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1. 19 Test Application 5 days Tue 19 04 11 Mon 25 04 11 LI 20 Test code 6 days Mon 25 04 11 Mon 02 05 11 Ka A Fix Bugs 2 days Sun 01 05 11 Mon 02 05 11 1 2 Draught Powerpoint 1 day Tue 03 05 11 Tue 03 05 11 I 23 Test Showcase 1 day Tue 03 05 11 Tue 03 05 11 1 gt Present Project 2days Wedo4 05 11 Thu 05 05 11 i as e Project Ends 1day Fri06 05 11 Fri 06 05 11 i 27 28 gt 31 32 33 8 E z n Din CM Ready sf NewTasks Manually Scheduled ABA8C VO 60 6 Technical Research Details As this project is to build a self publishing application which will record both the screen of the users pc and their voice i will be using a pc desktop or laptop and a tie clip or stationary microphone will be using CamStudio to help create the application to record the screen A microphone audio tuner will be used to get the right pitch for the user listening to the podcast To create the framework and user interface of the application i will be using JavaScript programming language 61 Page 7 Consultation 1 first consulted Dr Eugene O Loughlin on my project idea His feedback was very encouraging and gave me a lot of ideas as to where i wanted to take the project He spoke about how the implementation of such an app could be used with the popular database moodle 8 Consultation 2 My second consultation was with Keith Maycock Keith liked my idea and was keen on following it up l recieved great
2. 1043 1050 AACE San Diego CA USA e Computers and Composition Volume 20 Issue 4 December 2003 Pages 473 480 20th Anniversary Special Issue Part 1 Pamela B Childers e Fisher and Baird 2006 M Fisher and D E Baird Making mlearning work Utilizing mobile technology for active exploration collaboration assessment and reflection in higher education Journal of Educational Technology Systems 35 1 2006 pp 3 30 e Fetaji Majlinda review of Podcasting and Case Study of Issues and Solutions in using Podcasting in South East European University Source 2008 354 358 AACE Las Vegas Nevada USA e Holmes B Gardiner J 2006 e Learning Concepts and Practice e Preceptor mentor education A world of possibilities through e learning technologyAuthors Myrick Florence Caplan Wendy Smitten Jayne Rusk KerrySource Nurse Educ Today 2011 31 3 263 267 e Oliver Ron Luca Joe Using Mobile Technologies and Podcasts to Enhance Learning Experiences in Lecture Based University Course Delivery Source 2007 3385 3394 AACE Vancouver Canada 75 Page e Suppes P 1966 The uses of computers in education Scientific American 215 206 20 e Unger and Wroblewski 2006 Unger M amp Wroblewski A 2006 Neue Medien im Studium Ergebnisse der Studierenden Sozialerhebung 2006 Austrian Federal Ministry of Science and Research lt http www e science at dokumente ergebnis_studierenden sozialerhebung pdf gt Interactin
3. 6 1 1 Paper design Of ProtOtYPE l eeeeeeeeeeee ee rpe ae ee teeeteesaaeeseeestooesooeeooeouoeouoenooeeoueooueeooeoon 45 6 1 2 Initial prototype rsrsrsr e ke asa ae tt lale kk dd w Se DE ak ERE LET nes 45 6 2 INSTALLATION OF MOODLE wie ko ki aaa Bonte ton ayes ai dug mo ata kan eat n m kl she a a ea on ae saaa Pike ankd cds 46 USER TESTING ve reves ake aaa on siw RS ae vo atin e de ve ka al 49 7 1 INITIAL RESEARCH AND USER INTERVIEWS lllllillleleeeee et oe teste etoeteetoeaoeooeoeoeaoeooesooooesooeooooeooe 49 7 1 1 Defining QUESTIONS voi kk kas sea lakin an kore kn a vi koma e a sees EEREN ke mea cada Ske bare REAL kn CE RESE deedutdencede 49 Tee USABILITY TESTIN Ge ie ati w sive ns ea aaa v red ee e dosh oven egies ob aparet Selves kai nek die PARI ke concede inl ole 51 7 2 1 Usability test process ss cats cwaces vie ede ka ake akt ano ERER NE EKE dan ea mka a ea Sa RE e kenn de dais 52 7 2 2 Results Of usability test ica ig ede KE docs 53 7 2 3 Changes applied from resultS oooooocooocconncnnnccnnconcconnron rro nn corro rro r ron n ron teseeeseteaeees 54 S CONCLUSION asii Ra di 55 6 Page EXECUTIVE SUMMERY The focus of this project and the research carried out by the author is to create and implement a self publishing podcast application that will benefit both teacher and student the intended client application will allow for the effective recording and uploading of lectures and lessons to the server of an online t
4. Self Publishing Podcast Application di Roxio di Self Publishing Podcast Application de SharePoint de Startup Le VideoLAN di Windows Live 4 Back e You can also look for the desktop shortcut to the application which appers below Simply double click here to launch SPPA 83 Page SHH PodCast ep e Once launched you will see the following application below This application is known as the SPPA Click here to Upload to Moodle FTP Login details required i View Tutorials on Recording and Uploadin g g Need Help Click Here P a e You are now ready to begin recording It is important to know that the recorder begins recording from the top left 84 Page l RECORD STOP PLAY i olo A Click here to Upload to Moodle FTP Login details required Need Help Click Here View Tutorials on Recording and Uploading Podcasts 7 nn n F EE Ee 15 24 L ES O mE ees Fy som e The next step is to hover over the record button and left click one This will begin recording RECORD Maa AAA e Once the recording has completed you can click the stop button to end recording or you can click play to launch the video through windows media player STOP PLAY 85 Page e The next step is to upload your video podcast to Moodle Once ready click the button seen below This will launch the Firefox browser and prompt the user to enter the ftp
5. has been selected Steps When a button is clicked in the application it must respond by activating the screen recorder Non Functional The self publishing podcast application must be in running mode for this activation to take place 31 Page Use Case Diagram for Screen Recorder Activation User clicks app 32 Page Use Cases Use case number 3 Stop recording e The application should stop and prompt user to save recorded file when user has selected the stop recording button Description The stop button Button2 should stop the recording and automatically prompt the user to save the file Steps When stop button is clicked in the application it must respond by activating the screen recorder Non Functional The self publishing podcast application must be in running mode for this activation to take place 33 Page Use Case Diagram for End Recording User clicks stop stop recording 34 Page Use Cases Use case number 4 Play recording e The application should stop and prompt user to save recorded file when user has selected the stop recording button Description The play button Button3 should play back the recording using windows media player Steps When play button is clicked in the application it must respond by finding the last recorded video and playing it through windows media player Non Functional For playback to work the computer must have a media
6. inside a hosting domain and when requested by the user can be downloaded from this area To try this simply log on to www selfpublishingpodcastapp2011 com downloads html The third page known as the user manual page simply allows the user to download the user manual as a word document This manual explains how to install and run the application The fourth and final page is the tutorials page there are three video tutorials uploaded here The videos were created using a screen recorder and uploaded via YouTube A YouTube embed file was then applied to the html allowing for the videos to be played on the website Here is an example of the embedded code used to add the YouTube video lt iframe width 560 height 349 src http www youtube com embed Rs87kMpNH34 frameborder 0 allowfullscreen gt lt iframe gt All HTML CSS code used to create the self publishing podcast application website along with screenshots can be found in Appendix B 41 Page 5 TECHNOLOGIES 5 1 Technologies used This chapter will look at the different technologies used for the development and research of the overall client application Different technologies may include technologies used in and with the application along with technologies leading up to the creation of each individual factor 5 1 1 Video podcasting Video podcast also known as vodcast is a term which has been created to define the online delivery of video on demand The finish
7. login details Click here to Upload to Moodle FTP Login details required This is what the login prompt area looks like Now sign in using your personal database details In this case these are Username Password Authentication Required X O Enter user name and password for ftp tributetonight com User Name Password Don e Once logged in you will see the Videos folder which is a folder within Moodle 86 Page Index of ftp tributetonight com public_html moodledata 2 Videos Up to higher level directory Name Size Last Modified E clip0001 avi 2963KB 11 05 2011 12 42 00 lipo002 avi 2749 KB 13 05 2011 16 55 00 E clip0005 avi 1524KB 13 05 2011 16 57 00 e Now click Ctrl and navigate to tools once here click on the FireFTP link and click the connect button in the top left corner This will now launch the ftp client allow you to drag and drop your videos into the VIDEO shown Moodle Please fill out the attached survey and hand back to Tester 87 Page The Self Publishing Podcast Application Usability Test Place a tick beside the answer you have chosen and complete the question as follows 1 After launching the self publishing podcast application in step 1 were you able to understand what each of the six buttons would do once clicked YES NO If you ticked no please name which button you were unable to understand 2 Could you see yourself as a teacher or l
8. player function such as windows media player to play back all types of media 35 Page Use Case Diagram for Play Recording User clicks play Video begins playing through Windows media player play video 36 Page Use Cases Use case number 5 Upload to Moodle e The application should allow the user to stop the recording and upload it directly to an online database Description The stop and upload button should stop the recording and prompt the user to upload to an online database Steps When the stop and upload button has been selected it must tell the application to stop recording but also activate the form to display the upload area for uploading the video Non Functional A online database must be created with the possibility of uploading videos directly to it 37 Page Use Case Diagram for Stop and Uploading User clicks upload to moodle User uses FireFTP addon ka and drags and drops files into moodle database Y ftp login successful 38 Page 4 DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT The design and development chapter is based on the overall function of the self publishing podcast application This section will look at all features involved with the look and layout along with the roles of the application and user types 4 1 Design of application The author of this application looked to several GUI books and online tutorials in order to create a nice clean and easy to use ap
9. shows an image of the first prototype Figure 5 First prototype a Forml Pauls Screen recorder Record sound only Stop and upload to Moodle 45 Page 6 2 Installation of Moodle To test the application with a real online teaching portal the author needed to set up his own online teaching portal He choose Moodle because he had experience with this portal before The first step here was to download the latest build from Moodle As Moodle was open source anyone can download and install their very own version of Moodle on a server Once all the files had been downloaded the author Zipped to a folder and uploaded that zipped folder directly on to his hosted server The server can be seen here in Figure 6 Figure 6 selfpublishingpodcastapp2011 com xl 3 public_html moodle Go 49 Home W Up One Level 42 Back E Forward Si Reload Y Select all i Unselect all tributetonight com atomicstageschool net a Name atomicstageschool tributetonightcom y Colegas al E cgi bin dublinvenue com 49 home tributet dublinvenue tributetonightcom FI data is selfpublishingpodcastapp com bin 5 moodle selfpublishingpodcastapp tributetonight com Ga etc kaz selfpublishingpodcastapp2011 com sppa tributetonightcom paa mail moodle 1 8 14 zip theatrelearningcentre com H perl theatrelearningcentre tributetonight com Sa upload aspx wahfactar trihutetaniaht ram php The zipped file was then accessed and th
