Research Theory in Digital Culture/Group 1 - Concept Plan

Name of the Project

Group Members

Essi - Project manager Agnes - Resource manager Silja - Script Manager Vesku - Benchmarking manager

The Concept Plan

Introduction

Preliminary ideas:

- web-based educational tool/game on Modernism/Modernistic era <-- What do you mean with the Modernistic era? Please be more specific - Modernism/Modernistic era refers to Western society in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century (or was this what Silja meant? comments?) -Essi

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I suggest we use this area as a platform for discussion about this assigment, at least for now. We can delete all the messages later on, when the project is nearly done. _____________________________________________________________________________

Okay, so first of all, at Pori we had some ideas about the concept of our project. In short, we decided to design a game (target group 10 to 15 year-old children)where there are different tasks concerning inventions of the modernistic era. We came up with an idea, that the players get to assemble the inventions (using animated graphical platform) and after finishing the invention at hand succesfully, there could be an animation/information part about the invention itself. Then they could move on to the next round.

I started thinking about this idea of ours and came up with some additional ideas of my own. Now, let's say we would have 10 different inventions/levels in this game. Instead of having the same kind of task in every level, could we come up with different tasks concerning different inventions? Like in one level you'd have to assemble a jigsaz puzzle of the picture that presents the invention, and for example, in another level we could use the same idea as they use in Älypää, where the picture is slowly revealed and you have to guess what it is as fast as you can (http://alypaa.com/) After concluding the level, there would be a small information part about the invention or the inventer. The last level could be a small inquiry about the information parts shown in every level (a very easy one, a multiple choice questionary)and after the "test", each player would be given a charachter/inventer from the modernistic era who they would be, with an animated picture of the charachter as well as a small information about who he or she was. Comments? <-- The basic idea is very good, but how do you avoid the deterministic "nuts and bolts" perspective that the inventor and certain inventions are in key role in modernization? How do you bring, for example, the user or cultural perspective to this project? Or do you want to bring that at all? (JS)

What do you mean by this: How do you bring, for example, the user or cultural perspective to this project? --Agnes For example you could add to game some discussion session, when somebody would discuss with players who used those inventions and how for example users could remake and tune them them for their own purposes (user appropriation of technology, social construction of technology etc.) (JS)

Now, the deadline for the main idea of our project is due this sunday. That means, our concept has to be ready next monday so we get to work with our own tasks. I will post a proper timetable for this assigment soon. I hope you will comment eagerly and if it seems we cannot find a common ground about the main idea in the discussion we have here, we have to arrange a real-life meeting. :)

Sorry about the typos btw, my concentration level right now is -10.

Essi

I think Essi defined very well our main ideas. So lets see more on the real life meeting. :)

I made some internet search on some interesting inventions of the era:

Laterna Magica Mutoscope http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutoscope Kaleidoscope http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaleidoscope Stetoscope http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stetoscope Periscope http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periscope

Just to mention few. Excellent sources for this theme and period are books by Hannu Salmi, Atoomipommilla kuuhun and Vuosisadan lapset.

See you soon,

Silja

Background research and benchmarking

(Has somebody done similar things before?)

• After you have chosen the idea, start to link or list similar projects here. And after listing, start the analyze those cases and compare them your own case

Games:

• http://nobelprize.org/educational_games/
• http://www.funbrain.com/
• http://www.aeonity.com/ab/games/simulation/virtual-knee-surgery.php

Educational www-pages:

• http://www.howstuffworks.com/

Description of expected user group

(What sort of people would be interested in your project?)

- I think in this part we should consider not only the user group itself (10-15 year-old children), but the target group in a larger scale. Like institutions, organisations, parents etc. After all, the target group determinates the relevance of the whole project. Also, it determinates what possible funding channels we could use. For example, could our game be used as an educational tool in schools? What channels could be used that the game would find it's user group? - Essi

Description of idea

(story, parts)

Needed resources for completing the projects

(funding, skills, technical resources etc.)

SWOT-analysis of the project

(Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats)