Chapter 15: Training modules

Just as in previous chapters, it was interesting to read the breakdown of one type of interactive media. I likened interactive media to "choose your own adventure" in a previous post. I think that that designation might also apply to the creation of an interactive training module. A designer could take his/her program in so many directions--so many, in fact, that Mr. Garand has to describe the "Vital Signs" training module as "a self-paced, standardized, comprehensive, traditional, computer based training program."

It sounds like the creators of "Vital Signs" did a great job. Having worked for Wal-mart for a total of five years, I have a lot of experience with what they call "C.B.L's (computer based learning). They are the most boring programs in the world, lacking something that the "Vital Signs" program has--humor. Their function seems to be to present as much information as possible in the most boring format possible. Another thing that seems to be lacking from both of these programs is customization/personalization. Nine times out of ten, I could just do the quiz at the end of Wal-mart's modules and pass it with flying colors. But instead, the training modules force me to go through sometimes hours of boring, useless training before I reach the quiz. So while "Vital Signs" sounds like a great program, I would probably change it from a standardized experience to a customized one.

Chapter 11: T. Rowe Price

I actually enjoyed this chapter. I feel like I got some good information from it. It was interesting to read about the different categories of websites and then to find that one individual category, commercial websites, can be subdivided into other categories.

The most pertinent information to me, though, was probably the user feedback that T. Rowe Price received to their first-generation website. It was interesting to find out that users do not particularly like the hierarchical organization that forces them to navigate through a million pages. It's better to get them there as quickly as possible. I might want to consider that on my website. But I don't think that my website is nearly as complex as an investment website. It probably won't be more than two clicks for users to find what they're looking for on my website.

Chapter 5: Script and Proposal Formatting

This chapter is fairly interesting although it does pack a lot of new information into a small space. I think that this book is probably difficult to understand at times just because nearly all of the information is new to us (and we are just worthless linear writers after all). However, I think that the gist of this chapter is that a script is just a completely detailed print version of what your interactive multimedia project is going to be. And based on Garrand's examples, I would say that a script for a multimedia project is still a script. I think that that is the point that Mr. Garrand is trying to make in putting in his little plug on pp. 70-71.

The complexity of the project, however, determines the complexity of the project's script. While some multimedia scripts may not be much more complex than the linear script, others require scripting for live people in addition to the multimedia demands. Thus scripts can range from one column to six.

One other thing--I have to point out the author's use of "insure" on pg. 64. His editors, if he had any, apparently didn't ensure that he used the correct words in his text.

Chapter 7: Goals

I think that the point that the author attempts to convey in this chapter is that we need to look at what our goals are in putting together an informational website or other form of multimedia. We first have to look at who our target audience is. This is important for several reasons. How can you write for an audience that you don't understand? A product designed for college students would be much different than one designed for preschoolers. We also have to look at what our goals are for the project. Is our main focus to sell something to the user, to persuade them, or simply to provide them with information? I think that the author's point is that we always have many goals, and we simply need to prioritize them.

Interactivity and the Writer

In order to be considered interactive multimedia, according to the chapter, media have to fulfill several requirements. Besides video games, the interactive medium of the past with which I am familiar is "choose your own adventure" books. They more fully involve the reader in the story by allowing them to actively participate in the outcome by making decisions along the way. Interactive multimedia, to one degree or another, combines this audience participation with various forms of media. In that way, it has come closer to matching the interactive experience that we enjoy from a simple conversation. In other words, technology is finally reaching the level that it can match and complement human capabilities.
I appreciate the fact that the author mentions that these media will probably never replace traditional, linear media. For entertainment value and to feel that I'm more of a part of the experience, video games are great, but if I just want to veg. or lose myself in a good book, nothing beats a novel or movie.

Technology/Literacy/Autobiography

* I first learned to use computers when I was around eight years old. My next door neighbor, whose father worked with what were then termed "ibm-compatible computers," had a computer, and I went over there on a regular basis to play computer games with him.

* I had next to no experience with the internet until I returned from my mission in 2000. Then my sisters and my wife helped me get set up with an email account. I got a lot of practice with that email account because my wife (not even my girlfriend then) moved to Florida for the summer, so we emailed each other every couple days.

* I didn't sign up with any social networking sites until a couple of years ago when I signed up on MySpace. I let that one go after a few months and just signed up on Facebook at the beginning of last Summer.

* Online support, I imagine, could be a great help in a class like this. You can find a how to or a blog on just about everything imaginable on the internet. You can also frequently find posts by people who have gone through exactly what you have gone through. One disadvantage is that most of the stuff found online does not have to meet any special requirements to be posted there. It is not peer reviewed, so the accuracy of it may be called into question. One advantage is that it is easy to find new information online. Another advantage has to do with the disadvantage--since anyone can post online, it is easier to find something written from a perspective with which you can easily relate.
To limit the disadvantages, it is best to verify information found online with published or reputable online sources.

Writing for Interactive Media

This is my first post to this account.