Many people on our excellent active Beta Testers Team have agreed that one of the most important things we can do to make LIDA more usable to more people is to provide a complete set of tutorials.
And I agree.
LIDA is an amazingly powerful piece of software, but as with anything this powerful comes an almost overwhelming level of complexity. If not handled correctly, through a well-designed user interface AND a good set of tutorials, This complexity will only lead to confusion, and confusion will cause people to turn away from using LIDA.
We don’t want that.
Therefore, our recent development efforts here in the LIDA offices (a designated spot in my house) have been to get started on the LIDA tutorials.
The first phase in developing a set of tutorials for ANY complex system, such as LIDA, is to figure out WHAT to teach, or more accurately, what you want your users to know and be able to do.
Where We Are Now (Feb 2020)
I n figuring out the WHAT, I have been building an outline of topics that users of LIDA will definitely need to know. As of this morning, on Leap Day 2020, this outline is eight pages long.
Yep, that’s just the outline.
I have gone through all aspects of LIDA and wherever there might be a question on what someone needs to do and how they should go about it, I have added that as a topic in the outline.
Our Beta Test Team has been an OUTSTANDING resource in this area, as many of the questions they have asked, “How do I … ?” have made their way into topics in the outline, to be made into LIDA tutorials.
This is where the wide variety of experience levels among our Beta Testers has come in so very handy, because questions asked by someone who only uses a computer because they HAVE to will be much different than the questions asked by someone who is, for example, a database guru.
All these questions are valid, and indeed essential to know what tutorials we need to provide for new users, once LIDA is released to the world.
What’s In The Future
Soon, probably today, I will begin writing the scripts for these tutorials, and as soon as I have a script, I will begin the recording. Recording? Yep. I have found, as very likely you have as well, that VIDEO tutorials are much more user-friendly to watch and follow than written tutorials. If there turns out later to be a demand for written (web page) tutorials to go along with the videos, we can certainly provide that.
In my years of experience producing videos since 2009 (see my tutorials channel here), I have found that the surest and best way to produce videos that are watchable and listenable is to first spend time crafting a good script.
As I write the script, I go through the program, performing the actions being taught, and edit the writing so it is as clear and unambiguous as possible. Anyone who has ever been a teacher or parent knows – if there is any possible way for someone to misunderstand what you say, they will.
My procedure with tutorials such as these LIDA tutorials will be is to record that script first using a good audio recorder, then edit that audio recording so it flows smoothly. This involves removing ums, ahs, hesitations, repetitions, and “dead air.”
Once the audio recording is in good shape, I import it into Camtasia and begin recording the screencast segments to illustrate and demonstrate the narration.
But that’s not the end of it. Once I have the audio and screencast segments in place, I still need to add the intro and outro graphics and work in appropriate zooms, pans, callouts, and highlights to focus the viewer’s attention where it needs to be, enable easy understanding of where I am on the screen, and illustrate points to be sure they are clear.
Yes, that’s a lot of work. You can roughly estimate that it will take an hour of work for each minute in the final video. This means a four-minute tutorial will require about four hours of work to produce.
The Bottom Line here is that the LIDA Tutorial Videos are not going to be quickie, slam-bam out-the-door videos that wind up doing more confusing than clarifying. They will be high-quality, professionally planned and produced, pedagogically correct tutorials that ought to make LIDA eminently usable for just about anyone.
Anyone, that is, who bothers to watch the videos. (Can you see me raising my eyebrows and looking at you over the top of my glasses?)
The timeline for these tutorials? I am targeting one to two per week. It may be more, it may be fewer, but that’s the goal. I currently have 25 tutorials in my 8-page outline document, but I’m sure that number will grow as more questions come in.
HELP!
Yes! I DO need your help! I need every Beta Tester (now) and every user (when LIDA is released) to ask me ANY questions they have about how to do things in LIDA.
Of course, if you ask me how to do something I have already made a tutorial on, the first thing I will ask in my response to you is “Have you watched the tutorial I already made on this?” And if you get embarrassed by that, well, sorry, but …
The very best tutorials for any topic always come from the live users. These are the people who are trying to use the product (LIDA), and who are encountering a question as they try to do their work.
Okay, folks. Time to get to work. Get into LIDA and let me know any questions you have, and any questions you think a new user might have.
Thanks, and take care.