What you said you would do this semester (this is the contract that your instructor approved)

This semester I set out to work on the following items, as per my Thesis 3 Contract:

• Student Materials Kit - 2pt
  • Packaging -digital prototype
  • Notebook -digitally comped notebook
    • Cover
    • 6 Interior spreads
  • Prototype Website – 2pts
    • Home Page
    • Menu/Navigation
    • Informational Page
    • Virtual Assistant
    • Get Started
    • Request Demo
    • Create Account
    • Sign In
    • Video Screen
  • User test and complete Prototyped Virtual Learning Platform – 5pts
    • Sign In
    • Student Dashboard
    • Class Schedule
    • Menu / Navigational system with Icons
    • Virtual Classroom and workspaces
    • Communication and Social media system

As well as the required thesis items:

• visual system guidelines
• draft of the thesis book

The work you actually did this semester, which may be more, different, or less than your contract
This semester I worked on the Student Materials kit:

• Revised the Agenda from Thesis One
• Created a Packaging Box
• Designed 4 Class Specific Notebooks: 4 covers and one interior spread
• Designed a Class Note Binder with Dividers: 1 Cover and 4 Dividers

I Build the OctoEd Website for teachers, parents and administrators to learn more about the OctoEd Virtual Learning Platform, and order the free trial and student materials kit.
I also created 4 different responsive layout designs: desktop, vertical iPad, horizontal, and Cell Phone.

• Home Page
• Menu/Navigation
• Informational Page
• Virtual Assistant
• Get Started
• Request Demo
• Confirmation Screen
• Create Account
• Sign In
• Video Screen

I continued to develop the OctoEd Virtual Learning Platform. I used the screen measurements for a Chrome Book. I created the following sections and built out the interior functions within the Virtual classroom.

• Sign In
• Class Schedule
• Menu/Navigation System with Icons
• Virtual Classroom / Work Space:
             Bathroom breaks, raise hand, message, expand video screens, complete and submit assignments, break out rooms, ask for help, send work to agenda, navigate within the virtual classroom, and more.
  
• Break Out Room
• Social Media Connect
• Virtual Study Group
• Chat Feature

I also completed the Visual Systems Guideline and a draft of my process Journal.
An explanation of why the work you did was more, different, or less than your contract
I modified my contract in Module 13 to accommodate changes made to the parameters of the Virtual Learning Platform design. A virtual learning platform is a huge undertaking. I initially had much different plans for the navigation and various pages of the platform. As I got further into the development of the platform I changed the design of various elements, got deeper into the multitude of interior navigation of the virtual classroom and decided to put the primary focus on the virtual classroom and the social media outlet. These are the 2 most unique parts of the system and the biggest selling points.
What you need to do in the break before the beginning of the next class
Over the next month I plan on developing more screens and navigational elements of the social media outlet:Connect, as well as building out more of the navigational system for the platform, and the inner workings of the virtual classroom. I also plan on building out more of my process journal.

My Thesis Blog
Thesis Topic: Middle School Virtual Learning
Goal: help middle school children adapt, navigate, and learn in the online learning environment.
Audience: Middle School Students & Teachers
Invision Link: OctoEd website mobile version
Invision Link: OctoEd Virtual Learning Platform


Explain how you put the draft presentation together. Can you think of any improvements you still want to do?
I began putting the draft presentation together, by introducing my thesis topic and then showing my work in the order that I completed it throughout the semester, with user testing at the end. I need to add narration and explanations of each item. I think the layout of some pages also needs some work to create a better flow and more consistency. I also wasn't sure if I should have the raw files for each screen as its own page or I should put multiple per page. I think you get a better view if it is full screen, but there are more than 30 screens, so the presentation gets pretty long!

Is there anything left to finish? If so what, and what is your plan to finish?
It is very much a draft at this point and is missing a lot of the narration of each step. I also still need to add the visual standards guide and process journal. I want to go back in and narrate my process, decisions, and outcomes. I would also like to add comments about the next steps. I will be adding the visual standards guide as well, with refinements that I have been making since its last submission.

Describe the most useful and interesting things you have learned in this module
I think the most interesting thing that I learned this semester is that I wish I had kept my files a little better organized. It was difficult to find items that were completed in past modules because even though they were organized in that module, I couldn't always remember what module to find them in. As my thesis project becomes more refined and more items are getting closer to completion, I think it would be better to be working out of master files, instead of organizing work by module.