IT-Project, need help and suggestions


Viking

Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2010
Messages
408
Hi! Me and two others on my project have decided to create a website for children to entertain and teach them an easier way to learn.


We are programming in Visual Web Developer, Language C#


And we are mainly going to use stuff like Arrays and Session Variables.


Going to make "programs" like;


* quiz


* Secret number


* Story generator


* Math problems


So any suggestions on what else we could do or further problems would be great!
 
you'll want big colourful (yet tasteful) buttons and an easy to see cursor for a start


the place you'll get decent marks on this kind of thing is most probably the design phase, so do lots of class diagrams etc :p


though i still don't get why theyr'e teaching you c# as it makes bunnies cry
 
Our teacher thought it was a good idea, but not great btw.


Would like to see a online store instead..


But is it such a bad language?


I'm thinking it's kinda a good start for us, so we have an idea how this kind of system works.


Is it harder developing in C++ or java?
 
i don't like c# as it's just so silly in places, and everything is so different from original C/C++


in general, all languages that are designed to be OO are pretty similar i the way you use them, it's all just syntax specifics etc
 
i don't like c# as it's just so silly in places, and everything is so different from original C/C++
So? Just that it's different doesn't automatically make it silly. After all, it's a separate language and so it doesn't have to be similar to C/C++. One of the main goals of C# is to be more "robust" than C/C++. If you think about that, then it isn't so silly at all that you can't do destructor-based programming because of the garbage collector, or even that "switch" assumes "break" unless the programmer uses "GOTO case".


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Hi! Me and two others on my project have decided to create a website for children to entertain and teach them an easier way to learn.


We are programming in Visual Web Developer, Language C#


And we are mainly going to use stuff like Arrays and Session Variables.


Going to make "programs" like;


* quiz


* Secret number


* Story generator


* Math problems


So any suggestions on what else we could do or further problems would be great!
What's the goal of your project (i.e. what will you get good grades for)? To make use of particular programming techniques in a clever way ("Visual Web Developer, Language C#", "Arrays and Session Variables") or to actually make a good website ("create a website for children to entertain and teach them an easier way to learn")? If it's the latter, then I think you're already failing. "quiz", "Secret number", "Story generator", "Math problems" and similar things don't necessarily teach anyone anything about how to learn learning. Of course, since we're talking about "children" (a term which can mean many different types of user) here, you can't just go ahead and explain how to learn, most children would probably not be interested in that kind of "training". Instead, you can reach your goal by making children experience that it can be fun and useful to learn, for example by telling an interactive story in which a cat can be saved from a tree by solving a math problem (this is probably a bad example, the story MUST be highly entertaining and funny, or otherwise the child will get bored easily).

you'll want big colourful (yet tasteful) buttons and an easy to see cursor for a start
Not necessarily. The goal isn't to have big buttons, it's to make the software easy to use for children. So, the goal simply is to create a navigation that even people who have never used a website or even any electronic device before can use (in other words, a navigation just like any other good navigation ;) ). Children typically aren't blind and/or dumb, they may just lack experience and interest. Children who will be using the website will either a] know how to use the Internet or b] have someone next to them who showed them how to get there. You can start from there, because IF the child doesn't know how to use a website, a real person who already knows the child and can see the child's reactions will be able to explain how to use a website better than you ever could do through the website (This is not an excuse for bad design though!).


The other effect that "beautiful" buttons can have when you're working with children is to make them want to click these buttons. In any case you want to make clear that buttons of a particular menu (including the "main menu") "belong together", for example by not giving every button another color (unless for some carefully sorted out stylistic reasons or to make the brain associate a particular button with specific hints).


Also, when making websites, never EVER do you want to mess around with user preferences, e.g. by dictating the use of a specific cursor symbol/size or using a fixed text size. Even if you absolutely HAVE to, it's typically only acceptable for a limited period of time, and only if no other solution can be found.
 
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One of the main goals of C# is to be more "robust" than C/C++. If you think about that, then it isn't so silly at all that you can't do destructor-based programming because of the garbage collector, or even that "switch" assumes "break" unless the programmer uses "GOTO case".
C# is a great language. Unfortunately, it uses Visual Studio and all the Microsoft development environment and libraries, which is far from as robust as you'd hope. I stick to Java/IntelliJ/Linux myself for dev.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
i don't like c# as it's just so silly in places, and everything is so different from original C/C++
So? Just that it's different doesn't automatically make it silly. After all, it's a separate language and so it doesn't have to be similar to C/C++. One of the main goals of C# is to be more "robust" than C/C++. If you think about that, then it isn't so silly at all that you can't do destructor-based programming because of the garbage collector, or even that "switch" assumes "break" unless the programmer uses "GOTO case".


------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi! Me and two others on my project have decided to create a website for children to entertain and teach them an easier way to learn.


We are programming in Visual Web Developer, Language C#


And we are mainly going to use stuff like Arrays and Session Variables.


