LTEC 690, Spring 2016
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ItemAssessing the Usability of an Online New Student Orientation( 2016-04-21)Information that an institution’s website can provide ranges from the admissions process to online registration to graduation. The Admissions Office at Kauai Community College (KCC), for example, has a website full of important information that aims to support students through the enrollment process. However, there have been numerous complaints that the website is too text heavy and difficult to navigate. As a result, I designed and developed an online student orientation website for new incoming KCC students. The design and development of the website focused on simplifying information and delivering that information through short text, instructional videos and downloadable documents. The purpose of this usability study is to assess the content, navigation and student satisfaction of the online new student orientation website for students at KCC. Two rounds of the usability study was conducted with three participants of different educational backgrounds. As part of the study, participants completed the online orientation from beginning to end, and all were given the same tasks to complete. A post-study survey was also administered to participants upon completion of the study. With proper adjustments and modifications made to the website after each round, the results revealed an increase in the quality and usability of the online orientation.
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ItemFlipped Inclusion Classroom: An Action Research( 2016-04-19)Motivating students in the classroom can be challenging, especially for Special Education students in an inclusion classroom. Due to the gap between a special education student’s independence level and current grade level, it is difficult for special education students to retain motivation throughout instruction. In efforts to determine how student motivation can be sustained, a website including instructional videos was created to be implemented in a flipped classroom instructional method. The purpose of this action research study is to evaluate the effect of a flipped classroom model in an elementary inclusion math class to increase student motivation for 6th grade students. Becoming familiar with student’s strengths, needs and interests throughout this process was a big factor to help increase student motivation towards their learning. It was also important to listen to and consider participants feedback based on their experiences after each implementation so that necessary changes could be made to improve instruction in the next round.
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ItemIncreasing Interest and Engagement in Science with Small Unmanned Aerial Systems( 2016-04-21)In recent years, much attention has been placed on the need for authentic learning opportunities that will effectively prepare our students to be successful in the 21st Century workforce. There has also been tremendous concern about the lack of scientists, engineers, and innovators in the United States. In response to these concerns, an extracurricular program focusing on providing elementary students with hands-on, integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education was established in 2012 at a public school in Hawaii and made available to students from across Oahu. The purpose of this project was to develop an instructional module focusing on the use of small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) with the primary objective of increasing the level of interest and engagement in science among younger students. The ARCS-V Model was combined with project-based learning to have students explore and master STEM concepts required to construct a remotely-operated quadcopter by having students produce a different operational product each week to demonstrate their understanding of targeted standards and objectives. Activities and sub-projects integrated into and built upon in this module included rocketry, underwater robotics, electronics, model aircraft, radio communication systems. The results of this project have allowed instructional module to be improved upon by identifying areas in need of further scaffolding, providing a greater understanding of time and material needs, and offering insight into how the module can be implemented in different schools/programs, and with a greater range of students, both in Hawaii and beyond.
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ItemIncreasing Interest and Engagement in Elementary Science with Small Unmanned Aerial Systems( 2016-04-21)In recent years, much attention has been placed on the need for authentic learning opportunities that will effectively prepare our students to be successful in the 21st Century workforce. There has also been tremendous concern about the lack of scientists, engineers, and innovators in the United States. In response to these concerns, an extracurricular program focusing on providing elementary students with hands-on, integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education was established in 2012 at a public school in Hawaii and made available to students from across Oahu. The purpose of this project was to develop an instructional module focusing on the use of small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) with the primary objective of increasing the level of interest and engagement in science among younger students. The ARCS-V Model was combined with project-based learning to have students explore and master STEM concepts required to construct a remotely-operated quadcopter by having students produce a different operational product each week to demonstrate their understanding of targeted standards and objectives. Activities and sub-projects integrated into and built upon in this module included rocketry, underwater robotics, electronics, model aircraft, radio communication systems. The results of this project have allowed instructional module to be improved upon by identifying areas in need of further scaffolding, providing a greater understanding of time and material needs, and offering insight into how the module can be implemented in different schools/programs, and with a greater range of students, both in Hawaii and beyond.
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ItemEvaluating the Usability of a Teacher Created Classroom Website( 2016-04-21)Today, parents expect to have ongoing communication with their child’s teacher. In order to create effective, consistent and proactive communication between the parents of Ms. Neizman’s 3rd grade class a classroom website was be designed. This website is aimed to promote curriculum, to provide resources, and important school information. The purpose of this usability study is to evaluate the navigation, easy of use and effectiveness of a teacher-created website to inform Ms. Neizman's 3rd grade parents about what their child is learning in the classroom. Two rounds of usability testing captured the user interaction with the teacher-created website using the think aloud protocol and mouse movement. Pre and post surveys collected user satisfaction and demographic data. Data analysis included task completion and both quantitative and qualitative user evaluations. Usability issues were resolved over the 2 rounds of usability testing with improvements made to the prototype in between each round. The results showed an increase in navigation, easy of use and effectiveness of this teacher-created classroom website. Findings support the effectiveness of usability testing in the design of simple, user friendly teacher-created websites that provides open communication between teacher and parents.
