It is currently run by Principal Miss Sue Croft who took over the school in January 2011. The school offers a wide range of courses from academic to vocational. Music is one of the performing arts subjects on offer which is compulsory for years 7 and 8 then optional choice for years 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13. The course gets about 5-8% of students in that year group selecting to continue it on to GCSE or A levels which gives classes of about 9 -12 students. This gives between 150-250 student music lessons a weeks.
The school originally was failing GCSE’s and was then turned into an academy to try and improve GCSE results. The fact that the management team are concerned about GCSE results is putting music tuition under threat in school as students are missing lessons. A lot of students would like the option to be able to learn an instrument and guitar was the most popular option, so I intend to be able to create a tutorial on how to play which is assessable to those that want to learn more on how to play.
My contact at Oxford Spires Academy is Miss Aspinal the head of performing arts. 1. 2 Existing situation The existing situation is that students pay ? 7 a week for a tutor to come in and manually show students how to play the instruments for 15 minutes a day. He shows the chords step by step as well as scales and he teaches students some songs. Students may also have tutors outside of the school site who teach them (roughly costing between ? 5-? 20 per lesson).
Or some students will do like I did and choose to teach themselves at home.
Students who learn in school are removed from lessons for tuition so they are missing out on some information in class. The new management are concerned about achieving GCSE results as this school is in competition with the other local schools to draw more parents to send their children to attend here. They want GCSE results to improve and music tuition is putting the likelihood of students getting good GCSE results under threat if students miss lessons for extra music lessons. 1. 3 The client, potential users and audience
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The client is the head of performing arts Miss Aspinal. The potential users are the music teachers Mr Dixon and Mr Purtell who are the direct teachers of music for most curriculum classes. The audience are students who want to learn to play an instrument but don’t want to do it with another person, haven’t got the time to go to scheduled lessons or can’t afford to get lessons that the school is already offering. 1. 4 Justification for required solution The results at Oxford Spires Academy have been low and this is why a new management team took over.
If they want GCSE results to improve it isn’t acceptable for students to be missing lessons. The school requires a new way to teach music via a computerised system as it would be able to allow students to teach themselves if preferred and be able to do it throughout free time or in classes, as it may be done in a group with friends or a teacher or alone at home allowing students to expand their lessons. Miss Aspinal has approached me and asked me about creating a website which will be private and only open to anyone who is a member of Oxford Spires Academy and wants to learn to play an instrument.
Guitar is the most popular to learn (It may also include bass guitar tuition) while on school sight. The site will help students to teach themselves and could benefit their education as it could give students a revision like technique when exams come round, as its proven that playing an instrument can help improve your memory. Music in school tuition is under threat from costs and senior leadership teams as they are concerned about classes being missed and a possible reduction in GCSE results A*- C as they are in competition with other local schools for roll numbers. 1. 5 Use of investigation techniques
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Students on the NC State campus are not allowed to have access to the gym and music center facilities at peak hours of boredom during the weekend. During the week while the student's are hurrying to and from classes, they are busy, hard working, and tired of the stress that comes along with balancing academics in college. When the weekend comes around, everyone should be allowed to have a way to ...
I shall be interviewing Miss Aspinal to find out what she thinks will be required on the tutorial site and allow for my client to give me a set of goals, as well as then having someone to show a prototype to before putting it up on the shared area (This is a location on the schools network where all students and teachers can access on the system but they are all read only files to students).
The use of an interview will give me contact with my client which in turn will give me a set of requirements. As it is being conducted in the style of an interview I have the option to ask for further information.
Also I can keep coming back to the interview if I need further guidelines and to be sure I can check off all the requirements about my system. The interview is the best option for communication with my client because if while talking to her there is a possibility she will go off topic or introduce something I wasn’t expecting or thinking about I will have the potential to ask a new question, where as if I used something like a questionnaire I would only have the questions that were on the sheet and wouldn’t be able to ask or change the questions that were on the sheet.
I interviewed the head of performing arts Miss Aspinal. (4/11/11-9. 45Am) Transcript not in bracket relate to client requirements D. A- Good Morning Declan I heard from Mr Williams you were looking for a project for ICT and due to your musical ability I have a proposition for you D. C- Great, what would you like me to do? D. A- I would like there to be an option at school to teach students to play an instrument via the school network D. C- How shall I do that? D. A- I would like a (web) site that is assessable on the school system or even on a web scale which will have the option to teach yourself how to play the guitar.
