Caitlin Kelleher
Randy Pausch
ABSTRACT
Users of traditional tutorials and help systems often have difficulty finding the components described or pictured in the procedural instructions. Users also unintentionally miss steps, and perform actions that the documentation's authors did not intend, moving the application into an unknown state. We introduce Stencils, an interaction technique for presenting tutorials that uses translucent colored stencils containing holes that direct the user's attention to the correct interface component and prevent the user from interacting with other components. Sticky notes on the stencil's surface provide necessary tutorial material in the context of the application. In a user study comparing a Stencils-based and paper-based version of the same tutorial in Alice, a complex software application designed to teach introductory computer programming, we found that users of a Stencils-based tutorial were able complete the tutorial 26% faster, with fewer errors, and less reliance on human assistance. Users of the Stencils-based and paper-based tutorials attained statistically similar levels of learning.
- Alice. http://www.alice.orgGoogle Scholar
- Baecker, R., Showing Instead of Telling. In Proc. Of SIGDOC 2002, ACM Press (2002), 10--16. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Bartlett, J. Transparent Controls for Interactive Graphics. WRL Technical Note TN-30, Digital Equipment Corporation, Palo Alto, CA, July 1992.Google Scholar
- Bier, E., Stone, M., Pier, K. et al. Toolglass and Magic Lenses: The See-Through Interface. In Proc Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques 1993. ACM Press (1993), 73--80. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Bier, E. Stone, M. Fishkin, K. et al. A Taxonomy of See-Through Tools. In Proc CHI 1994. ACM Press (1994), 358--364. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Booher, H.R., Relative comprehensibility of pictorial information and printed words in proceduralized instructions. Human Factors 17, 3 (1975), 266--277.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Carroll, J. and Carrithers, C. Training Wheels in a User Interface. Communications of the ACM 27, 8 (1984), 800--806. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Carroll, J. and Rosson, M. The Paradox of the Active User. In J.M. Carroll (Ed.), Interfacing Thought: Cognitive Aspects of Human-Computer Interaction. MIT Press, Cambridge, 1987. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Carroll, J., Smith-Kerker, P., Ford, J., and Mazur, S. The Minimal Manual. IBM RC 11637, 1986.Google Scholar
- Catrambone, R. and Carroll, J. Learning a Word Processing System with Training Wheels and Guided Exploration. In Proc CHI/GI 1987, ACM Press (1987), 169--174. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Conway, M., Audia, S., Burnette, T., et al. Alice: lessons learned from building a system for novices. In Proc CHI 2000, ACM Press (2000), 486--493. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Dann, W., Cooper, S. and Pausch, R. Learning to Program with Alice: Beta Version. Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA, 2005.Google Scholar
- Designing Coachmarks. http://www.developer.apple.com/techpubs/mac/AppleGuide/AppleGuide-24.htmlGoogle Scholar
- Fishkin, K. and Stone, M. Enhanced Dynamic Queries via Movable Filters. In Proc CHI 1995. ACM Press (1995), 415--420. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Goodall, S. Online Help: A Part of Documentation. In Proc SIGDOC 1992, ACM Press (1992), 169--174. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Goodall, S. Online Help in the Real World. In Proc. SIGDOC 1991, ACM Press (1991), 21--29. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Guzdial, M. Software-Realized Scaffolding to Facilitate Programming for Science Learning. Interactive Learning Environments 4, 1 (1995), 1--44.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Harrison, S. A Comparison of Still, Animated, or Nonillustrated On-Line Help with Written of Spoken Instructions in a Graphical User Interface. In Proc CHI 1995, ACM Press (1995), 82--89. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Hudson, S., Rodenstein, R., and Smith, I. Debugging Lenses: A New Class of Transparent Tools for User Interface Debugging. In Proc UIST 1997, ACM Press (1997), 179--187. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Jackson, J., Krajcik, J. and Soloway, E. The Design of Guided Learner-Adaptable Scaffolding in Interactive Learning Environments. In Proc CHI 1998, ACM Press (1998), 187--194. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Knabe, K. Apple Guide: A Case Study in User-Aided Design of Online Help. In Proc CHI 1995, ACM Press (1995), 286--287. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Kramer, A. Translucent Patches. In Proc UIST 1994, ACM Press (1994), 121--130. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Looser, J., Billinghurst, M., and Cockburn, A. Through the Looking Glass: The User of Lenses as an Interface Tool for Augmented Reality Interfaces. In Proc Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques. ACM Press (2004), 204--211. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Palmiter, S. and Elkerton, J. An Evaluation of Animated Demonstrations for Learning Computer-based Tasks. In Proc. CHI 1991, ACM Press (1991), 257--263. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Palmiter, S., Elkerton, J., and Baggett, P. Animated demonstrations vs. written instructions for learning procedural tasks: A preliminary investigation. International Journal of Man-Machine Studies, 34 (1991), 687--701. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Quintana, C., Eng, J., Carra, A. et al. Symphony: A Case Study in Extending Learner-Centered Design through Process Space Analysis. In Proc of CHI 1999, ACM Press (1999), 473--480. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Rieman, J. A Field Study of Exploratory Learning Strategies. Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction 3, 3 (1996). 189--218. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Schneiderman, B. Direct manipulation: A step beyond programming languages. IEEE Computer 16, 8 (1983), 57--69.Google Scholar
- Selker, T., Barber, R., and Kelley, R. Effective, Selective Presentation of Help Material in a Graphical Environment: Experience with COACH/2, a graphical adaptive help system. IBM Tech Report, 1996.Google Scholar
- Shashaani, L. Gender-Differences in Computer Experience and its Influence on Computer Attitudes. Journal of Educational Computing Research 11, 4 (1994), 347--367.Google Scholar
- Soloway, E., Guzdial, M., and Hay, K. Learner-Centered Design: The Challenge for HCI in the 21st Century. Interactions 1, 2 (1994), 36--48. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Sukaviriya, P., Isaacs, E., and Bharat, K. Multimedia Help: A Prototype and an Experiment. Ext. Abstracts CHI 1992, ACM Press (1992), 433--434. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Wallace, R. Soloway, E., Krajcik, J. et al. ARTEMIS: Learner-Centered Design of an Information Seeking Environment for K-12 Education. In Proc CHI 1998, ACM Press (1998), 195--202. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Windows Family. http://www.windows.com.Google Scholar
Index Terms
- Stencils-based tutorials: design and evaluation
Recommendations
Community enhanced tutorials: improving tutorials with multiple demonstrations
CHI '13: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing SystemsWeb-based tutorials are a popular help resource for learning how to perform unfamiliar tasks in complex software. However, in their current form, web tutorials are isolated from the applications that they support. In this paper we present FollowUs, a ...
Improving learning transfer from stencils-based tutorials
IDC '11: Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Interaction Design and ChildrenTo support children learning to use new software applications independently, tutorial systems should prevent errors and ensure that users are able to transfer tutorial skills to a new context effectively. In this paper, we describe the formative ...
Help-based tutorials
SIGDOC '08: Proceedings of the 26th annual ACM international conference on Design of communicationThe consensus of the documentation literature is that users rarely use help, usually preferring to muddle through. To increase use of help, tutorials for novice users could be changed from guided presentations toward using the system's actual help ...
Comments