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ItemEvaluating Usability of a Teacher Resource Website( 2016-04-19)Adjust teaching practices to ensure student learning in the classroom is a part of everyday life as a teacher. Having students with disabilities in the classroom might make this a little more challenging. Private schools that do not specialize in these areas may not have the financial or physical means to provide enough support to teachers forcing them to do research on their own. The purpose of this project was to create a user friendly website that has information about learning disabilities, disability symptoms and teaching strategies. The website was created using Weebly, a web-based website builder. A usability study was conducted using 3 participants in the first round and 3 participants in the second round. Revisions to the website were made after the first round of feedback was analyzed and again after the second round. Revisions include adding a button that links users to a glossary page and a section on testing and diagnosing for each disability covered.
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ItemUsability Study of a Website to Orient Incoming Students into a Journalism Course( 2016-05-06)The majority of teachers receive new students at the beginning of each school year. However, teachers that work at a military impacted school have to accommodate for students coming and going throughout the year. The continual stream of students entering and exiting at a particular school on a military base warranted the development of an orientation site for a year-long Journalism elective course. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the content, aesthetics, and organization of the site through a usability study. The website-builder, Weebly, was used to create the site, and instructional videos were embedded using the software Camtasia. The orientation site uses Google Classroom, which is the learning management system for the course. To ensure the site would be user friendly for new students, two rounds of usability testing were completed, with revisions made based upon data. Usability participants navigated through the site to complete scenarios that the target audience would encounter. Pre and post surveys gathered additional data that revealed demographics, comfortability levels with technology, and recommendations for the site in regards to content and aesthetics. Some lessons learned consisted of how multimedia can enhance a website, the importance of color on a website, and how a paper document checklist provided on a homepage can assist with completion of orientation activities. The conclusions made from this study could serve as a model for other situations with a transient population that could use a website to help with an overall adjustment to a new environment.
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ItemEvaluating Usability of a Classroom Website Designed to Improve Communication Between Home and School( 2016-05-06)Relationships and communication between home and school play a critical role in the development of young students and contribute to their overall success in school. Research suggests that when a school involves parents and families it in turn affects the success of the child. Typically, most communications between a child’s home and school are done via some sort of paper-based flyer, form, brochure or packet. Therefore it is the sole responsibility of the student to be the gatekeeper of information between home and school. In some cases, there is a communication breakdown that occurs. By creating a classroom website, it allows parents to stay connected and informed about their child’s learning. A usability study was conducted to evaluate the ease-of-use and functionality of a 5th grade classroom website designed to improve communication with parents at a public school in Hawaii. Feedback suggested changing the order of the pages by importance rather than alphabetically, providing summaries of the programs to make it easily accessible for parents, and adding a list of important dates to the welcome page of the site. Further research will be conducted to phase in an online gradebook and provide opportunities to promote further communication between home and school.
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ItemEvaluating the Usability of an Optimized Website for a Local Coffee Business( 2016-04-21)A survey by the Pew Research Center (2011) found 55% of American adults rely on the Internet as a primary source of information for restaurants and local businesses, with its ability to quickly sort and personalize data such as what cafés nearby might be widely praised and patronized by online peers. As the Internet becomes prevalent throughout the consumer’s purchasing journey, website usability is crucial for the survival of local businesses with online presence. The purpose of this usability study was to evaluate an optimized website for a local and independent coffee business known as The Curb (http://thecurbco.com). With the affordance of web analytics to capture customer information, three website design iterations were created for optimized landing pages. An open-source web tool known as SurveyMonkey was instrumental in creating and distributing anonymous pre- and post-surveys to six participants. They were asked to complete a series of task scenarios using the “thinking aloud” method while their computer screen and audio were recorded for quantitative and qualitative analysis. Usability metrics were defined by the ISO 9241-11 standard providing guidance on measuring the effectiveness, efficiency, and user satisfaction. The results identified usability issues with the website’s navigational menu, suggesting further design iterations to optimize and improve The Curb’s website usability.
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ItemBut is it Useful? Website Usability Testing of the UH STEM Education Website( 2016-04-19)The digital age has ushered in a time where users are instantaneously and continuously connected to the world at the touch of a screen. Having an online presence is the lifeline of an institution. It is therefore imperative that an institution’s website be easy to use, provide reliable information and be aesthetically pleasing to the user. Upon the creation of the new Office of STEM Education at the University of Hawai‘i, a website was immediately launched to provide information. However, as the office grew the website remained stagnant. Feedback from constituents focused on the lack of current and relevant information. The purpose of this usability study was to analyze, develop and evaluate the content, navigation and user satisfaction of the Office STEM Education website and to improve its efficiency for faculty and students at the University of Hawai‘i. Based on such feedback in the rapid prototyping and usability study changes were implemented on the website to improve the overall design and navigability.