Digital Workshop

While Opus is ahead of both Mediator and Runtime Revolution in its user interface, it lacks a set of video tutorials. Beginners as well as advanced users could benefit from these.

And of course, Opus Pro is the ideal tool to make these in!

Well, DW?

Brian --

Several of us have offered paid training on this board -- with no results. The cost of a one-hour video would be high. I'm thinking several thousand dollars (USD) to produce. Unless there was a real possibility of recovering all of that expense, I can't imagine someone building a video for OPUS training.

OPUS is a pretty straight forward multimedia development tool. The more you use it, the more you learn how it works, and where you can expect to find properties and actions. It would be ideal to just do a "Vulcan Mindmeld" to infuse the knowledge of someone who's used OPUS for a couple of years into the brain of a newbie, but I'm afraid it really just takes time and practice to "get good" with this tool.

This forum is an excellent place to ask questions, and have others explain "how'd you do that?" When I read a posting on a topic I'm not familar with, I usually try to add the new knowledge into my next (or even current) project. Personally, I think that is the fastest way to learn OPUS -- dive in and do a simple project.

P.S. Please don't do like so many newbies and try to do a complex database project with scripting as your introductory project. We ALL need to learn to crawl before we run.

Fred

I was thinking both about introducing new users to the capabilities and also helping people who have considerable computer knowledge but are new to multimedia. Even a series of 5 minute video tutorials on key areas could be very useful. I have found that some people I introduce to the product are wary of what they wrongly perceive to be Opus's complexity, if they have never used a multimedia authoring tool before (Flash or Director would send them screaming from the room, most likely).

Runtime Revolution's video tutorials are what I have in mind:

http://support.runrev.com/tutorials/

Speaking for myself, I have found Opus to be very easy to get to grips with, but then I have been using and programming computers since 1982. Video tutorials would be aimed at less experienced users or those transitioning in from other areas. I appreciate that a full-length video would be costly, but to record a walk through with Camtasia or Opus XE's new rocord feature and then add annotations can't be too much work, I should have thought.

I am trying to persuade a client to use Presenter, and if they take it up I'll have a go at making a few short video tutorials. IF that happens I'll post a sample vid. on these boards.

Anyway, just a thought.

best regards,

Brian

Brian --

I'm with you that OPUS is easier to use IF you have someone show you. I have taught OPUS classes with beginners and basic users -- for 8 hours and barely covered the main OPUS features. A two day class is more realistic for beginners. We never got into database or scripting. Actually, we didn't even get into real programming -- in two days!

My point is, I don't know what you could cover in even several 5 minute vidoes. You'll need a workbook and examples written in OPUS -- there's no EASY way to teach this tremendous tool in a short period of time. It's the equivalent of trying to teach someone chemistry or brain surgery in a couple of hour long videos -- it would be nice, but it can't be done.

I feel bad about "raining on your parade" idea of doing OPUS videos. DW recognizes the complexity and cost of trying to train people, and in my opinion that's why they haven't tried to do a video. Plus, with new releases coming out every year (or more) you'd just get a video done, and it would be obsolete. (This reality sandwich doesn't taste good -- sorry).

IMHO a video is a very nice idea -- that won't work. Sorry.

Fred

I am really intrigued by your response, and it must be said, rather perplexed by your assertion that video tutorial is not appropriate for teaching Opus because the program is too complex. Now that seems odd as I have used training videos to develop skills in CorelDraw and Macromedia Studio (both of which are at least as complicated to master as Opus; the training videos at lynda.com are very successful). You say:



You misunderstand my point. The short videos would not be intended to 'teach X' in a short period of time, but to demonstrate some aspect of the overall 'X'. Think of all the multimedia course ware on chemistry at all levels: no chemistry course ware title would be mad enough to try to teach the entire subject, but would focus on some topic(s), at some specific level. The mastery of any body of knowledge or any skill is a complex mixture of engaging with different-sized chunks of material. I'm afraid you are guilty here of the fallacy of composition: learning does not scale up or down in a linear fashion ? we often struggle with a topic or skill for a while and then we have a breakthrough, an epiphany almost. We get to a plateau and then start struggling again. Different people have different learning styles etc. As a professional educator I have seen the value of short video tutorials in all kinds of contexts; they are not a replacement for more in-depth instruction but a supplement to it.

What's more, given that Opus is a superb tool for making multimedia instructional material, the Opus website should feature multimedia demos and short introductory instructional materials on the product. Opus is the only major authoring tool that does not have these. It is about 'eating your own dog food' as US colleagues sometimes put it: part of the marketing and training representation of a multimedia tool should be multimedia materials about the tool itself, made with the tool itself!

Having said all that, I am aware that DW is a relatively small firm who must target their resources well, and making video tutorials or demos may not be the best use of their time. I nonetheless think a few short well-designed intros could offer newcomers examples of what could be done (look at all the interest in the Showcase forum), AND serve instructional purposes.

with best regards,

Brian

A good example of a company that does produce tutorial videos is Techsmith.

