Educational Application About The Solar System

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

The idea came from a piece of interactive media which I saw, I thought that the application looked very interesting in terms of development and the idea of an interactive application was relevant to my course. I then needed a topic to which I could create an application, I originally thought of creating a application for young children to learn about the planet and its countries but then quickly realised that I would prefer creating an application about the solar system as I am more interested in the Solar system therefore making my project more interesting and fun to build.

Aims & Objectives

The aim for this project is to create an interactive application that will have a 3D model for each planet in the solar system and the user will be able to select and view each one while also been able to drag to rotate around the model so they will have a complete 360 Degrees view. I would also like to implement buttons that also allow the users to rotate clockwise and counter-clockwise, also I want to add two more buttons that will zoom in and out, allowing the user to look and the planets in more details.

Problems

I feel that I will encounter several problems because I will be learning a complete new programming language that I have no prior knowledge of, I think that the hard part of this application is to implement the buttons to rotate and zoom. I will also have to create 3D models of each planet, this part will not be a problem but the exporting may be, because I will need to export to a new format I have never used before so I may have to have several attempts.

Feasibility Report

Introduction

Create a 3D interactive application about the Solar System. This will include all 8 planets and the sun. The user will then be able to select different 3D models of the planets to view, they will also be able to rotate and zoom by using the buttons available.

System Requirements

This application is designed for windows based computers but should also work on a Macintosh system. The application uses Adobe shockwave player which is required for the application to run. This application will not work on mobile devices as they do not suppose Adobe Shockwave.

User Requirements

In order for the users to successfully use this application they will require two skills, firstly the ability to read the instructions which will be integrated in to the application, secondly they require basic computing skills, for example they require the skills to open the application and navigate through it. The instructions for this application will be worded in the simplest of terms due to its target audience.

Target Audience

This application was designed for young children to learn about the Solar System and its wonders. It has been designed with use in a late primary to early secondary school in mind so children aged 7 to 11.

Conclusion

My conclusion is that this application will be a 3D interactive educational tool about the Solar System which is aimed at young children between the ages 7 to 11. The application will be designed with its target audience in mind so will be simple and user friendly thus the user requirements being simple.

I think that this project will be fun to use for any age group because it allows the users to interact with the application, the application will also show fun and interesting facts about the selected planet which an adult will probably not know, but it will be explained in a simple manner because of the target audience.

Requirements Gathering

Introduction

I quickly decided what I would like to create for my project, I just then needed to gather some information regarding similar projects which are available for children to learn from. There were several different ways I could do this, I could enquire around at the local schools and see what applications they have, if any to teach young children. The other method was to search the internet for similar applications and compile the results.

I also needed to research into the curriculum for primary and secondary schools to see if the teachers are required to teach the pupils about the solar system because I do not recall being taught it myself. There is two ways I could gather this information, Internet or by enquiring at local schools about the curriculum.

I have also decided to look into different learning methods for young children, for example do children learn more if the learning is more game based (like my application) or do they learn more by the traditional methods. I wish to investigate this and have chosen to use the internet as my resource for this task.

Chosen Method

I have chosen to use the internet for both of my research topics, there were several factors which have forced me to choose this option, the main reason being that I would have to wait for a response from the local schools and I do not know the timeframe for such a specific enquiry and don't want to waste time waiting for a reply. I could have probably gone to the school and enquired in person but I know that schools are a very busy place and Head teachers would not have an answer for me straight away so I would still be waiting for a reply.

Conclusion

I have found lots of very useful websites which have helped me greatly to acquire my research. I have found that there are no applications that are designed to teach young children about the Solar System, this was strange but also a very good result as this will be the first application specifically designed with young children in mind. There are although lots of 3D Interactive applications about the solar system on the internet. I have found an interactive application created by a student for their final year project at university. This application is very nicely built but lacks instructions therefore making the application hard to use, it also does not have any educational value so it would serve no purpose in a classroom as an educational tool for young children (Force Level 7). There was one more application that caught my attention and this was created by NASA, this is another 3D interactive application that explores the solar system but in more detail. NASAs application includes satellites, comet, meteors and lots more which are all in high definition. I found this application very impressive but also quite complicated and because of that I feel that this would also not be suitable for the age group that I have specified. (Eyes on the Solar System)

My second research task was to look into the curriculum for primary and secondary schools to investigate how much or if the pupils were taught about the Solar System. I have found some interesting websites that have pointed me in the correct direction, according to the Education Department, on the 11th of June 2012 new plans were published to restore key primary subjects which are English, Maths and Science (Department for Education, 2012).

Higher standards in science:

There will be a greater focus on the acquisition of scientific knowledge with new content on the solar system, speed and evolution. (Department for Education, 2012)

There will be a greater focus on the Solar System than ever before so I feel that my project could greatly help this cause by allowing teachers to learn their pupils in a fun and interactive way.

