This was the first interactive project undertaken by the Learning Methods Unit of the Liverpool John Moores University in 1993 and was developed for Cytology departments in hospitals throughout the country. It won a number of prestigious international awards.
I played only a small part in this production but was fortunate enough to work alongside Roy Stringer, a visionary in interactive design
My first real challenge, to program a development tool for lecturers to use in the delivery of interactive courses.
Based on the earlier work of Roy Stringer, Skyros was re-engineered and extended as an authoring tool to suit the requirements of those lecturers involved in the scheme.
The initial course developed using Skyros was for the Biological and Earth Sciences department. Working with Andrew Young and Chris Settle, I was responsible for the interactive features of the courseware
My first collaboration with Ian Bradley, interactive media designer, who also conceived the idea for a social and economic history of the Birkenhead shipyard.
The project was kiosk-based and was displayed in the Birkenhead museum for a time. I provided all the programming along with ideas for the interactive entities
Commissioned by the Publishers, Mosby, to convert one of the books in their medical range into an interactive CD, Roy Stringer worked with a team from the Learning Methods Unit to complete the commission. My role was marginal but I did devise and develop the animated help system for the disc. This project contributed to the foundation of the Amaze company.
After hosting the first 'MediaActive' conferenece in May 1994, it was decided to distribute the papers along with video of the key speakers and panel discussions on a CD.
Charlotte Corke designed and developed the project and I converted this from the original Mac format to PC.
An experimental piece developed with mathematician, Professor Mike Yates. The project was intended to support the learning of key mathematical concepts through the use of interactive models.
Working with Ian Bradley again, this project provides an insight into the Syntegration Conference in Toronto in 1995.
Syntegration facilitates planning, decision making and information sharing in a non-hierarchical, non-threatening context, and supports collaborative development and implementation of strategies and plans.
As part of the Liverpool's bid for the City of Architecure and Design, the Learning Methods Unit was commissioned to produce an interactive CD to be presented to the award committee.
The CD presented many aspects of Liverpool and its culture and featured a number of interactive techniques to explore the artefacts.
We were approached by the creators of the new Anfield Visitors Centre who asked us to produce a series of kiosks for the centre, featuring various aspects of Liverpool FC.
By now the Learning Methods Unit had developed into a multi-talented development team and I had assumed the role of Production Manager
After completing the programs for the Anfield Visitors Centre, we were asked to produce a CD-ROM to be sold in the Liverpool FC shop.
The CD contained an imense amount of content and contained contributions from all members of the Learning Methods Unit.
As exciting new designers joined the Learning Methods Unit, our range increased. Here Gareth Price responded to a brief from SETPOINT MERSEYSIDE with this radical design for their website.
SETPOINT was a partnership between eduction and industry and the site provided a 'one-stop shop' for information relating to science, technology, engineering and maths.
John James Audobon, after whom the Audobon Society of America was named, had a strong link with Liverpool and one of his original books is kept in the Liverpool Library though it is too precious to exhibit.
In order to make this accessible, we were asked to develop a CD featuring a number of his paintings with a variety of ways of exploring his work.
This project was commissioned by the Supporting Innovation In Schools initiative and featured work from a range of schools as well as work plans and interviews with teachers.
Nancy Flint was the project manager and provided the graphic design and structure of the program.
For years Mersey TV ran the Script to Screen programme in which they demonstrated to audiences around the country just how the scripts for the Brookside TV soap were developed and then filmed.
This project was initally intended as a means of introducing new web and dvd technologies into the company.
This health evaluation project presents a case-study of health related issues arising in the work-place, illustrating good practice
Chris Beer took the lead in this development, devising the style and design and delivering the project in record time.
The Riesco Collection of Chinese Ceramics was donated to the people of Croydon by local businessman Raymond Riesco. The whole collection is on permanent display in the Riesco Gallery at Croydon Clocktower. This project was intended as a 'taster' for school children who were about to visit the gallery, preparing them for the range of objects they would see and the background to the collection.
Working with science teachers from Liverpool Schools, the LMU developed a science based game which involved roughly one third of the science curriculum being delivered in schools at the time
The project was quite labour extensive and involved all the designers and programmers in the LMU.
As a parallel development with the Six Missing Scientists project, this web based resource contained all the information students would need to play the game. It includede hundreds of animated examples covering biology, physics and chemistry
As Liverpool prepared for the Capital of Culture award, Liverpool Vision decided to poll the people of the city on what they considered were the priorities for redevelopment and regeneration. We were asked to develop a program to present the options and capture the responses.
In the first of 4 collaborations with Knowsley County Council we worked with Charlotte Madine to produce this piece, aimed at primary school children. Using the mythical Knowsley Woods it provides routes through the woods where the children meet engaging characters and solve mathematical problems. Knowsley Woods was the winner of Best Multimedia Product, Liverpool Design Awards 2000, and runner up in EMMA Awards 1999
Bubble Reef was the second Maths project with Charlotte Madine, this time aimed at a younger audience. As with Knowsley Woods, the project was managed by Nicola Foster. The setting was an underwater world inhabited by a range of charming nautical creatures.
Bubble Reef was nominated for a BAFTA in 2001.
With the introduction of a Literacy Hour into schools, our next project working with Knowsley teachers was Pixel. Project Managed by Jim Turner, the aim of the 16 episodes is to help a dizzy computer to understand different aspects of non-fiction text types such as lists and order.
A major piece of work aimned at adults with learning difficulties. Project managed by Jason Taylor, users are presented with different everyday scenarios within which they make decisions over the course of a day
There are three different levels of interaction as well as options for Rebus symbols, Makaton and Signalong sign language, text and audio.
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