10. 006 The adoption of e learning as a teaching medium within higher education has been known to influence creativity and drive innovation this new medium for learning has been noted to revolutionise the interactions of the teacher to student relationship as well as the student to student relationship Myrick Caplan Smitten Rusk 2011 A survey carried out across universities in Austria showed that up to 60 per cent of third level students reported using e learning platforms almost frequently or sometimes Unger amp Wroblewski 2006 It is fair to say that this report is not the only one of its kind with social media at its peak more and more young students and older students are coming online As far back as 1966 saw the prediction of e learning in schools with Stanford University educationalist Patrick Suppes quoting that in a few more years millions of school children will have access to the personal services of a tutor as well informed and responsive as Aristotle Suppes P 1966 As e learning today may not be as well informed as Aristotle this prediction was extremely accurate If we look ahead to later years it s clear that schools began adopting this practice with the help of companies such as Tesco who were creating initiatives for schools to collect cans for computers The relationship between computer technology and learning can today be looked at as not weather it is to be implemented in schools seconda
11. Interview which was carried out on a lecturer from the college in study Question 1 Answer Certainly for me would feel l m an attentive user was for a long time pretty basic but I ve learnt I m pretty good mean I ve done some pretty big reports on word becoming increasingly competent with using PowerPoint can use excel but everything that I ve learnt has been trial and error use outlook as my email client but just don t understand outlook But that s because haven t tried to use it haven t tried to do it so would regard myself as basic plus think lecturers in this college would be fairly mixed in regard to their skills That s my guess that they would be mixed but with me l d be basic basic plus Question 2 Answer suppose simplicity I m an old fashioned mechanical engineer so don t like things electronic don t like things you can t see so want simplicity and want ease of use don t want the thing to be complicated just want to be able to use it and for it to be user friendly And for me would describe that as idiot proof Question 3 Answer In one way yes and think it would be brilliant to record and then would literally if had a lecture prepared could do it once and have it there have capture red it and could go back and look at what had done and think well didn t do that very well need to change this and change that could edit it could use it then the next time and
12. National College of Ireland School of Computing BAHTM 1 Creation and Implementation of an E Learning Self Publishing Podcast Application SPPA Author Paul Hughes Student Number x05491011 Honour s Thesis 18 of May 2011 Supervisor Eugene O Loughlin 1 Page hereby declare that this e learning project is an original piece of work and has not been previously submitted to this college or any other institution This project also complies with the guidelines set by the school of computing within the National College of Ireland Paul Hughes 2 Page Acknowledgements This thesis would not have been possible without the guidance help and support of several individuals who have taken the time to contribute their valuable knowledge and expertise in assisting me with the preparation and completion of this project This being said would like to take this opportunity to thank those people whose help and encouragement with this project has been truly appreciated My supervisor Dr Eugene O Loughlin who has provided me with so much advice and support from the beginning and who has helped me guide this project in the right direction Thanks also to Dr Keith Maycock for taking the time to consult with me about this idea and leaving me encouraged and inspired to design the application 3 Page Abstract Author Paul Hughes Title Creation and Implementation of an E Learning Self Publishing Podcast Applica
13. apter will also define the background of setting up the FTP browser and also the build for the open source teaching portal Moodle 12 Page The third chapter looks at the Requirements and specifications involved the client application This chapter gives an outline of both the user and system requirements needed to develop and run the programme The fourth chapter will look at the design and development involved in building the application form From here the author will talk about the GUI layout along with the colour scheme used This chapter also looks at the applications purpose for use and the roles it s required to carry out The fifth chapter will define the different technologies involved in the research and development of the overall project This will include technologies used and technologies researched The sixth chapter will focus of the implementation and setup of the developed application on a computer system and the creation of an FTP browser and hosting setup of the Moodle page The fifth chapter defines the user tests carried out and the findings returned which enabled the author to revaluate the application and to make changes This chapter also looks at the early stages of interviews carried out in order to define how the application would be designed and to get an idea on how technical the standard user is and if they had used similar processes in the past 13 Page 2 BACKGROUND 2 1 Technical Backgrou
14. arry out primary research the area in which the application will be used plan to perform interviews with individuals who may be in a position to use the application on a daily basis The interviews will determine what the user is looking for in such an application and help me create a more user friendly and efficient piece of software will carry out a big part of my research by searching the web for information relating to this project and similar applications By carrying out this research i will have a clearer view of where i want to go with my project and what areas of the application i need to focus on most The list that follows names the books i will be reading in preparation for this project they fall in the categories of programming types and streaming media online Building responsive web applications with AJAX and PHP Christian Darie Brinzarea Bogdan Filip Chereches Tosa and Mihai Bucicia Ajax for dummies Steven Holzner Mastering the Internet XHTML and Javascript Ibrahim Zeid Flash ActionScript for designers drag slide fade Brendan Dawes Streaming audio electronic resource the FezGuys guide Jon R Luini Allen E Whitman by Luini Jon R Whitman Allen E Safari Tech Books Online Web developer com guide to streaming multimedia Jose Alvear 58 Page 4 Special resources required Hardware Dell netbook inspiron mini with integrated camera Stand alone Webcam Microphone Soft
15. ccessfully logged in the will be instantly directed to the videos folder within Moodle This file within Moodle can be seen as the main folder for storing all podcasts And once student log into their Moodle account they will be able to access this folder and these videos Figure 3 FireFTP server client E chrome fireftp content fireftp xul Mis _ Most Visited Getting Started A Latest Headlines SPPA w Disconnect Edit Abort BE cAUsers Pauls y Browse Em e G public_html moodledata 2 Videos aca Name a Size Type Date a gt b dell E shsh May12 23 16 gt bin gt Drivers E Contacts May 10 23 53 p Bee gt intel Desktop May 17 17 28 Email E cipooosavi b LO LogoSmartz Documents May 17 17 29 gt peri El clip0005 avi b DI PerfLogs ESDownloads May 16 23 07 gt php El clip0006 avi b a Program Files Favorites May 10 23 53 b a public_ftp 18 Page 2 2 Usability 2 2 1 Defining the term usability Usability is the term used to explain the ease of use of using a certain object Another form of usability is known as web usability this approach is the coins the creation of easy to use web sites for the end user In the terms of a website or application the quality of the user experience or usability is normally looked at in terms of e Look and feel e Navigation e Interface design e Architecture motive co nz 2004 2 2 2 User experience One definition of user experience has been All th
16. cus on the buttons as each button had white colours The solution to this was to keep the darker colours as the background but to change them to a slightly lighter shade of gravy as opposed to the dark grey that went before The author also applied new graphics for the record stop and play buttons of the application this was to add a better more graphical user interface Thanks to the comments provided by the participants of the usability survey the author was able to redefine the application into a more slick and colour friendly program for the client user The final application design can be seen in appendix 4 3 54 Page 8 CONCLUSION As a result from this Thesis a user interface application was developed to record both the user s desktop screen and the users voice it was successfully implemented with Moodle to allow for the prompt and efficient uploading of podcasts The user interface was developed from a prototype after surveys and user testing was carried out The user testing allowed for better implementation of important features these features were defined by gathering the results of the user test and were changed by applying the results to the latest application During this thesis the author choose to research e learning methods types and the general definition of what it was This research helped him determine what type of e learning was being created It also offered a clearer outlook on what type of e learning as most e
17. dcastapp2011 com index htm re SelfPublishingPodcastApp The relan Homepage Download App User Manual Watch Tutorial FER Wakara Inthe Sef Abtiheg Podcast Jepkaban Ck ten F5 man za a A ick hee do Uplond to Moode FTP Legin datas maured Vera Tu See Design by Paul Hughes coded by Paul Hug Please see CD ROM included for all HTML CSS code 79 Page www selfpublishingpodcastapp2011 com Downloads html website is live ai SelfPublishingPodcast App sona Ireland Download App User Manual Watch Tutorial Design by Paul Hughes coded by Paul Hughes Please see CD ROM included for all HTML CSS code 80 Page www selfpublishingpodcastapp2011 com Usermanual html website is live n w Self Publishing Podcast Apo na Ireland Homepage Download App User Manual Watch Tutoria Design by Paul Hughes coded by Paul Hughes Please see CD ROM included for all HTML CSS code 81 Page www selfpublishingpodcastapp2011 com tutorials html website is live F l SelfPublishingPodcastApp ona Ireland Homepage Download App User Manual Watch Tutorial gt W 0000 25 Yogi 52 om pyrig cy Design by Paul Hughes coded by Paul Hughes Please see CD ROM included for all HTML CSS code 82 Page Appendix C Self Publishing Podcast Application A Users Manual Using the Self Publishing Podcast Application e Click and open the start menu down the bottom right Find the folder named
