Acey's Weekly Report 2/22 -3/1

1. What was planned?
Combine the Layers into one 41 by 41 array.
Outreach

2. What was done?
Managed to get the array created and it is always an accurate representation of the layers.

Also managed to run the outreach with MLK.
3. Problems encountered?
We had a little less time than we really wanted for the CSDT part of the outreach. This is because we thought the surveys would take about 3 minutes. They actually took about 15 minutes. Never underestimate how long it will take a younger audience to do paper work.

One other problem this week is that I discovered the new bead loom tool does not have a color iteration tool. This is because it operates in layers and each layer holds only one color. This will be a major thing to change because unlike the original tool which goes bead by bead the new one goes layer by layer. I will have to either change this or redesign some puzzles but I feel I need to get the basic game working first.

4. What did you learn this week?
Learned a lot about middle schooler students this week. As noted above in latter outreach we will definitely give more time for surveys so it does not eat into CSDT time.

Also learned a bit about how to first expose users to the bead loom game. They were asked to solve the triforce puzzle. Although most understood that it could be solved with 3 triangles all but one student could not figure out how to create a triangle. They were given a small amount of time (5 minutes because of the survey issue) to familiarize themselves with the tool. I do not think this was enough time and in the future I would like to give them more time before throwing them into the game. The other improvement I would make is starting with the tutorials. This would give a more guided introduction to the game and how to make basic shapes. I thought with some free play time students would learn these basics on their own but without some sort of guide only a few students took the time to experiment and learn the tools.

I also got some great feedback on my presentation to the lab. I will be able to use it to improve my existing presentation for the grad fair.

5. What's planned for next week?
I will not be getting a lot done this week because of 3 exams, homework, and a conference but I am going to begin working on creating a second graph that will display the puzzle but not allow the player to add or remove beads from it. Once this is done I will add in the move counters. I am sure this will roll over into spring break but I will definitely have it all done before Spring Break is over. If the 2nd graph proves easy enough I may even have one puzzle ready and implemented. Finally I will start looking for some side tasks for my fellow GameCATS to help me with. So far possible tasks include coding the puzzles in or solving the color iteration problem.

6. Hours worked.
17.5