01/05/2012 - Progress: development going well, plans for testing in place

The project is progressing well, despite numerous delays over the past few weeks. The spelling game has been thoroughly tested, all features have been added and the graphics have been incorporated. The addition of hi-res graphics and good quality sound effects, has not only enhanced the gaming experience and fun, but also enhanced the HCI aspects by providing meaningful feedback upon completion of an action.

The menu system is almost complete. The tutorial screen for the maths game needs to be completed and then the menu will be finished. The final part of the project is the maths game. This is approximately 50% complete and should be complete in the next few days.

Upon completion of the game it will need to be tested. During the early research and development stages of this project several basic Kinect programming tutorials by an ICT lecturer at Lodge Park Technology College - Ray Chambers, http://raychambers.wordpress.com/ were studied. These were very helpful in understanding the fundamentals of Kinect programming. Ray is one of four teachers in the UK who are driving the use of technology in the classroom and has been awarded the Partners in Learning Network Innovative teacher award. Collectively they call themselves the K-Team (the 'K' referring to the use of Kinect in the classroom). Their work with the Kinect in education has also been officially commended by Microsoft.

I have contacted Ray and one of his colleagues, Jim, to see if they would be willing to test the Kinect application. I have heard back from both of them and they are very enthusiastic about testing it. Ray has also offered to write about my project on his blog which will help boost not only my profile as a developer but also the game itself. Jim has also offered to test it and involve the maths department where he works.

This is great news for the project as it will allow me to test the application on the target users - children, on teachers to gain feedback on the educational value of the game and also feedback from some of the people at the forefront of Kinect educational games.

I aim to have the game finished within the week in order to begin testing as soon as possible.