All with the Software tag

A colleague has been working to streamline student worker training for Access Services in the University of Dayton Roesch Library. Initially, they sent links to Kent State University and Carnegie Mellon University's training to see if we could do something similar. In Kent State's case, their JavaScript code was homegrown and used SortableJS and CMU built their game using Flash and ruffle.

That following weekend, I put together this little MVP - try it out! The initial version was designed for a large, high-resolution monitor, so it is not a great experience on mobile. Improvements are incoming as we will link to this training/game from Isidore and use it this fall (2023).

This is a JavaScript solution using the Dragula library for the drag 'n drop functionality, a JSON structure for easy modification of the tasks, and template literals to build the books and shelves. At the moment, there is no internal logic to determine the correct order; order is specified by the JSON structure.

Upon completion of the training, the user can input their name and the jsPDF library will generate a basic certificate with a pixel aesthetic. This can be uploaded as part of the training process to confirm the training was completed.

Repo: https://gitlab.com/dabeeler/call_number_training_game

This project was inspired by and took some design cues from the following projects:

• Kent State University - Library of Congress Tutorial - Call Number and Shelving
• Carnegie Mellon University Libraries - Flash Games - Within Range

I had the opportunity to assist with the "Juggler of Our Lady" exhibit at the University of Dayton Roesch Library by incorporating two pieces of technology. One aspect of this was a television displaying a looping slideshow to provide context to and display an animation. Near this television, we mounted an iPad to an old lectern to display hand-drawn storyboard panels of a different animation of the same story. Although both displays used RevealJS, a wonderfully easy-to-use presentation framework, the iPad also incorporated a pan-zoom library so the attendee could interact with the panels. I also developed a basic engagement tracker for the iPad display, recording sessions. These displays were easy to integrate into the exhibit and can be easily modified for future exhibits.

Unity-based application for iPad intended to serve as a supplement to facility tours but was ultimately shelved before release. It was designed to provide attendees with facility information through 360° images, videos, and fact sheets. For most of the project, I served as the sole developer and regularly met with the client and stakeholders to discuss content and interface/experience design. Our client provided static design files, and I used those assets and 3D models of buildings to create a hybrid 2D/3D application.

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RIXAN is a local automation company that builds cells for manufacturing companies, but in this case, the customer was the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. MSI was planning a Robot Revolution exhibit and commissioned various displays from different companies. In our case, we built a cell where the user could scramble a Rubik's Cube, provide it to the robot, and the robot would solve it. My FANUC programming experience from MLPC was Teach Pendant based, but this project taught me how to communicate directly with the controller, read the current status of the system, and activate specific routines. As this system was going to a museum, it also required two displays: a guest display visualizing the user-provided cube as the robot solved it and an operator/maintenance display. Thankfully, a Rubik's Cube solver already existed, so my work focused on integrating the robotics, vision system, and solver into one cohesive unit.

In collaboration with the Dayton Early College Academy (DECA) and the Dayton Art Institute (DAI), a mechanical engineer colleague (Scott Cornell) and I mentored a student group in the fabrication and software development of an art exhibit. I directed the students in the development of a touchscreen interface using VB.NET which would provide a way for attendees to interact with the exhibit.