Design Team/Designs/Activity Management
01
back | next
File:Activity management-01.jpeg
The Home screen is a place from which to launch new or recently used activities. The child's favorite activities surround their XO, while their current activity is shown directly beneath it, consistent with the other zoom levels. Scaling of both the ring and the icons within it allow up to 40 activities to be shown.
02
File:Activity management-02.jpeg
An addition to the XO menu provides a quick and easy link directly to a library containing additional activities. The activities available depend on the child's level of connectivity: local, to a school server, or to the internet. A single click will download a new activity and place it within the ring.
03
File:Activity management-03.jpeg
When the machine boots, the Journal is the current activity. The Journal's palette provides useful information about its status, including the number of entries it contains as well as the remaining space.
04
File:Activity management-04.jpeg
A child may launch an activity simply by clicking its icon in the ring. The palette for an activity offers to start the activity privately, with a friend, or publicly (and later with a specific group). It also reveals the most recent instances of the selected activity, allowing the child to resume one directly from Home view.
05
File:Activity management-05.jpeg
The toolbar within the Home screen contains two view options: radial and list. The cluster view palette provides the option to "invert" the view, giving preference to resuming activities instead of starting new ones.
06
File:Activity management-06.jpeg
When the alternate view is selected, the icons in the ring take on the colors of the most recent instance of each respective activity. Activities which haven't yet been instantiated — including any just installed — remain as gray outlines.
07
File:Activity management-07.jpeg
The palettes for the activities now reveal first the most recent activity instances. The option to start a new instance, again in any sharing scope, lies at the bottom.
08
File:Activity management-08.jpeg
As the mouse hovers over a listed instance, the icon in the ring takes on its colors to indicate that selecting it will secure its position as the most recent instance of the activity.
09
File:Activity management-09.jpeg
Once the child selects an activity, its icon appears beneath the XO and pulses until the activity loads.
10
File:Activity management-10.jpeg
The search field within the toolbar allows a child to seek out any activity installed on their laptop, including those not shown in their ring of favorites. It presents the option to create a new instance of an activity, or resume a recent one. If the particular one they desire isn't shown, the "More in Journal" button will take them directly to a complete list of matching activities.
11
File:Activity management-11.jpeg
The child's running activities appear at the top edge of the Frame, adjacent to the zoom levels. Their position in the Frame makes them easy to access from anywhere, which also makes switching activities more natural. Additionally, the child may interact on them directly: for instance, they might drag a friend from the Neighborhood onto an activity icon to invite them.
12
File:Activity management-12.jpeg
As the Journal is always running, it is also always available from the Frame.
13
File:Activity management-13.jpeg
While clicking on any activity in the Frame will focus it, they also have palettes with additional options including a means to share or stop them.
14
back | next
File:Activity management-14.jpeg
The list view of Home provides a filterable list of all activities installed on the machine. Those which the child stars within list view appear as favorites in the ring. Activities will be starred by default when downloaded to make them immediately available from the ring, but may later be removed as the child sees fit.