Improving Online Course Design through Usability Testing

Usability testing has been the industry standard for assessing the usability of products for quite some time. Business and industry routinely implement usability testing to test their products. Consequently, the literature is rich in this area. Despite the tremendous growth in online learning, there is little research regarding the implementation of usability testing in academia, especially in online course development. This qualitative study investigated the effectiveness of implementing usability testing into online course development for improved course design. For the purposes of this study, usability testing refers to iterations of testing that inform changes in course design in a cyclic fashion. Data were collected during the spring 2009 semester at a major research university in the Southeast. Fourteen freshmen participants took part in the study. Participants were observed as they completed predefined tasks. Data were collected through video recordings, surveys, observer logs, and journaling. Findings indicated that usability testing may provide a model for improved online course design.

[1]  Albert N. Badre.  Shaping web usability---interaction design in context , 2002, INTR.

[2]  D G Johnston.  Something is better than nothing. , 1996, Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien.

[3]  Gregory L. Waddoups,et al.  Improving the quality and effectiveness of computer-mediated instruction through usability evaluations , 2004, Br. J. Educ. Technol..

[4]  Jakob Nielsen,et al.  Designing Web Usability: The Practice of Simplicity , 1999 .

[5]  Jakob Nielsen,et al.  A mathematical model of the finding of usability problems , 1993, INTERCHI.

[6]  J R Lewis,et al.  Sample Sizes for Usability Studies: Additional Considerations , 1994, Human factors.

[7]  Romel Palis,et al.  Testing the Satisfaction Aspect of a Web Application to Increase Its Usability for Users with Impaired Vision , 2007 .

[8]  Susan Ko,et al.  Teaching Online: A Practical Guide , 2000 .

[9]  Ben Shneiderman,et al.  Designing the User Interface: Strategies for Effective Human-Computer Interaction , 1998 .

[10]  Vol..  Merlot Journal of Online Learning and Teaching , 2022 .

[11]  Jakob Nielsen,et al.  The "magic number 5": is it enough for web testing? , 2002, CHI Extended Abstracts.

[12]  Karen Swan,et al.  Virtual interaction: Design factors affecting student satisfaction and perceived learning in asynchronous online courses , 2001 .

[13]  Sean Larrangton-White Midm.  Designing Web Usability: The practice of simplicity , 2001 .

[14]  I. E. Allen,et al.  Online Nation: Five Years of Growth in Online Learning. , 2007 .

[15]  Jakob Nielsen,et al.  Guerrilla HCI: using discount usability engineering to penetrate the intimidation barrier , 1994 .

[16]  Clayton Lewis,et al.  Making usable, useful, productivity-enhancing computer applications , 1991, CACM.

[17]  Debora Shaw,et al.  Handbook of usability testing: How to plan, design, and conduct effective tests , 1996 .

[18]  Jakob Nielsen,et al.  Usability engineering , 1997, The Computer Science and Engineering Handbook.

[19]  Lillie Ruth Jenkins,et al.  Designing systems that make sense: what designers say about their communication with users during the usability testing cycle , 2004 .

[20]  Mary Beth Rosson,et al.  Usability Engineering: Scenario-based Development of Human-Computer Interaction , 2001 .

[21]  Robert A. Virzi,et al.  Refining the Test Phase of Usability Evaluation: How Many Subjects Is Enough? , 1992 .

[22]  R. T. Evans.  Usability testing and research , 2002 .

[23]  Robert A. Virzi.  Streamlining the Design Process: Running Fewer Subjects , 1990 .

[24]  Holley Long,et al.  The flight plan of a digital initiatives project, part 2: Usability testing in the context of user-centered design , 2005, OCLC Syst. Serv..