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The Information School of the University of Washington
What the Digerati Know
INFO/CSE100, Fall 2006
Fluency in Information Technology
http://courses.washington.edu/info100/
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The Information School of the University of Washington
Questions from last class
• Podcast in iTunes
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The Information School of the University of Washington
Readings and References
• Reading
– Fluency with Information Technology
» Chapter 2, What the Digerati Know
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The Information School of the University of Washington
Learning New Tools
• How do we learn to use new tools?
– Be taught their use by someone else -- car,
bicycle, etc…
– Reading the owner’s manual -- chain saw
– Passive Observance -- vending machine
– Figure them out ourselves -- CD player
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The Information School of the University of Washington
Quick Software Learning
• Software designers want you to learn ASAP
• How? : They try for “intuitive” usage
– Consistent Interfaces -- build in experience
– Suggestive icons and Metaphors -- bypass
terminology
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The Information School of the University of Washington
Intuitive
Design?
Could you
do better?
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The Information School of the University of Washington
Consistent Interfaces
• Cars
– What would you do if they were all different?
• Software
– Functions look like another
– Software programs looks like eachother
– Re-Use ideas - what others have done
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Consistent Interfaces
The Information School of the University of Washington
Most modern applications File and Edit
menus with standard commands
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The Information School of the University of Washington
Same, but on a Mac
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The Information School of the University of Washington
Consistent Interfaces
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The Information School of the University of Washington
Computers use Metaphors
• Some familiar computer metaphors
– Desktop (folders, inboxes, etc…)
– Tree (root, branches, leaves)
– Stoplights red = stop or error
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The Information School of the University of Washington
Dance Dance Revolution
What makes it easy to use?
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The Information School of the University of Washington
Menus
What does “New” Mean?
• Most applications have the concept of a document
with:
– Attributes: date created, date modified, creator, …
– Content: image, text, sound
• “New” means create a ‘blank instance’ of a
document for this application
– A document has attributes as well as content
» All stored in one file with a place for anything
» A ‘blank instance’ is simply the structure with some of the
attributes filled in but without any of the content
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The Information School of the University of Washington
“Click Around”
• Software designers use standard ideas to
make applications intuitive
• To learn a new application, check it out by
clicking around
– Take a minute to familiarize…
» Look under all menus to see operations
» Follow the “…” for menu operations
» Try to recognize what the icons mean
• Clicking around is Exploration! :)
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The Information School of the University of Washington
A New Application
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The Information School of the University of Washington
Lets “Click Around” with Audacity
• Audacity
– 1st - What does it do:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
– 2nd - Lets see if we can learn by “clicking
around”
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The Information School of the University of Washington
“Blazing Away”
• Learn an application fast by trying it!
• Beginning with a new instance, assertively
try menu items
– Expect to fail and make a mess
– Exit the application and if you are asked to
“Save?” reply “No”
– Don’t be afraid of “breaking it”
– Try repeatedly until becoming familiar
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The Information School of the University of Washington
What does BBEdit Do?
• All I know is it is a text editor…
• Lets learn more by “blazing away”
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The Information School of the University of Washington
What else can I do to learn?
• Some times programs are intuitive
– Easily teach yourself the application
– Do so by familiarizing with features by “Clicking
Around”
– Assertively try out the features:
» “Blaze Away” observing what they do
» Be efficient -- stay focused, don’t type a lot when
you expect to exit
• What now, help?
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The Information School of the University of Washington
Built-in Help
• The help
menu is very
handy
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
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The Information School of the University of Washington
• Ask questions interactively
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
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The Information School of the University of Washington
Online Tutorials
• Where do they come from?
– Expert organizations
– Online Magazines
• Different Formats
– Interactive tools
– Step by step examples
• Often used as references
– Might support a user community - example UW
Computing Thunderbird
• Things to consider:
– Are they up-to-date?
– Are they selling something?
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The Information School of the University of Washington
Example Online Tutorials
• Skype Tutorial (3rd Party)
– http://www.laptopmag.com/Features/SkypeMade-Easy.htm
• Skype Online Help (Application Vendor)
– http://www.skype.com/help/guides
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The Information School of the University of Washington
Dummies Books
• http://www.dummies.com/
• Similar Format
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The Information School of the University of Washington
Differences & Similarities of
Applications
• Different vendors - similar software - same task
– Superficially - GUIs use similar features may look
different
– Fundamentally - task largely determines how the
software must work… they must be similar
• Implications
– If you know one word processor, you can learn others
fast
– Software differences: mostly glitz and convenience
– Don’t accept lousy tools, consider switching to other
applications
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The Information School of the University of Washington
Lets look at 2 web browsers
• Camino
• Safari
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The Information School of the University of Washington
Another Implication
• Similar applications means quicker learning
– Possibilities:
» Web Browsers - verified!
» Word Processors / Text Editors?
» Operating Systems?
» Programming languages?
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The Information School of the University of Washington
Mac or PC???
• Arguments about which is better, Mac or PC
create only create heat, no light
– They are more alike than different
– Any fluent person can use both
• I first bought a Mac Desktop, then a PC
Desktop, then an IBM Laptop, and now this
MacBookPro
– And “afew other” computers in between
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The Information School of the University of Washington
Questions
• Open, New, Close, and Save can usually be
found in the ______ menu
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The Information School of the University of Washington
Questions
• The online manual can usually be found in
the ______ menu.
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The Information School of the University of Washington
Questions
• Name an advantage of a consistent interface
from the consumer’s view?
• From the developers view?
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The Information School of the University of Washington
Summarizing
• Humans must learn to use tools
– Software designers want you to learn easily
» Good software uses consistent interfaces and menus
• Teach yourself applications by “Clicking Around”
and “Blazing Away”
– I don’t know all the features, you don’t know all the
features, and that’s okay!
• Software for a task must share core features
• Learn applications independent of vendors
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The Information School of the University of Washington
Homework 2
• Print out homework 2
• You will have to complete some tasks on 2
different computer systems (Mac, Windows,
or Linux)
– How will you ever learn?
• Due in class on Friday, Oct 6th
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