Replies to Comments on the Proposal

Here are all of my replies to the comments on my proposal.

Kyle:

Re: Gears Design vs. Patches Design

I went back and forth a lot on this. In the end I decided that having some gears have no cogs would be potentially confusing. Plus, since the procedure and function badges come from a different place than the action order boxes, I think the kids may understand the separation. However, I do understand the need for a cohesive design. Having separate skill badge designs could also potentially be confusing. I can try out the two designs with the paper prototyping.

Re: Names

I understand that names like “Array” and “String” may be hard for kids to grasp. However, I called the badges by these names because they correspond with the names of the Functions in the IDE. I think that this is important so that when the kids goes into the IDE to try to earn her badge, she knows where to look.

Re: Panes and Boxes:
See below for new user’s profile page design idea

Caitlin:
Re: “Users like me”

That makes a lot of sense. The last thing we want are is the kids feeling poorly about themselves in comparison. I am going to defer to Mary’s naming conventions/drawing on this one since following is in her domain.

Re: Badges top to bottom on the user’s page

I played around with that look for a bit, but it just kept on making everything in the middle just look kind of squished.
See below for new user’s profile page design idea

Re: Badges Brainstorming session

Yes, please! The badges I have in my proposal and just rough suggestions. I would love to get some insight from people who have actually seen the type of worlds the users build (or be able to look at the worlds myself). We should also consider whether the badges we propose will be testable....

Jordana:
Re: LG IDE

Yeah... I wasn’t too happy with the goals at the top bar either. I do like the idea of having the goal icon next to the relevant procedure, function, or action/highlighting that tab since that will provide some nice direction of how to proceed. (It could be highlighted in whatever color we designate as the “goal color” which should provide connection to the website) That way, the user won’t be caught up in how to use LG, but instead spend her time playing and figuring out that construct. I would still like to have the icon be clickable and open up to the relevant info page on the Community website. This way, the user can have an explanation and examples at her fingertips if she needs them.  

New User’s Profile Page Design Idea

After looking at some of the comments, I tried thinking of another option for the way the user’s profile page is set up.

Notes: On the left is a bulletin board. The user profile picture and the description are pinned to it. The most recent couple of badges are pinned underneath it. You can click on the “My Badges” guy and it will take you to the “My Badges” page. If you mouse over the user profile picture, you will see the stats. (Like in my proposed user index page design). This would be the first thing you saw when you got the the user’s page. My only concern is that this design does reduce the prominence of the badges.


The user’s badge page would be a giant bulletin board with everything on it.