Going to make "programs" like;


* quiz


* Secret number


* Story generator


* Math problems


So any suggestions on what else we could do or further problems would be great!
What's the goal of your project (i.e. what will you get good grades for)? To make use of particular programming techniques in a clever way ("Visual Web Developer, Language C#", "Arrays and Session Variables") or to actually make a good website ("create a website for children to entertain and teach them an easier way to learn")? If it's the latter, then I think you're already failing. "quiz", "Secret number", "Story generator", "Math problems" and similar things don't necessarily teach anyone anything about how to learn learning. Of course, since we're talking about "children" (a term which can mean many different types of user) here, you can't just go ahead and explain how to learn, most children would probably not be interested in that kind of "training". Instead, you can reach your goal by making children experience that it can be fun and useful to learn, for example by telling an interactive story in which a cat can be saved from a tree by solving a math problem (this is probably a bad example, the story MUST be highly entertaining and funny, or otherwise the child will get bored easily).

you'll want big colourful (yet tasteful) buttons and an easy to see cursor for a start
Not necessarily. The goal isn't to have big buttons, it's to make the software easy to use for children. So, the goal simply is to create a navigation that even people who have never used a website or even any electronic device before can use (in other words, a navigation just like any other good navigation ;) ). Children typically aren't blind and/or dumb, they may just lack experience and interest. Children who will be using the website will either a] know how to use the Internet or b] have someone next to them who showed them how to get there. You can start from there, because IF the child doesn't know how to use a website, a real person who already knows the child and can see the child's reactions will be able to explain how to use a website better than you ever could do through the website (This is not an excuse for bad design though!).


The other effect that "beautiful" buttons can have when you're working with children is to make them want to click these buttons. In any case you want to make clear that buttons of a particular menu (including the "main menu") "belong together", for example by not giving every button another color (unless for some carefully sorted out stylistic reasons or to make the brain associate a particular button with specific hints).


Also, when making websites, never EVER do you want to mess around with user preferences, e.g. by dictating the use of a specific cursor symbol/size or using a fixed text size. Even if you absolutely HAVE to, it's typically only acceptable for a limited period of time, and only if no other solution can be found.

Ok, the goal of the project is to show what we have learned, but yes, I want to show it in a clever way that's not too hard.


She mentioned that we could make an online store, and that was a good idea, but I couldn't see it from what we have learned..


So we in the group thought it would be nice to make a website for children were they could be entertained and learn!


understand where I'm going with this? :p
 
First problem up:


I'm making a quiz which is going to look like this;


Question


[Radiobutton] option1


#[Radiobutton] option2


[Radiobutton] option3


[Radiobutton] option4


The # will mark the answer as correct and I have no idea where to start!


I've read I could just write the questions in a .txt file and then "open" it in Visual developer instead of writing it in there.
 
First problem up:


I'm making a quiz which is going to look like this;


Question


[Radiobutton] option1


#[Radiobutton] option2


[Radiobutton] option3


[Radiobutton] option4


The # will mark the answer as correct and I have no idea where to start!


I've read I could just write the questions in a .txt file and then "open" it in Visual developer instead of writing it in there.
Huh? I fail to see the essence of your question. What have you already tried, what has failed? And, most importantly, you're not proving that you have tried everything you could before seeking for help, which makes your question look like a "you do this for me" "question", so you might not get as many useful answers as you wish you'd get.


What exactly do you mean by "I have no idea where to start!"? Why does the "#" sign mark the correct answer - is it just for clarification here or is this an internal data structure that you're using? The explanation you provide is rather vague. If you don't know what I'm talking about and/or have no idea how to create more helpful questions, you could try reading How To Ask Questions The Smart Way.
 
First problem up:


I'm making a quiz which is going to look like this;


Question


[Radiobutton] option1


#[Radiobutton] option2


[Radiobutton] option3


[Radiobutton] option4


The # will mark the answer as correct and I have no idea where to start!


I've read I could just write the questions in a .txt file and then "open" it in Visual developer instead of writing it in there.
Huh? I fail to see the essence of your question. What have you already tried, what has failed? And, most importantly, you're not proving that you have tried everything you could before seeking for help, which makes your question look like a "you do this for me" "question", so you might not get as many useful answers as you wish you'd get.


What exactly do you mean by "I have no idea where to start!"? Why does the "#" sign mark the correct answer - is it just for clarification here or is this an internal data structure that you're using? The explanation you provide is rather vague. If you don't know what I'm talking about and/or have no idea how to create more helpful questions, you could try reading How To Ask Questions The Smart Way.
I'm sorry, early morning!


But the problem is that I don't know where to start! And The example is just how I imagine how it would look like.


So I have failed to have the knowledge where to begin, and what I've not failed, is googling.


The # is just a mark, it has no internal meaning. Like I want the correct text to become green.


So I thought I'd use labels for the questions and answers, and radiobuttons for options.


So If I could get a push how to start out, I think I could manage to do the rest? :p


I'm not asking you to do this, that's not the way I want to do this (Only fools yourself), but I ask for guidance! :)


And I will surely get back on that link! Read just a little, too tired right now, sorry! :p
 
So If I could get a push how to start out, I think I could manage to do the rest? :p
I'm not sure if that's what you are searching for, but one of the best places to start at when developing with Microsoft tools is actually http://msdn.microsoft.com/ . From there, you can choose the "web" pane, which will get you to various sample codes and instructional videos that are meant to explain web development using Visual Studio 2010.
 
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