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Brock LaMeres


1. choose MS-Word (or another HFA) as an example:

1.1. how much (in percent) of the functionality of the HFA do you know?


I would estimate that I know 50% of this functionality in MS workd.

1.2. how do you learn new functionality?


In MS Word, I definatly lean on demand 90% of the time. When I don't know how to do something, I will use the Help system and search for the answer. 10% of the time I learn by accident by either stumling into a feature or noticing a co-worker doing something that I find interesting.

1.3. for MS-Word users: is there a command in MS-Word which "transposes two characters" (e.g., "leanr" becomes "learn" by positioning the cursor between n and r and executing the command)?


There is a built in spell correction for commonly mis-spelled words such as teh -> the. This is a feature that can be turned on or off.

2. what have YOU learnt "on demand" in YOUR life? Briefly describe the most prominent examples.


The biggest example is learning to use the PCB Design tools at my current job. There was no formal or informal training and I was asked to design a PCB as one of my first assignments. I had to use manuals, websites, and questions to figure out the tool process.

In general, 75% of all my knowledge is on demand. The only knowledge that I aquire at my discretion is through personel reading and course lectures.

3. what do people have to know to be able to learn on demand?


They need at least the basic knowledge of what is trying to be accomplished. For example, you can't have a person learn an advanced feature in MS Word is they have never even used MS Word. In addition, they must had a minimal base knowledge for how to find the information. This is through past experience through formal learning or other 'learning on demand' experiences.

4. why should one "learn on demand" instead of relying on "use on demand"?


It is much more efficient. There is too much knowledge to acquire. In addition, even if all the knowledge is acquired on a topic, only a subset of that knowledge may be actually needed. This results in wasted time and memory on topics that weren't needed.

5. which computer systems have you encountered which

5.1. have a User Modeling Component?


Mentor Graphics has a PCB design tool that lets user-defined environments be defined. These include items such as personel hotkeys and keystrokes that can be setup on a per user basis.

5.2. supported learning on demand?


Almost all windows based applications have help systems so that users can learn items on demand. Specific items can be MS-Office and Windows-XP.

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