Innovations in E-Learning: Can I afford this?

I suffered somewhat last week with my critical evaluations. I had the flu, and then I spent the weekend in Wales where there was intermittent technological interference. Luckily I have been to Builth Wells before, and knew in advance there would be poor internet connection, so I downloaded my reading to make use of my free time. (which consisted of about 1 hour in the evening!).

Anyway, I realised then how dependant I have become on my access to the internet. I was frustrated that I couldn’t download the wonderful links that were appearing in the forums, or couldn’t access the forums themselves. Have I really become such a junkie in such a short space of time?

So affordances. The properties of the world defined with respect to people’s interaction with it. (Gaver). It appears that I am already immersed in ‘affordance’ without knowing the term. I am an impatient technology user. Unless something is easy to determine, I tend to get frustrated really quickly. Unless it’s something I really want to learn to do. Like the webcasting last week, where I was determined to host my cast somewhere, so I was happy to spend all day figuring it out. The same with html. When I need to use it, I learn it.

One of my main complaints from my first viewing of our new elearning package was around usability. The instruction to go to the next page was the bottom of the screen, but the next button was at the top of the screen. You click the icon for sound, and it gave you the play bar. This is the kind of thing that makes me mad. This then interferes with me reviewing the content. (This is highlighted in Laurillard case study, that if the interface is not simple then it takes over the task.) This is also true when I send documents or resources to review. The vast majority of those reviewing comment more on the spelling and syntax, rather than looking at the content, so I have to give clear instructions about what they should be reviewing.

Thinking about how technology influences behaviour, I think about emails. Who hasn’t received an email that has upset them, because they have read it in a totally different way to how it was written. And who has accidental sent the email that they probably shouldn’t have, at an emotionally charged point. Or who knows people who send emails instead of talking face to face. The problem with email is that it doesn’t convey the emotions that face to face or a telephone call can. I used to hate the use of emoticons. But now, having engaged in more online chat, I have realised that they can be of great importance in conveying emotion. I have adapted my behaviour through experience.

I like Gaver’s idea about affordances being explored. I like to develop the way I use my technology, as and when I need it. Like blogging. This is changing day by day, as I decide how I want to use it, and discover new ways to adapt my message.

In the meantime, sometimes the best designs cannot overcome our behaviours….