Learning How: The Search for Craft Knowledge on the Internet
Source:
CHI 2009, ACM Press, Boston (2009)
Keywords:
How-To, information seeking, search, social search, image, search, video search, search usability, informal learning, craft, hobbiesAbstract:
Communicating the subtleties of a craft technique, like
putting a zipper into a garment or throwing a clay pot, can
be challenging even when working side by side. Yet How-
To content—including text, images, animations, and
videos—is available online for a wide variety of crafts. We
interviewed people engaged in various crafts to investigate
how online resources contributed to their craft practice. We
found that participants sought creative inspiration as well as
technical clarification online. In this domain, keyword
search can be difficult, so supplemental strategies are used.
Participants sought information iteratively, because they
often needed to enact their knowledge in order to evaluate
it. Our description of people learning how allows us to
elaborate on existing understandings of information-seeking
behavior by considering how search originates and is
evaluated in knowledge domains involving physical objects
and physical processes.
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