Redesigning instructional tools for novice makers
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2020-08-04
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Abstract
People new to Making often struggle when instructional materials, such as written documentation or video tutorials, do not address certain difficulties they encounter. This thesis explores two examples of instructional materials for novice makers which have been redesigned to help them overcome these difficulties. The first example focuses on written documentation, often created by Makers who document their own projects, providing instructions based on tools and materials the author has which may not be available to the reader. To address this, I present MakeAware, a system designed to support situation awareness and help users make decisions about which tools and materials they can use to accomplish a task. For example, if the documentation instructs the maker to attach two pieces of the project together using screws and a screwdriver but the maker does not have these, MakeAware can help them improvise by guiding them to use a hammer and nails. The second example focuses on video tutorials which are often filmed from a single camera and cannot always capture the necessary information to understand the task. To address this, I designed a multi-camera playback interface that allows viewers to change angles during the tutorial, circumventing the visibility problems that can occur from providing only one angle. For example, in a tutorial about assembling a laser-cut lantern, the instructor’s hands often cover the fasteners between the pieces so the viewer cannot see how the attachment is made. By selecting an angle that shows the fasteners in the foreground instead of the hands when needed, the viewer may be able to better understand the process. I evaluated these interfaces in separate user studies with novice makers as participants. The first study showed that the documentation style of MakeAware helped novice makers customize the instructions to their needs. The second study showed that a video interface providing flexible perspectives could be helpful in avoiding visibility problems while highlighting that this approach may be suited to non-repetitive or asymmetrical tasks. The results of both studies provide design implications that can help us accommodate the needs of novice makers through written documentation and video tutorials.
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Stark, J. T. (2020). Redesigning instructional tools for novice makers (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.