The readings about how to use technology to produce better pathfinders and tutorials really interested me. I remember how last semester, in 647, one of our assignments was to create a pamphlet teaching how to use a particular database. Knowing how to use a utility to annotate screenshots would have been beneficial to the assignment, rather than having to use a long text description underneath each of the screenshots explaining what actions the user should be taking. I also thought how the assignment could have been extended beyond producing a flier for the database, which is nice and all, but not something that the average user is going to turn to right away, and instead of or in addition to the flier producing an online tutorial of the sort that a user of an online resource is going to expect to find (and which would fit nicely into our online portfolios, by the way). One thing I worry about for online tutorials with voiceovers, like the one described in the Yelinek et al. article, is how accessible they are to users who, for whatever reason, aren't able to use the sound on their computer. This could be because they are deaf, their computer doesn't have working speakers, or because their only access to a computer is in a public lab where noise is prohibited. If vital information is being provided through the sound, and not duplicated in any other way, like through subtitles or a transcript of the tutorial being made available, then people who cannot use sound are missing out.
I also liked Veldof's discussion of the instructional design process. It does sound overwhelming at first and like a lot of work "just for a workshop," but really, it's just an application of the scientific method to a social science. Make background observations about what needs to be done and the environment in which it must be accomplished, make a hypothesis about the best way to teach the required skills, design an experiment that includes measurable outcomes, carry out the experiment, and use the results from the experiment as background information for your next round of experiments. And with each iteration of this process, the amount of background information the experimenter has increases, making designing and implementing future experiments much simpler.
You have a point about screencasts not being useful for everybody...this is when the written out pamphlet would be more useful, such as your database assignment example from 647. (I took this class, too.) Of course, it would be ideal if libraries could offer multiple formats of tutorials, but what happens when librarians are crunched for time? Which sort of tutorial would be best? I would argue that the screencast tutorial is most efficient, because it would be the closest to getting help in person at the library. For those patrons who have difficulties with access to sound, perhaps they would still be best helped by a live person.
ReplyDeleteI also thought the pamphlet for 647 wasn't quite enough help to actually benefit students. I plan on doing the same database for my screencast tutorial, and I think it will end up being much more helpful than showing them a few pieces of paper with screenshots on them and lots of text instructions. Even for those who are hard of hearing, the tutorial could still be more helpful. It's almost as if you have someone going through the same process you are at the same time. So even without sound, you can follow the movements. I'm hoping my tutorial will be much better than my pamphlet.
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