Online tutorial methods

Doug Nelson · #1 10-12-2002, 03:39 PM

We've all seen static tutorials such as we use here on RetouchPRO (screenshot, text, screenshot, text, etc.). A lot of us have probably also seen online movie tutorials. But there are lots of other choices out there.

My questions for you are:

What is the most interesting/useful style of online tutorial for you?
Have you seen any innovative tutorial technology used?
What is the least useful style of tutorial for you?

Examples?

Remember, we're talking about delivery method, not content.

d_kendal · #2 10-12-2002, 03:49 PM

My favorite type of tutorials are PDF or Flash, since they're both easy to archive on your hard drive. I like flash tutorials, since they can be very interactive. the one downside to both of those types is that the images in them usually aren't good quality so they can be harder to work with when you're trying out the tutorial technique on the included photo(s). HTML tuts can be annoying since they're a harder to save, but the upside to them is that the image quality can be much better then PDF or Flash.

- David

Doug Nelson · #3 10-12-2002, 05:30 PM

Have you seen any good flash Photoshop tutorials?

Roger Roberts · #4 10-12-2002, 05:30 PM

David,I recently found out that I could save a whole tutorial page to a folder to access later by going to File>save as>save as type>select> web archive,single file (*.mht) and save. This may be old hat to most but new to me

.

Mike Needham · #5 10-12-2002, 06:49 PM

I tend to come from the "monkey see, monkey do" school of learning so am fond of Quicktime. Other than that I read a bit.

Ed_L · #6 10-12-2002, 07:13 PM

I've saved a lot of tutorials like Roger mentioned. But, like Mike, I like the quick time movies best. They seem to be easier for me to understand the first time around. I also have several of these saved on my hard drive.

Ed

Doug Nelson · #7 10-12-2002, 11:16 PM

I'd also like to know if people prefer reading text, or having a narrator.

Also, aren't QT movies kind of big? I remember putting up one of my own tests a year ago and no one could access it because it was almost 2meg!!!!!

d_kendal · #8 10-13-2002, 01:23 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Doug Nelson
Have you seen any good flash Photoshop tutorials?

not that I can recall, but I've seen tuts for other programs made with flash and really liked them.

- David

d_kendal · #9 10-13-2002, 01:32 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Doug Nelson
I'd also like to know if people prefer reading text, or having a narrator.

Also, aren't QT movies kind of big? I remember putting up one of my own tests a year ago and no one could access it because it was almost 2meg!!!!!

I prefer text, not really sure why, I just find it easier to understand an explanation in text, especially if it's complicated.
Now that I have DSL file size isn't a problem, but when I had dial up i usually didn't want to wait for the download to be able to watch a video tutorial.

- David

Ed_L · #10 10-13-2002, 06:01 AM

I think I have 20 quick time movies downloaded. They range from a very short 580KB to a rather long 8,826 KB. I'm still using a dial-up account, but they're worth the wait to me. If the narrator is good on a quick time movie, I prefer that over text. But either way would work just fine for me.

Ed

Mike Needham · #11 10-13-2002, 08:09 AM

Just like Flash, Quicktime streams information, so huge filesizes appear less of a problem, obviously donwloading them is another matter although having broadband makes it painless.

lodhurr · #12 10-29-2003, 07:39 AM

As far as delivery methods are concerned, there are the type where the user determines the pace and the type where the presenter determines the pace. Which type to use depends on the content. For long drawn out procedures, that will be difficult to remember (eg, something with more than 7 to 9 steps), it's good to let the users set the pace because they may be trying to follow along. For smaller things that are easy to remember, it seems to not matter...

With static pages, there are a lot of presentation styles that drastically affect how good a tutorial is. So I can't say I prefer them to anything else. Here are some features that I've enjoyed in tutorials that sported them:

Bulleted or numbered steps are good.

Full screenshots of photoshop not so important.

Screenshots of key components of photoshop good.

Before/after pictures. Nice for figuring out whether I should even bother with the tutorial.

... There are tutorial-style photoshop books at the bookstore. I think picking one of the better ones and imitating its style could be helpful...

Also, depending on the task, it can be nice to have a quick overview of the main idea behind what's going on. Then people who know enough may be able to extrapolate the full method from that synopsis.

Vikki · #13 10-29-2003, 10:06 AM

I like Quicktime with an option to download in PDF format as well.