Point of Need Assistance:Incorporating help pages and tutorials into Online Archival Resources

Jane Scales, Distance Degree Librarian Washington State UniversitySteve Borrelli, Instructional Design Librarian Washington State University

Session topics:

• Barriers to Access

• Building Tutorials: expectations

• Instructional Design

• Designing Effective Online Resources Design Principles Evolution of Tutorials Today’s Tutorials

• Software Available

Barriers To Access

Basic Archival Principles

Foreign Environment

Lack of Understanding of Archival Services

Challenging to Navigate

• Difficulty reading archival records• Language

• Nature of Archives make them challenging to navigate:

Building Tutorials - What should you expect?

• Time consuming

• Cost (depending)

• Considerable planning and thought

• Learning a new software

• Collaboration and technical assistance

• Revisions

• Maintenance

Building Tutorials - What should you expect?

• A tool to help your online visitors navigate your site more effectively.

• Resources that explain and illustrate important concepts and terms to budding archivists.

• A game or fun activity that promotes an interest in archives to younger audiences.

• An instructional tool that incorporates archival material to teach a concept not specific to archives.

• A display case of interesting material to inform people about your collection – a “tour.”

ACTIVITY

• Why Did They Build It?

Instructional Design as a Discipline

• Is a branch of knowledge concerned with research and theory about instructional strategies and the process for developing and implementing those strategieshttp://www.umich.edu/~ed626/define.html accessed May 10, 2007

Instructional Design as a Process

• Is the process of analysis of learning needs and goals and the development of a delivery system to meet those needs http://www.umich.edu/~ed626/define.html accessed May 10, 2007

How do you Design Effective Instructional Online Resources?

Deliberately

Through application of instructional design models.

Instructional Design Model(s)

• A n a l y z e

• D e s I g n

• D e v e l o p

• I m p l e m e n t

• E v a l u a t e

• Instructional Design Models

Design Principles:

• Language speak in the vernacular

• Avoid Jargon

• 1st person plural vs. 3rd person singular

• Provide interactivity

• Prefer the simple to complex

• Balance between breadth and depth

Design from the perspective of a novice user & remember user disposition

Design Principles continued:

• Keep it short Don’t try to provide a comprehensive tool

• Chunk: Each chunk can be viewed as a short tutorial in itself Provide interconnectivity to areas covered in other

“chunks”

Fact: Users look for the quickest and easiest path to accomplish their task.

Keep Design Flexible to User Experience:

• Provide a defined structure that reflect objectives

• Continuity: maintain language and structure throughout

Establish visual characteristics for elements (text boxes, tips, quiz questions, etc.)• Shape, size, color, frequency• E.g. links are typically blue and underlined

Consider User Need Based Progression

• Design to allow for sequential and non-sequential progression:

Menu based and chunked

Narrative; dialogue based with interactivity

Taxonomy increases scent

Combination of above

Evolution of Online tutorials:

• Early tutorials (1st generation) were:

Static (mostly html pages)

Linear

Images were ancillary to text

Text heavy

Little interactivity

Exhaustive

Today’s Tutorials (2nd Generation)

•Interactive •Paths and sub paths nested within•Animation (flash)•Pace is designed augmentable by user•Images •Examples•Simple language•Succinct as possible.•Entertaining to a degree

Point of Need AssistanceSoftware Options

Adobe Captivate

• Features

• Educational Pricing

• System Requirement and File Format creation

• Evaluation software version

TechSmith Camtasia

• Features

• Educational Pricing

• System Requirement & File format creation

• Evaluation software version

• Learning Curve

• http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia/why.asp

• Samples: http://www.blackberrymadesimple.com/free_trial_new.shtml

• http://www.newtek.com/3dact/videos/guidedtour/3dactNewGT.html

• http://www.iaresearch.com/videos/MM6DEMO.html

Qarbon ViewletBuilder

• Features

• Educational Pricing

• System requirements and file format creation

• Evaluation software

• Learning Curve

• http://www.qarbon.com/features/case-studies/viewlets/usps/flash/Outlook_viewlet_swf.html

Summary:• Take a user centered approach!!• Know your audience• Address barriers to access:

Avoid using jargon; provide a glossary let users know what archival services are available

• Design your project using an ID model (ADDIE)• Write to express not impress• Prefer simple to complex• Include interactivity• Be creative and entertaining