INNOVATIVE ONLINE FORMATS WT 2018/19 SCB
FINAL PROJECT REPORT
SCIENCE2GO
LECTURERS: ANDREAS VON BUBNOFF DANIELA MARTÍN STUDENTS: HARIHARAN AREVALAGAM; 24511 MALTE KOCH; 24285 KONSTANTIN MEIXNER; 24004
SUBMITTED: 10/02/2019
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Table of Contents 1.
Introduction and Concept: ............................................................................................................... 1
2.
Development Team and Distribution of Responsibilities: .............................................................. 1
3.
Methods, Tools and Technology:.................................................................................................... 1
4.
5.
3.1.
SurveyMonkey ........................................................................................................................ 1
3.2.
Wireframe ............................................................................................................................... 2
3.3.
Adobe XD ................................................................................................................................ 2
3.4.
Paint3D .................................................................................................................................... 3
3.5.
Online Cartoonizer .................................................................................................................. 3
3.6.
Android Studio ........................................................................................................................ 4
3.7.
Kotlin ....................................................................................................................................... 4
Timeline and Development: ............................................................................................................ 5 4.1.
Timeline................................................................................................................................... 5
4.2.
Content Samples ..................................................................................................................... 6
4.3.
Obstacles, Risks and Opportunities ........................................................................................ 7
Prospects and Final Thoughts: ........................................................................................................ 7
Table of Figures Figure 1: Surveymonkey.com result overview ....................................................................................... 1 Figure 2: Original wireframe on paper ................................................................................................... 2 Figure 3: Adobe XD wireframe overview ................................................................................................ 2 Figure 4: Work in progress version of the start screen in Paint3D ......................................................... 3 Figure 5: Filter tool on http://www.cartoonize.net/ .............................................................................. 3 Figure 6: Code and preview of the start screen in Android Studio ........................................................ 4 Figure 7: Timeline of the project as outlined during the kick-off meeting on 18/11/2018 ................... 5 Figure 8: Content samples as visible in the wireframe ........................................................................... 6
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Science2Go Final Project Report Innovative Online Formats WT 2018/19
1. Introduction and Concept An often-overlooked feature of science is its ubiquitous nature – it does not only happen in academia and laboratories, science is right around every corner, often not recognized by the untrained eye. Science2Go highlights these hidden phenomena and invites users to experience a new perspective on science and the world around them. As outlined in the Science2Go Exposé: From windmills over geysers to particularly interesting nature sides, predefined hotspots in diverse scientific categories are scattered all over the map, ready to be discovered by Science2Go users. Whenever a user gets close to a hotspot, they will receive a notification about the nearby hotspot, suggesting exploring it. After confirming, the user will get access to fascinating content in the form of text, audio, video or animation, specifically tailored to the present hotspot. Source: Science2Go Exposé, 23/11/2018
2. Development Team and Distribution of Responsibilities The Science2Go team consists of Hariharan Arevalagam, Malte Koch and Konstantin Meixner. During regular meetings, the team developed concepts and discussed possible solutions. Between meetings, each member worked on one of three main areas: Content, Design and Coding. Hariharan was responsible for content. This included spotting of hotspot locations, researching scientific background and producing the final content. Malte conceived the original idea and oversaw the design – both in terms of visuals and functionality. He created all the graphics and the interactive wireframe (see →Wireframe and → Adobe XD). Konstantin evaluated the technical requirements, researched suitable tools and implemented the concepts and content into written code.
3. Methods, Tools and Technology 3.1. SurveyMonkey In an attempt to find interesting ideas for science hotspots, we created a survey via http://www.surveymonkey.com/ and shared it via social media. This proved to be of limited use, as the response rate was low, and the given responses were not helpful.
Figure 1: Surveymonkey.com result overview
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Science2Go Final Project Report Innovative Online Formats WT 2018/19
3.2. Wireframe To plan the app architecture, we created a detailed wireframe on paper. This was useful to keep the structure simple and helped to improve the underlying logic.
