New NBOR Player adds sound
NBOR (no Boundaries or Rules) has released a new version of the NBOR Player 2.5 that adds audio to the animated demonstrations in the previous player. This is a bigger download (~40 MB which took 5 minutes on my cable connection at home) but the audio adds another dimension to understanding what the Blackspace environment is capable of producing.
For example, it's one thing to watch the "silent movie" version of a slide show being created. While marvelling at what appears to be a simple sequence of clicks and drawn lines to produce the slide show, I kept trying to grasp the techniques being used. With narration, it's all a lot clearer. "Draw a blue line intersecting just the photos you want to include in the slide show to select them," says the narrator while I'm watching the animation play out.
Suddenly a light bulb comes on - "Oh, okay... if I select blue from the color palette and draw a line in a file selection area, that's how I select multiple items. Kind of like Control-clicking."
The redesigned web site, while still very dense with text, now offers printable versions of many of the pages if you're more comfortable with that way of absorbing the nuances of this new space. That will be particularly helpful for those with smaller monitors - keeping two or three instances of Blackspace open to watch, read, and experiment is best done on larger, high-resolution displays.
For those with slower connections, the previous player (version 2.1) is still available without the audio and is about half the size.
I wrote last week that Denny Jaeger, the visionary behind NBOR, was a guest on my weekly radio show last weekend. In our conversation, Denny's excitement about the project and the impact it has had on his testers (especially K-8 students at a number of schools) came through very clearly. He continually reinforced the idea that Blackspace completely turns our expectations of what software can do and how it does things upside down.
He explained that the tools have purposely been designed to be few in number and rich in capability. That the notions of menus, files and documents, and individual applications that do one thing do not exist in Blackspace. It's an exciting and challenging idea. One that will require a "leap of faith" for those of us with many years of application-specific computer use.
But I see the potential this "paradigm shift" has for kids. The reaction from my son Jason (12) and the other kids I showed Blackspace to is quite different from the one I get from most adults. Kids are immediately drawn to the "how can I do this" line of inquiry when they watch the Dyomations (NBOR-speak for the animation sequences where the software "[plays itself").
Adults tend to try to fit Blackspace into the context they've come to know and it's definitely square-peg-in-the-round-hole time when that happens. I done some searching on the web and in blogspace to see what others think about NBOR and Blackspace and I see the same division in thinking. Some see the very exciting potential and wonder what this new environment will enable users to do. Others, I think, miss the point by trying to compare it to MS Office or other mature applications they are familiar with.
I agree with some of their concerns. The interface is still quite primitive and could use some interaction design work to make it more intuitive and polished. The web site needs better balance bewteeen text and graphics and a more organized structure. I'm optimistic that these changes will come as the company gets the product finished and begins receiving feedback from a larger audience.
But one thing I learned in my interview with Denny is that the initial markets NBOR is focused on are primary education students and small business document creators. I think the creative potential and flexibility Blackspace offers outweighs the rough edges.
Here are the extensive instructions on the download page to give you some idea of the steps involved in downloading, installing, and beginning to use the NBOR Player. Note the references to printable pages I mentioned earlier.
Instructions for using the NBOR Player 2.5:
STEP 1: Watching examples of NBOR Media in action
When Blackspace launches, you will see the same grid of 24 squares that appears on the Home page of this website. Just click on each one to watch a Dyomation of various aspects of NBOR in action. When you're done, left-click on the switch called "Media Examples" to close up this grid. When you want to see the grid again, click on this switch again. (About the NBOR Player provides specifics on how Dyomations work.)
STEP 2: Watching examples of NBOR Text in action
Left-click on the switch called "Text Examples." A grid of 8 squares will appear. Just click on each one to watch a Dyomation of how easily NBOR text can be used and manipulated.
STEP 3: Overview of how Blackspace works
Left-click on the switch called "Overview." The following switches appear in Blackspace: "Click here first," "Load Log VDACC," "Helps," "Playing Event Dyomations," and "More things you should know."
"Click here first" takes you to "Welcome to the NBOR Player"
"Load Log VDACC" explains the four entries that appear in the Load Log VDACC, which appears when you left-click on the "Help" switch.
Within "Helps," you'll find "Presentations," the Quick Helps, and "Loading a Log." Just click on each one. Within "Presentations," select either "Universal Tools" or "What you can do in Blackspace you can't do anywhere else." (NOTE: printable versions of these two documents are provided on this website under "How does Blackspace work?" to your left.)
"Playing Event Dyomations" provides valuable tips.
"More things you should know" talks about system requirements, use of tools, etc.
STEP 4: Getting Started on Your Own Blackspace Creations
We've provided you with four ways:
The Quick Helps, which are the simplest way to learn how to use NBOR's Universal Tools. Just click on the "Help" switch to access the "Load Log" VDACC and select "Quick Helps." Then click on each one, read the instructions and watch the Dyomations.
Guide to the Picture Matrix with the steps for each of the 24 Dyomations presented in the "Media Examples" grid. Available on this website under "How does Blackspace work?" to your left. (A printable version is provided.)
Guide to "What you can do in Blackspace you can't do anywhere else" with the steps presented in each of the "NOTES" switches you'll find in this Presentation document. Available on this website under "How does Blackspace work?" to your left. (A printable version is provided.)
Guide to "Universal Tools" with the steps presented in each of the "NOTES" switches you'll find in this Presentation document. Available on this website under "How does Blackspace work?" to your left. (A printable version is provided.)
NOTE: A Glossary of NBOR Terms is also available on this website under "How does Blackspace work?"
Before you begin:
We suggest you launch Blackspace again - so you have two Blackspace screens open. Use the first one to read about how to perform an action or to watch any of the Dyomations. Then use the second Blackspace screen as your workspace to perform the actions. (Just click on the "Media Examples" switch to remove the 24-square grid, so you will have some open Blackspace to work in.)
The tools you'll need:
a) Click on the light blue-colored circle. Out will pop the main mode switches: RDraw (Recognized Drawing), Text, Edit, Free Draw, Lasso (Glue) and Arrow. All are fully-operational.
b) Click on the tan-colored circle. Out will pop more switches: TL (Time Line), PR (Play Rectangle), NP (Non-Proportional), PN (Proportional), DM Rec (for recording anything), DM Play (for playing slide shows, animations, etc.)
c) The VRT switch for creating VDACCs is displayed next.
d) Click on the "OS" box to display the Onscreen Inkwell.
e) Click on the "FD" box to display the Free Draw Inkwell.