Poster and Pitch Reflection

Our group has been working hard and with the concept of 'NearMe' firmly underway, Team Hermes has finally begun to work on our end goals. Recently, Team Hermes had to present a pitch in which the team had to outline what our website was designed to do.

Essentially, from what our pitch outlined, 'NearMe' is a mapping website which, using both the Google Maps API and the Trove database, would create a map of Australia which would take the dates and location the user implemented and print out a list of events corresponding to what the user inputted. A simple example of this would be :

User Input: Location = Brisbane, Date = 2011

The 2011 floods were a major event at this point in time and thus would appear on the map.

Overall the pitch was a satisfactory one - Team Hermes managed to get the general concept of 'NearMe' across fairly well, but there was still a lot of room for improvement. For example, actually making a planned script would have helped majorly as there were quite a lot of awkward silences - furthermore, there was no time for the tutors to ask questions about NearMe because the team almost went overtime.

In regards to the poster, it was well thought-out and reflected the idea fairly well:

The only complaint that the team had in regards to the poster was that there was a chance that wasn't aesthetically appealing enough. Surprisingly, the tutors appeared to like the poster so our only major qualm was averted. 

Trove & API

Our first workshop of the semester had us exploring the functionalities of Trove and API. Initially we were tasked to use the multiple Trove search engines on the DECO1800 cloud site to demonstrate what Trove could do. The three search engines used were:

Trove Ultra Basic:

Trove Basic:

Images from Trove:

and finally, Date searching from Trove:

These engines were used to assist us in showing the results of Trove.

Teamwork Module and Reflection

The teamwork module highlighted some key points for me and showed me several ways to improve on my skills in working with a group. I have had several bad experiences with groups in the past, but after identifying the issues using this module, I feel like i can ensure that i do not make the same mistakes twice.

Overall the survey provided useful insights that would allow my group to function more effectively - by making sure that all group members were included and that work was distributed fairly. However, I (and my group) already are functioning well, so this advice is mostly redundant.

However, I still have some concerns about the group itself. We have already chosen a topic ('Rick Rolling') but with this topic comes the ridiculous ease to get off track. Furthermore, the group tends to 'split' in group meetings with half the group in a conversation and the other half in another. However, both these issues can be avoided; by staying focused on the goals of the assignment and by ensuring that all group members partake in a large-scale group discussion.

I also wish to ensure that I am a group member who can be relied upon and does his part for the team. I wish to be a group member who doesn't get 'carried' and ensures that everyone in the group feels included and feels happy to be part of my group. If I can ensure this, then I feel like I will be a good group member.

Week 2 - The first signs of Contact!

In our first contact of the semester, our main objective was to mingle and socialize with each other. Initially, we were to split into groups based upon our month of birth to try and meet new people, however this was still fairly unsuccessful - the introductions felt forced and awkward. After this, it was decided that the best way to break the ice would be to try and establish what people liked. To do this, the tutors decided to pick a topic (for example, who do you prefer: Kanye West or Taylor Swift?) and told the class to separate based on our preferences. There was also an opportunity to select a middle ground for those who were on both sides of the argument. After several of these, the class was tasked to start researching past assignments and to use the research tool Trove to try and brainstorm some ideas about the main piece of assessment.

Making the most of DECO1800

Based on what I have learnt from the prerequisites to this course, i expect to be learning the elements of computing design on websites and other online platforms to a higher degree. My expectations are of the more advanced design studios such as Photo Shop becoming highly relevant as they will allow me to further develop my skills for the course.

The experiences and knowledge I wish to gain is quite extensive. I understand that this course will be providing me with quite a large amount of knowledge, but I want to be able to understand all of it and make as much use of it as I can. I wish to be to be able to use the design studios to a high level of skill and use them to their full potential. I also want to be able to improve my skills with design that I have already learnt to a higher degree and cement the knowledge I gained last semester.

I'm worried about working in a team, as my level of production in a team has generally always been lower than working by myself. This is more due to the fact that I don't really communicate properly with my teammates than anything else, but this is something that I can hopefully fix up soon so it doesn't impediment my production for the project. Furthermore, I'm worried about the regularity of journal entries. I have been known to be a little forgetful, so there have been times where I haven't fulfilled the entry by the required time. Hopefully, I can practice this enough to change this.

My expectations for this course are that I will be able to learn about the design element of computing studios to a high enough level that I will be able to make use of the skills learnt in other courses.