Revision Aid Next Phase

Yes it's been a while due to a longer then expected research phase amongst other things but developments are starting to move nicely again, the new web site is at 99% completion and is now going through a testing phase, once completed the existing Revision Aid app will be updated. Work has also begun on a new version which will have tons of new features and take advantage of some new advanced functionality that will also be available in the new web site.

Sitting on a cloud

Cloud servers is the new buzz word thrown about these days but this is genuinly something to get buzzed about, having ummed and arrred about how to deal with the potential large amount of images and media files a user would like to add to a quiz not to mention increasing traffic the cloud server really does offer an attractive option. Work is currently underway to move to this strategy, this has delayed the web site work a little but I beleive this is important to get right for the future of the site.

What's a cloud server and why should you care? Well simply put this offers performance improvements, unlimited media storage and the ability to expand and apply upgrades with very little downtime.

The new systems should all be in place come post the summer break ready for the next academic year.

Study web site development in full flow

The new web site which will replace the current iRevision Aid site is in full flow and about 80% completed. Expect huge improvements over the current system and Ill look forward to getting feedback on this new system when it's live.

Watch this space for more info soon.

Revision Aid - The next phase

The Revision Aid app is having a full overhall with the development, all the ideas collated over the last year from Schools, pupils and professionals out there we have a clear view of what you want to see.

The aim of the next phase development will be to have a simple to use interface while having a very rich set of functionality. Interface brainstorming is currently underway and now is the time for any suggestions you would like to see in the new version.

We have also deceided on the technology for the next phase of the web site, this will also include a greatly enhanced interface and funtionality set, both the app and web site will see some fantastic changes over the coming year.

The free version of the app has of date of posting reached the top 100 in the UK for the education section, this was very pleasing as it is incredibly hard to get noticed in the app store now there are close to 100,000 apps in the app store. Much of the last two months have been focused on a new strategy to take the application forward and hope you enjoy the fruits of our labour in the coming months.

Follow twitter for regular updates.

Revision Aid - School Trials

With Schools now back in session it's good to see some School trials have been successful with the iRevisionAid app, it's great to see how the app is helping in the classroom and I will look forward with much interest to see how this progresses.

Thanks to all involved for this development and the suggestions made for the app and online improvements. Expect to see some developments on both over the coming months.

Compatibility updates

The recent release of Snow Leopard has caused a couple of headaches as all my projects require rebuilding with new library paths, with several projects on the go this should be fun but required work to take place over the coming week.

Updates will resume for all the apps starting with these compatibility updates, these will be submitted over the next couple of weeks and available as soon as the App Store approval process allows, before the summer break this would take about a week so hopefully this will be similar for the coming development year.

Revision Aid - Online update

The online site has had the following changes applied:

   1. Twitter update widget included on login page, watch this for any announcements of possible outage and news updates,  I thought this would be a great way to keep users informed while logging in.

  2. Quiz ID is now displayed on quiz summary and question edit pages, some users found it confusing to have to go back to the main summary page to find the quiz id.

  3. Fix applied when creating a quiz, if age from/to is not entered then a specific error message is now given.

Revision Aid - Online quizzes

When creating online quizzes ensure that the age from/to is entered for the quiz, currently if left blank causes an error asking to contact support, someone has done just this which I appreciate as I can now rectify this issue.

Age from/to is mandatory fields and as so is required, it's important for anyone downloading the quiz to see what age range the quiz is suitable for, I will make this more clear and clarify this in the message in the next web site update. 

Revision Aid - Another app function added

Another user requested function has been added and submitted to the App Store for approval.

Control the text font size in the Quiz Me using a + and - located either side of the title bar, set this to what you are comfortable reading.  

Lots more changes and updates coming over the coming weeks, watch this space.

Revision Aid - Image update now live

The latest Revision Aid update is now live on the App Store, I'd love to hear any feedback on this and now past any iPhone v3.0 OS issues I can freely start looking at more updates, schemes, fonts and quiz tracking are high on the list. I hope more users will follow the twitter updates as this offers a real time way of keeping updated with developments, the latest twitter updates are shown on the left of this blog.

JSSDevelopments now on Twitter

Having recently recognized the advantages Twitter offers to keep users informed of updates I have setup a new Twitter account.

All general news and announcements will be shown in these updates including app and web developments complimenting the Blog entries.  I hope users will also give feedback on new and existing functionality and see it as a great way to keep the lines of communication open.

Follow us on Twitter.

The latest Twitter updates are also shown to the left on this blog.

Revision Aid: Testing for iPhone OS 3.0

Additional Bug Fixes for upcoming 3.0, I have invested quite a lot of compatibility testing for the soon to arrive 3.0 version of the iPhone OS and this update includes some changes to ensure the continued use of the application on OS upgrade. Other Bug fixes include: 1. Download import bar resets on new download. 2. Category choice after starting a new quiz crash fix. 3. Correct counter resets properly after choosing a post quit me selection.