18. dministration Grades Profile My courses gt HTML and Web Development All courses fE 17 May 23 May 24 May 30 May 31 May 6 June 7 June 13 June 14 June 20 June 21 June 27 June 28 June 4 July 5 July 11 July 12 July 18 July You are logged in as Paul Hughes Logout zi o oaoannnnooo EJ Bookmarks Latest News No news has been posted yet Upcoming Events E There are no upcoming events Go to calendar New Event m Recent Activity E Activity since Monday 16 May 2011 12 17 AM Full report of recent activity Nothing new since your last login Figure 7 Moodle account logged in as admin Th http moodle tributetonight com moodle course view phpzid 2 You are logged in as Paul Hughes Logout 8B Google P tf Most Visited Getting Started Latest Headlines HTML and Web Development e learning gt CF101 People Weekly outline Participants News forum Activities x W Forums 10 May 16 May Resources Search Forums g Advanced search 3 Administration amp Turn editing on Settings YO Assign roles f Groups Backup Restore Import Reset LY Reports Questions ail Scales G Files H Grades E Unenrol me from CF101 E Profile A7 Page Videos week 2 17 May 23 May 24 May 30 May 31 May 6 June 7 June 13 June 14 June 20 June 21 June 27 June 28 June 4 July 5 Jul
19. e Moodle setup was run This brought the author trough several installation steps Finally the author named the website domain that would allow access to this Moodle page A username and password were created for the admin user to login The website domain http moodle tributetonight com moodle login index php was now set up and the author was able to access it through his admin account For username and password required to access Moodle please see User Manual on CD ROM See Figure 6 for image of Moodle Portal created Once logged into the Moodle portal as seen in figure 6 we see a folder named Videos week 2 in here the user can find all the latest video podcast that the lecturer had uploaded trough the SPP Application For now only one folder has been made its named videos week 2 the lecturer can now log in as admin and create a new folder for week 3 and he she may name the folder any name they wish An example of a folder name might be Video Podcasts for HTML lecture The Videos week 2 folder can be viewed in figure 8 46 Page Figure 6 Moodle account logged in as user Th http moodle tributetonight com moodle course view php id 2 e 28 s P tf Most Visited Getting Started Latest Headlines HTML and Web Development e learning CF101 Espe Weekly outline BY Participants BE News forum Activities E BE Forums 10 May 16 May Resources Videos week 2 Search Forums a Advanced search 3 A
20. e aspects of how people use an interactive product the way it feels in their hands how well they understand how it works how they feel about it while they re using it how well it serves their purposes and how well it fits into the entire context in which they are using it Alben 1996 It s almost impossible to create a piece of software such as the application being developed here and have everyone like it even to have most people like it would be difficult It s not enough to simply focus on usability issues here the author needed to look at the end users in a more holistic way User experience is all about how the user feels about a piece of software or product it s also based on their past experiences or environment It was important for the author to research all aspects of user experience not only usability but other area such as environments of the application 19 Page 3 REQUIRMENTS AND SPECIFICATION The requirements and specifications define the projects work load and also the rules involved with creating the project The following has been laid out to assist the author or tester in understanding how the application is built and how it works 3 1 User Requirements The self publishing podcast application has been developed to allow the end user to effectively record the desktop screen and voice of the user and allow for the prompt and easy uploading of this recording to a database The user requirements will de
21. e document c Other Stakeholders Other stakeholders of the application would be the students who will view the content of these video podcasts online 66 Page Stakeholder Analysis Self Publishing video podcast tool Key Stakeholders IT Department Dr Eugene Paul Hughes O Loughlin Organizatio National college of National college of National college of n Ireland Ireland Ireland Role on Project Client Project user Project developer project Unique facts Leading college in the Experience in the Experience with about field of technology and field of e learning development of stakeholder business and video podcasts applications and websites Level of High High Very High interest Level of Can provide the tool Has keen interest in Very interested in influence needed to create the use of video audiobooks podcasts application podcasts Suggestions Hold regular meetings Allow user to give Achieve goals on time on managing relationship S with client to make sure direction we are going in is correct plenty of feedback about development of application so that time is giver for errors or arising issues 67 Page 3 Constraints a Solution Constraints restrictions As the application requires the use of hardware such as microphones and computers the constraints will be getting the hardware to work with the tool The speaker will have to be
22. e usability test process took place within the national college of Ireland based in the IFSC Dublin Both students and members of staff were asked to participate in the short usability test These participants were randomly selected and were of both technical and non technical backgrounds these users were also asked in the question to say whether they were students or lecturers A laptop running the application was set up on a table with the user manual and questionnaire also pens were provided along with a chair for participants to sit down and complete the testing The test began with a short explanation on what the product done and what it had been developed for The author explained how the test would take place and what was required The participant was given a user manual what defined and described each step from top down The users were required to follow these steps which would lead to the successful launching and testing of the application from start to finish Once completed the participants were then asked to complete the short survey at the back which consisted of seven question as mentions in section 7 2 The manual and survey used can be found in appendix C Once completed the participant was thanked for their time given Figure 4 Participants of user testing 52 Page 7 2 2 Results of usability test Results of the usability testing showed a positive reaction to the layout of the buttons and the application itsel
23. eBackColor True Example of code used to execute the stopping and playing of the completed recording Stop Recording 23 Page Button2 Me Button2 BackgroundImage CType resources GetObject Button2 Backgroundlmage System Drawing Image Me Button2 BackgroundlmageLayout System Windows Forms ImageLayout Zoom Me Button2 Location New System Drawing Point 213 59 Me Button2 Name Button2 Me Button2 Size New System Drawing Size 95 92 Me Button2 Tablndex 1 Me Button2 Text STOP Me Button2 TextAlign System Drawing ContentAlignment TopRight Me Button2 UseVisualStyleBackColor True Private Sub Button2_Click ByVal sender As System Object ByVal e As System EventArgs Handles Button2 Click cam StopRec End Sub Play recording 24 Page Button3 Me Button3 Backgroundlmage CType resources GetObject Button3 Backgroundlmage System Drawing lmasge Me Button3 BackgroundlmageLayout System Windows Forms ImageLayout Zoom Me Button3 Location New System Drawing Point 313 58 Me Button3 Name Button3 Me Button3 Size New System Drawing Size 95 93 Me Button3 Tablndex 2 Me Button3 Text PLAY Me Button3 TextAlign System Drawing ContentAlignment TopRight Me Button3 UseVisualStyleBackColor True Private Sub Button3_Click ByVal sender As System Object ByVal e As System EventArgs Handles Button3 Click cam Play End Sub 25 Page Other buttons within the application were used t
24. eaching portal The recording and uploading of video podcasts usually consists of several steps and can be extremely time consuming and difficult when uploading these disadvantages and many more has led to teachers and lecturers not using such tools and therefore not providing students with online resources such as video podcasts Looking at existing e learning models the author found that video communications was still emerging and with the advances in technologies today realised that this form of learning could be the closest model to that of face to face teaching The author found that although some e learning models existed in this field none have been developed to a specific area The project was developed for use within a college using online portals to upload their lecture notes and class content What the author had to take into account was how this application could allow for the effective recording of a video podcast and also the uploading of that podcast online This paper has been created to show the design and implementation of such an application and how user interface video technology and uploading to the server issues were overcome 7 Page INTRODUCTION E learning has become very prevalent in higher education in the last couple of years The creation of increasingly powerful computers combined with the World Wide Web has meant that information is now much more accessible than ever before Holmes 6 Gardiner 2
25. ecturer using this application for the purpose of uploading video podcasts YES NO 3 If you could make one significant change to this application what change would you make 88 Page 6 Could you please name your favourite thing about the application and you re least favourite 7 Please select one of the following lama lecturer C Student C 89 Page Appendix D The Self Publishing Podcast Tool SPPT The Self Publishing Podcast Tool will allow the user to simply create and publish a podcast online by recording their voice and screen during a presentation Q1 Assuming there are two types of PC skilled users being advanced and basic what type of skills would you say you have And in average what type of skills would you say lecturers within the national college of Ireland have Q2 As a user what do you look for in an application Q3 Would this Self Publishing Podcast Tool be of interest to you Q4 Have you ever created and uploaded a podcast before If so did you come across any irritations when doing so Q5 When using new applications or software do you read the instructions or prefer to figure it out yourself Q6 How long would the process of publishing a podcast online usually take you Q7 This tool will publish your video podcasts to the web application Moodle as a user what other websites would you like to publish your podcast to Thank you for your time 90 Page Appendix E This is a transcript from an
26. ed dae is aa due a iaia sate 6 INTRODUCTION toi aa dalt dr ta Loud DS a poo oo AY dees 8 VA MOBIECTIVES ii nan e ae na kane ae E BRA a saaa A E EP e lakat WAN to ou 11 1 2 5COPE OF THE PROJECT 3 0s ess ik sos an ab die ko ase t okipe tale Des 12 15 3 PROJECT OVERVIEW aaa bid dan bilan ak pea en fa ase pis A kad on Toetaedegebeeeesensng ees ees 12 Z BACKGROUND eski dokt cine tiv ka a n tro pt ak pen a te ke ti as 14 2 1 TECHNICAL BACKGROUND oe in kole any kaa E kd tai 14 ZAN Podcast SOF Wicca nina tancias Rs 14 2 1 2 Visual BASIC 2010 0e vie kn siv A A a a 15 2 1 3 User GA seve bens gett beusseeedeeewostasens iea aaia esaia as hiaai adas 17 2 14 FTP AO WS e a a E atan 17 Zided FireFTP ii A A AS da lA F aa dees dai 18 2 2 USEABILIDY a FE E a a vas BI AAS MO deeb Aa SIB RIS pe DR 19 2 2 1 Defining the term Usability cece cece c cece cece eee e ene ee ence enceeneeenseenseeeeeeseeeeens 19 2 22 USEF PNC A Je sees nt borage sh Sena anh Sida sled aay Aida reas eee Fon 19 3 REQUIREMENTS AND SPECIFICATION win 20 at a teat k aa radio pira 20 3 1 USER REQUIRMENTS cani nia vi kale clued ee insta 20 3 2 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS 5 via w cw set s sce r ana se sine pa kk a ae a ee AA 20 IRMA MA aa 21 3 2 2 NR 21 3 3 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION vis coso a esas 22 3 4 FUNTION REQUIRMENTS sssiincesseesietiiwsien veins atan ena see pl a Wa ot a ele e ae e aa m m a eta ak ie te a kb aaa asa 28 355 USE CASES sects kw vw caves bev ovate lid u