D. C-That would be an excellent idea D. C- But why would you want this? D. A- Because it would help students who may not be able to afford a tutor or perhaps prefer to do things independently away from a teacher (7) D. C- Oh Okay, Would you prefer there to be an option to learn more than one instrument or is only having a guitar tutorial okay? D. A- I think it would be better if possible to have a few instrument options so not to limit student options, perhaps Violin, Percussions, Piano, Bass, Cello or anything you can do. (1) D.
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C- Okay I can do some more instruments but I think I may only add bass and possibly piano so not to over do it within the time I have. D. A- Okay that would be good. D. C- How would you like the system to look? D. A- I don’t mind really as long as it’s easy to use, clear and has it obvious what each segment is about, so using a type of link could be beneficial, it should however include the school logo. (2)(5) D. C- I think that’s a good idea and should have no problem constructing that. Interactive buttons will be most likely. D. A-I would like it to be secure for the students so can they log in? D.
C- The students will already be logged into their user areas so it’s already going to be only accessed in school grounds, so I don’t think it’s necessary for the students to log in. D. A- Okay that makes sense. D. C- And one last thing, I wanted to ask, how you think it would effect student’s education. D. A- I think it would benefit student’s education, allowing students to choose to learn an instrument as it would give them a little freedom to learn away from a classroom and instruments can help increase the student memory capacity. (4) D. A- Sorry but I have to return to work, good luck with your coursework D.
C- Okay thanks you for your time. After my interview with Miss Aspinal I realised she thinks it would be a useful tool to have but I will need to include some more instruments (Perhaps Bass and Piano) in order to achieve my client’s requirements. It also needs to be clear and have navigation so to help students navigate the page. However I realised that there was one more question I should have asked so I went to interview her again about the help options due to time restraints. D. C- Hi again Miss, do you mind if I ask you one quick question? D. A- Okay no problem D.
C- I wanted to ask, would you prefer there to be a help section created when are if problems occur, as I’m not sure I can create one in the given time, however if students do encounter a problem they could present there problem to a teacher who could in turn create a help option so to avoid this issue again. D. A- if you don’t think its do able then as long as the problems gain a solution after happening then that’s fine. (6) D. C- Thank you miss 1. 6 Client requirements The client requirements therefore are: 1. To create a website that will teach students to play a variety of instruments such as guitar, bass and piano. . It must be understandable and have easy to use guide on the lessons you are searching for. 3. It must be pitched to the competency of the music teachers IT abilities 4. The students must find the system useful. 5. It must have separate sections for Guitar tuition, Bass tuition and piano tuition, each section including a variety of pages like “Chords” or “Techniques” 6. Teachers will need an option to create help pages so students can overcome problems as they appear. 7. It has to overcome the original problem of being expensive to students and won’t interrupt lesson periods throughout the day. . 2 Analysis and deliverables 2. 1 Scope of the project It’s going to have to be able to create a music tuition website that helps students at Oxford Spires Academy learn to play a specific instrument or a variety. The project will be a school website which is only accessible within the schools server and not on a web server, in which case it will only be accessible on school grounds. The website itself will be constructed on webpage author software and presentation software. It will be open to every student or teacher as a read only file and can be used at any time.
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It will be for any age group ranged within the school. The different software used with have different purposes like the website author software will be used for creating the homepages and navigation pages, the presentation software will be linked via hyperlinks, the presentation software will be used to create or embed the tuition videos, pictures and sound etc. However there are limits to what I’m able to do. Due to time constraints instead of putting in every instrument I can play I’m only going to create Guitar, Bass and Piano tuition.
Also with help manuals I shall not be creating them myself as it is highly time consuming and I don’t think I could do it in the time I have, so instead students when they encounter a problem can put it forward to the teacher who can create a help option with solutions to the encountered issues. There would have to be a help file on how to overcome issues encountered within the system which would be constructed by the teachers as problems occur, however teachers would require training on how to show them what to do in creating a help file.
