette to track
as navigation rather than as buttons so the rollover
effect could
be seen without
releasing the mouse.
The button rollovers were challenging
to set up. I struggled with getting them
to look "round" and not bitmapped. I ended up making a wide circle border for each in the same
color as its background swatch, lining
that border over the button image, and a thin black border
lined up on
top to define
the
edge better.
A link to a list of Web resources is included
on the home screen. I used an animation
on the main screen to
point
to the buttons
on the palette, to help aid navigation.
The screen size is 760x420.
The home screen is followed by a series of
screens with one artist's information on
each. The artist pages include
an
image of one
of their works and a brief biography.
I created seven verbal audio clips, one for each artist,
ranging
in length from
about 25 to 30 seconds each. The
artist screens provide a link to allow
the learner to play the audio clip
with more information about the artist. Buttons are provided
to advance
to the next screen
or return to the home screen, to facilitate navigation.
The
inclusion of text, images, sound, and interactivity
to present the program to the learner uses dual coding,
providing
for verbal
and non-verbal processing in absorbing the information.
Activities
In this project I was able to create a simple program
with some basic information
about several artists. I accomplished
my goal
of creating a multimedia
program that incorporated the elements I wanted to include:
text,
images, sound, and
interactivity.
I feel that these elements
make the program more usable to the learner, and help
to engage the
learner's interest.
Evaluation
I feel that the program would be valuable as
an introduction
to the topic, and could be expanded to include additional
screens with
more information and more
images of
the artists'
work. It could be used as an informational link
on an art-related Web site, or as
an activity in an art history or
art appreciation class.
Reflection
I am pleased with the way the program turned
out. It was time-consuming
and a bit of a learning curve
to
set up
all the interactivity
that I wanted
in Flash, but I feel that the end result was worth it.
I would have liked to include
more artists. I initially planned to include
11 or
12 artists, but
realized that their buttons
would not all fit
onto the palette in this size
and still display
well. If I were to create this again,
I might
find a way to add
more artists.
The greatest challenge
was the time of researching artists and
images for the
piece, the
palette buttons mentioned
above, and
just getting
everything to line up as I wanted it.
It was enjoyable
to research the artists
and learn about them. I found many
more
artists that I wanted to include
but
had to narrow my choices
down to those that would fit on the home
screen. I learned
about
those
additional artists
as
well and broadened
my
knowledge of art. I also enjoyed the opportunity to improve
my skills in multimedia
technology. |