Game based learning is very popular in today's classrooms, recent studies have found that because children have a good imagination, teaching them by using a game or video works better than traditional methods because its allowing them to visualize their work therefore engaging better with the task. Today's society everyone has had some experience playing a video game, whether it for entertainment purposes or for a more serious purpose (Flight simulators etc). People remember visual representations of objects and data better than just blocks of text, this is why people use charts etc in their work.

 

Traditional Training (lectures, online tutorials)

Hands-on Training

Game-based Learning

Cost-effective

X

 

X

Low physical risk/liability

X

 

X

Standardized assessments allowing student-to-student comparisons

X

 

X

Highly engaging

 

X

X

Learning pace tailored to individual student

 

X

X

Immediate feedback in response to student mistakes

 

X

X

Student can easily transfer learning to real-world environment

 

X

X

Learner is actively engaged

 

X

X

Comparison of Traditional Training, Hands-on, and Game-based Learning. (Game Based Learning)

Process Model

Introduction

There are many different process models that I could use to guide me through this project, each have a different approach and vary in its methods but eventually would get the same results. I have chosen two models that I wish to look into with more detail to establish which to use in my project.

Possible Models

Waterfall

The waterfall model is the most common and is used in most businesses, there are 6 stages these are Analysis, Requirement Specification, Design, Implementation, Testing and Integration, Operation and Maintenance. http://images.google.co.uk/url?source=imgres&ct=tbn&q=http://www.peopleware.be/methodology/350pxWaterfall_model.png&usg=AFQjCNFXlKjLeifTqK3Whgv01mOn_95jGQ

Requirements: Requirements are set of expectations that the end-user requires from the system. The requirements are gathered from the user by discussions, these requirements are analyzed and finally, a Requirement Specification document is created which serves the purpose of guideline for the next phase of the model.

Design: Before a starting for actual system, it is important to understand what will be create. The requirement specifications from first phase are studied in this phase and system design is prepared. System Design helps in specifying hardware and system requirements and also helps in defining overall system design.

Implementation: On receiving system design documents, the work is divided in modules/units and actual system is started. The system is first developed in small programs called units, which are included in the next phase. Each unit is developed and tested for its functionality this is referred to as Unit Testing. Unit testing mainly verifies if the modules/units meet their specifications.

Verification: The system is first divided in units which are developed and tested for their functionalities. These units are included into a complete system.

Maintenance: This phase of "The Waterfall Model" is virtually never ending phase. Generally, problems with the system developed (which are not found during the development life cycle) come up after its practical use starts, so the issues related to the system are solved after deployment of the system. Not all the problems come in picture directly but they arise time to time and needs to be solved. (Cycle)

Spiral

The spiral model is favoured for large, expensive, and complicated projects (What Is). There are 5 main steps in this model these are, Planning, Analysis, Design, Implementation and Maintenance. Those stages must be completed in that order.

The spiral methodology extends the waterfall model by introducing prototyping. It is generally chosen over the waterfall approach for large, expensive, and complicated projects.

The steps in the spiral model are as follows:

The new system requirements are defined in as much detail as possible. This usually involves interviewing a number of users.

A initial design is created for the new system.

A first prototype of the new system is constructed from the initial design. This is usually a scaled-down system, and represents an estimate of the characteristics of the final product.

A second prototype is evolved using four steps:

Evaluate the first prototype and identify its strengths, weaknesses, and risks.

Define the requirements of the second prototype.

Plan and design the second prototype.

Construct and test the second prototype.

The existing prototype is evaluated in the same manner as was the previous prototype, and, if necessary, another prototype is developed from it according to the fourfold procedure outlined above.

The preceding steps are iterated until the customer is satisfied that the refined prototype represents the final product desired.

The final system is constructed, based on the refined prototype.

The final system is carefully evaluated and tested. Routine maintenance is carried out on a continuing basis to prevent large-scale failures and to minimize downtime. (What Is)

The advantages of using the spiral model are varied: its design flexibility allows changes to be implemented at several stages of the project; the process of building up large systems in small segments makes it easier to do cost calculations; and the client, who will be involved in the development of each segment, retains control over the direction and implementation of the project. In addition, the client's knowledge of the project grows as the project grows, so that they can interface effectively with management. (Sqa.org.uk)

Conclusion

After looking in to the waterfall model and spiral model in more detail I have decided to use the waterfall model to several reasons, mainly because It will fit my project better. The spiral model was designed for large scale projects which require several of the same stages for example, creating more than one prototype. The waterfall model is more suited to my project because it was designed for smaller scale projects and its stages will suite my project more than the alternative spiral model. The waterfall model only has five stages, Requirements, Design, Implementation, Verification and Maintenance

Design

Introduction

I need to design the layout of my application, I cannot just "make it up as I go along", I need to have a look at other applications designed for my target audience because It needs to be simple as possible, I want the users to be able to navigate and understand my application by just looking at it, although I will provide instructions. The layout of the application is very important and plays a big part in the users initial opinion for example, if the layout of the application is very disorganized and looks messy, the user will have a harder time understanding the application as well as not focusing on the content and looking more at the horrible and confusing layout. I want to avoid that scenario so by looking at my target audience I can hopefully avoid this.

