December 27th, 2008
CfDR was commissioned by NaREC (New and Renewable Energy Centre) to develop a concept of a Solar Thermal demonstrator unit or ‘Trolley’, with accompanying teaching materials. The purpose of the project is to raise awareness of renewable energy in schools, and particularly solar thermal as an efficient and economical means of producing energy by heating water. Every secondary school in the North East will be provided with their own Trolley and teaching materials.
CfDR worked closely with a local school in the development of the trolley and its accompanying curriculum materials. My team in particular, worked on the curriculum materials which comes in the form of a CD-ROM. It contains teaching materials to help secondary teachers incorporate the Trolley into their scheme of work. 24 different activities have been developed mainly for use in Science, Geography, Maths and Design & Technology classes – although the activities are suitable for use in other subjects too. The activities come with printable worksheets, animations, interactive exercises and guidance on differentiation for higher/lower ability students. An accompanying website that enables schools to share data collected through their trolley was also developed.
Tags: 2008, cd-rom, interactive, learning
December 26th, 2008
Aimhigher Tyne and Wear commissioned The Centre for Design Research to create an interactive DVD-ROM to challenge perceptions about Apprenticeships by showcasing successful case studies, identifi ed by research company Ecotec in their recent review of Apprenticeship provision in the region. The DVD-ROM was designed to appeal to young people aged 14–19 who are currently studying or interested in the Apprenticeship route; as well as providing supporting information and resources for teachers, trainers and personal advisers who would be delivering the resource to young people throughout Tyne and Wear. Intro sequences were created using brief but enticing clips of the main films, highlighting from the outset the compelling offer of rich media content — an extremely effective method of engaging with media-savvy youth audiences. As a DVD-ROM cannot be easily updated and details of Apprenticeship opportunities change on a regular basis, an accompanying website was developed.
Tags: 2007, dvd, interactive, promotional, screen
December 26th, 2008
The brief was to develop and produce a new interactive CD-ROM for Northumbria University, which provides an updated information aid for potential students nationally and overseas. The CD-ROM uses a two-window interface to guide the user through university life and experience by following six student guides. When the guides mentioned points of interest, corresponding links will appear in the next window and users are able to select to view more information about it.
Tags: 2004, cd-rom, cfdr, interactive, promotional, screen
December 26th, 2008
This was a CD-ROM-based learning package that introduces Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) techniques to NHS primary-care staff using a combination of observation, role-play and interactive on-screen exercises. The interface guides first-time users through sixteen progressive sections, whilst allowing familiar users to dip in and out to refresh specific preferred techniques. Its main audiences are mental health professionals and was designed to enable these individuals to access the learning materials in their work environment. Each section is printable and a folder is provided for filling.
Tags: 2003, cd-rom, cfdr, interactive, learning, screen
