An overview of minimalist instruction

The minimalist approach to instructional design is discussed. The main idea is to support what users themselves feel they need to do in order to learn, rather than trying to convince them that they need to do other things. Typical and troublesome problems that plague new users are discussed. Some of the experimental minimalist training materials that have been designed and tested are reviewed. An example application dealing with online training for new users, and future research directions are also discussed