APU MEETING Truth-N-Beauty March 1, 2002

Goals of this meeting Discuss process Development the high level picture of the project (this is a set, not a list) –Dates & Deadlines –Content goals (science) –Functionality goals –Usability goals Brainstorm alternatives I.e. get the “Big Picture”

Alternatives We don’t necessarily want alternatives at the end of this meeting We have an existing idea, but are there other possibilites? Let’s get an understanding of the high level and develop some alternative concepts to discuss at the next meeting

Process discussion Some XP definitions

Overall project Develop an e-textbook for introductory astronomy –Interactive –Web delivered –Fun to learn with

Good Educational principles 1.Encourage contact between student & faculty 2.Develop cooperation among students 3.Encourage active learning 4.Prompt feedback 5.Time on task 6.High expectations 7.Respects diverse ways of learning

Good Educational principles 1.Encourage contact between student & faculty 2.Develop cooperation among students 3.Encourage active learning 4.Prompt feedback 5.Time on task 6.High expectations 7.Respects diverse ways of learning

Good usability principles (Nielsen) 1.Visibility of system status 2.Match between system and real world 3.User control and freedom 4.Consistency and standards 5.Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors 6.Error prevention 7.Recognition rather than recall 8.Flexibility and efficiency of use 9.Aesthetic and minimalist design 10.Help and documentation

Good usability principles (Nielsen) 1.Visibility of system status 2.Match between system and real world 3.User control and freedom 4.Consistency and standards 5.Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors 6.Error prevention 7.Recognition rather than recall 8.Flexibility and efficiency of use 9.Aesthetic and minimalist design 10.Help and documentation

Some current thinking on APU Log-on –Remembering where you last were Three “tracks” –System -> User text reader, audio, static images, animations –System User “interactives” – applets and talking illustrations –User -> System “interactive assessment” (a.k.a. homework, quiz) Rapid feedback

Some current thinking on APU Class management –Homework & quizes specified by prof –Results viewable by professor –Integration with McGraw-Hill “Page-out”™

Demo Chapter The inter-stellar medium Star formation

Talking Illustrations™ 3d-model of an accretion disk Diagram of phases of star formation 3-D map of local super-bubbles 3-D map of Orion Diagram of a dust grain

Applets Conservation of angular momentum Reddening Hyashi diagram Strom Radius 2 phase ISM

Astroflow lite™ Current Jet simulations and interface in web deliverable format

Deadlines Story board (April 15) –Scientific content –Sequence of presentation –A few screen mock-ups Demo Chapter (End of August) –Working chapter –Technologically scalable solution

The Circle of Life Customer Developer Define valueBuild value

The Circle of Life II define value build value Customer Developer Customer Developer choose value estimate cost