A new kind of mousing around

Many years ago I initiated what became the Mousing Around tutorial, a standalone browser based tool for teaching beginners to use the computer mouse. It was picked up worldwide and modified and translated for local use, which was kind of cool. Yesterday, an older gentleman who wanted to apply for a job at Whole Foods was sent over to learn to use a computer. He had never used a computer in his life, so I started him on the Mousing Around Tutorial. We stopped at the mousercise part because (1) his hand and wrist were aching already, and (2) I wanted to give him an update on computers he was likely to encounter at a job that was not likely to be at a desk with a mouse to control the cursor.

It started me thinking as I explained touchpads and touchscreens, and how a finger is now used to do what the mouse typically does: how does the current Mousing Around tutorial work on touchscreen devices? Answer: not very well. Would an updated, or even a totally new, tutorial be useful as a tool to help people learn to use touchscreens? Maybe. I do a lot of coaching people how to use their tablets and smart phones, and one of the trickier parts is navigating the device with a (not shaky) finger.

One of the nice things about the Mousing Around tutorial is that the process of introducing the mouse and how it interacts with the computer also gives a very basic but functional introduction to the computer itself. So as I explained about touchscreens, it was easy for the gentleman to understand, for example, tapping on an icon (or double tapping) with his finger would open it the same way clicking on it using the mouse would. Back when we created the Mousing Around tutorial, the icon examples we used were pretty standard fare on most computers. That has changed. A lot.

And so I wonder: is it time for a redo? Probably. Should I do it? <shrug> I’m sure I could create something really useful. The question is, of course, whether the cost benefit ratio would be worth it.

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