Their Snagit and Camtasia instructional videos (using their own products) are quite suerb, informative, and in my view, invaluable.

Similarly Xara, a British company, produce short, succinct videos in the use of the features of their product. These, too are brilliantly put together and simple to follow.

DW could do no harm by followiing these examples for some of the more straightforward features in the programme, and even for some of the more complex ones.

It's so much easier to learn by example than to try to fathom out on- screen help engines (of which that supplied by DW for Opus, is particularly tricky to follow).

I agree with both Fred and Chris here.

Fred is absolutely correct when he mentions the 2 major problems confronting developers of tutorials: the cost and the short period of currency where the base-products are regularly updated.

Chris' comment that it is much easier to learn by example would be supported by anyone who is trying to learn a new technique.

I have been using Opus for almost 5 years, and I spend many hours each day with it. (I am retired so my time is my own.)

When I find a need to understand a new (to me ) function I usually set up a small pub to learn what to do and how best to do it. Sometimes I keep these small pubs, but mostly I discard them. It occurs to me that others might be able to make some use of these, so I am considering resurrecting those I can find.

Following from the discussion on this thread, I recently started working on a new, very basic tutorial that is planned to cover the most elementary aspects of using Opus -- and I immediately ran into a challenge that means that I cannot use the record keystrokes and mouse movements functions. Why? Because these functions only record actions that occur during a preview and only record actions that take place in the previewed editing workspace.

To provide meaningful tutorials, I need to be able to demonstrate to users how to use, and what happens with various elements in: (i) the organiser panel; the Menu Bar and associated dropdown submenus; and the tool bars and their associated submenus. As far as I can see, this requires that I set up a simulation. This is possible, but simulations take more time to develop and thus increase the cost for any commercial developer.

Then there is the issue related to updates to Opus. Like Fred said, these can effectively reduce the useful life of a tutorial, thus increasing the price needed to be charged in a commercial operation such as that provided by DW.

I plan on continuing with my so-called tutorials to teach myself how to use all the facilities in Opus Pro XE version 4.5. Because this is a personal development there are no deadlines imposed on me, no commitment of resources, and more importantly, no need for me to recover development costs.

However, being brutally realistic, these tutorials are not refined and to date have been for my use only. To tidy them up for general release requires additional work, from which I would not benefit unless I charged for each tutorial.

I also have some doubts about how many Opus users actually want tutorials. About 12-18 months ago I publically realeased (on the forum run by John Eckker) free copies of tutorials to show end-users of Opus pubs how to work with navigation buttons and how to use the search engine. I use these all the time and include both as applications called from within other pubs.

The point I make here is this: I have no indication from any Opus developer that they found them useful. Perhaps they did, perhaps they did not. This lack of feedback doesn't matter to me because these were not commercial products, but if I were a commercial developer of tutorial products, feedback would be essential to their continued development.

So, while I can accept that a very few Opus developers feel the need for tutorials, I do not see enough interest that would make a commercial development of tutorials economically sustainable.

Just my 2 cents worth!

Fred and Ray

Thanks for your detailed and thought -provoking responses. I fully appreciate that there are cost issues involved in producing these tutorials. It is also difficult to gauge demand, but I note that the following producers of multimedia/design tools all have extensive video tutorials on their sites:

Macromedia
Xara
Techsmith [their tools are used by many of the others]
Runtime Revolution
Indigo Rose
Matchware

Macromedia is a big US corporation and has a presumably huge budget, but Xara and Runtime Revolution are relatively small British [Runtime is Scottish] firms; Matchware is a Danish firm and direct competitor to DW. As users we cannot directly answer the following questions, but they are in my view worth considering: How have Xara or Matchware found it worth their while to make video tutorials? Is the Opus user community so radically different from the communities of these other firms? if so, then why? Why should cost-benefit analysis with regard to video tutorials be any different for these firms as against DW?

I use tools from Runtime Revolution, Xara and Techsmith regularly and found their video tutorials invaluable. I am pressing this point because I feel that my favourite tool - Opus - is lacking an important element compared to the competition.

This is my own view, but I do know enough about the IT industry and training to find your counter arguments not very convincing. You say that video tutorials will have to keep up with new versions: so Matchware and Xara don't have to confront this? You say it is expensive to do, so how do they manage it? I would expect that the same user constituency ranges across the products I have named here, and given that some of these firms (I assume) are of a similar scale and user base to DW, then please tell me why what works for them won't work for Opus ...



best regards,

Brian

Software producers are in the best position to produce tutorials - they have a vested interest in doing so, and they should know best how the software is designed to work!

Support is an expensive process, no matter how you deal with it, and if I were a software producer I would want to ensure that all my customers were at least on the same page before they started asking for individual assistance ...tutorials are a great way of dealing with this - showing the software in the best light, demonstrating features, triggering ideas, and above all making sure that people are using the software 'correctly'.