Figure 2: Original wireframe on paper
3.3. Adobe XD This wireframe was then transferred into digital form with Adobe XD. Despite its relatively steep learning curve, Adobe XD proved to be the most suitable software to do so, because of its high variety of functions and free availability. The outcome was an interactive wireframe, simulating the user’s experience when using the app. This preview could be viewed on both on desktop and mobile devices, on Windows, iOS, or Android operating systems.
Figure 3: Adobe XD wireframe overview
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Science2Go Final Project Report Innovative Online Formats WT 2018/19
3.4. Paint3D Visual design was largely realized in Paint3D. The software is easy and automatically installed on windows-devices. There is more powerful design software available but these are cost prohibitive and more complex. Paint3D’s functionalities proved sufficient for our needs.
Figure 4: Work in progress version of the start screen in Paint3D
3.5. Online Cartoonizer Individual images were processed on http://www.cartoonize.net/. This free of use website enabled us to achieve the “comic book look” we desired.
Figure 5: Filter tool on http://www.cartoonize.net/
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Science2Go Final Project Report Innovative Online Formats WT 2018/19
3.6. Android Studio Since it is not possible to develop an app for both Android and iOS devices simultaneously, we decided to focus on Android due to its bigger market share. We chose Android Studio as development environment.
Figure 6: Code and preview of the start screen in Android Studio. On the left: The file navigator of the app. In the center: The code editor of the XML-file that is currently being worked on. On the right: The design surface. On the bottom: The Build status report field.
Android Studio allows for convenient app development and implementation. It automatically creates the required file structure and provides forms to add different types of screens. Alternatively, the screens can be created manually from scratch, with a very high variety of customization. For implementing visual design, Android Studio features a powerful design surface combined with XML files, which define the visual appearance of the screen in the form of a CSS-stylesheet. Changing the layout in the design surface automatically updates the code of the corresponding XML-file, while changing the code automatically updates the design surface. Supported programming languages in Android Studio include C++, Java and Kotlin, the latter of which we chose for Science2Go, as described below.
3.7. Kotlin We chose Kotlin as programming language, because of its official support by Google for mobile development and because of its ease of use compared to the more complex Java. Without going deep into technical details, Kotlin allows for more concise problem solving, prevents some common Java programming mistakes by design and has many convenient built-in functions that facilitate development. Because of those reasons and more, Kotlin is continuously gaining popularity as a Java alternative, particularly in App development.
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Science2Go Final Project Report Innovative Online Formats WT 2018/19
4. Timeline and Development 4.1. Timeline On the kick-off meeting of the project on Nov 11, 2018, we agreed on a timeline as depicted in the image below. According to the milestones of this timeline, the theoretical outlines of app structure, menu, content types and design were to be finalized on Nov 30. Three weeks later, on Dec 21, we planned to have a first working prototype to work on during the Christmas break. By Jan 11, 2019, we intended to finish all content, design and interface to then present these results on Jan 25.
Figure 7: Timeline of the project as outlined during the kick-off meeting on 18/11/2018
Up until Nov 30, we managed to meet all goals accordingly. Afterwards, high workload from other courses as well as higher than expected technical requirements led to delays. Also, we added the interactive wireframe as an additional objective, which was necessary for coding structure and final presentation, but further pushed back the development of the working prototype. The final chronology of the development process is summarized in the table below. Table 1: Final project timeline
18/11/2018: 23/11/2018: 30/11/2018: 02/12/2018: 17/12/2018: 22/12/2018 until 06/01/2019: 11/01/2019: 25/01/2019: 10/02/2019:
Kick-off meeting – distribution of tasks, creating outline for content, design and getting a first idea of technology requirements Submission and presentation of final exposÊ App structure, menu, content types and design finalized in theory Production of the wireframe paper version Creation of SurveyMonkey survey Definition of specific content samples to include in prototype Christmas break Finalization of interactive wireframe, writing of content samples and basic coded app with starting screen and map Presentation of the final prototype and wireframe in class Submission of final project report
The final prototype as presented on January 25 included the completed digital wireframe, as well as a fully functioning app with embedded Google Maps access, both with three content text samples and corresponding images.
