September 3, 2015
We have had a lot of fun dreaming up and building Sketch-n-Sketch. Although we plan to make many improvements (including bug fixes and improved error messages, as well as new functionality), many of the basic aspects of *prodirect manipulation* — that is, the combination of programmatic and direct manipulation within a single development environment — work well enough to be tested out.
So, we are running a user study to ask for your feedback about the current version of the tool and what features you'd like to see added or improved in the future. The setup of our user study is pretty simple: go through the tutorial on your own at your own pace, and fill out several short surveys. We would like to have responses in by September 18.
The tutorial is designed to teach you the basics of how to use Sketch-n-Sketch. It is divided into five separate lessons, each designed to cover a few key topics. Each lesson discusses several examples, designed to be worked in Sketch-n-Sketch v0.3 while you are reading. We have also sprinkled a set of exercises in each lesson that we hope will offer instructive and fun opportunities to get your hands dirty with the tool. Very roughly speaking, we expect each lesson to take approximately one to three hours, with the last two (optional) lessons covering somewhat more advanced material. But, your mileage may vary depend on your background and interests... and how much pleasure or pain you're experiencing with the tool!
If you are interested in trying out the current version of Sketch-n-Sketch and sharing your feedback with us, then head on over — we'd really appreciate it! If not, feel free to browse the tutorial anyway if you're interested.
Thanks!