27. ed on what they would like to see in the application 7 Functional and Data Requirements The developer of the video podcast self publishing tool must create an application that will both record the user s voice and the monitor screen in which the user is reading from The applicant who will view this podcast must hear and see what the lecturer sees on his or her screen 70 Page 8 Look and Feel Requirements a Appearance Requirements As this tool has been created to simplify the creation and publishing of video podcasts the developer must create a clear and basic user interface The Ul must use large buttons and short clear text b Style Requirements The developer will develop the application UI using simple font and dull colours The application should be clear to read and not distracting 9 Usability and Humanity Requirements a Ease of Use Requirements Content After interviewing one of the application users Dr Eugene O Loughlin the developer realised the user wanted the application to be very simple with minimal buttons to avoid confusion and make clear to him how to start and stop the recording The application will be self publishing so the user will simply have to select the stop button and the video will be published online The developer questioned Dr Eugene O Loughlin on the irritations he encountered while using other video podcast software found that the editing and uploading process took almost 45 minu
28. ed or usability This question looked for a general answer and was not asking the participant to talk about this application but any application they have ever used Question3 Woulad this Self Publishing Podcast Tool be of interest to you The author had only gained feedback from his supervisor and the consultants he had met with before the creation of the application This question was therefore created to find out what the participants thoughts were on the idea of the self publishing podcast app Question4 Have you ever created and uploaded a podcast before If so did you come across any irritations when doing so The author was looking for past experience with both the creation and uploading of video or sound podcasts online The question was asking if the participant had ever created or uploaded a podcast This question was also asking if the user had any experience of any kind with podcasts Question5 When using new applications or software do you read the instructions or prefer to figure it out yourself The author was asking how the participant dealt with new software in relation to understanding how the product worked As the author had planned to supply a manual online to assist the user with the installation and use of the application it was required to know how complicated the manual would be 50 Page Question6 How long would the process of publishing a podcast online usually take you Assuming the partic
29. ed product of this application will upload a video online for users to view this is video podcasting and is becoming increasingly more popular Wikipedia 2007 The software used with this application is known as screencast software its end product will create a video podcast of the user s desktop out along with the user voice over 5 1 2 Screencast A screencast is known as a digital recording of the out of a user s computer screen A screencast will capture actions which will be taking place on a computer screen this will also include the user voice Screencasts are usually made with a narrator talking over their actions as they show the viewer how something is done http whatis techtarget com definition screencast html For a screencast to take place the user must have some form of screen capture software installed on their PC and also a microphone must be present to record sound For example the author of this application has stated that a microphone is required this has been mentioned under the hardware section of the system requirements 42 Page A popular screen casting application out there today is Screen toaster Screen toaster is a simple to use screencast product Bradley 2007 which allows the user to record their desktop screen and create video podcasts the unique thing about this service is that no download of software is required The screen toaster website prompts the user to begin recording their desktop
30. en when the client application is launched the decision was taken to design the application to be small and tidy this meant minimum buttons The Visual basic program allowed the author to physically see the user interface as a GUI for the program allowed for the free movement of buttons and forms Images were also uploaded to the buttons to allow for the easier understanding of each buttons process A toolbar provided by Visual Basic allowed the author to drag and drop click buttons into the form and then to change the appearance of that button this included changing the color and size Unlike other programming language for example JavaScript the author had been able to see first hand what the application being built would like Check buttons and upload forms had been placed into the Self Publishing Podcast Application during the earlier stages of development but due research carried out on potential end users the author choose not to use them as he felt many users would be of a non technical background Images of the Self Publishing Application user interface can be found in Appendix A 2 1 4 FTP browser The author researched many browsers in relation to their FTP performances both Internet explorer and Safari did not have the full capabilities to allow the writing of files only the reading The one successful browser that did allow for this was Mozilla Firefox Not only could the author successfully open an FTP browser and access the file
31. f Many commenting on how the size and neatness of the product created a simple looking application this was the authors plan all along and was now being clarified by the test user group Again the functionality of all buttons had been clear to understand due to what one participant described as buttons were clear to understand due to both text and images Comments on how well the application could reduce the time of uploading videos were rife the general idea of the application was liked by many and the purpose of the project was seen as a solution to a time consuming problem 53 Page The majority of users which took the test said they would use this application but as they were not teachers and did not host online teaching portals for other they said they had no reason to at this current time Those who were lecturers and took the test had answered that they would use the application The only issues noted from the entire test was that many said the application looked very bland in terms of colour and graphics others had stated that the recorded videos were hard to find as they had been saved in a default folder within documents and not in the videos folder 7 2 3 Changes applied from results From the results gained the author set out to first change the overall look of the application and to secondly change the file location of the videos The application had been developed using dark colours which the author felt were needed to fo
32. f code to execute a certain function within the screen recorder for example one button when clicked on would tell the recorder to begin recording both the screen and voice of the user The coding required to execute the screen recorder was found trough online tutorials Kanalar 2010 and coding project websites Visual basic books and other VB tutorials were used in order to change the coding to meet different needs For example the code found online would online record the outline of the recorder which was a small proximity The author found a way of changing the code so that the application would record the full area of the screen 22 Page Example of code used to record full screen of PC desktop Private Sub Button1_Click ByVal sender As System Object ByVal e As System EventArgs Handles Button1 Click cam StartX Me Location X cam StartY Me Location Y cam Height My Computer Screen Bounds Height cam Width My Computer Screen Bounds Width cam StartRec End Sub Button1 Me Button1 Backgroundlmage CType resources GetObject Button1 Backgroundlmage System Drawing Image Me Button1 BackgroundlmageLayout System Windows Forms ImageLayout Zoom Me Button1 Location New System Drawing Point 15 58 Me Button1 Name Button1 Me Button1 Size New System Drawing Size 192 93 Me Button1 Tablndex 0 Me Button1 Text RECORD Me Button1 TextAlign System Drawing ContentAlignment TopRight Me Button1 UseVisualStyl
33. feedback from Keith and went away feeling even more positive and excited about the project then i did before Paul Hughes 1 10 2010 62 Page B A Hons in Technology Management Project Requirements Specification Template for Self Publishing Podcast Application For Dr Eugene O Loughlin By Paul Hughes Student Number x05491011 63 Page 1 The Purpose of the Project a The User Business or Background of the Project Effort This document has been created to outline all the requirements for the development of the self publishing podcast application By outlining all the requirements the developer can determine which areas within the project will require the most attention The user group in which we will be targeting will be the educational sector users such as lecturers and students but the application will benefit many other forms of users such as business or social users The purpose of this project is to design and create a self publishing programme which will allow a user to efficiently record and publish their presentations from a computer to a preferred area This self publishing programme will be designed for implementation into the open source course management system Moodle This self publishing application will be available through a link on Moodle once the user has signed in From the link the application will open giving the user the option to begin recording the visual and audio of the p
34. ffective and why The application was developed around these methods Also due to the strong research found on how big e learning was becoming the author found this particular project exciting and extremely interesting The surveys carried out at the beginning showed the author that it was extremely hard to find a general and equal view from different users we can never produce an application that pleases everyone The method the author took to this was that he looked at the end users in a holistic view The holistic view gave the author a vague outlook on what users individual needs were but allowed him to meet other recommended general needs better Thus satisfying all users to some extent The author took his interest in podcasts and turned this into a project the idea of the client application being potentially beneficial lead to the need to produce the best and most redefined application for creating screencasts Several methods using different technologies were learnt and the overall experience has shown that even a small simple application may have a large amount of work behind it but in the end it s simply done to make these old methods faster 55 Page Creation and Implementation of an E Learning Self Publishing Podcast Application Paul Hughes x05491011 pol1 live ie B A Hons in Technology Management 1 10 2010 56 Page 1 Objectives The objective of this project is to design and create a self publishing prog
