Hello!
As we move forward with e-learning environments more and more focus is being put on the user interfaces. And why not! they are our portal to all the content which is on offer. But the main concern with user interfaces is always the same:
- Should the interface be dynamic?
- How much customization should the user be allowed to do?
- Do we create a custom interface for this content, or try to use an existing one?
Time and time again user interfaces are always being rebuilt for different applications, each different style of lecture seems to merit a different delivery method.
The main question which should be ask here is how can we cut down on the development time, ensure the solution is reusable and most of all make sure it is easy to use.
Look what this can do!
Most dynamic interfaces are generally difficult to use and as a result of this people never really bother to use them. Think of all the different elements which make up a dynamic interface. Most of them i’m sure you won’t even realize are present in your interface.
The usual culprits are background colours, re-sizable borders, the dragging and dropping of
different panels. How many of these do we really need? Why not consider, how many of these actually have some sort of effect on the users experience.. does it actually have any impact at all?.
Consider a new product..
Imagine you are about to start tomorrow, you have all the freedom in the world to create any interface you want and really unleash that idea which has been burning in you for the last few months. What would you do?
Stepping away from all the standard implementations and all the completely over the top ideas which do nothing more than distract and confuse the user. What is that middle ground?… Now we are getting where we need to be!
~ Kyle
Hello,
On the 24th of November, Moodle 2.0 was officially released! As this is the next step for Moodle, now its time to ask:
Where is e-Learning going next?, What is the next step?.
E-Learning has shown massive growth in the last 5 years, with no stopping in sight. Like all software related projects, consideration always needs to be given to what needs to be fixed, but most importantly what needs to be dropped.
Sometimes, great ideas can get caught up in implementations which over time begin to actually prevent a true great idea from really reaching its full potential. To prevent this
from happening is a lot harder then it sounds than to simply rethink and start again.
Existing installations, compatibility and whole host of other issues are all brought to the table during the early stages of redeveloping but sometimes a line needs to be drawn in the sand for the next version, as was done with Moodle 2.0.
The Early Years
In the early years simply adding a hyper link to a HTML page was considered an e-learning, take a moment to consider how far we really have come.
- Additional authentication added to sites
- Online text editing tools
- Dynamic course pages
- Modular environments
- Communication tools
- Forums
- The list goes on…………
So much has been added and so many times concepts have been taken, implemented and only slight changes have taken place. This can be looked at from different sides though.
Why change something that is already working?
We have been told every day of our working lives that we should not under any circumstances re-invent the wheel (re-implement for us programmers!) because as we all know that costs money and spending money on programmers is the last thing we already need on a time constrained and over budget piece of software.
But sometimes there are exceptions!
Sometimes ideas do get caught up in implementations, sometimes concepts never really
get proven or shown to their full potential because of the back log of problems. Weighing up
the cost now and benefits of innovative solutions being implemented should always be considered.
New ideas should always be considered and tested. Moving to the point we currently are at
in e-learning only happened because those ideas were implemented. So many great plug-ins which have been developed for Moodle have been lost in a wash of other never considered for core release plug-ins.
Basic core functionality of a system should only remain basic if time really is not there to implement other ideas.
So as we move into the next mile stone in Moodle, lets consider Moodle and other e-learning environments current status. Are we stagnating for perfect basic functionality or are we truly moving towards the next step.
~ Kyle.
Hello,
Welcome to my e-Learning, programming and development blog.
I have a passion for programming and learning, and thats exactly what this blog is
all about!. Over the next while, I will post various different manuals on different e-Learning and Moodle related topics.
Until then,
~ Kyle
Kyle Goslin's Blog 