2020 VW: #VWEDU: Student onboarding for the online campus: Treat onboarding as a use case with its own skill set. Use-case analysis. Identify and teach the skills.

Student onboarding for the online campus:   

Treat onboarding as a use case with its own skill set.  

Use-case analysis.  

Identify and teach the skills.

Recommendations on onboarding plans for beginners entering virtual worlds for remote learning or remote meetings.  

Onboarding place
in 3DWebWorldz

• 3DWebWorldz onboarding place
• This place can be incorporated into any online campus.

Use-case analysis

• Use case.
• Use-case analysis.
• That's computational thinking.

Use-case analysis for this case

• Describe a detailed scenario of what the beginning user needs to do.
• Identify each needed action and the skills required.
• Caution: you must get the novice viewpoint, not yours.
• E.g.: "Click the Login button."  You know where the Login button is.
• The novice has to find it.  
• If you cannot easily see from the novice point of view, don't try.
• Get a few novices and have them follow the onboarding procedure.
• Have them talk aloud about what they are wondering at the moment.
• Developers: this is how you debug the instructions.  
• How do I fix it?  (After the break)

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It is easier to fix the software than the instructions

• That's for software developers.  
• If novices have trouble finding the Login button, you could fix it in the instructions:
• "The  Login button is on the bottom line a bit to the right of center."
• That may work until the developers move it.
• Why would they not move it?  They don't know that users have trouble finding buttons.
• They thought they fixed that with hover text on the buttons. 
• But hover text is useless until you find the button.
• Or they could fix in the software (html).  
• Not flashing: that can cause epileptic seizures in a few people. 
• My suggestion: Color all buttons yellow; 
• Make green any buttons that are ready for action.

Designs for instructions

• Once you hear lecture about swimming, you never forget what you learned about lectures. Talking is not teaching.
• The power of the quest for learning. Turn learning into a quest.
• Scenegate beginner's instructions: for people coming to a class or meeting in OpenSImulator. DTA content
• Newcomer welcome coach: Basic skills needed promptly
• Basic skills needed for attending a meeting or class in a virtual world. 

The game model

• Make it into a game 
• "Virtual Learning Village" Actually a virtual village for real learning in a collaborative and interactive environment.
• Use-targeted learning plan for schools in digital worlds. Learners can pick the skills they need for the uses they intend. Gamified as a model
• A gamified learning plan for starting students and teachers in web-worlds. A strawman version.
• The merit of badges: Define a useful skill set, specify a goal, give public recognition of skills.
• The learning game and the conquest of the Lims.. The generic education game. What can the Digital Teaching Assistant manage?
• Any learning task in school is a game if you want it to be. Turn study into a game
• Teach a concept with a game. A use case for web-worlds.
• If they made games like the educational system, would anybody play?

The JIT model

• Computational thinking in preparing instructions: Design thinking: Use-case analysis: Micro-learning JIT learning
• Teaching with hypertext. JIT learning. Adaptive learning. Active learning
• Design for JIT help: Search on page supports for learning from a computer
• Newcomer welcome coach for OpenSimulator. Suggested design and text for JIT instructions to beginners. A DTA content page
• Starting in CybaLOUNGE. A DTA content page designed for JIT learning

Onboarding place 

• 3DWebWorldz onboarding place

Which is the best?

• No need for "either-or" thinking.  On the internet we can think "both-and".
• Probably no one model fits everyone.  For busy people the JIT model may be best.
• If i were designing it, I would probably start with the onboarding place. 
• And put there web links to the other options.  
• Note that there could be multiple onboarding games to fit multiple gamer interests.
• My guess is that adults with work experience would favor the JIT model.
• And students in K-12 or college would mostly favor the games.

Learning objectives for VW onboarding

Starting

• Starting in digital (virtual) "worlds": Instructions for the casual user. Use-case planning. Design thinking
• Starting in CybaLOUNGE. A DTA content page designed for JIT learning
• Scenegate beginner's instructions: for people coming to a class or meeting in OpenSImulator. DTA content
• Newcomer welcome coach: Basic skills needed promptly
• Basic skills needed for attending a meeting or class in a virtual world. 

Social

• Develop your contacts list. DTA content page
• Communications tips for OpenSimulator. A DTA content page
• Community onboarding for the virtual worlds: Using a web-world

Travel

• Travel tips for the Hypergrid. A DTA content page
• Ingrid (within a grid) Travel tips for OpenSimulator . A DTA content page

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Visit me on the web

• Drop by my web offices Weekdays: 12:-12:30 pm Central time (US)
• I am available for free consulting on any topic in this blog.
• Cybalounge and 3DWebWorldz (Orientation room)
• I will be in both places, so you may need to speak to get my attention.
• Web-worlds, 3D virtual worlds running in a browser. Summary
• And we can visit the Writer's Workshop on the Web
• Don't register -- enter as guest.  

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License

• Original text in this blog is CC By: unless specified public domain.
• Use as you please with attribution: link to the original.
• All images without attribution in this blog are CC0: public domain.
• Screenshots from ShareX
• Second Life, Linden, SLurl, and SL are trademarks of Linden Research Inc.
• Annotated screenshots made with Techsmith Capture
• This blog is not affiliated with anything.   Ads are from Google.
• Selby Evans in Kitely and Hypergrid, Thinkerer Melville in Second Life.