35. fine and describe the needs goals and tasks of the end user This can be used to give the author a bird s eye view of what is required for the application All of these requirements have been taken into account e The need for a simple user friendly application which can be clearly understood and used e The need for the development of an application that can be used by a non technical user e The need to easily upload videos to an online database or portal e For the user to become a frequent user on this application due to its advantages e The availability of help and support with the use of the podcast application e The need to play back recordings before uploading of application 3 2 System Requirements The system requirements will take a look at the required specs in terms of hardware and software which are needed on the system in order to correctly run and use the application 20 Page 3 2 1 Software The operation system in which this application has been tested and run is Microsoft s Windows 7 operation system This application has been developed to run on 32 bit system types only The installation of the Self Publishing Podcast Application is crucial for the successful use of the application This application is available from the author s application website www selfpublishingpodcastapp2011 com downloads html The user must have the browser type Mazilla Firefox installed on their system and running a
36. form of e learning Virtual learning allows the user to enter a place they might simulate the activities of the real world even though the user will be completely away from the real world Virtual learning can be such activities as games up to training to become an airline pilot According to Mills and Araujo 1999 virtual learning has been noted to increase the student s motivation for learning by allowing the student to feel a sense of presence within the world This form of e learning is certainly one of the most advanced of its kind and shows how people can now learn by themselves The client application being developed will share some similarities with that of virtual learning as the entire program will allow for the self learning of students One of the most similar forms of e learning researched by the author in relation to e learning trough podcasts was distance learning 9 Page Distance learning is a form of teaching or studying by which a lecture or class is thought through the medium of internet The name distance would normally suggest that the teacher and student may be far apart from one another The creation of podcasts being uploaded for viewing at any stage would be a form of distance learning online its methods would not be face to face like some of distance learning methods e Focusing on specific type of E learning The term podcasting can be looked at as the process of distributing any type of digital media file or n
37. g with Computers Volume 11 Issue 4 April 1999 Pages 453 462 Stella Mills and Maria Madalena T de Ara jo e Lazzari 2009 M Lazzari Creative use of podcasting in higher education and its effect on competitive agency Computers Education 52 1 2009 pp 27 34 e Lum 2006 L Lum The power of podcasting Diverse Issues in Higher Education 23 2 2006 pp 32 35 e Alben L 1996 Quality of Experience Defining the Criteria for Effective Interaction Design Interactions Volume 3 3 May June 1996 pages 11 15 e Zeiller Michael Supporting a Blended Learning Course by Podcasting Source 2009 795 803 AACE Vancouver Canada 76 Page Websites e http www motive co nz glossary usable php 2004 e http whatis techtarget com definition screencast html e http en wikipedia org wiki Video podcast 2004 e http www wordnik com words Screentoaster 2010 e http www webopedia com TERM F FTP html 2010 e http www techterms com definition itunes Books e McKeown Programming in Visual Basic 2010 The very beginners guide e Sniderman Ben Designing the User Interface third edition 77 Page Appendix A Final Version Image of Self Publishing Podcast Application User Interface Welcome lo the Self Publishing Podcast Appkcatorn Chak RECORD to begn op and upload bo Moodle FIF Logan detads moueed 78 Page Appendix B Screenshots of Website website is live www selfpublishingpo
38. hat meets the standards of an efficient and user friendly interface Its overall intention is not only to carry out a set of functions to assist in the recording of tutorials but to allow for users of any technical ability to download install use and upload video podcasts This application has been developed to run as a program application on the user s PC opening as a form application Using an FTP browser client may not be part of the scope but as the application launches one it is defined in the application The final project allows for users to view their online portal files trough an FTP browser By carrying out surveys on potential end users within a college the author was able to better define what type of user application needed to be developed This project was also developed for use with the open source online teaching portal Moodle 1 3 Project overview This project has been divided into seven different chapters The first chapter will give a short background on the subject of e learning and its variations throughout the centuries this chapter outlines the authors finding in relation to e learning practices and studies gone before This chapter also outlines the author s objectives and scope for the project The second chapter will focus on the technical background of the developed application and project overall This will include the podcast software used along with the Visual basic programme used to execute it This ch
39. he building of the application can be found in appendix 1 1 The questions had been created to gain a better understanding of the skills found in lecturers of the college in relation to podcasting and computing This questionnaire was carried out in both the early and late stages of the prototype 7 1 1 Defining questions The questionnaire contained 7 questions We will now look closely at each of these questions in order to gain a better understanding of their purpose and reason In other words what type of information was the author trying to get from each question e You can view the full questionnaire in Appendix D e A transcript from one of the Interviews can be viewed in Appendix E Question1 Assuming there are two types of PC skilled users being advanced and basic what type of skills would you say you have And in average what type of skills would you say lecturers within the national college of Ireland have The author created this question for one reason to find out how skilled users were on PC s within the college This question not only told the author how skilled that particular lecturer was but asked him or her to determine the average in terms of skill on a PC within the college 49 Page Question2 As a user what do you look for in an application This question asked the participant to give a quick definition of what they would look for in an application This could characteristics such as simplicity spe
40. heard very clearly so the viewer of the podcast does not have to strain themselves to hear it Another constraint the developer has mentioned is the issues of deleting or re recording a certain area of the presentation for example if the user was to swear he or she would like to be able to rewind the recording by 30 seconds so it was edited out As there are recording tools out already the developer looked at the constraints which limited their functionality he noticed that many of them took a lot of time to edit and publish online none of these podcast recorders would automatically publish a video online for you and that could only be done separately The developer wanted to create a tool that would simplify the process for the user so they could spend less time trying to upload it online b Schedule Constraints The project to build this application has a schedule deadline by which the final edition of this tool must be completed The main constraint in relation to the schedule is that the application will not be built on time 68 Page 4 Naming Conventions and Definitions a Definitions of All Terms Including Acronyms Used in the Project The term video podcast by definition is the online delivery of video on demand which can be streamed or downloaded Its author describes this form of media as the new radio broadcast Before the internet talk shows and interviews would have been broadcast trough radio As the author of the app
41. ideo podcast creation to their own online teaching portal 4 2 2 User group The user group involved with this project were lecturers within the third level education sector The application was not restricted to this group but for the purpose of this project a specific group within a college in Ireland Dublin was targeted in order to meet a certain need 4 3 HTML CSS website A support website called www selfpublishingpodcastapp2011 com was developed for the downloading and support of the client application This website was developed using HTML Hypertext mark up language and CSS Cascading style sheet The author had previous experience developing HTML websites but still found this one to be quite challenging The website was developed using text pad and hosted online using LetsHost ie 40 Page 4 3 1 Website Layout The website consisted of four pages the reason for the small number of pages was to keep the page simple it was there to serve a certain purpose and that it did The first page known as the home page gives a few paragraphs on what the project is about and what its purpose is It also explains the types of technologies used and provides the user with a small picture of the application itself The second page known as the download page allows the user to download all the necessary files and programs needed to run and use the application successfully Each file downloads as a zip file these zip files have been placed
42. ipant had used podcast software before and had tried uploading or creating a podcast this question asks what time frame this process had took them Question7 This tool will publish your video podcasts to the web application Moodle as a user what other websites would you like to publish your podcast to The author was developing this client application to upload to a database through the online teaching portal Moodle but as this research took place in the early stages of the project the author was keeping an open mind on allowing an upload option to other possible websites such a YouTube 7 2 Usability testing Usability testing is known as a technique used to evaluate an application or product by testing it on potential end users What this testing measures is the products ability to meet the needs it was built for In this case user tests were carried out on potential end users The users were asked to follow the user manual for using the application and to use different features of the application from the user interface to the ftp client browser These test subjects were given a user manual which guided them through the creation and uploading of a video podcast to Moodle At the back of this manual the test subjects were asked to fill in a short survey consisting of seven questions These questions along with the user manual used on the day of testing can be found in appendix 4 1 2 51 Page 7 2 1 Usability test process Th