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This will require me to write a user manual on how to access the help file and how to link it to the website. The system will contain sound and videos, the audio will be in WMA format and the videos will be in WMV format where possible without loss of quality, doing it in this format will have to be tested against the programs that our system has put in place (Presentation software, Word Processor software, website creator software) if the file doesn’t work or embed, or if the quality is low then I will have to change the file format to another which does work within the system. 2. 2 Proposed system
The proposed system is a private website that will allow teachers (the user) and students (the audience) to have the option to be able to learn to play an instrument via video tutorials and pictures showing hand positions upon the Webpage, with a little text description to explain how to form different chords if they struggle to understand the video or picture. It will be private so only students from Oxford Spires Academy can access it removing the competition of outside students using the schools resources and improving their results in music as there is a fight for enrolments as previously discussed.
The system I’m going to make will consist of four WebPages: Guitar, Bass and Piano. I shall use videos, sound, text and pictures to demonstrate what they want to learn and set it out so people may select a certain area they want to visit whether it is tuning, chords or maintenance. The website itself will be created using presentation software and webpage author software. The Home WebPages will all be constructed on a Webpage author software and then have hyperlinks running on the buttons with the subheadings on, the Homepage is where the user or audience will log in and be able to access the presentation software.
The links will take the user to the presentation software (which shall already have the presentation running so it doesn’t open onto a design view) where the tutorials are going to based and everything that you want to know about how to play the instruments, the presentation software shall include videos on how to play a chord and how they are meant to sound (this will include sound bytes as well as video sound) or do another job like maintenance or tuning or different techniques, but also have picture chords (a guide showing where the hand positions are) so they can see hand positions more clearly on the screen.
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The proposed system will have a number of benefits for the Academy. The first benefit being that it is free so the students won’t have to pay to get a tutor in. Another benefit Oxford Spires Academy will gain is that students will not have to miss lessons in order to learn, it can be done in any room in any place with access to the school network and during students free time so they will no longer fall behind in classes. In this instance the students will be able to learn how to play an instrument with in their free periods or during break times without having to interrupt their lesson studies and risking a drop in GCSE grades.
There shall also be user manual to give teachers the instructions on how to access the help file and how to link it back to the website. The teachers will require to be trained on creating the system help file as and when necessary. A user manual will be produced to help with this process. The multimedia files (Pictures, Videos and sound) will all be embedded onto the presentation slides so it appears on the screen ready rather than having links to separate locations to watch each video, see each picture and hear each sound.
A risk of using links rather than having embedded files is there is a chance the links will be broken as well as possibility of piracy if someone takes or changes the videos. However if they are embedded I know they are in the file securely but it will take up more storage space especially when it comes to backing up. Home-Log In The system will be tested by having it created on my User area and then being migrated onto the student shared area as a read only file.
The help files will also be located in the student shared location as read only to the students, however teachers (users) can access these presentations in design view, as well as have the ability to write in the word documents and edit or update anything that has a fault or needs additional explanation. These help files will not exist at the delivery as they will not be included until a problem occurs. Key WebPages Presentation Software-(Multimedia on slides only) Hyperlinks Maintenance of instrument Skills Chords Tuning Maintenance of instrument Skills Tuning Chords Skills Scales Chords Keys
Guitar Bass Piano 2. 3 Processes I am going to develop a music website that allows for students to be able to learn to play either guitar, bass or piano via the school network and allow for students to be able to easily navigate the website without any problem and if they do encounter an issue there shall be a help option built in where questions can be asked or the answer may also be there. The options will all be hyperlinked to buttons that shall be running down the side of the page. I shall have it clearly laid out so it’s easy to navigate and give clear options to where each option is located.
The main tutorial pages are going to be linked to the presentation software which will have all the multimedia functions e. g. Videos and sound, and the instructions on how to play the selected instrument. There will also be links to the word processor where there will be instructions on how to use the webpage and how to over come any issues that could occur. All multimedia elements in my presentation software will be embedded rather than linked onto the page. Input| Process| Output| The user clicks on a link using the mouse. | The link loads the selected page| The new Webpage is displayed on the screen. The teacher would type in a word processor using a keyboard a solution to a student’s problem. | The file would be linked back to a title within the WebPages. Via hyperlinks. | The students can then access the help file if they encounter the problem on the screen. | The user selects a tutorial video with a mouse and left clicking. | The selected tuition video loads. Start, Stop, Pause buttons appear on video player. | The video plays on screen with sound. | The User selects an instrument using the mouse. | The Webpage loads. | The selected instrument appears on screen with links to lessons.
