eFurn - Engaging Standard Operation Procedures for the furniture industry.
Problem
We have all seen those notices next to machines in workshops about how to safety use the machine, but who actually reads and understands them? Not many people....
This is the problem the furniture and joinery area of the Tasmania Skills Institute faced in their workshops. The students are visual kinaesthetic people who work with their hands; they are not interested in reading an often out-of-date piece of paper stuck next to the machine.
The teachers in the area knew that eLearning often gave them a lot of potential for engaging their students, but they didn’t want to become interactive media experts. The team was successful in receiving an Australian Flexible Learning Network Innovation grant to help them make their learning resources more engaging. They used some of that funding to engage us.
What we did
We helped the furniture team design, develop and implement a series of accurate and engaging video-based Standard Operation Procedures that learners can access on a touch screen in the workshop.
How we went about it
- Video Production
We find that TAFE teachers often love to talk and often that hate writing, which makes writing scripts for videos close to impossible. What we did was get one teacher behind the camera talking and demonstrating how to use the machines safety. The teacher worked from some existing Standards Operations Procedures and reworked them when needed. We shot the video on a High Definition camera and took photographs of the details. During the shoot the video was recorded directly onto a laptop which made it easy for all to review and rework of the demonstrations on the fly. Because we are not just another video production company, we were able to offer advice on the clarity of the information and the effectiveness of the video. - Video Editing and Visual Design
Back in our office, the video was edited. We added titles to highlight parts of the demonstration, added graphics such as a large cross and overlays that showed things like measurements. Then we reviewed the edit with the teachers to make sure it was all OK. - SOP Builder and Interface Design
The video then needed to be brought together into an easy-to-use touch screen interface. The Australian Flexible Learning Network also wanted the learning assets as Learning Objects that meet their content standards. Using simple HTML pages and a bit of Flash was our solution to this technical problem.
So the learning assets could be output for a touch screen and as Learning Objects. We developed a module for the content management system, Silverstrip, which allows us to create two different templates with the same content and to be able to download all files for use off-line. Because the solution was web based it had the side effect of making it really easy for the teachers to see what we were working on and made it simple for multiple people in our office (or our subcontractors) to work on the project all at the same time.
The interface was simple and bold and hopefully, clear and easy to use. Some of the Computer Control Machines in the workshop had touch screens and we tried to make the the interface similar to those. - Getting the interface right
Everyone wanted the touch screen to be as easy to use possible. The teachers didn’t want to have to explain yet another piece of software.
We achieved usability of the system by doing a number of trials with the students. This user testing was a mixture of us or some of the Tasmania Skill Institute team observing students using the system, discussion with the students and evaluation forms. We used this feedback to make changes like making sure all the graphics lead to more media.
The Bottom line
The final resource is a great learning experience that is visually attractive and detailed The learners found it engaging and they are actually using it!!!! This is leading to a safer workshop and a safer industry.
