Open School Cambodia: Open Web-based E-learning Platform for Khmer-Speaking Users

Abstract

The purpose of this usability study was to evaluate the ease of use of an open web-based learning platform called Open School, which was developed for Khmer-speaking users for taking and creating online courses. Based on an audience analysis, Open School was designed to be bilingual (English and Khmer), responsive to different devices, easy to use, and open. The development started in WordPress using WordPress Learning Management System (WPLMS) and other open plugins. To evaluate the ease of use of the platform, the researcher conducted two rounds of distance usability testing in Khmer language with twelve subjects in Cambodia via Google Hangouts. The usability tests focused on six important tasks including: navigating the platform homepage, creating an account, registering for a course, navigating the course pages, requesting to be an instructor and creating a course. The results from the two rounds of testing allowed the researcher to develop relevant support for the users with little experience in e-learning, and most importantly to improve the ease of use of the platform as indicated by a significant improvement of the average usability score from 4.4 to 5.03 on the six-point scale. Open School will be one of the first distance learning platforms in Khmer language when it launches and is hoped to solve some educational issues in Cambodia. Now that the usability issues have been fixed, the next big step for the researcher is to find a way to encourage people to use the platform.