Thank you for all your emailed suggestions and comments for this app. Please be rest assured that the ideas will be incorporated over coming versions but would ask for some patience while these are integrated, the current priority is getting the new update which is proving challenging with the new OS 3.0 changes to consider, these are currently in the Apple testing approval stage.

Revision Aid - Question Limits Raised

The previous question limits for a quiz was set to 50 with as many quizzes as you like, I have recently raised this to 65 questions for now, although this will expand in the future. I have made changes to both the online and the iPhone/iTouch app.

The web site has just been updated to allow up to 65 questions for any quiz and can be downloaded and played on the Revision Aid app, the update for the app to allow editing of more then 50 questions will be in the next V1.20 update.   I am currently ensuring this update works on V3.0 of the iPhone OS as Apples advice so this version will be a little longer to release then usual.

It seems the private setting on quizzes is proving popular with online users, I can understand this but I do hope that that these can be made public at some point, if not now then consider making them public in the future so others may enjoy and benefit from your work.

The next online changes will allow linking of images to questions to go with the upcoming app update, this allows image to be included in questions, my initial plan is to have html image web links to be included so you can simply link in any image online, for example include a link to your image in your online photo site store.  When downloading your quiz the linked images will also be downloaded.  Watch this space for more information and examples.

Revision Aid - More new screen shots and App Submitted

I have been playing with various layouts, the following show what these new layouts will look like, lots of options will come in future versions though.

Including images in quizzes - Example 1 *Single image usage*:

    

The above shows an example of using a single image in a quiz question, on the left shows the layout when the question is first accessed and on the right shows the layout when the image is zoomed, to zoom in on an image the user just has to tap it and then tap it again to return.

Including images in quizzes - Example 1 *Multiple image usage*

    

The above show four images used, and can be viewed in a similar manor to example 1.

The changes have been submitted to Apple today and will be available as a free update the in a week or two.

It has been quite a job to design and add this to the system but believe it is well worth the effort, I look forward to everyones comments so please let me know your thoughts and suggestions.

Revision Aid Improvements - Sneak peak

The Revision Aid editor is currently being worked on, the above screen shot show a sneak peak of the coming changes, a more sleek silver edit scheme and the ability to add upto four images to any question, multiple choice or single answer.

The user will simply press on an image and then browse the image library on the device to browse,edit and select.

During a Quiz Me Quiz the user will be shown a small image icon that can be pressed to zoom into the added question images, then touch again to return back to icon view.

This will add a lot of value to the app enabling graphics to be added for everything from driving test quizzes to fun film quizzes, add four images for the quiz taker to choose from for an answer.

The online editor will also have the ability to upload images as well in future updates so watch this space.

The current major update is due to finish over the next couple of weeks so keep an eye out for this in released updates.

I would love to hear users thoughts on these additions so please feel free to contact me with any suggestions.

iTouch problem resolved

It turns out the installation issue for the games was due to the 1st generation iTouch, settings in the store had the 2nd generation option auto-selected, I have changed this to 1st and 2nd generation compatibility which I am happy to say has resolved the issue.

All games can now be installed on 1st and 2nd gen iPhones and iTouches.

iTouch App Store

I received an email from a user who has had an issue installing an iSpot game on the iTouch, this was news to me as the apps have always installed on the devices before ok, all releases are tested on both the iPhone and iTouch devices before sending to Apple to review.   I have contacted apple regarding the issue and they are usually very good at resolving these technical issues, I shall post an update as soon as I hear when this issue has been resolved.  

This only effects iTouches and not iPhones.

Thank you to the user that has brought this to my attention.

Watch this space for updates on the problem.

Revision Aid - Web site update

Online quizzes can now have a private status set against them, I had an email this morning asking for this function and it seemed like a good essential function to have in the system. I made this a high priority as some personal quizzes are sensitive and should not be shared in the public library.

This function has now been added and available to use.

The following are the changes to the system to accommodate this change:

> Personal Library summary now has the public/private status.

> When creating a quiz you can set the quiz as private an enter password (for future app use which is not available yet).

> Quiz summary has the ability to switch the public/private status.

> The public library will NOT show our private quizzes.

I would like to encourage people to share any quizzes but understand why some quizzes should remain private, I have therefore added to my list the introduction of a password when downloading quizzes, this will apply to any private quiz and will be available in the iPhone app in upcoming updates.

The ability to enter a password in the online editor is already available however this has no real function until the iPhone app is also available.

iSpot updates

I've been busy working on images for the iSpot game range and now regular updates will be available with a minimum of 10 additional images per game every month.

I will also be looking to add an online element to the game once each game has the full 100 game images and the All Sports version a total of 400 images.

Revision Aid Updates

V1.12 of Revision Aid is now available to download and includes the much improved editing, more functionality updates are on the way, watch this space for more information.