ictonline

The failures of systems and how to design things that do not get in the way

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Some recent emails to me about the resetting of passwords on edublogs has got me thinking about  the new online technologies still getting in the way of online learning instead of gradually disappearing as a source of frustration.

This idea of  simpler technologies not imposing distracting extra cognitive load on learning - was one of the points we were looking at in last weeks LMS online discussion in session 5  - the argument summarised there went that the simplified form filling of wikis and blogs allowed online communication between people on the web for learning ang other things - without them having to learn how to make web pages to communicate - so the assumption or implication is (not agreed o by all) is that learning about web page design is becoming a thing of the past. This is despite my own efforts  to in elluminate how to make webpages using Komposer and css templates last week. (it became  a difficuly task when I could not find the template site).

But for now just to get past the password resetting problems first - an alternative to the way that has been tried by many in thir emails to me - that is different is to go to this address
http://edublogs.org/wp-login.php?action=lostpassword

and then enter your username or your university email address

Then wait to see if the email comes through to your student email address at the uni with a new password rather than a reset page link (give it 5-10 minutes) and make sure to check your junk / spam mail box too!

Use the new password and then go to the instructions in our own wiki to change the password to something you will remember more easily.

But I also did want to emphasise that there have been recently enormous breakthroughs in the simplification of making web pages via Web 2.0 software - and that the resetting problems encounter by some might seem to be off putting enough to say that maybe this simplification may to some extent still gets in the way of learning much like learning web page design and there is still a requirement for lots of calm persistence and patience and supportive cross suggestions for solutions or possible other simplified methods.

So even the simplest systems like those at edublogs need some explaining for people/students to become comfortable enough with for them to use them for learning.

The explaining might be considered to be like the practicial tutorials that I have suggested (there are also possible theory based tutorials you can do as well)  for assignment one - There are of course many ways that these tutorials might be made available or done but they should attempt to be as non intrusive and easy to follow and access as possible and again not step in the way of the real content learning. 

So a design feature you might be hoping to achieve is make instructions or tutorials as  transparent or invisible asossible  - that is to say so that the requiremetns of the technology do not get in the way of learning the thing or area of content that is the real focus of the online learning. ( We are lucky in this subject our whole purpose is to look at these technologies and see how useful or how distracting they are.

But when something like this free blog site at edublogs sends out  reset password messages that do not work when the user follows the instructions given then we need to ask are we still at the point of having to teach technology first before teaching other content.

What do you think? How off putting is it ? and maybe what suggestions do you have for how we get around these sorts of issues or technological glitches?