| Help files are put into a word document. The user types the solution to the issue and saves it under their name and the problems name (Eg-D. Aspinal, 12/03/12, Guitar, Faulty link) and hyperlinks it to page with problem. | The help file is now active and can now be assessed via links or via searching the help files folder. | 2. 4 Users skill level User| How often will they use the system? | What will they use the system for? | Current computer skills| Training required| Musical skill level| All Music Teachers| Regularly| Teaching lessonsCreating help files| The music teachers have fairly good skill levels as they can use a word processor, Presentation software and WebPages. The teachers will be demonstrated how to use the system and then require more training on how to create and link the help files. | The music teachers have high musical skill levels so if they see students making mistakes or want to advance on anything they can show the students or put it in the help file| Audience (Students)| Regularly| Learning instrumentsAdvancing educationHaving fun| The students will already have basic computer skills and will be familiar with presentation software and word processors as they will have been taught that during ICT classes.
The students will require a demonstration on how to work the system before using it so they know what to do. | Students will have a range of skill levels from novices who have never touched an instrument to advanced who have had tuition before. The novices will start from the bottom and raise up to advanced where as already advanced players will be able to touch up their skills and pick up new techniques. | Number of client requirement| Client Requirement| Evaluation Criteria| Qualitive or Quantitive| 1| insert a range of options to learn nstruments that will consist of Piano Guitar and Bass| Have I created a working system in which you can learn to play a variety of instruments? | Quantitive| 2| It has to be clear and have easy to find lessons| Is it easy to use with simple to find lessons, and are there a number of links which direct you to where you want to be? | Quantitive| 3| it has to be demonstrated to a class by a teacher| Is it able for a teacher to be able to show a class how it works? (Include feedback sheet for audience)| Qualitive| 4| It must be useful to students| Do the students find the webpage useful? Include feedback sheet for students)| Qualitive| 5| Tutorial pages separated| Is each of the lessons on a different page for easy to follow guidance? | Quantitive| 6| What if things go wrong| If things go wrong is it easy to repair or can a help file be created to help? | Qualitive| 7| Better than tuition with teacher? | Has it overcome the problems of the original system by generating a range of tutorials and aimed at any musical and ICT skill level? | Quantitive| 8| All of it| Have I met client Requirements| Both| 2. 5 Evaluation criteria 3 Design and planning 3. Alternate solutions An alternate way of creating a solution to the problem may be to produce a booklet using DTP. This would be easy to edit and could still include sounds if booklet was only viewed electronically. It could still be viewed online or a separate file within the school. Students could then be linked to the heading of the subject they are after or scroll down and find something that they are particularly interested in or weak on rather than going step by step. Would this meet client requirements? 1- Yes although it’s not a website. 2- Yes, still be able to find lessons. – Yes, still simple to use for IT and musical abilities. 4- Yes, as students could still find everything they would be looking for. 5- Yes, as instrument tuition would still all be separate. 6- No, as help file couldn’t be created and linked back to faulty section. 7- Yes, still wouldn’t be expensive and could be accessed outside of lesson time. I was concerned as I hadn’t seen a DTP file with a video or sound files embedded into it so I ran a quick test. I tested this on our current DTP software and tried to embed a video file which failed and left a link to the video on my screen.
The main drawback of a DTP solution I think might be the lack of navigational functionality, and there is a limitation on video embedding as DTP files can’t include multimedia files embedded into them. DTP files when you try to embed something will generate a link instead which will take you to the location of the file you were attempting to embed, the problem with this are broken links and risk of pirate editing. This would interfere with achieving the client requirement of it needing video and audio for each tuition. Key WebPages (Log in, Pictures, Text, Hyperlinks) Presentation Software (Pictures, Sound, Video, Text, Hyperlinks)
Hyperlinks 3. 2 Feedback and amendments Home-Log In Colour scheme will be Black Background with Red text. Font will be size 14 Calibri (Body) Piano Bass Guitar WebPages link to all presentation software Maintenance of instrument Maintenance of instrument Maintenance of instrument Skills Chords Tuning Tuning Chords Skills Skills Tuning Chords Feedback from Draft Design Work After creating the draft for my tuition site I once again met with my client Miss Aspinal to gain feedback on whether or not this met her requirements for the new system. I was able to gain positive and negative feedback on my design.
