John A. Paz at P2PU Badge Maker

posted message: Here is a list of suggestions to improve the course a bit. I may add to it later. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BJCZ56yZidnYz8eZ-Wz9awGlUv1ZCPwphn7riQrntTw/edit

21 Jun 2012 via courses.p2pu.org

7 Comments

Comments

Jos said:

Hi there,

thanks for your comments. Your document is not editable so I could not make any comments on it. With regards to the graphic, we do not intend to limit people's creativity but we want the badge to be compatible with the Open Badges Initiative.

We also wanted to make it as easy as possible for people with no gaprhics knowledge to start from a template. People with that knowledge will not need the template, and any other explanations would make the challenge harder to complete. But if you want to create a challenge to show the different design parts of a badge, and alternative tools, we'd be very happy with it. We initially had three different tasks related to graphics and we cut it down to just one.

I don't understand what you mean by 'avoid including links within the body of the task'. You mean that we should not link to other relevant parts of the Internet within a Task? Isn't that the very nature of hypertext?

on June 22, 2012, 5:31 a.m.

John A. Paz said:

Jos,

I changed the Google Doc permissions, my apologies for not doing so from the beginning.

And I think I mispoke a bit about the format of the badges, or at least my meaning was not communicated how I intended. Really I was nit-picking the language used, not necessarily the suggestion. Because the image itself needs to be square, but the badge you design can be just about any shape. The difference doesn't seem important, but I just imagined a user who goes out and designs an odd-looking square badge. But really that problem is avoided with the video, so if ain't broke don't fix it. It's preference I guess.

I thought about making that challenge actually, glad you suggested it. Because trying to go through the tutorial seemed like it would take longer than if I just took a stab at it with what I know how to use.

I'm impressed with your admission of scaling back your course! I generate content for end-users at my day job, and I know the first instinct is to throw everything at a user so they get what they need. But in the end, less is more.

About the links: Again, a preference. Part of my concern with that is people like myself who are prone to wandering the internet could follow those links and ultimately abandon the course.

I thought about how to address this, or if it should be addressed at all. An alternative is to have a "Resources" section at the end of the task/course to provide people with those references.

on June 22, 2012, 8:48 a.m. in reply to Jos

Jos said:

Hey John,

I understand now, but that is the wandering nature of the web and I am a big fan of linking, although I do get your point; just a matter of preference.

There's always this connection between abandoning a course and failure; I tend to disagree; if someone abandons because through those links they have found something else they rather be doing, it would be a sign of success. They might not finish this course but they are getting a benefit out of it right away, and that is what really matters (to me anyway).

cheers,

José

on June 22, 2012, 9:46 a.m. in reply to John A. Paz

John A. Paz said:

Jose,

I get you, I really do. I kind of came to that conclusion while I was writing my last response; if I find something more interesting following those links, that can still be a "teachable moment."

Hopefully we, as course designers (well, me a potential course designer...), develop content that is compelling enough to keep the users around long enough to finish.

I appreciate the dialog friend. Cheers, and good luck.

John

on June 22, 2012, 10:36 a.m. in reply to Jos

Jos said:

Nice talking to you too! :)

on June 22, 2012, 10:57 a.m. in reply to John A. Paz

Vanessa Gennarelli said:

Hello to you both!

@John, I'd love to work with you on such a challenge like "design best practices." It's well to remember that a badge is both the visual design and the assessment underneath it, so this Challenge attempts to cover the whole.

Thank you for your thorough feedback John. I appreciate your eye for more precise language.

@Jos: your feedback above was totally stellar.

on June 22, 2012, 12:52 p.m. in reply to Jos

John A. Paz said:

Any chance I can haz some "Helpful Feedback Badge" love? Still looking for my first

on June 22, 2012, 1:03 p.m. in reply to Vanessa Gennarelli

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Jos said:

John A. Paz said:

Jos said:

John A. Paz said:

Jos said:

Vanessa Gennarelli said:

John A. Paz said: