J.Dre
Unity Games
Hmm, so, an idea came to me today as I was posted one of my scripts on OTLand for everyone to use. The whole concept of posting scripts and providing service to the community is great, but how effective can that method actually be in teaching members how to code for themselves? With this method, I'd say at least 90% of the time the code provided in support/request threads is just copied and pasted without any actual learning or interference of the user. This made me wonder: why not try a new approach at providing assistance/resources to the community? With that in mind, I thought to myself, "What method could I use to basically force the 'requester' to learn while still providing the assistance/code they requested?" "What if we provided them with visual aids of code instead of the actual code itself." You may be wondering, "What the hell is he talking about?" Well, let me explain...
Traditionally, we post code like this:
Simple, easy, copy-paste, done. But is there any actual learning involved in this process? Not much unless the requester actually takes the time to read through it and teach himself.
The "new, non-traditional" route (visual aids):
As you can see, I have provided the requested code, but at the same time I am requiring the user to write (code) it out him(-) or herself, involving aspects of learning that we use on a day to day basis. Research shows that you have to repeat something about 7 times to memorize it. The repetition helps to store the information in an area of your brain that you can recall from later. For instance - you may be able to remember something you learned for the first time an hour after you learned it, but the likelihood of you being able to recall it a week later is slim to none unless you've been using that information or memorizing it. So, writing / typing / coding repeatedly will likely help.
Now, this may seem a bit tedious at first, but since it has never really been attempted, we cannot say for certain it is ineffective. It's definitely not the preferable and traditional way of providing assistance, but we have all seen the exponential growth in requests and support threads -- most of which are for simple things -- and this method may actually prove to be beneficial in the long-run for OpenTibia and all of its members.
Now tell me what you think about this idea:
Traditionally, we post code like this:
LUA:
local t = {
{x = 100, y = 100, z = 7, stackpos = 2}, -- Street Lights on the Map
{x = 100, y = 100, z = 7, stackpos = 2},
{x = 100, y = 100, z = 7, stackpos = 2} -- No Comma Needed on the Last Light
}
local ret = ""
function onTime()
for i = 1, #t do
local light = getTileItemById(t[i], 1479).uid
if(light > 0) then
doTransformItem(light, 1480)
ret = "The city's streets are lit up. Have a safe evening."
end
end
addEvent(broadcastMessage, 150, ret, MESSAGE_STATUS_DEFAULT)
return true
endThe "new, non-traditional" route (visual aids):
As you can see, I have provided the requested code, but at the same time I am requiring the user to write (code) it out him(-) or herself, involving aspects of learning that we use on a day to day basis. Research shows that you have to repeat something about 7 times to memorize it. The repetition helps to store the information in an area of your brain that you can recall from later. For instance - you may be able to remember something you learned for the first time an hour after you learned it, but the likelihood of you being able to recall it a week later is slim to none unless you've been using that information or memorizing it. So, writing / typing / coding repeatedly will likely help.
Now, this may seem a bit tedious at first, but since it has never really been attempted, we cannot say for certain it is ineffective. It's definitely not the preferable and traditional way of providing assistance, but we have all seen the exponential growth in requests and support threads -- most of which are for simple things -- and this method may actually prove to be beneficial in the long-run for OpenTibia and all of its members.
Now tell me what you think about this idea:
- Can this idea be improved upon?
- Would you be willing to experiment with this method?
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