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List:       kde-usability
Subject:    Re: How about a first-time interactive tutorial?
From:       Sander Devrieze <s.devrieze () pandora ! be>
Date:       2002-08-22 12:07:51
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Op donderdag 22 augustus 2002 13:21, schreef Alistair Davidson:
> Not sure where to insert my comments into this thread so I'll just do a
> general email...
>
> I don't like the idea of testing users before giving them a tutorial. It'll
> be boring (even if it's short), possibly confusing to absolute newbies, and
> generally bad.

You are right.  But it can added as an option: you don't have to do the test 
but it's better for you later if you do.  Otherwise there is an other 
solution:  adding some A.I. to the whole tutorial.  For example:  the first 
lesson is a "mouse-lesson".  The user reads the comment very fast and moves 
the tank directly in one click.  The tutorial can display in that case (in 
place of a part the rest of the mouse-lessons) a screen that says that you 
are good(and play a "tada-sound").  It can say also that you maybe don't have 
to do following marked tests and that if you click on aply that they will be 
skipped.
If the user moves the mouse slowly/not normal, clicks a few times not correct 
and/or,... the AI will see that and it shall not skip lessons before he sees 
it's going better(maybe he will ask to restart the lesson(or a part) if he 
sees that there are problems.

This A.I. makes a profile transparant to the user and can support the user 
better(like a real teacher).  This A.I.-tutorial would be a succes in the 
media I think and maybe a good reason to release a kde4.0 ;-) ...It's only 
very hard to make I think...

> My preference would be for the tutorial to include a list of lessons,
> grouped together naturally, so an experienced user can glance down the list
> and think "Oh, I'd like to watch that lesson"

Both.  At every place in the standard automatic-teaching-tutorial there has to 
be a link to a list off all the tutorials and vice versa.

> My other thought is that the best tutorials (and the only ones used very
> often, to my knowledge) are computer game tutorials.

I agree:  *User-supporting* games with maybe a little bit A.I. to support the 
user better/skip lessons that are normally borred for that user.

> The way these work,
> usually, is that a box will pop up saying something like "Click here to
> move your tank",

Also kids and weak persons will use the tutorial:  so, no warthings for 
example!

> with an arrow pointing to where you should click. It then
> waits for you to click, the tank moves, and the box for the next action
> pops up.

But it's a good idea...

> I think this is by far the best way of doing tutorials, because it's
> interactive right the way through, and the lessons will be easier to
> remember because you've performed the task.

When you enjoy it, you will remember it better...

> Not only that, but it should be
> simple to store the whole thing in XML files and i18n it.

Maybe that the lessons(games, pictures,...) can also be different par 
language...

<snip>

ok

-- 
Sander Devrieze.
Jabber ID: sander@jabber.at

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  1:38pm  up  1:05,  3 users,  load average: 1.05, 1.04, 0.93

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