There was only one improvement that was asked and it was that the text be changed to white (which I did in my prototype) if I’m going to use a black background so it’s easier to read, red might not be as clear to everyone on a dark background. Positives were the navigational design and how things are going to be laid out; she however asked to see a prototype of a Webpage. (See next page) I showed my client some prototypes of the WebPages (A home page and Lesson page), she liked the colour scheme and layout. It looked simple to use and was neatly laid out with a clear location of how to access any other instruments or lessons.
The prototype of how the pages would link between each other was also mentioned as it allowed her to see how the buttons will work and they were thought to be highly useful and clear which functions exactly how she imagined it, each of the buttons lead to the page they were labelled to go to (E. g. –Guitar chords button linked to guitar chords page) and they were laid out clearly down the left hand side of the screen. Prototype of tuning page Prototype of Guitar Homepage 3. 3 Implementation, testing, installing and training Plans/Tasks| Client Requirements| Expected Duration| Deadline| Implementation-Website| | | |
Plan Designs| I shall meet the client requirement of creating a website. (1)| 2 days| 10th January 2012| Clear with easy use| It will give client her requirement of an easy to use and clear system. (2) This is done on the website author software. | 2 Weeks| 24th January 2012| Must have Navigation to other pages| This shall make it easy to travel between WebPages and give links to other locations. (5)| 1 Day| 25th January 2012| Inserting Picture, Videos, sound and Text for tuition| This will make the lessons easier to follow and understand and appeal to all types of learners (2)| 3 Days| 28th January 2012| Continually check system ( see 3. )| This will make sure if something doesn’t work or if something else needs to be added then I can do it before going live. (6)| (Whole Time)| (5th February 2012)| Training| This will make sure the Users are aware of how to work the system and be able to demonstrate to a class of students (3)| 1 week| 4th February| Install on network| Make it accessible to the school network so it can be accessed by the students and teachers. (1)| 1 day| 5th February| 3. 4 Testing strategy
To test the requested system and it’s effectiveness I am going to test the Website against the evaluation criteria laid out in my analysis and deliverables section. I am going to have to create the website in order to begin testing it, I will be going back to my client and using a few students to try out the system after using it myself, and then correcting anything that they feel isn’t effective, doesn’t work properly or didn’t reach my clients requirements. To test it I am going to generate a test plan so that I know what to check against and what of my client’s requirements have been achieved.
I am going to test the entire system on its easiness and clearness, the navigation, the clearness of the lessons and if they work effectively or not. I will then get my client to test the system and make sure that I have kept to her vision of the Website and if it requires any extra features to create. After I shall get the help of my users and two audience members (Probably one teacher and two students) to take part in my test. The two audience members will observe my user on the system as they show them how to work it. Then following that both my user and audience embers will be given feedback sheets in which they will leave their opinions on the system. This shall all be done on a local system rather than a network so it can be edited again without it being live. After this it will be moved to the shared area where students and teachers will be given the chance to test it. In the event something goes wrong, I shall return to the programs design view and correct the mistake and go through the testing again for that section. 3. 5 Test Plan Test number and description| Requirement or performance criteria being addressed | Test Method| Expected Outcome| 1.
Navigation works? Ensure that hyperlinks work correctly| Client requirement 5The hyperlinks must work. | Manually check each of the links for example. Home -> GuitarBass -> ChordsKeys -> Piano. | All hyperlinks should go to the correct location on every page. | 2. If encountered a problem is it easy to repair? | Client requirement 6Were any problems easily overcome? | While manually checking system did any problems occur? If so were they easy to repair or get around? | Should be simple and able to repair if something doesn’t operate right first time. | 3.