43. le tates ar a e ee a a AE AN SBA e sacle 29 4 DESIGN AND DEVELOPMEN Tesista a tk e kek ok a a pa oak kk pa kra 39 4 1 DESIGN OF APPLICATION ke ab ere cues an A A ka e ak e Sa eines 39 4151 GUI ayala AS A AAA ens 39 4 1 2 COMUNA ado PRYE Sad 39 42 APPLICATION PURPOSE 200 oi A a odes soso ale Pwa ate ok al 39 4 2 11 ROlE of application 2 20 A a a ai kre done anak 40 A 2 2 USOT GTOUP rriei fok aaa a kok fot kalis m l do ok da e 40 A3 HTML CSS WEBSITE ak abi disa ata kato n dias A ee RE YE Kot kase ai ea Se e GAS YA 40 4 3 4 Website laYOU nori kapote aaa vite pa ene ta Lew aa eee ke ek wees ka a are tebe pipe mi mo We Saa so 41 5 TECHNOLOGIES ws t kaa ek lat A A AA A e e AAA pe ka a a A ea 42 541 TECHNOLOGIES USED i s sine ate walk mot asa sote e ana a a ao ei due basset co tle ai ale kde SA EN E ale Re De in PWA e sea ke seb e 42 5 1A VIDEO POdCASUING e pi n en a kr e kn o 42 Di LL CONCA ap apa ki an aba aa aou aa eee Spe kd YA Ti A ad YIN 42 A TD ae e e a a ETE E EEEE seep yas s teenage need aden bededeterebaceie A RE e DE NA ease 43 5 2 TECHNOLOGIES RESERCHED k asi a loa la pawmi a ata epa af ol aa ata a ka an kaka kan e Sik na eta Aaa it 43 5 231 Filezilla FTP cent koy diia ber as tests di RE KAS de a 44 6 IMPLEMENTATION arriere srein kwe le vad ke ma AAA a din a le med W ake As 45 6 1 CONCEPT OF APPLICATION k ba piano onon os asa d pwi o ii okoasa an a ey oo vote souke de an seswa osans asi onon desi vin ESS asias 45
44. lication is developing a self publishing video podcast tool it will be required to automatically save and publish the completed podcast to the required destination 5 Relevant Facts and Assumptions a Relevant Facts The author has made his feelings clear that this application has been developed in order to assist the user to create a video podcast and upload it without hassle To get the maximum performance this application will need to work from a fast computer with extra ram to cope with fast screen movements and the processes the application will be running As the application will use a microphone to pick up the users voice the developer has looked into wireless tie clip microphones that use a receiver It is important that the range of the microphones is good to allow the user to move around the room and still produce a clear recording 69 Page b Assumptions The self publishing podcast tool will be implemented into the online application Moodle The video podcast should be available to students as soon as it has been uploaded The application will automatically publish the content online for the user 6 The Scope of the Work a The Current Situation The developer to this stage of the project has prepared a project proposal which included an approach and a Gantt chart which listed the project objectives on a timeline The project title has also been researched online and by using books The applications users have been interview
45. nd The technical background of the client application involves the definition of several different pieces of software including browsers and FTP Client add ons along with the application build details and the programs used to create it The development of the form application was created using the visual basic language a third generation event driven programming language from Microsoft These applications which are created in Visual basic are known as Windows Form Applications and are for installation and use on Microsoft machines only The user interface of the windows form application developed consisted of buttons which were created by applying a VBScript this is known as VBScripting 2 1 1 Podcast software The client application has been developed by the author to execute a third party screen recorder which must also be installed on the user s PC for the Application to correctly record the desktop and voice of the user The software is known as Hypercam2 from the hyperionics team http www hyperionics com hc and is a free piece of software which records the user s desktop and records their voice The Hypercam2 application can be run separately but is only needed to be installed for the client application to work The Hypercam2 application is never seen and it only runs in the background after installation This piece of software is linked to the client application which in this case is the self publishing podcast ap
46. ne would meet the requirements for this application 43 Page 5 2 1 Filezilla FTP client The Filezilla FTP client could be downloaded to the user s desktop and launched from there each time without having to access any browser This client was safe and efficient but the author found difficulties in terms of its security Filezilla was limited and near unusable when using certain Wi Fi connections This was due to firewalls affecting it connecting to the required server This FTP client was well developed but unfortunately would not be used 44 Page 6 IMPLEMENTATION 6 1 Concept of application The concept of this application was created by the author taking the general idea of e learning trough podcasts and developing a product which allows for a more efficient way of achieving this The self publishing podcast application has been developed to bring the use of two different technologies together in order to speed up the process of using both individually 6 1 1 Paper design of prototype The early stages of design for this application were created on paper by drawing out use cases and roughly drawing out what the product might look like The objectives of the application were written down and goals needed to achieve these were laid out alongside 6 1 2 Initial prototype The initial prototype was developed for the first presentation of the project Its functions were working but had yet adopted the ftp and website links Figure 5
47. o launch the PC s web browser one was specifically developed to open an FTP browser for the completion of uploading files A visual basic browser launcher code was used here Example of button created to launch the FTP browser within the VB Application Button4 Me Button4 Location New System Drawing Point 15 160 Me Button4 Name Button4 Me Button4 Size New System Drawing Size 393 79 Me Button4 Tablndex 6 Me Button4 Text Click here to Upload to Moodle FTP Login details required Me Button4 UseVisualStyleBackColor True Private Sub Button4_Click ByVal sender As System Object ByVal e As System EventArgs Handles Button4 Click System Diagnostics Process Start ftp tributetonight com End Sub 26 Page Example of button created to launch standard browser in this case the website wwww selfpublishingpodcastapp com within the VB Application Button6 Me Button6 Location New System Drawing Point 181 247 Me Button6 Name Button6 Me Button6 Size New System Drawing Size 227 58 Me Button6 Tablndex 10 Me Button6 Text View Tutorials on Recording and Uploading Podcasts Me Button6 UseVisualStyleBackColor True Private Sub Button4_Click ByVal sender As System Object ByVal e As System EventArgs Handles Button4 Click System Diagnostics Process Start www tributetonight com End Sub 27 Page 3 4 Function requirements Function requirements will define the inputs o
48. o main buttons on the user interface One button will be green to symbolise the start of the process and the other button will be red to stop the process There will be a options tab available for the user where they can change the location of the uploaded file Motivation As this application is being built to display a very simple user interface the user will be limited to what they can change an option will be given to the user to change the location of where the podcast will be uploaded to 73 Page 10 Understandability and Politeness Requirements Content A big factor of this tool is the simplicity of it it has been designed not to confuse of burden the user but to carry out a process without hassle and in speedy time which before now would of taken ages Motivation In a recent interview with Dr Eugene O Loughlin the developer found that the greater majority of users within the college would not be of very technical minds in relation to computers As different types of lecturers from different sectors will be using the application and not just computing lecturers it was important to design the tool to suit all as stated already the idea to keep it very simple with minimal buttons Examples The language and images used should be kept universal to suit the mix of users 74 Page BIBLIOGRAPHY Journals e Coutinho Clara Rocha Aurora Source Screencast and Vodcast An Experience in Secondary EducationAuthors 2010
49. ould be developed in visual basic a Microsoft programing tool Both the applications functions and user interface would be tested during its development stages by surveying potential end users developing prototypes and setting up user testing events By interviewing potential end users the author was able to build the application based on the findings and results it was important for the author to better understand how end users might use this software were and what they liked and disliked about any piece of software Two prototypes would be developed before the creation of the final application These prototypes allowed for application flaws to be corrected and improvements of the early design bettered The participants who were seen as potential end users of this client application would be questioned on how technically minded they were it was important that these interviews be carried out on both non technical and technical users in order to get the best results overall All testing involved would be carried out across all stages of the application this ranged from testing buttons to uploading sample podcasts through the application The objective involved with test was to show that both the functionality and the user interface application use ability were tested to perform at the best level possible 11 Page 1 2 Scope of Project This project concentrates on developing and implementing a self publishing podcast application t
50. plication 14 Page 2 1 2 Visual Basic 2010 Visual basic was used to create the GUI Graphical user interface for the client application The windows form application held a set of buttons for different processes within the form Buttons were created to start stop and play the process of the recorder An example of this GUI is presented in Figure 1 Figure 1 Example of GUI in Visual Basic 2010 TI A JS fen Fi Pami da My Project El Aqua Smooth Folder 3 Forent vb _ e O mn Welcome to the Sef Publishing Podosst Anpication Cick RECORD to began Stop and upload ta Moodie FTP Logn detala maured di an chin bin Formi Sy3t6en Windows Forms Fo SN ICA Es The text associated with the control The Visual Basic program allows the developer to view the code side of the application along with the actual visual of the form Figure 1 This allowed the author to design the application visually using a GUI to move buttons and type in text while also allowing him to make changes to code resulting in different processes being developed This program also allowed for creative design to take place as the developer could insert images and physically see what the final application form would look like 15 Page The coding section within Visual Basic is known as vbscribting an example of this is presented in Figure 2 This type of script allows for the creation of processes and executables One process which can be seen in fig