Design Techniques

My designs for this application will be simple and easy for anyone to understand and use. I do not plan on having lots of data squashed onto one screen, this would be a very bad choice because my target audience will not learn from blocks of text, this is the whole purpose of this application it to make learning fun and interactive so having lots of text would defeat the whole purpose of this project.

Possible Designs

Design 1

Design1.pngI have created this design specifically based around my target audience, I was originally going to use buttons for the planet models (Right of the design) but I had a good idea and this was to have pictures of the planets as buttons, thus allowing the users to visually see the planet before they click to view the 3D model of it, I think that this also help with learning the difference between planets because learning the planets names is okay but also having a mental image to put with that name is better. I chose to stick with traditional buttons for the Zoom In/Out, Rotate Right/Left and reset model because I would be having several picture buttons already on the applications and if I was to use picture buttons on these too I feel that it would reduce the significance of the planet picture buttons, I want the users to remember the planets and their names so having them different than other buttons it is creating a link which the users can use to remember the planets easier.

Design 2

Design2.pngThis design is slightly more compact, allowing bigger planet buttons but reducing the main 3D planet model which is on display. I am unsure about this design for that very reason, I want the users to remember each planet but more importantly I want them to have a larger version of the selected planet available for them to look around and zoom in etc, I feel that this design does not suppose that cause because its making the 3D model smaller. The buttons are squashed into a smaller space therefore increasing the chance of clicking the wrong button, the "Reset Model" button is bigger than the others, I don't think this is necessary. The section of the application which will show the facts for each planet is also smaller than the previous design, therefore less information can be displayed.

Chosen Design

Design1.png

I have chosen to use design one, there are many reason for this but mainly because it looks the simplest of the two which will help me to achieve my goal in this project and that is to create an simple, fun interactive application for young children to learn from.

Software Selection

Introduction

To successfully complete this project I will be needing to use a variety of different software that is available to me. Firstly I will need to use some 3D development software which will allow me to create the planets and texture them. I also need to use some image editing software that I can create the user interface with and also texture the planet models before applying them. Most importantly I need some software that I can build my application in, this is will be the biggest challenge for me because I have not attempted to use any software that I can build an Interactive 3D application in, so which ever I choose it will be a new challenge for me to learn and develop my understanding of the chosen software.

Possible Software Packages

3D Modelling

There are several 3D modelling software packages available that I could choose to use and create my 3D models of the planets. I have probably the most obvious option in my mind which is Autodesk's 3D Studio Max (3D Studio Max). This is probably the best option because I have previous knowledge in this software. There are other alternatives, for example Blender is free open source modelling software that is more than capable of creating the planet models which I require.

3Ds Max

3ds Max provides powerful, integrated 3D modelling, animation and rendering that enable artists and designers to focus more energy on creative, rather than technical challenges (3D Studio Max). It is the industry standard for games design, used in well-known titles such as Assassin's Creed, Rome: Total War and perhaps more famously, it's built in Quake export feature. It has also been used for creating 3d scenes for films and television, though more often packages such as the more expensive Autodesk Maya are used in its place for such purpose. (Autodesk 3ds Max Beginner, 2011)

Blender

Blender is a 3D piece of software that allows the creation of 3D models , this software is free and open source. Blender is a very powerful piece of software that can create very complex models and also applying textures to them. There has not been many games and movies edited or working on in blender because big corporations will purchase software to do this, but this software is very nice and is more than capable of creating the planet models that I require.

Image Editing

There are many software packages available for image editing, Adobe's Photoshop seems the most popular piece of image editing software available. There are other options, I have found an Open Source piece of software called "Gimp" which stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program (Gimp). This software would be capable of creating the GUI (Graphical User Interface) for my application but I am not familiar with this piece of software so I would have to learn how to use it correctly.

Photoshop

Adobe's Photoshop has been at the pinnacle of image editing software for decades, its initial release was in 1989 and it is still going strong today. There are two different versions of Photoshop, there is Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Photoshop Extended, with the extended 3D image editing, motion graphics editing and more features. This piece of software is very well known and is used all over the world for image editing purposes.

