Evaluating a Mobile-based Genetics Learning Platform in K-12 Educators Teaching After-School Programs

Abstract

This project was a usability study which included the prototyping and the evaluation of a mobile-based genetics learning platform designed for K-12 students and educators. The target audience was K-12 educators teaching the after-school programs. In the development phase, a mobile-based application was developed using the integrated development environment Xcode. The content of the application included mini-learning games developed by the investigator and open-source educational videos. The purpose of this study was to prototype and evaluate the user-friendliness of the developed mobile-platform. In the evaluation stage, individual iterations of the usability test of the mobile-based app were conducted per participant. The participants for each round consisted of educators who are currently or previously have taught after-school programs. Prior to the usability test, participants were asked to sign a consent form. A pre-survey was administered after each student was cleared to participate. During the usability test, each subject was asked to complete five tasks on the mobile-based app. Following the completion of the tasks, the participants answered a post-task survey. Screen user-activity and audio was recorded, anonymized, and stored on an encrypted-protected hard drive for consequent data analysis.