Posted: July 15th, 2015

TU100 My Digital Life

TU100 My Digital Life

TMA 05
This tutor-marked assignment (TU100 TMA 05) must be submitted by
12 noon (UK local time) on 21 July 2015.
This module requires all assignments to be submitted electronically. To
submit an assignment, please follow the link(s) from your StudentHome
page to the online TMA/EMA service.
If you foresee any difficulty with submitting your assignment on time then
you should contact your tutor well in advance of the cut-off date.
If you’re using the PDF version of this TMA, please remember the
formatting is very basic. As a result you will need to use the online version
to see formatting more clearly and to access any links and image
descriptions.
For further information about policy, procedure and general submission of
assignments please refer to the Assessment Handbook, which can also be
accessed via your StudentHome page.
Important – help with assignment questions
Please read the guidance in the TMA questions and guidance section of the TU100
website before answering the questions here. Note that TMA 05 covers Block 4 and
is a full-size TMA. Also note that the final 20 marks in this TMA are allocated for
demonstrating key skills and practical/professional skills associated with the
learning outcomes for TU100 (as listed in the TU100 Guide and the teaching
material).
If you need further guidance on any assignment questions, please ask your tutor
who will be happy to help.
Question 1 (30 marks)
This question is based on your work for Block 4 Part 1. You will develop
what the teaching materials call a ‘shareable multimedia object’ or a ‘video
presentation’ put together from images and audio files. You will develop
your answer to this question as you complete the activities in Block 4
Part 1. Your presentation will be a response to the video presentation Who
owns your data? on the ShareSpace site used in the teaching material (click
on the ‘Question’ tab in ShareSpace to view it).
Towards the end of Part 1 you are asked to upload your completed video
presentation to ShareSpace. The rest of TMA 05 must be submitted to the
online TMA/EMA service as normal.
You will receive tutor feedback and marks on the following aspects of
Question 1.
TMA 05
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(a) A video presentation, clearly identified as audio-only, image-only or
audiovisual as defined in the Guidelines for Question 1 below. It must
meet all those guidelines and be uploaded to ShareSpace. Note that your
presentation must not be uploaded to the online TMA/EMA service.
Only those presentations that are uploaded to ShareSpace, with a
separate answer document for the rest of the TMA being submitted to
the online TMA/EMA service, will be marked. You will not be able to
upload your presentation after the TMA deadline unless you have
previously agreed an extension with your tutor.
(10 marks)
(b) The storyboard you created when developing your presentation.
(10 marks)
(c) A commentary on the processes involved in creating your presentation.
The maximum word limit for Question 1(c) is 400 words.
(10 marks)
Please see the Guidelines for Question 1 below for further explanation of
what you are to submit.
Guidelines for Question 1
Question 1 requires you to use what you have learned in Block 4 Part 1
to prepare a piece of multimedia. These guidance notes explain how to
apply that knowledge in your answer to Question 1.
In addition to teaching you to use Audacity and Picasa as tools for
multimedia work, Block 4 Part 1 includes a number of activities that
prompt you to develop your piece to submit for Question 1 of this TMA.
Therefore, as you study Part 1 you are also carrying out tasks that
contribute to your TMA submission. The estimated timings for the
sections in Part 1 allow for that. The notes below complement the
teaching material in Block 4 Part 1 and are to be read alongside it.
1 What is Question 1 about?
Answer
The video presentation you are required to create is your response to
the video Who owns your data? You will find this video under the
‘Question’ tab in ShareSpace.
2 What materials can I use to create my response?
Answer
The module provides a TU100 media database within ShareSpace. You
are strongly advised to draw your audio and image files from this
database.
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Question 1 (30 marks)
If you wish to use files not in the TU100 media database, you may do
so. However, you will need to acknowledge the sources of the images
and sounds you use, and ensure they are of a similar file size to those
provided in the TU100 media database. Otherwise your presentation
may exceed the 12 MB limit in ShareSpace and you will not be able to
upload it.
You do not need to acknowledge the sources of the materials you use if
you draw them from the TU100 media database.
3 How long does my response need to be?
Answer
This depends on your choice of format for your video presentation – the
details for each format are in point 4 below.
4 What choices do I have for the format of my video presentation?
Answer
Your video presentation must be composed of still images only, audio
only, or both. You must not use moving images.
More detail is given below for each of these options. You need to make
your choice early during your study of Part 1, so that the work you carry
out whilst studying the main teaching text contributes to your final piece
of work for Question 1 of this TMA.
Please note that if you choose to prepare an audio-only or image-only
presentation, you will be expected to create a piece that is more
thoroughly thought-out in the medium you choose.
. If you choose to make an audio-only presentation, the maximum
length is 2 minutes. Your response must be presented as a read-aloud
argument – record a pre-written script and combine that with a musical
background.
. If you choose to make an image-only presentation, the maximum
length is 2 minutes. Your response must be presented as a slideshow
that includes still images and text slides.
