This is my Project Proposal for MM4403 Senio Project Development


Project Proposal
You Can Download a PDF Copy of the Proposal Here. Project Proposal (Right Click To Download)
Create a free PHP & MYSQL tutorial site that will allow users to learn PHP at their own pace, stopping and resuming tutorials as they see fit. The site will allow them to create a profile, save their progress as they go along. The site will use short tutorials that can be easily digested for new users as well as quickly referenced for more advanced users. Goals and Objectives Create an easy to use tutorial site Many tutorial sites out there expect their audience to come in with a coding background. I will assume they do not have any previous experience. Make tutorials that cover the basics of PHP & MYSQL Going over the basics is key to success with PHP. You must be comfortable with them in order to succeed. Once they have the basics down we can start to incorporate more advanced ideas. Short Tutorials The tutorials will take 20 to 30 minutes to complete on average. Not only does this give the user the opportunity to complete them quickly and move on to other objectives but it safeguards against users becoming agitated by lengthy tutorials. Easy To Navigate Nagivation should be simple enough for the most inexperienced users.

Audience
There are two types of users that will come to my tutorial site. They will either be an aspiring developer or they will be a designer with well honed skills looking to add an edge to their resume. The aspiring developer has an existing knowledge of HTML, CSS, and Javascript. They are willing to invest time to learn a new language, have lots of free time, are young, are in school or recent graduates, and are passionate about the Internet. The professional designer is goal-oriented. They are looking to improve their performance. They are on a tight schedule and don't have much time to waste. They need small and concise bits of information, and will need access to specific parts of a tutorial quickly.

User Personas
Hank Pym is 26 Single, currently employed at a mid range Graphic & Web Design firm in Chicago. Hank mainly works on a Mac, but only because it’s the hip thing to do. He feels the desire to stay up on current trends with technology. Hank has been taking a few classes at the local community college on Web Design, figuring he knows graphic design, how hard can the web really be. Hank has now successfully designed and built his portfolio website. Hank feels like he has the basics of html down, is still a little rocky on javascript and hasn’t quite mastered writing it on his own. Hank is a closeted copy-paster, he will copy-paste bits of javascript code to get them implemented in his site. Because of this he really likes tutorial websites. Hank is now interested in learning PHP & Ruby on Rails. Solely because he heard one of the developers talking about it at work, and figures, it can’t be so hard.

Lana Lang is a 21 year old web designer with high aspirations of becoming a web developer. Lana attended a community college in Indiana after high school. In her spare time she worked at learning HTML, CSS, and Javascript. When she felt confident enough she started working as a freelance web designer. After she completed community college, getting an associates in Art Appreciation, she took the money she’d earned doing freelance work for local companies and moved to New York City. She now works as a mildly successful web designer, part time at a firm, and part time free lance. Lana is interested in moving up from a web designer though and wants to become a web developer. She has a book called “Learning PHP 5” sitting on her book shelf, but she has yet to open it. Lana is currently working off a 2007 Mac Book that dual boots Mac OS X and Ubuntu. She is an avid Firefox user and is a major supporter of open sources and creative commons works.


Research
In researching other online tutorial sites, there is a definte lack of consideration for the user. Either the tutorials are all lumped together with no clear cut path to follow to success, or they are too long to take in at one time.

  • “As a working professional I have a base of experience and I'm goal-oriented. I prefer to learn things I really need to know to improve my performance, climb the corporate ladder, and garner larger bonus checks. I rarely need to learn an entire new tome in a single sitting. Odds are I have endured some form of learning or have experience on the topic.Eight times out of ten, I need tidbits of learning I can absorb in a few minutes.”
    Talanca, John Jr. "Let's Get Small" E-Learning Guru

I also found that most free ones want to show you micro projects, none of them reflect a larger whole. Creating a sample login is good, but what's the point when you can't link it up with a larger project.

  • "One learns to solve problems by solving problems"
    Fink, Dee L. "FINK'S FIVE PRINCIPLES OF GOOD COURSE DESIGN"

I also will strive to incorporate things the learner will already know, like setting up HTML pages will come easy to them, and what they will be learning will stick in their mids if we incorporate setting up an HTML page with some PHP code.

  • "Adults need to be able to integrate new ideas with what they already know if they are going to keep - and use - the new information"
    Ron and Susan Zemke. "30 THINGS WE KNOW FOR SURE ABOUT ADULT LEARNING"


    • Tools

    • Textmate
    • Dreamweaver
    • PHP
    • MYSQL
    • Javascript
    • Photoshop


    Works Cited

    Fink, Dee L. "FINK'S FIVE PRINCIPLES OF GOOD COURSE DESIGN" University of Oklahoma Instructional Development Program
    July 19, 1999. < http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/finks5.htm >

    Ron and Susan Zemke. "30 THINGS WE KNOW FOR SURE ABOUT ADULT LEARNING" Innovation Abstracts.
    Vol VI, No 8 National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development, March 9, 1984

    Talanca, John Jr. "Let's Get Small" E-Learning Guru
    2005 < http://www.e-learningguru.com/articles/art_misc_1.htm >