WEB-BASED TUTORIALS have the advantage of being platform independent and remotely accessible anytime from the office or home. As a result of a needs analysis, web-based tutorials might be selected to save on costs and/or time of delivering training and/or publishing and distributing materials. Web-based tutorials could be used to supplement other kinds of training, but can also be designed as a stand-alone training solution.

The home page of a web-based tutorial should contain a brief introduction to the tutorial, and might include some of the following elements (Portree, 2002):


• broad learning goals and/or specific learning objectives, as appropriate
• some instructions and guidelines for working through the tutorials successfully
• time it would take the user to complete different sections
• a Table of Contents 

The user should be able to move backward through the tutorial to review, and forward to examine the progression. The use of menus is a good way to provide more options to the user for greater control. The tutorial should allow someone to temporarily terminate their session, and the software should return them to the point where they left off in the tutorial, if possible.

Motivation can be facilitated in a online tutorial by including the following design elements:
• having engaging graphical design and images, video, and/or audio
• knowing the audience and keeping the content relevant and challenging to them without intimidating them
• encouraging further exploration and fostering curiosity
• encouraging completion through reinforcement and acknowledging achievement

Designers must be careful not to give user too much control over their progression through the content. Preliminary results from studies show that a user should not be allowed very much control unless they have sufficient motivation, prior knowledge, and analytical skills (Williams, 2001).

The content should be presented in a concise form, using simple graphics and colors, taking into consideration the variability in browser software, connection speed, and monitor sizes and resolutions. The information should be laid out in a logical, organized manner so that the user can understand the context of what they are learning. Generally, the sequence of questions should progress from simple to more complex.

The designers should use the basic guidelines for effective print-based tutorials and web pages, such as those for layout (alignment, proximity), repetition, and contrast. Whenever possible, scrolling down content should be avoided. Finally, there should be well-defined transitions between topics.

Good tutorials should provide questions and solicit responses from users to help reinforce and/or apply the content or skills they are learning. Interactivity in questions and responses provide an advantage to web-based tutorials, and should be utilized. The interactive questions should occur after and below the information to which they correspond.

The questions should not scroll out of view in order to look at the response choices. Questions should be clear and to the point, and help the user easily choose or construct a concise response. The user should be able to control his progression through the questions.

The response prompt should be somewhere below and in close proximity to the corresponding question, and preferably relatively near the left margin. The user should be able to input information from the keyboard, mouse, or other sources. Opportunities for help, or escape or backwards navigation should be provided so that the user can find the information, and return easily back to the question. The user should be able to change, reset, or clear his answers easily. 

The tutorial must respond intelligently to the response, incorporate error trapping, and provide feedback. For a correct response, the feedback will be a short affirmation; for an incorrect response, the user should be informed and offered another opportunity, provided with an additional hint, or given the correct response with a brief explanation.

If a user needs to terminate the tutorial temporarily, they should be given instructions about what they have completed, and where they will continue when they are ready to return to the tutorial. When a user completes a tutorial, he should know whether he has successfully done so or not, e.g., “Congratulations!” You have completed the tutorial.”

After completing the tutorial, you may want to ask the user for feedback on the effectiveness and usability of the tutorial, and return her in the web browser to the place from which they launched the tutorial, when possible.

Portree, M.J. (2002). National Network of Libraries of Medicine, South Central Region, Houston, TX. Principles of Designing Online Tutorials. Retrieved 16 November 2002 from the Word Wide Web: http://www.nnlm.gov/scr/techsheets/tutorials.htm.

William Doerge ，SDSU Educational Technology