Are tuitions working? | Client requirement 1Do the instrument tuitions work how they should do? | Use all tuitions to see if they work followed by a third party who will never have seen it before will try them and see if they understand. | Tuitions should operate fine and be simple to understand. | 4. Style and Feel| Client requirement 4Does it look nice and comfortable to operate| I will look over all WebPages and make sure that it all looks fine, is easily visible and everything is laid out so it doesn’t clutter the pages| Should look nice and be easy to use and look through. 5. Is it easy to use? | Client requirement 2It has to be clear and simple to operate| I shall first use the system to make sure I find it simple and then bring in a couple of students to test it and make sure that it is straight forward| Students should find it simple to use| 6. Have I met client requirements? | All Client requirementsThe client’s requirements must have been met. | Client will have to try out system and make sure that it is what she wants and that everything requested is there. | Client’s requirements should have been met. | 7. Test creation of help file. Client requirement 6Are the teachers (Users) able to create a help file without my assistance? | I shall get a user to try and edit the help file and link it back to the tuition site. | Help file should operate and user should know how to change it in the future. | 8. Test whole system| The whole system will be checked against the client requirements by my client. | My client will use the system herself and try out everything to make sure it is to her standard and works. | Client should approve of the system. | 4 Testing and Documentation 4. 1 Testing
Test Number| Action| Expected Outcome| Actual outcome| Improvements| 1| Open and Run hyperlink| When opening a hyperlink the location linked to should appear upon the screen. | Hyperlinks operated and displayed the appropriate page on my screen. | None Page20| 2| A link will be deliberately broken by moving the file’s location it is linked to. Once that’s done it shall be repaired by linking it back to original file. | A broken link or faulty video should be easy to replace by a user account. | A deliberately broken link was fixed without any difficulty. | None page 21| 3| Do the videos operate? Videos should play and operate smoothly| Videos ran without hesitation, slight loading delay but it lasted only a couple of seconds. | None Page21| 4| It should appear clear | Easy to see everything, not too crowded pages. | Pages have only limited amounts of information and nothing which is unnecessary. | None page 22| 5| It should be simple to operate. | Simple to find links, help and tutorials| All clear, everything is easily visible and links are all operational. | None page 22| 6| Does help files work? | Help files link to pages and operate when activated. The broken link had help file created and linked back to page without issue. | None page 23| 7| Test of whole system| Client will approve of the system and find it meets her requirements| Client approved my system and was happy with the finished out come. My audience also approved of the system. | NonePage 24| 8| Test sound quality| Play a video and check how the sound compares to a live instrument| Sound was a little muffled through the speakers but still close to the sound of the instrument. | Use a sound bite that wasn’t recorded on a camera. 9| Test video quality| Play a video and check the pictures clarity| Video clear and understandable. | None| Evidence| Test Number| Input| Output| On the guitar homepage the techniques button was clicked opening the box to allow me to follow the link to the presentation software (as shown above) 1| | | 2| Link reattached | | 3| Selected video played without any problems | | 4| Pages not to crowded and set out to be clear | | 5| Easy layout and clicking a select button takes you to the appropriate presentation. | | 6| | | The “Link broken” option takes you to the help file 4. 2 Users involvement
The user testing was done by using the created copy of the system opened in my client’s user area (sent to her via email) before allowing her to test it thoroughly on her own, I asked her to go through a series of tasks to test first: * Open and Run a hyperlink successfully * Checking whether the videos operate or not * Test whether the style and layout is clear * Check if she finds it easy to use * Test if the help files are easy to find and use My client was also left with a complete copy of the User guide so if anything went wrong she could try and sort it out for herself.
While she was running the system the developer (me) was not in the room so that she could give an accurate account of how she found the system and had no one telling her how to use the system. My client ran through the tests without any problems occurring, she also played around with the website to get a complete idea of how good the program is and if it met her requirements. In the event anything wasn’t up to scratch she was left with an improvements sheet if anything wasn’t how she wanted it. After the tests she hadn’t made any additional improvements and found it was simple to use and met her requirements. . 3 Documentation of testing Oxford Spires Academy Music Tutorial USER Manual Contents 1-Navigating and Using 2-Help Files Navigating and using To access lessons you have to use the side bar on the left hand side. To navigate between pages you have to select the appropriate button. For example to access guitar tutorials you need to select the guitar button. To play a video you need to press the play button to begin the video. To pause it, click the same button. After selecting a lesson (In this case techniques and the tapping) you end up on the lesson page.