51. plication Several factors needed to be looked at when taking into account the design of any application For example where it will be used and for what type of user 4 1 1 GUI layout The GUI layout consists of 6 buttons the overall size of the application is small but can be made bigger by the user at any stage Large buttons with images were created to make the application easier to see and use Each button consisted of a word or words describing what its purpose was 4 1 2 Colour scheme The colour of the application was left a light grey to avoid distraction from the buttons within the application As this project was not being aimed at a young user group there was no great need to have bright vibrant colours The application has neutral colours in the background with the buttons using white to allow for them to stand out A bright user interface was developed for the prototype stage but was later changed to a darker colour to allow for easier viewing 4 2 Application purpose Every project or application must have a purpose or role this will be defined here This application will record the desktop screen and voice of user and allow them to upload the videos online to portal 39 Page 4 2 1 Role of application The role of this application is to allow the client user to install and run a self publishing podcast application This application should successfully execute the screen recorder and allow the user to then upload their v
52. ramme which will allow a user to efficiently record and publish their presentations from a computer to a preferred area This self publishing programme will be designed for implantation into the open source course management system Moodle The recorder programme will be available through a link on Moodle once the user has signed inform the link the application will open giving the user the option to begin recording the visual and audio of the presentation 2 Background As the popularity surrounding video podcasts increases so does the need to create a programme which simplifies the recording and publishing of one Video podcasts or non streamed webcasts is a term used for the creation and delivery of a video online As e learning grows more and more each year so does the popularity of video podcasts Since the launch of Tunes and the Pod the internet has been awash with podcast tutorials As i have always been a fan of the video podcast i decided to create this application so i could work with the particular type of media The idea of a simple application came to me as i noticed not enough lecturers were using this form of media If i needed to recap on a particular class would i remember everything that was said wanted to design an application that made it effortless for the user to simply record and upload a podcast so that in the future this could become a common practice 57 Page 3 Approach have detailed my plan to c
53. resentation b Background As the popularity surrounding video podcasts increases so does the need to create a program which simplifies the recording and publishing of one Video podcasts or non streamed webcasts is a term used for the creation and delivery of a video online As e learning grows more popular each year so does the popularity of video podcasts Since the launch of Tunes and the iPod the internet has been awash with podcast tutorials 64 Page As the developer had always been a fan of the video podcasts he decided to create this application so that he could work with the particular type of media The idea of a simple application came to him as he noticed not enough lecturers were using this form of media If the developer needed to recap on a particular class would he remember everything that was said He wanted to design an application that made it effortless for the user to simply record and upload a podcast so that in the future this could become a common practice c Goals of the Project This developer of this project has set out many goals the first goal he set out referred to the actual project itself and what the overall result would be The goal of the project is to create a self publishing application that allows users to record both their voice and what is being displayed on the monitor The developer has also created a Gantt chart that shows the timeframe and a deadline by which certain parts of the project m
54. ry or college but when where and how to implement it Pamela B Childers 2003 This outlook towards technology for learning has been adopted by many education sectors in several different countries around the world The reason for this is not solely based on the growth of the internet in today s world but because e learning as a teaching method has been so successful 8 Page e Variations of e learning within third level education E learning can be delivered in many different formats in fact over the last 30 years email and bulletin boards have been a source of online teaching for many These forms are still used today as many learners are in areas with low bandwidth and older limited technologies Holmes 6 Gardiner 2006 These e learning methods have evolved over time allowing for users to express themselves in such sophisticated ways such as the use of webcams Video communications such as video conferencing is to this day still emerging but with the introduction of fibre optic broadband and faster internet speeds is yet to reach its full potential The author paid particular attention to the use of video conferencing as this method related best to the how the application would be used Role playing games were also seen as a method to e learning games or puzzles which could be played on a computer from a CDROM would challenge the user and create a learning environment Also virtual learning environments can be seen as another
55. s 92 Page
56. s their default browser Once Firefox is installed the user must also download the FireFTP add on for Mazilla The FireFTP add on is an FTP client used for uploading files trough a browser All of these software requirements and their links are available for download from the author s application website www selfpublishpodcastapp com downloads html 3 2 2 Hardware The use of a Pentium dual core processor or higher is recommended to run this application effectively A microphone is needed for the successful recording of the user s voice Speakers are needed for the playback of any recorded video A required amount of space is needed on any one pc for the successful storing of the video recordings locally 21 Page 3 3 Technical Specifications Technical specifications are typically written the by developers and coders and describe how they will implement the project The developers work from the functional specifications and translate the functions into their actual coding practices and methodologies For the creation of the podcast application interface the software program Visual Studio 2010 express or visual basic was used The program allowed the author to build the application whilst also setting the functionality of each button A Visual Basic form was developed which required the coding of each button on the application Three buttons were set to activate the screen recorder These buttons used specific lines o
57. s trough Firefox but a free add on called FireFTP version 1 99 3 would make the already easy process much more efficient 17 Page 2 1 5 FireFTP The add on known as FireFTP is a free cross platform FTP client by Mime Cuvalo 2007 http fireFTP mozdev org for the use within the Firefox browser This client is also extremely secure and is well credited for its usability performance Once this add on has been launched the user can see both their local machine and the files which are based on their online server The user is required to enter their database username and password first before accessing this area The FireFTP client developed for implementation into Firefox allows the user to access their ftp server by the simple click of a button The FireFTP client which can be downloaded from the website http fireftp mozdev org can be installed directly into your browser A simple process of connecting to the server hostname and entering the required password will launch the ftp client showing the user both their local files for example their recorded podcast and also it will show them their Moodle server and the names of the files that are there All the user is required to do is simply drag and drop there podcast video into the file or folder they want An example of the FireFTP client is presented in Figure 3 As mentioned already one of the self publishing podcast applications will launch an ftp client Once the user has su
58. tes to complete Motivation The developer of the application has taken into account that there is no application in the market quite like this The designers have been motivated by the unique abilities of this application 71 Page Fit Criterion For the testing of this application 75 of a test group of four lecturers randomly chosen should be able to understand how the video podcast tool is used With a very basic user interface it has been developed to simply its usage After the first two months of the application being available over 40 of lecturers within the college should be using the tool at least once a month Considerations After interviewing Dr Eugene O Loughlin as one of the application users the developer found that many of Dr O Loughlin colleges were less advanced on computers them he was Therefore taking into account the mix of users the application would be developed to be understood in the simplest way possible Form The user will be given the option to rate this application by selecting the rate this application button which will be found in the options tab The user will be given the chance to write down there comments or suggestions on the application This will be done be opening a simple form where the user can give feedback which in turn can help the developer improve the tool b Personalization and Internationalization Requirements 72 Page Content The application will have tw
59. then the next time in class could use it could listen to the reaction of the class and maybe add to it while l m doing it think from a teaching point of view id be reluctant to do it because unless was teaching remotely because think there s learning to be had from participation in class from being there and id question whether people would get as much out of working with a podcast as much as they would in a class really would 91 Page And ld be concerned that you wouldn t get the material across and the impact would not be as great On the one hand think it would be terrific especially from the point of improving myself but from the point of view of using it as an alternative to me I m not sure But equally you could have one copy you make it you have a really good run you might edit it and change it here and there and you ve not got a really effective lecture and now at least you re able to deliver it consistently Question 4 Answer No no unfortunately no I ve never had the opportunity I ve never gone looking for this opportunity But I m sure that s just because of my technical ability you know Question 5 Answer Yes would always read instructions but not before I ve played around with it first Question 6 Not applicable Question 7 Answer Well suppose if could upload a video to anywhere other than Moodle it would be to some form of storage system where could save all my personal file
60. tion Date 18th May 2011 Total number of pages 00 College National College of Ireland School School of Computing Supervisor Eugene O Loughlin This Thesis describes the creation and implementation of a self publishing podcast application designed to allow the user to efficiently record and publish their presentations from a computer to an online server These podcast will then be accessed by students through their college s online teaching portal This application began with the proposal to create a simple podcast application which would allow the user to record both the visual activates of their screen and their own voice allowing for the creation of a video podcast This application proposed to allow the user to easily start the recording stop the recording and finally upload the recording to a secure server hosting the teaching portals files The design of the interface for this application would display six large buttons some of these allowing the user to record upload or launch a support website in order to view tutorials on using the application Research began by looking at similar software which did not replicate this application but merely shared similar characteristics as it By referring to user interface and Visual Basic tutorials the developer gained a better insight into how the application should look The visual aspect of the application was important as one of its characteristics was its simplicit
