The main resource that I need to complete this project, in
short supply, is the time to develop the idea; both the
quality of the content and the acquiring of technical
skills.
I have experience with the database software Filemaker Pro,
but a site licence for this would be prohibitively
expensive, so I can not work directly with groups of
students using the stand alone application. Databases
created in Filemaker can be shared on the web; my christmas
card experiment is proof of this, but as a solution this is
ungainly and impractical and only allows for five
consecutive connections unless running the (expensive)
server solution. I attempted to install and run a 30 day
trial of Filemaker Server, but without success due to
technical difficulties. To overcome these difficulties I
have bought both server space and software extensions so
that I can work with a Filemaker database though a website
created in Dreamweaver.
While this will solve the technical requirements of text,
it may not help with the creation of illustrations. I
looked into the possibility of a software extension to
Filemaker called Supercontainer, that will give Filemaker
container fields drag and drop capabilities, but I am not
sure that this would then work with Filemaker fields
embedded in a website. There is another Filemaker plugin
called GrabMac, but again it may not work with Filemaker on
the web. Both of these extensions are prohibitively
expensive. The solution here might be to ‘nest’ a
combination of web technologies within a host website.
In terms of ‘interactive’ illustrations I have been looking
at both quicktime VR and Flash. In particular I have been
experimenting with the new ‘bones’ feature in CS4. It is
possible that the whole solution would be better created in
Adobe Flash or Air, or with MySql and PHP technologies, but
not within the given time limits, with my meagre
programming abilities. I have looked at the possibility of
marrying a web served Filemaker database to a stand alone
interface created with Runtime Revolution. This might well
be the best solution. I am keen on this idea, especially as
Runtime Revolution evolved from the Bill Atkinsons’s
original Hypercard programme. Java script might be another
possibility. But again the constraints of time and the need
to learn these programming skills would make this a much
longer term project unless I could enlist technical help.
So my plan is to create two prototypes, one with Filemaker
running ‘Instant Web Publishing”, and one running a
Filemaker database through a Dreamweaver website (with the
Dreamweaver extension ‘FMgateway’, that would also give me
the possibility of developing the solution for iPhone).
To create an interface that might amuse and engage my
students, I have experimented with lipsync and speaking
avatars. Ideally I would like an avatar powered by text
from the database, and while I know this is possible, it is
technically beyond me at present. Initially I worked with a
software package called Crazy Talk, using this for a
project with a year 7 group. I then found another online
solution, called Oddcast, which is a quicker, simpler (but
more expensive) solution.
To create some illusion of a story book, I have been
looking at a page turning extension for Flash that will
create the illusion of a book, with the possibility of
embedding Flash movies and hyperlinks within the pages.
This would work well, but for the fact that the swf files
within this virtual book will run, but not interactively.
The final resource will be the students themselves, testing
the solutions that I create.
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