For a while some years back I was part of a software production company, and we spent way more time on getting the user-interface, help files and demos right than we ever did on the clever techy stuff that did the work under the surface.

I cannot understand why any software producer would NOT produce a full range of tutorials.

Rob
www.visibleform.co.uk

I take a similar point of view as Fred's -- getting your hands dirty (you know what I mean) and trying to make something -- that is what teaches you how things work.
Videos generally show you how to do a series of actions of something specific in isolation, and many users will find them too large and difficult to download.
I find most of the so called instructional videos that come with software to be more of a marketing tool than something useful.

I always print out parts of the help file I find interesting (still can't beat hard copy next to the computer) and then build something -- anything -- If I make a mistake I've learnt something -- can't put that kind of experience into a video.
I guess that's the problem -- since the personal computer arrived, many people have been conditioned to think you can shortcut learning and experience.
Unfortunately you can't.
Learning to do anything is like making good cheese -- "good things take time"
Whether you like it or not.
Paul

I went to www.lynda.com to see what they had to offer in training. They charge $25USD per month, then you can download their training "stuff."

The interesting thing was under Director. Their videos are 14 hours long. I'm still wondering what you'd know after watching 14 hours of video. I think a computer based training session would be more beneficial than watching a video (unless the video was part of the CBT). Again, the time/cost involved would only be economically feasible IF you had a very large user base willing to spend additional $$ for the training. We have a lot of teachers, students, retired folks who have very limited funds, that's why they're trying to build something themselves rather than hire an outside contractor (like me). Most of them can barely afford OPUS. Additional money for training -- their management will tell them to read the manual instead of spending more dollars.

I think training is GREAT -- any kind of training (videos, CBTs, live, phone, etc.). My point, which was lost, is that I don't think it's economically feasible for DW or any private party to create videos or CBTs. Things change too fast, and the user base is too small.

Let's go build something in OPUS!

Lynda.com is a specialised traiining outfit - that's how they make their income, so it's no surprise that they're going to charge the going rate for their product.

I think that what we're really after here is brief, pertinent videos constructed by DW to augment the Help system and to offer a quick on-line (or downloadable) example of the very thing a struggling user is trying to construct.

They needn't be huge, they needn't be too in-depth, but they do need to be available, and they do need to be free.

It is just this attention to detail and support (which DW already display in many ways) which would make the product perfect, rather than great.

So much has been learned already from the various attachments posted in these forums (be they screen captures or demo publications), that the value of this pictorial exemplification is recognised as priceless. Why, then, couldn't the basics be already available in the form of short clips - it would encourage self-help, and reduce the amount of duplication in the forums.

If you get stuck on something, it would be so much easier to search for help from a list of tutorials rather than try and find s reference to it in a collection of forums - these come into their own for more specific help.

We have been looking at video tutorials for the new version and/or as an add-on product for those who think they need it. The problem we have is that Opus is such a versatile product that almost everyone wants to do something slightly different with it and to cover every possibility is just impossible.

We could produce videos introducing the program and the way it works but most people find this pretty intuitive. We could focus on key issues which occur when people are moving on from the basics but again we hit the problem of specific needs being paramount.

The inhouse training we run often gets sidetracked by people raising questions about their specific requirements.

So, we have concentrated on providing a responsive support service with a rather wider remit than most companies offer and this has seemed to work for most people.

However, we are still considering the inclusion of some tutorial videos as I'm very aware we look as though we are lacking something. They will be created in Opus of course and I'm thinking we'll concentrate where we can introduce key functionality whilst demonstrating a real world solution AND highlight a feature or a possibility users might not be immediately aware of. This would make the video of use at all levels and make it productive for all.

If anyone has any suggestions about what we should cover in video tutorials I'd welcome the suggestions for open discussion and will set up a new thread to this end.

Paul Harris

Paul

Having started this thread I guess I should jump in. I can generate very detailed suggestions if needed, but for now I see the following areas as good candidates for videos. My premise is that a number of well chosen scenarios might cover sufficiently varied interests and mediate between general and very specific needs. For example:

1. An animated walkthrough of the brainstorming feature in Presenter - I have found that it took some time to grasp how the panes worked and it would have speeded up my learning to have seen brainstormer in action first. In trying to persuade people to take up Opus products, I have found that small business people and academics, for instance, aren't willing to invest the time to learn how to use Pro and don't need all the features, but in several cases they were blown away by the brainstorm feature of Presenter and made a purchase on that basis alone. Again being pressed for time they wanted to get up and running in virtually no time [unreasonable perhaps, but that is how it went]. Next, several of them asked me to walk them through building a presentation from scratch. Academics or people in charities can afford Presenter in my experience, but many cannot afford to pay me at my consultant's rates to introduce a new presentation tool [which is why so many stick with Powerpoint when they could do better].

2. I would also suggest walkthroughs on handling various external media: note the frequency with which questions on different ways to use swfs and pdfs come up; and how about presenting techniques on manageing audio and video streams in the form of animated scenarios?

Brian