61. trough a virtual connection 5 1 3 Tunes The author became aware of video podcasts and audio podcasts through his interest in iTunes ITunes is an audio playback program developed by Apple Computer http www techterms com definition itunes iTunes software allows the user to both organise their music photos and videos and also for the user to view purchase and download media content As a regular Tunes user the author noticed an increase in free audio podcasts and soon after in video podcasts usually short sketches created to entice the user to purchase the full product As iTunes and the iPod became more popular the term podcast really began to grow Now different media players were focusing on software which could play both audio and visual media files such as podcasts 5 2 Technologies researched As the author had past experience with podcasts he did not with other areas of the project such as FTP clients FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol this term is the exchanging of file over the internet http www webopedia com TERM F FTP html This project uses an FTP client with the Firefox browser Once launched the user can simply drag and drop files from their local desktop to a server online We use FTP every day for example if we are uploading a file online or even downloading a file its all done trough FTP During the research phase of this project the author looked to use several FTP clients but in the end no
62. umber of related files over the internet for playback use on media players within computers or portable players such as iPod s Lazzari 2009 With the popularity of podcasts and portable devices used to watch podcasts increasing the author believed this area of E Learning had yet to be fully exposed The author believed that the use of video podcasts for the benefit of learning within third level education could be explored more in depth and that new ways of implementing and using this method were yet to be developed The idea of podcasts giving students the ability of learning on demand based on their own learning styles leading to the motivation of students to actively engage in the content of the particular course Fisher and Baird 2006 Recent studies in the US have shown that a massive 80 per cent of third level students own at least one portable device such as an iPod which are capable of downloading and playing recorded media files some of which can also download video recordings Lum 2006 10 Page 1 1 Objectives The purpose of this project was to develop a simple application that recorded the user s desktop screen and user s voice for the creation of a video podcast the application would then allow the user to efficiently upload the recorded video directly to their online teaching portal The creation of this application required a simple and clear user interface which consisted of minimal buttons The application w
63. ure 1 is the linking of ftp website which can be seen under the Private Sub Button4_Click line here is what the full line of code looks like for that button System diagnostics process start ftp tributetonight com public_html moodled ata 2 videos This line of code will begin the process of launching the ftp browser this can be done by either using the application and clicking the ftp button or by directly entering the link ftp tributetonight com public_html moodledata 2 videos into the address bar of a browser This project recommends the Firefox browser Figure 2 Example of vbscripting in Visual Basic AlZ 2 9 O gt 4 AGADIR IO Solution Explorer 7 ta 3s Jg F Pami 4 My Project Private Sub Button3 Click Byval sender As System Object ByVal e As System Eventirgs Mandles Buttor can Play tnd Sub ivate Sub Button4 Click Byval sender As System Object ByVal e As System Event rgs Handles Buttor System Diagnostics ess Start fon lltctbutetenight con atlis htel ecodledata 2 videos Sub rivate Sub Sutton6 Click Byval sender As System Object ByVal e As System EventArgs Systes Diagnostics ess Start mew selfpublishingpodcastapp2011 com tutoriels htel Sub vate Sub ButtonS Click Byval sender As System Object ByVal e As System Eventarg Systee Diagnostics ess Stort mew selfpublishingpodcastapp2011 com f Sub 16 Page 2 1 3 User Interface The user interface can be se
64. ust be completed by his goal is to complete these individual parts on time Another goal in which the developer will try to achieve will be a quality goal for the project the application will be built to meet good quality standards so that by the final stage all parts should be working and responding as they are meant to The application will be accompanied by a website which will guide the user through tutorials on how to use the self publishing podcast application the website will also be used to contact the developer and also for the latest news on updates and new features to the application 65 Page 2 The Stakeholders a The Client This application is being developed for the educational sector mainly for use within third level education such as colleges or universities In this case the client will be the National College of Ireland b The Customer The customers for this application are the lecturers and speakers who work in the education sector and who give lectures to groups using slides and their voice Again for the purpose of this project the users will be the lecturers and speakers of the National College of Ireland In order to establish the needs of the user the developer interviewed author and lecturer Dr Eugene O Loughlin of the National College of Ireland Many of Dr O Loughlins points were implemented into the development of the application The questions asked can be found in the appendix at the bottom of th
65. utputs and behaviours which are to be expected with a software component e The application should respond to button actions when the user clicks start recording e The application should activate the screen recorder and voice recorder when the start recording process has been chosen e The application should stop and prompt user to save recorded file when user has selected the stop recording button e The application should allow the user to stop the recording and upload it directly to an online database 28 Page 3 5 Use Cases Use case number 1 Start Record e The application should respond to button actions when the user clicks start recording Description The goal of the start button is begin recording both screen and voice when the user has selected the start button Steps When start button button1 has been selected it activates cam StartRec cam StartX and cam StartY set the height and width proximities of the recorded area Non Functional HyCam must be pre installed on user s computer for code to activate it 29 Page Use Case Diagram for Start Record User clicks app eer 4 e sa dl 1 77 Application e 30 Page Use Cases Use case number 2 Activate Screen Recorder e The application should activate the screen recorder and voice recorder when the start recording process has been chosen Description The application must activate the screen recorder once the start button
66. ware Render soft CamStudio Software Moodle Open sourse 59 Page 5 Project Plan Gantt chart 0 Task Task Name y Duration Start p September _ 01 October 01 January 01 February 01 June Mode 06 09 20 09 04 10 18 10 01 11 15 11 29 11 13 12 27 12 10 01 24 01 07 02 21 02 07 03 21 03 04 04 18 04 02 05 16 05 30 05 13 06 1 Prepare Project Proposal 10 days Fri 17 09 10 Thu 30 09 10 2 Research Phase 11 days Thu 30 09 10 Thu 14 10 10 E hd e Interview Application Users 6days Mon 04 10 10 Sun 10 10 10 LI 4 Search The Web 5 days Mon 11 10 10 Fri 15 10 10 po 5 Requirements definition 20 days Tue 16 11 10 Mon 13 12 10 6 e Project Scope 10 days Fri07 01 11 Thu 20 01 11 E a e Project Needs 10days Thu 20 01 11 Wed 02 02 11 a 8 e Supervisory Meeting 2days Fri04 02 11 Satos 02 11 D 9 Design Phase 18 days Mon 07 02 11 Wed 02 03 11 10 Application Map 10 days Wed 02 03 11 Tue 15 03 11 aa e Design database Sdays Tue15 03 11 Mon 21 03 11 wa e Application Page Structure 5 days Mon 21 03 11 Fri 25 03 11 BO Server side Language 4 days Mon 28 03 11 Thu 31 03 11 a 14 JS Framework Features 4 days Fri01 04 11 Wed 06 04 11 LI 15 e Supervisory Meeting 2days Thu07 04 11 Fri 08 04 11 l gt Implementation 3days Sat09 04 11 Tue12 04 11 a 17 e Javascript Sdays Tue 12 04 11 Mon18 04 11 an 18 e Server side language 2days Mon 18 04 11 Tue 19 04 11 i
67. y 11 July 12 July 18 July You are logged in as Admin User Logout Switch role to Oo ojojojojojojouoM E Bookmarks Turn editing on Latest News a Add a new topic No news has been posted yet Upcoming Events There are no upcoming events m Go to calendar New Event Recent Activity Activity since Monday 16 May 2011 12 21 AM Full report of recent activity Nothing new since your last login LA Figure 8 Moodle account Videos week 2 folder ki Th http moodle tributetonight com moodle mod resource view php id 3 2 4 Most Visited _ Getting Started Latest Headlines E Bookmarks HTML and Web Development ia 4 umpi Ty e learning gt CF101 gt Resources gt Videos week 2 Edit files I Update this Resource J Name Size Modified aa clip0001 avi 2 9MB 11 May 2011 12 42 PM Bj clipO002 avi 2 7MB 13 May 2011 04 55 PM xa clipO004 avi 3 3MB 16 May 2011 10 13 PM a clip0005 avi 1 5MB 13 May 2011 04 57 PM xa clip0006 avi 3MB 16 May 2011 10 24 PM Moodle Docs for this page You are logged in as Admin User Logout CF101 48 Page 7 USER TESTING 7 1 Initial research and user interviews A questionnaire consisting of 7 questions was developed by the author for the purpose of research Six lecturers within the college in question were asked to participate in answering the questions This questionnaire used by the author to help define t
68. y of use These application design decisions were taken and implemented using Microsoft Visual Basic 2010 Express were the first prototype was developed 4 Page The application took advantage of both existing and new technologies included in the Visual Basic software and in the video podcast sector These advantages encouraged the application to provide a greater user experience and allow for an easier understanding of the software A prototype was set up within the targeted College were it underwent user testing the results of this test gave the developer a greater understanding of how well this application performed and if it had met its intended purpose to which it was designed for As this process gains feedback from direct real time users a better overview of the application could be seen The outcome of the final software provided a user friendly and efficient platform for lecturers to record and upload presentations to a database within their teaching portals It brought several different technologies and software programs together to create a programme which is both exciting and beneficial to the methods of e learning Keywords user centred design usability user experience design interfaces 5 Page Table of contents ACKNOWDLEDGEMEN TS ete ase aaa kaye aaa ares cous ll oa ae del its 3 ABSTRACT ok a e DC a a a a Ra A A a kk apt 4 TABLE OF CONTENT Sita sekt kon kras deatives sea donte kode oa ce

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