User:Kbrown (WMF)/TM prototypes

Design prototypes

We have prepared prototypes of a variety of possible formats for the training modules, from the very simple to the highly complex. We encourage you to look at them, test their functionality on both desktop and mobile (though please keep in mind that these are prototypes, not full implementations of the modules), and comment on the talk page to tell us any pros, cons, or preferences among the options that you come up with.

Using Module:TrainingPages

For more complete documentation, see the original English Wikipedia module

• Try the prototype

The TrainingPages module was originally designed by user:Ragesoss (then working as a Wikimedia Foundation contractor as User:Sage Ross (WMF), now continuing his work as part of the Wiki Education Foundation as User:Sage (Wiki Ed)) to be used by participants in the Education Program. TrainingPages provides a set of wrapper and navigation templates that (semi-)automatically format educational content into ordered lessons.

Pros and cons of using TrainingPages for the Support & Safety training modules

Pros

• Does not require advanced programming knowledge, just advanced knowledge of wikimarkup and templates
• Runs natively on-wiki, including translations
• Many good examples using this module already exist, courtesy of the EP
• Very user-friendly for module users; simply click "next" and "previous", etc
• Displays users' progress ("you are on page 1 of 15") to them
• Works on mobile

Cons

• Complex system of templates that this relies on means it must be set up (and updated, when needed) by an experienced, template-fluent user
• Any "tests" or user exercises that require the to edit or be graded on an answer will take place outside of the Training Pages (pages in the module can give directions on how to edit one’s sandbox, for example, but they may not be able to pull in a self-contained sandbox for users to play in, or offer a radio-button quiz)
• Module has not been extensively tested with setups that include translation; it's possible this will need fine-tuning by someone fluent in Lua or the details of the translate extension
• Format somewhat cramped when viewing it on mobile

Using a WikiEdu-style dashboard

• Try the prototype [off-wiki link]

The Wiki Education Foundation has developed a training "dashboard" system for delivering educational content to users. With the help of Sage Ross, the Support and Safety team has been able to design a prototype of our training modules that would make use of this more-mature tool to deliver their content. The prototype linked here is running on WikiEdu's testing server, but if we decide to use this module design, the final product would be hosted on the Wikimedia Foundation-owned Programs & Events Dashboard on WMFlabs.

Pros and cons of using a WikiEdu-style dashboard

Pros

• Extremely user-friendly design and interface
• Can integrate "live" quizzes and knowledge checks
• Allows users to "join" a module, track their progress, and (if needed) have their completion of module work recorded for verification by their community, etc
• Can draw content and organization of modules from on-wiki pages (meaning they can be edited by anyone with on-wiki access, and users who prefer to view content only on-wiki can access it there)

Cons

• Runs on an off-wiki (though WMF-owned) site
• Complex creation of a module on the Dashboard means it must be set up (and updated, when needed) by an experienced Wikimedian who can work with .json files as well as nested page/template calls
• Currently, quiz/knowledge testing structures cannot be pulled from onwiki; changing this would require significant time investment from the WikiEdu staff who are assisting us

Using a navbox to move among module pages

• Try the prototype

This is a simple setup that breaks module content into lessons of whatever desired size. Users of the module are not directed through them in order, but are given a navbox on each page from which they can choose among lessons.

Pros and cons of using a navbox setup

Pros

• Runs natively on-wiki, including translations
• Extremely simple to set up (create content pages as normal, fill out a navbox template, place template onto each page)
• Easily understandable and usable by anyone with a small amount of on-wiki experience
• Users can decide how to move among the lessons

Cons

• Navboxes do not work on mobile
• Does not lead users through lessons in order, which may be confusing
• No progress tracking

Using a "tabs" bar at the top of the page

• Try the prototype

This is a format many Wikimedians are already familiar with; it presents a persistent tab bar at the top of each module page. Though users are not directed through the tabs in a specific order, they are visually organized (and further organizable) in an order that will be easy for users to follow.

Pros and cons of using a tab bar

Pros

• Works on mobile
• Format is familiar to most Wikimedians; how to use navigation tabs is intuitive to most computer users
• Setup of tab bar is reasonably simple for experienced Wiki editors
• Top-of-page placement makes user navigation easy
• Runs natively on-wiki, including translations

Cons

• Format somewhat cramped when viewing on mobile; may require side scrolling
• Does not lead users through lessons in order, which may be confusing
• Because modules have a large number of sub-lessons, tab bar somewhat difficult to format in a way that's not highly compressed and/or that consumes too much space on the page
• Setup requires someone who is reasonably comfortable with templates and divs
• No progress tracking

Using a single-page view

• Try the prototype

A single-page view is the simplest implementation of module content; as the name implies, it presents the entirety of the module's content on one page.

Pros and cons of using a single-page view

Pros

• Makes it easy for users to print modules, or download them to another reading format like Pocket or Instapaper
• Setup effort is negligible for anyone capable of basic wikimarkup
• No complex navigation for users to negotiate; page's scroll bar gives them an approximation of progress
• Generally should work on mobile, other than potentially some templates (which could be optimized to work on mobile if needed)
• Runs natively on-wiki, including translations

Cons

• Slower page loads for anyone on limited bandwidth
• Single, large chunk may make content less easily approachable
• No explicit progress tracking
• Lacks the interactive quality of a module that presents lessons individually