Re: [kidsUI] Pause and restart

[Doug Loss <dloss@suscom.net>]

Terry Hancock wrote:

> Did my graphic for the "scroll bar" come through?

I got it OK.

>
> I would like to reemphasize that kids are actually very flexible about
> what they can learn on the computer. "Cognates" are mainly of use to
> people already proficient in a language.  When you're learning from
> scratch it doesn't really matter that much.
>

But what we're trying to do is to make the initial contact with the UI as
"intuitive" as we can, right?  For that reason I thought it might be a good
idea to have the various active areas represent some physical equivalent
whenever possible rather than some a priori symbol.  I'm far from an expert in
such things, though, and would welcome more experienced comment.

>
> I think what is most important for kids is that the symbols for doing
> different things are clearly identifiable as symbols, and distinct
> from each other, the real explanation of what they do will become
> clear from use -- I mean the disk drive will never act _exactly_
> like a bookcase, and there may be simple things you want to do that
> have no "real world" analog, but that doesn't mean you can't do them.
>

That's true, of course.  But if consistent analogies between the real world
and the UI can be used, it might make the process of learning to use the
system quicker and easier.  Where there isn't a real-world analog, we would
certainly have to come up with something "from the whole cloth."

--
Doug Loss                 Even if you're on the right track,
Data Network Coordinator  you'll get run over if you just
Bloomsburg University     sit there.
dloss@bloomu.edu                Will Rogers