Webducate

Dragster 3 results analysis

A brand new facility is now available which provides a powerful new way to analyse the results recorded by Dragster 3 activities. This facility allows the positions of a specified draggable element to be viewed all at once enabling a rapid analysis of common mistakes and also the identification of any issues in the activity design.

For example the screen shot below shows the positioning of the activity label "Lava flow" for all the attempts on the volcano labelling activity, showing those that were correctly positioned etc. The facility provides additional information when the mouse is rolled over each label. This reveals a pop-up which provides further information on the particular activity result from which this label position is taken (activity score, participant name, time and date recorded). Clicking on this pop-up displays the related activity result.

To access this facility view the activity results for any Dragster 3 activity and click on the link View results for each activity element at the bottom of the results page. Then choose the activity element you wish to view in more detail.

To try this facility view the results by element for the volcano labelling activity.

Landscape activity layout

Fresh off the press, a new layout for Dragster 3 activities.  This layout option positions the draggable elements to the right of the dropzone image improving the display of activities on small screens. Try the example on the right to see this activity layout in action.
This layout option is available on the activity settings page (last of the settings under General). If you come across any issues with this option please get in touch!

Dragster 3 with activity loading animation

Today a further minor update to Dragster 3 has been released. This new version incorporates a simple loading animation as the activity is being downloaded before becoming active. In addition some minor issues with the display of elements in wiki activities have been addressed.  If any issues are encountered with this latest release please get in touch.

Help movie creating a SWOT dropzone using gliffy

In this second help movie on creating dropzone images, the free on-line image editing system gliffy is used to create a SWOT matrix.  Hopefully this demonstrates how easy it is to create great dropzone images for your Dragster activities using gliffy.
(view movie)

Dragster 3 update now available

We are pleased to announce that the new features demonstrated earlier this month are now available via the Dragster 3 authoring system.  This means that activities published from today onwards can incorporate:

• Pop-up text feedback and links
• Roll-over button labels
• Randomised draggable element ordering
• Keyboard controls
• Automated element scrolling
• and the new look activity design

We have conducted extensive testing of this upgrade, but please do contact support if you encounter any problems.

Full screen feedback authoring

The eagle eyed among you will spot a new button on the activity feedback authoring interface. This button allows you to toggle to a full screen view of the flash authoring movie which allows much greater accuracy when authoring target areas etc.
I know I am going to find this feature very useful and I hope you do too!

Unfortunately it only works if you are using an up to date Flash Player (version 9 or later). I have also experienced problems using this feature when using Firefox which I can't explain! So update your flash players and use Internet Explorer to use this feature...

New Dragster 3 features - demo

Here at Webducate we have been working hard to make Dragster 3 even better. Based on input from our users and also from some ideas of our own, we have put together a set of new features listed below. Before we integrate these into the Dragster 3 authoring system we would really like to get some  feedback.  So please do try the example volcano labelling activity, explore the new features and get in touch!

Pop-up text feedback and links - text feedback can be assigned to each draggable element.  This pop-up text is displayed when the mouse is rolled over the element during the display of an activity's feedback. The text can be defined differently for an element positioned correctly, close or missed. In addition corresponding web addresses for more information can be provided. These links are opened by clicking on the pop-up text feedback box.

Button roll-over labels - pop up text can be defined to appear when a participant's mouse is rolled over the activity buttons (e.g. the print and submit buttons in the activity toolbar).

Keyboard controls -  participants can complete dragster activities using only keyboard keys. This is particularly important for users unable to use a mouse. E.g. label pointers can be flipped during the activity by using the space bar. (more information on the keyboard controls).

Randomising element presentation - the order in which the draggable elements are displayed can be randomised.

Automatic element scrolling - to prevent an activity participant missing draggable elements which need to be scrolled into view, this scrolling will occur automatically when the drag the last visible element on to the dropzone image.

Updated activity design - we have made some minor aesthetic changes to the look and feel of the activity skin. We think they look better... what do you think?

(this example activity uses an image from Wikimedia Commons and information from the U.S. Geological Survey and  Volcano World)

Creating dropzone images for Dragster activities movie

Often the most difficult part of creating a Dragster drag and drop activity is creating the dropzone image, that is the image on to which your draggable elements will be placed.

This new help movie provides a brief overview of some of the issues and techniques involved including:

1. Copyright issues
2. Using an example source of suitable images (Wikimedia Commons)
3. Techniques for editing an image to the appropriate dimensions for use in a Dragster activity using Gliffy and Snipshot (free on-line image editing services)

View the creating a Dragster activity dropzone image movie

Dragster 3 authoring movie

A screen capture movie is now available demonstrating the Dragster 3 authoring process. (view movie)

Dragster 3 overview movie

A screen capture movie is now available providing an overview of the key features of Dragster 3 drag and drop activities.
(view movie)