Assignment Description

In this assignment, you need to apply what you learned in the in-class exercises to demonstrate your skills of launching a virtual machine on Google Cloud Platform to host and manage an eCommerce website, PrestaShop.

Prerequisite

· You have claimed your Google Could Platform (GCP) coupon code and received $50 credit for you to use GCP

· You have completed in-class exercises and watch a former student’s entry, so you know how to launch a virtual machine to host a PrestaShop (eCommerce software) website

· If you missed any prerequisite, you must learn from your group classmates.

Steps to complete this assignment

Let’s assume that you want to create tutorials to teach someone how to use Google Cloud Platform to launch and manage an eCommerce site. Creating screencasts (teach back screen recordings) is a good way to show people how to perform different tasks on a computer. Now, follow the following steps to complete this assignment.

· Step 1: Learn how to use a screen recorder 

o Use this recommended screen recorder: www.screencast-o-matic.com (SOM).  Of course you can use any other screen recorder you are familiar with e.g. Comcast.

o Here are tutorials you will find on the official Screen-O-Matic website

§ http://help.screencast-o-matic.com/channels/cD6qqL3yt#navback

§ http://help.screencast-o-matic.com/channels/cD6qq83yu#details-co6hFtf9Pe

· Step 2: Complete the following tasks 

o Task 1: Use SOM to record how you launch a new virtual machine to host a PrestaShop (eCommerce) site on GCP (25 points)

§ At the beginning of the recording, introduce yourself and the topic of your video

§ Sign in to GCP console

§ Use cloud launcher to find PrestaShop Certified by Bitnami

§ Launch a virtual machine (micro, 1 shared vCPU with 0.6 GB memory) in “us-west-1” zone with 10 GB SSD Persistent Boot Disk

§ You can pause the screen recording when your virtual machine is being setup

§ When your virtual machine is up and running, resume your screen recording to show the front-end and back-end (where you can manage your e-shop) of PrestaShop

§ The front-end is a customer’s view of your e-shop. e.g., click on the IP address like http://35.199.164.117/ (your IP address is different) to link to your website

§ The back-end is the user-interface that you can manage your e-shop website. You need the username and password to access it. e.g., http://35.199.164.117/administration (find the link and click on it in Deployment Manager or you can copy and paste the URL on a web browser as also provided by the Example from a former student.

§ Name your video (screencast) properly

§ Upload your video to YouTube in “unlisted” mode as shown by the Example

o Task 2: Use SOM to record how you change a new theme for your e-shop (25 points)

§ Launch the SOM recorder and start recording the following steps

§ At the beginning of the recording, introduce yourself and the topic of your video

§ During the recording, you can pause at any time (e.g., when you are waiting for downloading a file) to keep the video short

§ Use Google to search “PrestaShop free theme” such as free themes from Apollotheme.com (you may need to sign up an account)

§ Download a free theme that supports PrestaShop version 1.7+ to your computer

§ Go to PrestaShop back-end and click on “Design” and then on “Theme & Logo

§ Click on “Add new theme”

§ Locate the theme file you downloaded (it is usually a zip file) and save it

§ Check if the new theme listed in Theme & Logo

§ Mouse over to the theme and click on “use this theme”

§ Go the front-end (refresh it) and check if the theme has been changed to the new one

§ Finish recording, name the video and upload it to YouTube

o Task 3: Use SOM to record how you add a new product category and add three products in the new product category for your e-shop (25 points)

§ Launch the SOM recorder and start recording the following steps

§ At the beginning of the recording, introduce yourself and the topic of your video

§ During the recording, you can pause at any time (e.g., when you are waiting for downloading a file) to keep the video short

§ Go to PrestaShop back-end and click on “Catalog” and then on “Categories”

§ Click on “Add new category”

§ Input category name and description and click on “Save”

§ Check if the new category is listed in Categories

§ In the same back-end, click on “Catalog” and then on “Products”

§ Click on “NEW PRODUCT”

§ Add “image”, “category”, “product description”, “pricing”, “shipping” and “quantities” for each product

§ You can pause recording when you are adding the second and the third product

§ Go the Products list and show you have successfully added three new products

§ Finish recording, name the video and upload it to YouTube

o Task 4: Use SOM to record how you add a new discount rule (cart rule) for your e-shop, so your customers will get discounts when their orders meet certain criteria (25 points)

§ Launch the SOM recorder and start recording the following steps

§ At the beginning of the recording, introduce yourself and the topic of your video

§ During the recording, you can pause at any time (e.g., when you are waiting for downloading a file) to keep the video short

§ Go to PrestaShop back-end and click on “Catalog” and then on “Discounts”

§ In Carts Rules tab, click on “Add new cart rule”

§ Input “information”, “conditions” and “actions” for the rule, and then click on “Save”

§ Click on “Catalog Price Rules” tab. Click “add new catalog price rule”

§ Input “information” you need to apply the rule and click on “Save”

§ Check if those rules are successfully created.

§ Finish recording, name the video and upload it to YouTube

· Step 3: Submission

o Copy the following information from the Deployment Manager in GCP and YouTube and paste them on a Word document

§ The site address of your PrestaShop website

§ The admin URL of your PrestaShop website

§ The URLs of YouTube videos that you created for each task

§ Do not use screenshots here, so I can click on those links to grade your work

o Due date: 09/02/2018 at 11:59 PM

o Save the Word document and submit it to Blackboard on the “Upload Assignment #4 Here” space.

Tips for creating screencasts 

· Make sure you know how to perform each task on GCP and PrestaShop

· Organize your ideas of how to present your tutorials

· Rehearse your presentation (Practice makes perfect!)

· Keep your screencasts short and sweet (see the guideline in the high-quality screencasts section).

· Set your YouTube video(s) as “Unlisted”, so other students cannot find your video(s) on YouTube and copy your work

High Quality Screencasts

Screencasts is a quick yet effective way to demonstrate new products and features. They instruct the viewer on various topics from a mentor’s view. A badly produced screencast creates an unpleasant and frustrating viewing experience. Worse, such an experience might confuse the viewer, ultimately failing to original task of instructing the viewer on how to do something. The following patterns serve to help screencasters who wish to produce high quality screencasts without too much time and effort.

· Rehearsal script

Make a written draft of your screencast script. Just like a good instructor who has an agenda of what he would teach for a particular lesson.

· Short & sweet

Set a time limit on how long the screencast should take. This allows you to focus on the content at hand without spending too much time on the inconsequential parts of screencast.
As a rule of thumb, a good screencast should not be longer than 5 minutes. A short and focused screencast is easier for a viewer to follow.

· Slower pace

To demo something new to viewer, make a deliberate effort to take about twice as long as you normally would to complete the task. Be sure:

o Do not move the mouse too fast to follow;

o Enunciate your words with a slower pace;

o Briefly pausing to allow the information to sink in;

· Video and audio

A Screencast with both video and audio helps users better understand the instruction. Please record both video and audio (your explanation) in your screencasts. Do not use a computer to read a script!

· Synchronization

Make sure the screen shown is synchronized with your narration. Some viewers may get confused if the screen is not corresponding with the audio description.
Reference
Chen, N., Rabb, M.: A Pattern Language for Screencasting. 16