Masters Final Project
From Paper to Pixels: A Usability Study of a Tsunami Safety E-Booklet
DESCRIPTION
A research study was designed to evaluate the content, effectiveness, and user satisfaction of the interactive e-booklet through iterative usability testing. Changes were made to portions of the e-booklet focusing on the participants’ recommendations which included immediate audio and visual feedback, increased control over multimedia, personalization, and gamification. Feedback from the second round of usability testing indicated that improvements made to the e-booklet augmented the overall user experience.
REFLECTION
Wow! It's been an amazing journey, especially the one that led me to my final project. My initial idea paper was a usability study on the redesign of a tsunami hazard information service mobile application that lets people know whether or not they are in an evacuation zone. Unfortunately, due to the organization's shifting priorities, it ended up on the back burner. Next, I decided on doing a project on some contract work I was doing, a usability study of the Bishop Museum online learning center. Believe or not, the government shutdown in October meant the federal grant that the project was one couldn't bill hours, so all of the deadlines got extended. The marine debris e-comic was next on idea list, but it was shelved because it relied too much on the sign-off of others. That takes me to the fourth iteration, the tsunami safety e-booklet. I built the interactive e-booklet from an existing paper based booklet and learned a lot about Articulate Storyline during the development. It was no means an easy task, but it was helpful to be doing usability testing using a rapid prototype because I was able to get immediate feedback that shaped the overall development of the project. So what are the big takeaways from this project?
1. Usability is time well spent. It saves money in the long-run and if you actually listen to your users, you'll be surprised how much great feedback you can get.
2. You don't have to be a programmer to build interactive modules. E-learning authoring tools like Storyline allow anyone to build interactive e-learning pieces... what's important is to have sound learning objectives and educational pedagogy.
3. Media speaks louder than words. A video or image can speak volumes over a bunch of text.
4. Balance glitz and performance. Even though media elements generally add to the experience, be careful that it doesn't compromise overall performance (i.e. load time).
I've already used usability testing for some other work projects and our organization has just come onboard recently with all development projects needing to go through an alpha and beta usability phase. I'm glad that I'll be able to put what I learned immediately into practice!
1. Usability is time well spent. It saves money in the long-run and if you actually listen to your users, you'll be surprised how much great feedback you can get.
2. You don't have to be a programmer to build interactive modules. E-learning authoring tools like Storyline allow anyone to build interactive e-learning pieces... what's important is to have sound learning objectives and educational pedagogy.
3. Media speaks louder than words. A video or image can speak volumes over a bunch of text.
4. Balance glitz and performance. Even though media elements generally add to the experience, be careful that it doesn't compromise overall performance (i.e. load time).
I've already used usability testing for some other work projects and our organization has just come onboard recently with all development projects needing to go through an alpha and beta usability phase. I'm glad that I'll be able to put what I learned immediately into practice!
AECT STANDARDS
Standard 1: Content Knowledge
Candidates demonstrate the knowledge necessary to create, use, assess, and manage theoretical and practical applications of educational technologies and processes. |
Standard 2: Content Pedagogy
Candidates develop as reflective practitioners able to demonstrate effective implementation of educational technologies and processes based on contemporary content and pedagogy. |
Standard 3: Learning Environments
Candidates facilitate learning by creating, using, evaluating, and managing effective learning environments. |
Standard 4: Professional Knowledge and Skills
Candidates design, develop, implement, and evaluate technology-rich learning environments within a supportive community of practice. |
Standard 5: Research
Candidate explores, evaluates, synthesizes, and applies methods of inquiry to enhance learning and improve performance. |