GIMP

GIMP which stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program is a free piece of image editing software which is available on many different operating systems. I allows the user to complete several tasks such as photo retouching, image composition, image authoring and lots more. GIMP would be more than capable of allowing me to texture the planets and create my GUI (Graphical User Interface).

Development

The development software is the most important piece of software that I will be using, this is what will compile my GUI and 3D models into one application, I will then have to program the application and add the buttons etc. There are two different software packages that I can think of that would work for this application, the first one is Adobe's Director which uses shockwave plug-in to run the completed application. The other is Unity 3D which uses Unity Player plug-in, I have no experience with either of these software packages and their compatible programming languages. I think which ever I choose to work in, I will have to learn a completely new programming language if I am to complete my application.

Adobe Director

Adobe Director is a multimedia authoring application which was originally created by macromedia. Director allows the user to create applications and short animations with the addition of allowing the user to be able to program the applications to perform certain tasks when required by using a programming language called Lingo. Adobe director can export your application to many different files for example it can export your application or movie to a shockwave file which can be viewed on any device that supports shockwave and has the plug-in installed.

Unity 3D

Unity 3D is a powerful application that allows the user to create huge and really complex games. It is available on many different platforms and can also export to many different platforms, including Apple's mobile operating system as well as Android systems. Unity supports 3D and 2D games and uses the programming language C# to help create and develop these very complex games and applications.

Chosen Software

3D Modelling

3DS MAX

I have chosen to use 3D Studio Max to develop my planet models. There was one major reason why I chose this, because I have prior knowledge using this software therefore it would not take me long to create and texture the planets allowing me more time to work on other aspects of the project. Blender looks like a very nice piece of software to use and is more than capable of creating the 3D models but since 3ds Max is available to me via educational license I feel that I must use this program over some free software.

Image Editing

Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop is my choice for the Image editing software because I have used the software before and know how it works. Photoshop is more than capable of creating my GUI (Graphical User Interface) and texturing my planets. GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a very nice, user friendly piece of software which would easily fulfil every task it would be required of but because I have previous experience using Adobe Photoshop I feel than this is the obvious options for me to crate my GUI and texture my planets.

There is one issue that I must address from choosing this Adobe Photoshop, this is that Adobe do not allow free downloads of their software for Educational purposes. There are two ways around this, firstly I could use the software at the University because they have purchased it, the second solution is to download a free 30 day trial from adobe which is completely legal and law abiding and complete all of the image editing within the 30 day period.

Development

Director

Choosing a piece of software that would develop my application was very tricky because I needed a simple but effective piece of software that I can learn fairly quickly so I could move on and start developing my application. I had two choices which were Adobe Director or Unity 3D, I have chosen to use Adobe Director to create my application, there were several reasons why I chose this particular piece of development software but mainly because it looked simple and easier to understand and learn compared to the alternative (Unity 3D). I have the same problem as the image editing software that I chose to use, Adobe do not have an Educational license for their software and the in this case, the University does not have access to Adobe Director so I was left with one option. Adobe have a 90 day trial for their Director software, I would have to fully create and export my application into a useable state within that 90 day period. I also have to learn a completely new programming language that Director uses called Lingo but I feel confident that I can complete my application within the given timeframe.

Development

Functional Development

Developing the functions, buttons etc spinning planets

Graphical User Interface Development

Actual Screenshots !

Testing

Testing Techniques

Chosen Testing Method

Testing

Evaluation

Critical Analysis

Further Development

Works Cited

3D Studio Max. (n.d.). Retrieved February 28, 2013, from Autodesk: http://usa.autodesk.com/3ds-max/features/

Cycle, S. D. (n.d.). startvbdotnet.com. Retrieved 01 11, 2013, from System Development Life Cycle: http://www.startvbdotnet.com/sdlc/sdlc.aspx

Department for Education. (2012, June 11). Retrieved February 28, 2013, from Education.gov.uk: http://www.education.gov.uk/inthenews/inthenews/a00210127/newnatcurric

Eyes on the Solar System. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2013, from NASA: http://eyes.nasa.gov/exit.html

Force Level 7. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2013, from 3D Solar System application.: http://www.forcelevel7.com/astronomy/index.html

Game Based Learning. (n.d.). Retrieved March 01, 2013, from newmedia: http://www.newmedia.org/game-based-learning--what-it-is-why-it-works-and-where-its-going.html

Gimp. (n.d.). Retrieved Fubruary 28, 2013, from Gimp (GNU Image Manipulation Program): http://www.gimp.org/

Sqa.org.uk. (n.d.). Advantages of the Spiral Model. Retrieved 01 11, 2013, from sqa.org.uk: http://www.sqa.org.uk/e-learning/SDM01CD/page_10.htm

What Is. (n.d.). Retrieved 01 11, 2013, from What is Spiral Model: http://searchsoftwarequality.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid92_gci755347,00.html#