. If you choose to make an audiovisual presentation, the required
length is between 1 and 11/2 minutes. Your response must be
presented as a slideshow of still images with voice and/or music in the
background.
TMA 05
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5 What size and type of files can I upload to ShareSpace?
Answer
Please look at the guidance in ShareSpace on this. You will need to
produce a file that is smaller than 12 MB and in an acceptable format.
If you are using Picasa, you do not need to worry about the file format
as both formats it produces (.mov and .wmv) are accepted by
ShareSpace.
If you decide not to use Picasa, you must check the detailed
requirements in ShareSpace before uploading.
6 What do I need to submit for this TMA?
Answer
Upload your video presentation, responding to the Question 1 video, to
ShareSpace. You must not submit your video presentation via the
online TMA/EMA service. Even if it is accepted by the online TMA/EMA
service it will not be marked. Only the TMA 05 video presentation in
ShareSpace will be marked, and only if a separate answer document
for the rest of the TMA is also submitted to the online TMA/EMA
service.
As well as your answers to Questions 2 and 3, you must submit the
following parts of your answer to Question 1 in the word-processed
document you submit via the online TMA/EMA service:
. your storyboard/plan
. a short piece of text that provides a commentary on your video
presentation (see point 7 below).
7 What are the guidelines for the commentary?
Answer
You are expected to write no more than 400 words commenting on the
processes involved in creating your response. You need to include:
. a rationale for your choice of format
. an overview of the creative process you followed to arrive at your
storyboard and how your ideas evolved
. a short account of the technical processes you used to move from the
storyboard to process the sounds and/or images and put them together
into your final response.
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Question 1 (30 marks)
Question 2 (30 marks)
Please note: you are not expected to produce another presentation for
this question.
(a) By the end of Block 4 Part 3, you should have provided comments in
ShareSpace on the presentations of at least two fellow students, in order
to give them constructive feedback. Paste a copy of your feedback
comments on two of those presentations into your TMA. They must be
comments you consider to be helpful in identifying the strengths and
weaknesses of the presentations in question. In each case, state the
name of the student to whom you gave the feedback and the date when
you supplied it, and provide a link to the page that shows the feedback.
(8 marks)
(b) Give a brief summary of the feedback you received from other students
on your own presentation, including the strengths and weaknesses they
mentioned. Explain why you agree or disagree with this feedback.
Briefly describe any changes you would make to your presentation,
based on:
(i) the feedback you received
(ii) one or two ideas you had from looking at other students’
presentations.
(8 marks)
(c) In Parts 3 and 5 of Block 4, you used various tools for asynchronous
and synchronous communication to discuss the presentations you and
your fellow students created in Part 1. As part of the block, you also
studied concepts relating to online communication.
Write a short account of your experience of using asynchronous
communication to provide feedback to other students on their
presentations and to receive feedback on your own presentation.
Describe how you used ShareSpace (an asynchronous tool) and how
you might have used synchronous tools such as OU Live.
As part of your account, refer to at least two of the following concepts
which were introduced in this block.
Community of practice
Critical mass
Reciprocity
Social presence
(14 marks)
The maximum word limit for Question 2 is 700 words.
TMA 05
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Question 3 (20 marks)
Scientists monitor the advance signs of mudslides by embedding motion
detection sensors in the ground. Increasingly large ground movement levels
may indicate that a mudslide is imminent.
You are going to create part of a prototype for a computer program to
monitor ground movement levels in a mudslide zone. The position of the
slider will represent the level of the current ground movement: so a large
slider value will correspond to a large ground movement and a small slider
value will correspond to a small ground movement. Each reading of the
ground movement level (slider value) will be compared with the previous: if
it is the same, a circle will be displayed on the Stage; if it is smaller, a
downward-pointing arrow will be displayed on the Stage; if it is bigger, an
upward-pointing arrow will be displayed on the Stage. Each reading along
with the number of readings taken so far will be written to a text file for
later analysis.
In parts (a) and (b) of this question you will complete a single script. The
script in part (c) will control the execution of the preceding scripts by
sending appropriate broadcast messages. You do not need to consider how
the scripts will interact until you come to part (c). (The scripts for parts (a)
and (c) have been partially created for you.)
With your SenseBoard connected, open the Sense file TU100_TMA05_Q3.
sb which is available from the Supporting files area of the ‘Assessment
resources’ page on the TU100 website. Make sure that the SenseBoard is
detected (select show SenseBoard watcher from the Extras menu).
Notice that we have created three variables which you will use:
. currentMovementLevel to hold the reading of the current movement
level (the current slider value)
. previousMovementLevel to hold the reading of the previous
movement level (the previous slider value)
. readingNumber to hold the number of readings of movement levels
(slider values) obtained so far.
