Since I’ve been working for pi-top, I’ve experienced being on the other side of the EdTech system and it’s certainly been a bit of an eye-opener
I’ve tested various products over the years and found problems and complaints, bugs and surprises, delights and nightmares, but it has been a really interesting experience for me being a producer of content rather than just a consumer.
Firstly, I thought it would be really easy to implement all of the things on my ‘want’ list – it turns out that it’s nowhere near as easy to just ‘add a button that prints out all of the users’ or ‘add a widget that allows the teacher to find out the answer’. All of these things require thought, tweaking of the UI (user interface) and lots of code.
I’ve learnt that things that seem obvious to me are not necessarily useful or even acknowledged by other users.
I’ve learnt that a developer can spend two weeks working overtime to completely overhaul the interface and I’ve not even noticed a difference (sorry).
I’ve discovered that it’s really important to make it clear what the delete button does… and I definitely didn’t accidentally delete a huge chunk of a resource which, thankfully, had been backed up.
I’ve found out that it’s really, really important to get more than one opinion and that relying on mine alone is not enough.
I’ve learnt that developers can’t write resources for beginners even though they really, really mean the best and want to help.
I’ve learnt that even someone like me can make things too difficult for beginners and it’s important to have someone who is truly a novice to try things out.
I’ve found out that sometimes developers just want to sit and watch you use the interface whilst giving them a running commentary so they can figure out what needs to be done next.
I’ve learnt that creating good quality content takes time, creating interfaces takes time and editing information takes time.
I’ve discovered that ‘popping over to ask a quick question’ is akin to tossing an hour’s worth of work into the bin for a developer and it’s better to contact them over Slack.
I’ve found out that developers don’t read emails…
Above all, I’ve learnt that being this side of the interface is HARD WORK and although we sometimes get frustrated with developers bringing out software that doesn’t do exactly what we want it to do, it’s not through lack of trying. It’s pretty important to give developers constructive feedback explaining exactly what doesn’t work as you’d expect and what you’d like it to do instead rather than getting cross and frustrated with it. Communication is vital to ensuring that a product is the best it can be.
Finally, I’ve learnt that pi-topCODER is going to be an incredible resource when we’re done with it and I’m proud to have been part of the team working on it, even if I sometimes feel like I don’t really know anything compared to the people making it!
Cat Lamin 