Module 5: Using Personas and Maps to Craft Instructions
Readings for Module 5/Week 5 of Class
Required Readings
Reading 1: Chapters 1-3 of Rocket Surgery Made Easy (Course Textbook)
These first three (3) chapters of Steve Krug's Rocket Surgery Made Easy overview many of the basic ideas covered in the first four (4) modules/weeks of class. As such, they provide a good review of ideas we will begin to examine in terms of application -- or using user-research to identify and meet usability and design expectations -- when creating materials (e.g., instructional materials) based on such research. As you read these chapters, consider how the ideas they cover connect to concepts and approaches examined in prior modules/weeks of class as well as they connect to the product development topics we will examine in Module 5/Week 5.
Reading 2: Guidelines for Developing Instructional Materials
To gain an understanding of how to develop instructional materials for different contexts, we will review the following
Reading 3: Ideas on Pre-Testing and Post-Testing
Once individuals have developed instructional/training materials for an audience, a key question to address is "How do you know if individuals can use these materials effectively?" The answer involves surveying users prior to a using instructional materials to determine how well they can perform a given process that is the focus of the instruction. (This initial text of how well or how quickly individuals can perform this process is known as pre-testing.)
Once individuals have reviewed the instructional materials, they are again tested on how well, quickly, or effectively they can perform the related process. (This follow-up testing is called "post-testing.") Ideally, if individuals do better on the post-test (after using materials) than on the initial pre-test (done before the using), then you have an indicator that the instructions were effective/usable, for the individual learned how to do something s/he either could not do before or was able to do that task more quickly and effectively. For these reasons, pre- and post-testing practices are important aspects to consider when assessing the usability of instructional materials and the effectiveness of the personas and script-persona maps used to create them.
The readings in this section overview these ideas of pre- and post-testing and include the following entries:
Reading 1: Chapters 1-3 of Rocket Surgery Made Easy (Course Textbook)
These first three (3) chapters of Steve Krug's Rocket Surgery Made Easy overview many of the basic ideas covered in the first four (4) modules/weeks of class. As such, they provide a good review of ideas we will begin to examine in terms of application -- or using user-research to identify and meet usability and design expectations -- when creating materials (e.g., instructional materials) based on such research. As you read these chapters, consider how the ideas they cover connect to concepts and approaches examined in prior modules/weeks of class as well as they connect to the product development topics we will examine in Module 5/Week 5.
Reading 2: Guidelines for Developing Instructional Materials
To gain an understanding of how to develop instructional materials for different contexts, we will review the following
- How to Write Clear Instructions -- This entry (from wikiHow) provides an introduction to the aspects to consider when developing instructional materials for others. It also overviews a process for developing instructional materials. In so doing, the entry presents certain formatting, wording, and content suggestions relating to how to write effective instructions/develop effective instructional materials.
- Instructions: Tell Them How to Do It! -- In this entry (from PrismNet), focuses on the specific aspects of creating instructions after reviewing the more general approaches in the prior reading from wikiHow. This entry reviews kinds of instructions, provides more focused ideas and information on formatting instructions, and notes content to include in instructions (e.g., graphics).
- Guidelines for Communicative, Learner-centered Instruction -- This reading focuses on specific aspects of developing instructional materials and examines the use of specific language and approaches to constructing sentences when developing instructional materials. It allows us to refine earlier and more general ideas of developing/writing instructions seen in the earlier readings for this module/week.
Reading 3: Ideas on Pre-Testing and Post-Testing
Once individuals have developed instructional/training materials for an audience, a key question to address is "How do you know if individuals can use these materials effectively?" The answer involves surveying users prior to a using instructional materials to determine how well they can perform a given process that is the focus of the instruction. (This initial text of how well or how quickly individuals can perform this process is known as pre-testing.)
Once individuals have reviewed the instructional materials, they are again tested on how well, quickly, or effectively they can perform the related process. (This follow-up testing is called "post-testing.") Ideally, if individuals do better on the post-test (after using materials) than on the initial pre-test (done before the using), then you have an indicator that the instructions were effective/usable, for the individual learned how to do something s/he either could not do before or was able to do that task more quickly and effectively. For these reasons, pre- and post-testing practices are important aspects to consider when assessing the usability of instructional materials and the effectiveness of the personas and script-persona maps used to create them.
The readings in this section overview these ideas of pre- and post-testing and include the following entries:
- Pre and Post Testing: This entry (from the Learning Technology Dissemination Initiative) provides a quick but effective overview to what pre- and post-testing are, why they are used, when such testing is used, and how it is used. As such, this entry is a good initial introduction to and provides a good overview of these processes.
- Guidelines for Pre- and Post-Testing: This article (from I-TECH) both provides more in-depth discussion of what pre- and post-testing are as well as provides foundational information on how to develop and administer such testing as well as discusses the kinds of questions one might use in such testing and why. As such, this entry builds upon the initial information in the prior reading on pre- and post-testing by presenting information that can help us better conceptualize those earlier ideas and apply those initial concepts.
- Pre- and Post- Testing: This final reading (taken from Boston University Medical Campus) uses a checklist-style format to summarize the ideas covered in the earlier readings as well as present them in a way that is easier to implement once understood. This final entry also presents and effective summary of how to collect data from such testing and how to use this data to review and improve the design and delivery of training materials.
Other Module 5/Week 5 Materials
To access other materials for Module 5/Week 5, click on the related link below