User talk:Inkyfingers/Getting Started(1)

FLOSS Manuals

Please explain why we link to a separate download for .pdfs when they are available at FLOSS Manuals? --FGrose 10:49, 5 December 2011 (EST) I archived them a while ago when the web page for floss manuals was not working. (Spare local location of .pdf's) satellit_ 9:57, 5 December 2011 (PST) http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Sugar_Creation_Kit#Floss_Manuals

OK. I suggest we treat it as a spare location rather than the preferred location, because, unless the backup is a mirror automatically tracking FM changes, it is a fragile storage arrangement. Bernie can advise on this.

It might be handy to have a Floss Manuals page in our wiki, which could provided a custom list of links to their .pdfs (along with a footnote about the backup location). For example,

• Sugar
• Terminal Activity
• et cetera

--FGrose 14:49, 5 December 2011 (EST)

I did not know about those (Edit: at the point when this idea started). I included the directory of .pdf to illustrate how to download a file from a known directory. The exercise was quite illuminating for my tester. --Inkyfingers 18:41, 5 December 2011 (EST)

I can see the technical improvement that has been made to Getting_Started/Explore#Configuration. However please could you review User:Inkyfingers/Getting_Started(1), which I have adjusted, bearing in mind that my presentation is almost-a-tutorial and tries to avoid links off-site.

Use of English: almost-a-tutorial, is not in my dictionary. Do you mean insightful walk-through? --Inkyfingers 04:41, 7 December 2011 (EST)

A tutorial is good, but should be entered by choice, as the style is so different. Perhaps the declarative guidance appears and it is followed by a collapsed tutorial section or a link to a section on a separate page of tutorials. --FGrose 15:35, 6 December 2011 (EST)

My model: Switch on, here is the manual. The sane thing to do is to read the manual. In reading on the reader trusts the editor to provide an insightful walk-through. The product is a children's educational tool. An editor is required to provide appropriate content. --Inkyfingers 04:41, 7 December 2011 (EST)

Please forgive my misunderstanding of your intention. Although I suggested a similar model in this comment, the wiki Get started pages serve in a different context, but could integrate tutorials in secondary views. --FGrose 19:10, 7 December 2011 (EST)

I have also preferred to avoid hiding links that go off-site. My reasons are to avoid distraction, simplicity, and orientation.

This can be useful in context, however, the standard wiki style includes a large number of hyperlinks for reader-directed, non linear navigation, best determined by the reader, as is common on Wikipedia (described here). Within this context, one learns to follow hyperlinks only for a reason, rather than because they have been presented. Within a tutorial, one presumably submits oneself to the navigation of the author, so links that may distract would be carefully chosen. --FGrose 15:35, 6 December 2011 (EST)

The links to the Floss manual seem entirely appropriate. The link to olpc:Sugar_Control_Panel#Access_the_interface is the only link with which I have difficulty. I see that http://en.flossmanuals.net/sugar/ch007_home-view/ would not make a good alternative. The other bug with the "current" version, is that reference to USA keyboard is hidden on opening. Sugar on a Stick/Explore is direct and helpful in addressing the keyboard issue to users outside the USA. My first motivation Talk:Getting_Started line 1, was to highlight this helpfulness, the "current" version obscures. --Inkyfingers 18:12, 7 December 2011 (EST)

My attempt was to show how to reach the My Settings controls as fixed content under the Configuration heading (with a link available for more complete visualization and instructions), and then allow the readers to reveal additional topics that interest them. Keyboard layout, Internet, Frame, ... could each have expandable sections. --FGrose 19:10, 7 December 2011 (EST). I agree, that is sound. --Inkyfingers 06:48, 8 December 2011 (EST)

To clarify or repeat - keyboard settings is critical to successful deployment for non-USA users. --Inkyfingers 06:48, 8 December 2011 (EST)

Please compare:

1. If you need to change this, you need to right click the Learner icon and click on My Settings on the pop-up menu. If required, there is help here.
2. Hover the pointer or right click the Learner iconin the Home view, and then click on the 'My Settings' item on the pop-up menu.

In my view, to a new learner, the second looks like an instruction to follow the link - adds complexity. --Inkyfingers 10:03, 12 December 2011 (EST)

linking tutorials

Take a look at my 3 new screen-shot full wiki pages: Sugar Creation Kit/sck/Introduction to Sugar Interface, Sugar Creation Kit/sck/Connecting to the Internet, Sugar Creation Kit/sck/Drag-Drop; I hope that this format is useful. satellit_ 5:47 AM 8 December 2011 (PST)

Yes, the wiki can provide a good collaboration space for documentation. We should advise the XO/Sugar Manual/Help Activity team of those and these Get started pages. --FGrose 14:38, 8 December 2011 (EST)

Done satellit_ 11:47 AM 8 December 2011 (PST)

I suggest that this testbed page re-enter the 'Under construction' tag while more design and presentation ideas are explored. --FGrose 15:35, 6 December 2011 (EST)