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Science2Go Final Project Report Innovative Online Formats WT 2018/19
4.2. Content Samples
Figure 8: Content samples as visible in the wireframe
Following are the content samples in full text: Dancing Seagulls: If you look closely at the seagulls that hang around the campus grounds, you might notice that they seem to enjoy tap dancing. In actual fact, this "dance" is not really a dance at all. To understand what's going on here, we first need to understand the behaviour of the seagulls' prey - the earthworm. Earthworms live underground and burrow their way through the soil. Other animals that feed on these worms also burrow underground. The earthworms sense the vibrations of oncoming predators and move to the surface of the soil to escape them. However, the vibrations caused by raindrops falling to the ground trigger the same response. The seagulls stomp their feet on the ground to mimic these raindrops. As a result, the earthworms move to the surface and are eaten by these birds. What looks like a dance is actually a hunting strategy that these birds have learned over time! Light Pollution In the past, before all the urbanization around us today, the night sky was a sight to behold. The stars shone in all their glory and on a moonless night, you might even be able to see our neighbouring galaxy, Andromeda! However, with the vast amounts of artificial lights produced by us humans lighting up the night sky, or urban sky glow, it is becoming increasingly difficult to observe other celestial bodies. As a result, if you want to observe the beautiful night sky, it will be easier to do so in a place free from this light pollution. Naturpark Kellen is an example of such a place. In fact, this park, which is almost pitch black at night, is the main observation point for Hochschule Rhein-Waal's Astronomy Club. Apart from aesthetics, light pollution is also responsible for some more serious problems, such as health effects on humans, disruption of ecosystems, and increasing atmospheric pollution. For more information about light pollution, check out this article on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_pollution#Effects_on_human_health_and_psychology 6
Science2Go Final Project Report Innovative Online Formats WT 2018/19
Schwanenburg Museum Have you ever wanted to see the actual skull of a prehistoric animal? Or perhaps geology tickles your fancy. In the Geologisches Museum im Schwanenturm at the Schwanenburg Castle in Kleve, you will find an exhibition of rocks and prehistoric finds from the Lower Rhine region. The exhibition that takes up two floors, contains specimens that took around 50 years to collect. Apart from information about the prehistoric flora and fauna that lived in the area, the museum also has exhibits about the general history of Kleve, such as a portrait gallery of notable personalities in Kleve's history, a model of the castle itself and the story of the destruction of the Schwanenburg during the Second World War. For information about entrance fees and opening hours, check out the link below. https://www.kleve.de/de/sehenswuerdigkeiten/geologisces-museum-im-schwanenturm/
4.3. Obstacles, Risks and Opportunities The main obstacle during the entire development process was the, in our risk assessment anticipated, narrow time frame combined with high workload from both the project and other study courses. This caused our initially defined goals like audio and video content, while technologically feasible, to be not achievable within the available time. Our inexperience with the software also required learning, further decreasing the time available for design and implementation. However, due to the necessity to put in said learning time, all of us acquired or improved relevant technical skills in different directions: Concise technical writing and research, graphical design, structural planning and mobile app development. Additionally, we experienced the effect that we hope Science2Go will have when it is finished: Researching for potential hotspots opened our eyes for many scientific phenomena, which were previously hidden in plain sight.
5. Prospects and Final Thoughts As a class project, the development is concluded. As time permits, we will continue to work on Science2Go as a private project. Sciene2Go has been designed as a modular system, that can be expanded indefinitely with content from local, to regional to global scale, with additional functionalities like user-generated content, gamification and social networking. In the end, despite heavy time pressure, working on Science2Go proved to be a fulfilling team project experience and provided all of us with valuable experience about general principles of app development and team coordination. Understanding the difficulties of creating a useful and engaging app in general and an interactive tool for science communication specifically helps to prepare us for our future careers in various fields.
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