Besides reading some papers to learn more about children and social networks, this week I had the opportunity to draw some illustrations to complement my partner Angelica's new story for KidGab. It felt very good to draw after so many months of not doing so. As I don't quite enjoy using PhotoShop for drawing purposes, I decided to buy a new program called Clip Studio Art. Though it took a little of getting used to going back to drawing digitally (my last pieces of work have all been traditional pieces), I am really loving the program! Something a little bit disappointing was the fact that I was not able to get the Wacom Cintiq that I was lent working with my laptop because I was missing an adapter, but Dr. Hammond generously lent me a Bamboo tablet that I could take back to the apartment to work from there if needed.
In addition, I got to help out Stephanie with the Digital Friendship Program. Specifically, we "crashed" a Girl Scout sleepover. It was a lot of fun introducing the girls to KidGab and obtaining feedback from them. I particularily enjoyed this experience because it was kind of like a one-on-one with them, so hearing their feedback and examining their reactions as they used the website was extremely useful. We obtained many requests for new items, quizzes and stories. This gave me many ideas, including the possibility of integrating a currency system and a marketplace to KidGab so that users can obtain currency for participating in the website and buy items with that currency. Angelica also suggested adding games, which I agreed would be a great addition to the social network. By the end of the week, we visited another camp to introduce KidGab to some of the girls, although this time it was during the daytime. It was my first time ever being at camp, so it was interesting seeing the activities and how the dynamics of the Girl Scouts go (their songs, mannerism, etc).
For this second camp, I got to visit the city of Austin, Texas, and I must say I absolutely loved it! The view is beautiful and reminded me a lot of Puerto Rico because, rather than being flat like most of the places I have been to in the states, it had many hills and a lot of green. I hope I have the opportunity to visit again someday to explore the city. Around the middle of the week, I received a phone call from my boyfriend's mom, who offered to come pick me up the upcoming Saturday on their way to Dallas to visit my boyfriend (who is at Dallas doing an intership with Texas Instruments). Of course, I accepted the invitation and am very excited to get to see all of them again! I also made plans to visit my best friend at Fort Worth for 4th of July weekend, which I am also super excited about because I haven't seen her in a whole year.
Seems like my summer keeps getting more and more exciting!