Question 3a
In this part, you will investigate and complete the Stage script headed with
the hat block when_I_receive[setDisplay] which is responsible for the
Stage display. To do this, it will broadcast messages which are responded to
by the sprites DownArrow, UpArrow and Circle. Inspect these sprites and
their scripts.
(i) The partially-complete script headed when_I_receive[setDisplay]
currently sends three messages, responded to by scripts belonging to
DownArrow, UpArrow and Circle. What do these scripts do?
(ii) Now complete the script headed when_I_receive[setDisplay] by
adding blocks underneath the existing ones so that it achieves the
following:
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Question 3 (20 marks)
? if the current and previous movement levels are the same, the
circle is shown on the Stage
? if the current movement level is less than the previous
movement level, the downward-pointing arrow is shown on the
Stage
? if the current movement level is greater than the previous
movement level, the upward-pointing arrow is shown on the
Stage.
You should use the variables previousMovementLevel and
currentMovementLevel and assume that when your script is run as
part of the overall program their values will already have been set to the
readings of the previous and current movement levels (slider values)
respectively.
Helpful information
To test your script use set[]to[] blocks to set
previousMovementLevel and currentMovementLevel to different
values. (Leave these blocks in your project so your tutor can use them to
check your script.) Observe the variable values via watchers on the Stage.
Run your when_I_receive[setDisplay] script each time by doubleclicking
on it.
Submitting Question 3a (ii)
. Use the ‘save picture of scripts’ facility built into Sense to save a
picture of your when_I_receive[setDisplay] script and paste
that into your word-processed solution document.
. Save your final version of Question 3a (ii) and submit it as
TU100_05_Q3a_OUCU.sb where OUCU is the OU computer
username you use to log in to StudentHome (e.g. abc123) in your
TMA zip file.
(6 marks)
Question 3b
Now create a Stage script to handle writing the required current data to file.
The script will respond when a message writeMovementDataToFile is
broadcast, so start by creating a suitable hat block.
In response to this message, it should construct a string of the form shown
in the example below, containing the number of readings of movement
levels taken so far (held in the variable readingNumber) and the reading
of the current movement level (held in the variable
currentMovementLevel). It should append this string, as a single
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line, to the file TMA05File_OUCU.txt, where OUCU is your OU computer
username.
Reading number: 4, movement level: 39.8826979472141
You should assume that when your script is run as part of the overall
program the values of both readingNumber and currentMovementLevel
will already have been set.
Your script should not delete TMA05File_OUCU.txt as another part of the
program will handle the creation of a fresh file.
Helpful information
To test your script use set[]to[] blocks to set currentMovementLevel
and readingNumber to different values. (Leave these blocks in your
project.) Observe the variable values via watchers on the Stage. Run your
script each time by double-clicking on it and check the contents of the file
TMA05File_OUCU.txt.
Submitting Question 3b
. Use the ‘save picture of scripts’ facility built into Sense to save a
picture of your new script and paste that into your word-processed
solution document.
. Save your final version of Question 3b and submit it as
TU100_05_Q3b_OUCU.sb where OUCU is your OU computer user
name (e.g. abc123) in your TMA zip file..
(6 marks)
Question 3c
In this part, you will finish your program by completing the
when_green_flag_clicked script that will run when the user clicks
on the green flag button at the top of the Sense window.
Every five seconds this script should read the slider value (representing the
current movement level) and ensure that the Stage display is set
appropriately and that the current data is written to the file
TMA05File_OUCU.txt.
This script will control the execution of the scripts you have created in parts
(a) and (b), activating them at suitable points by sending broadcast
messages.
(i) We have placed some initialisation blocks at the top of this script.
Explain what this initialisation consists of.
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Question 3 (20 marks)
(ii) Now complete this script by placing blocks below the initialisation
blocks so that the script achieves the following.
Deletes the file TMA05File_OUCU.txt
Repeatedly (until the program is stopped by the user clicking on the
red stop button at the top of the Sense window):
? waits for 5 seconds
? sets the appropriate variables to the previous slider value, the
current slider value, and the number of readings taken so far
? ensures that the Stage display is set appropriately (as described
in part (a))
? ensures that the required current data is written to the file
TMA05File_OUCU.txt (as described in part (b)).
Helpful information
You will need to use the wait[]secs block from the Control palette.
To test your program, run it by clicking on the green flag button at the top
of the Sense window. Then set different ground movement levels by setting
different slider positions. Observe the variable values via watchers on the
Stage. Check that:
. the arrows and circle are displayed appropriately
. the required data is written to the file.
Stop your program by clicking on the red stop button at the top of the
Sense window.
Submitting Question 3c (ii)
. Use the ‘save picture of scripts’ facility built into Sense to save a
picture of your when_green_flag_clicked script and paste that
into your word-processed solution document.
. Save your final version of Question 3c (ii) and submit it as
TU100_05_Q3c_OUCU.sb where OUCU is your OU computer user
name (e.g. abc123) in your TMA zip file.
(8 marks)
TMA 05
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