Forum Discussion
New Matching lay-out
Last week we received the updated lay-out of the matching knowledge check. The moment I discovered it was a bit unlucky (during a presentation, got me a bit confused) but today I had some time to look into it.
The changelog as following on the articulate website:
Enhanced: Matching knowledge check blocks have been upgraded with intuitive navigation, full keyboard support, and comprehensive screen reader integration.
Now, I think it's great that Articulate is improving it's software's accessibility, however, I don't see anything intuitive about the new design. A lot of new things have been added which for me only make the assignment more confusing. On the left side the hamburger icon and number suggest some sort of clickability, which is not there. The drop downs on the right give the assignment a new layer of intractability which only wouldn't want for the student. Overall the lay-out is a lot less clean and drains focus away from the content towards the design.
Maybe a simple solution would be to add a slider which let's us choose between this lay-out and the previous one (or this one without the rings and bells).
That's just my opinion, I was wondering what other think of the new lay-out!
Hi Everyone!
I'm happy to share that we just released a new update for Rise 360!
This update introduces an enhancement to Matching Knowledge Check Blocks. Reworking the interaction to better reflect their original design, while retaining full keyboard support and screen reader integration. There's nothing to install for web-based apps. New features and fixes are immediately available.
Please let me know if you have any questions!
67 Replies
Thanks everyone for the discussion here! We’re exploring options to address this feedback and would appreciate the opportunity to discuss them with you.
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Thank you!
Do you have any update including a solution after 3 months Kyle?
I agree. I just created a matching activity using the new template, and I'm a little confused about the purpose of the numbering system. I've tried a few different ways but the numbers don't sequence the way I want them to despite me trying a few ways to control the system. I believe its confusing for the user showing the number system. I am not going to use this matching template despite it being exactly what I want. For now I think the designers need to reassess the new design's effectiveness. Still love the work that Articulate do - so still a fan..
A few years back I had the need to create a drag activity, and the feedback on it was that it wasn't intuitive to drag the items at all. In that case I created a page where you drag lines between items to indicate their relationship and this seemed more intuitive (and more mobile friendly).
Here's a recording of it in action.
https://360.articulate.com/review/content/19800901-2e7c-4958-bb51-673a9f594fca/review
I can see what Articulate were going for with regards to 'accessibility', having the drop down lists, but I think the design leaves a lot to be desired.
That looks nice! Maybe if the left side dots would be arrowheads before being used, it would make it more clear visually to the user what the intention of the assignment is.
Also, missed opportunity on the naming, that should of course be 'Connect the dots' :P
We are getting customer complaints about people being unable to pass their quizzes because of this very confusing update.
Agree with all the comments. It was too confusing for me so imagine how a user would respond. I've had to design something else in story line and upload as an interactive. Lots more work doing this but too risky to use the new matching layout. I would support a solution to the problematic new layout or just bring back the old favorite! Thanks amazing community!
I created an enhancement to my 'puzzle' skin to add styling for numbers- critical if you are using a numbered diagram. I'll post the code, as soon as someone solves this CSS puzzle with a correct response:
Phill, what do you think, would it be possible to modify it so that the order can be set, with numbers permanently fixed on the left side?
That's an interesting idea- kind of a right-to-left (interaction) but I think it might be the most usable design as the numbers are first in my mind- especially if using a numbered diagram or numeric numbering. I wanted to keep the 'cards' format so the user definitely knows when they're connected. What do you think:
if i remember correctly; that would be 1, 2, 3 top to bottom ;)
I completely agree that there should at least be an option to turn them off. I have just started a project where I will have to do several of these part labeling matching blocks, and I have gotten feedback it is just too confusing and not intuitive. I even had trouble coming up with verbiage that doesn't confuse it further. I tried not even mentioning you could drag and drop.
Switching sides and changing to letters didn't help clear it up.It's not AS bad when everything is all text, but the first time I saw this while reviewing a teammate's design I could not intuitively determine what to do with the drop-down. There should definitely be a way to turn this on and off optionally.
I feel like this "enhanced" version of the matching knowledge check activity hasn't been tested with many users, or for various types of content. Also, I have a lot of trouble seeing how it can be considered intuitive to allow matching by either dragging or using the drop-down.
The numbered boxes on the left can be very confusing. Let's say the activity is to put steps in order, "Step 1" would be assignated to a number at random. To me, that seems only confusing, and not intuitive at all for the user.
Giving no context, I made a test with a few people around me, and all of them choosed to match elements by dragging them. None of them used the drop-downs first, but they wondered or looked confused about what the numbers were there for. After having matched the elements by dragging, some clicked on the drop-downs in confusion, wondering if another action was needed before clicking Submit.
I guess that the drop-downs are more about accessibility than being intuitive, but then why is it not an option we can check/uncheck? Accessibility features are relevant, but I expect them to be optional. I much prefer being able to choose what accessibility features I want enabled, like on Storyline.
If the goal was to make the matching activity work with mouse-click events and not only mouse-drags, I have another idea : Show a "selected" state on any element clicked, and have it automatically matched to the next element clicked (if from the adjacent column).I think the only option to fix the situation is to write to the Contact Support Center. They might consider making a change if they get flooded with requests.
Can this please be an option to turn on or off? This is creating widespread confusion and frustration. Sooner rather than later would be hugely appreciated.
If you have access to modify the course CSS (via post-publishing editing, or via Mighty extension) you can at least twiddle the appearance to remove/hide the numbers. Something like
.matching-item-movable__drag-lines svg { width: 17px; } .matching-item-movable__text { --match-item-text-border: none; } .matching-item-movable__index { text-indent: -9999px; --movable-item-index-size: 0; } .matching-item-immobile-select { display: none; }Thanks so much for your response Tim. Its been a long long time since I played with "Markup", and I realised my talents should be focused elsewhere. I will leave this to the experts I'm afraid. Thanks Again.
Could someone from Articulate please respond with an update on this issue that a lot of people are having with the confusion of the matching activity? It's been three months since the first issue was raised here. This confusion is really frustrating and I can no longer use this matching activity now, without an alternative option. articulate please reply.
Hi AoifeMcLough356!
Thanks for checking in on this!
We understand some Rise authors would like the option to switch off the accessibility enhancement that was recently added to Matching Knowledge Check Blocks. I've included your voice in the feature request we are tracking!
We'll be sure to notify you if this feature makes it to our product roadmap.
Hi Steven, you are referring to this as a "feature", though please read just a few of the many comments here; this is an issue that needs to be solved a.s.a.p., not a "feature" that can be added to the "feature requests" for many months... Learners are struggling and find it confusing! The basic functionality was in place and running smoothly. The "enhancement" is causing issues. I had opened a Support case months ago for this issue and the reply was that this "improvement request" will be added to the "feature requests". I would highly recommend to listen to your customers and solve the issues that are occurring as a result of "enhancements" made by Articulate, thanks in advance!