On this page you have a video on the far left hand side, a picture on the right hand side and informative writing under the image. Make sure the volume is turned on before playing a video. Help Files * To create a help file, you must open a blank word processing document. * Type into the document the solution of how to solve the problem. * Save the word processing document into the student shared area in the “Music Tutorial” Folder, this folder is separated out into Guitar, Bass and Piano, select the instrument you are on then pick the page folder (i. e. hords, technique, tuning etc) * The name of the file will need to be saved as the lesson name “Tapping, Harmonics etc) and with the problem name after it. * Open the webpage that had the problem by clicking onto the website creator software and going to your user area and clicking Music tutorial site A2. * Design view will open; type the name of the problem under the “Help” area. * Highlight over the name you just typed in and right click selecting hyperlink. * Find the help file you created and press ok. * The help file is now connected to the webpage. Once the file is saved and active, it will be removed if it doesn’t match the naming convention. 5 Evaluation 5. 1 Strengths weaknesses and areas for improvement Strengths “Would be better if possible to have a few instruments so not to limit student’s options” My client Miss Aspinal asked me to create a music tuition website that could teach students to play a variety of instruments. The finished system ended up having Guitar, Bass and Piano lessons which gives students the option to learn one of the instruments of their choice. “As long as it’s easy to use, clear”
My client wanted to have a system which looks clear and is straight forward to use. During my testing my client tried out my system for herself and confirmed that she found it clear and easy to use. “Students to choose to learn an instrument…away from a classroom” The system had to be made so students could find it useful, in which case be able to use alone and away from a classroom, my client during testing and the demonstration in class the audience and users found it simple and had high quality lessons. “Obvious what each section is about”
The final system was done with individual sections or pages which only included information on the topic you are searching for. For example if you wanted to learn the Guitar Chords you clicked on “Chords” and then went through each page A-G learning each one in turn or choosing specific ones that you wanted to see. Weaknesses “Few instruments. Perhaps violin, percussions, piano, bass, cello or anything else you can do” My client wanted a large variety of instruments; I only made guitar, bass and piano tutorials. However given extra time I could have thrown in a few extra instruments.
Improvements A possible improvement would be to include more instruments to create a far more diverse selection for students to learn. 5. 2 Meeting client requirements 1- Client requirement was to create a system that included a variety of instruments. The Evaluation criteria were to make sure I had created a working system where you could learn a selection of different instruments. I think I have succeeded in creating a system that has this. I have included lessons for Guitar, Bass and Piano so you are not limited to just learning one type of instrument. – The Client requirement was to have clear and easy to find lessons, the evaluation criteria was to have simple to find lessons with a number of links which direct you to the lesson you want to view. I feel I have succeeded in this by having hyperlinked buttons running down the left hand side of the screen with clear labels that take you to the lesson you are looking for. 3-The client requirement was to have it demonstrated to a class by a teacher, the evaluation criteria was to make sure it can be shown to a class by a teacher.
I think I succeeded in this as I have it placed in the student shared area so it is accessible to the staff while on school grounds and it was successfully shown to a class of year 7 students. 4-The client requirement was to make sure it was useful to the students, the evaluation criteria was to make sure the students find the webpage useful with evaluation sheets. I think I succeeded in this as the feedback sheets came back positive and my client has said the students found it useful. -The client requirement was to make sure the tuition pages were all separated out, the evaluation criteria was to make sure each lesson was on different pages and had navigation to access them. I think I succeeded in this as the pages on the system are all separated out with easy to follow buttons with hyperlinks on them to take you between pages. 6-The client requirement was to allow teachers to create help files to assist students when problems occur so to avoid the issue happening again. The evaluation criteria was to either have an easy to repair system or to be able to create help files by the teachers (Users).
I think I succeeded in this by creating a help files folder named “Music Tutorial” where help files will be located and linked to the pages which require assistance. 7-The client requirement was to overcome the original problem of the current solution of it being expensive and interrupting lesson periods. The evaluation criteria was to of created a better solution that tuition with a teacher. I think I succeeded in this as there is now an option to learn to play an instrument on the computer, as well as not being limited to only one time a day, you can now practise whenever and not just one instrument but any of the three. 5. Self assessment Strengths: Speed of production, I worked to the highest speed I could without damaging the system or making poor quality or crowded pages within my deadlines. I tested the video format to check quality and if they buffered. I started with PREL which didn’t work on the system, I next changed to AVI which had poor quality and finally I used WMV which was clear and ran smoothly. I think this illustrates that one of my strengths is perseverance. Weaknesses: I was too hard with Miss Aspinal in the interview stage and could/should have agreed to offer more instruments because (at that stage) I didn’t realise how easy it was.
Lack of awareness of ease of production of this sort of website. My secondary questions in the interview weren’t very informative and were very few. I could have asked more and been more detailed with the answers. Areas of improvement: A deeper analysis of responses would help formulate better questions for the next interview. Need to be more self-confident with a can-do attitude. I need to be more confident to think I would have achieved more instrument tutorials for a wider range of instruments in the time I had.
