Final additions

Planning this website was a challenge for me. I tend to use the trial and error method of creating a product. However, this project helped me organize my ideas and define my priorities. I feel this could be a unique website because of the possibilities for connecting subject matter content standards and learning foundations with instruction and assessment. Student portfolios are not readily available at this time. I believe that teachers and parents will appreciate the possibilities of this portfolio assessment tool. My next step will be to work on accessibility for students with special needs.

Assignment feedback and revised flowchart

As suggested in my first assignment feedback, I am going to limit the scope of my site to preschool only. The new California Pre-K Learning Foundations have just come out and I will base the content on those.
I will add k-12 as another link at a future date. So I need to revise some of the topics in the standards section, the activities, and the lessons. I also have to add the portfolio levels. My first try at the revised flowchart is as follows:

I then added a few headings under home that were not in the previous draft. I also forgot a few things. The new flowchart has the search, site map and help added.

Design cont'd

After doing the video tests, I have decided not to add advertisements to the site. Perhaps once the site had enough visitors I might add some unobtrusive ads, but for now I'm going with clean and no distractions. My test subjects didn't like being asked to sign in on the home page. I will use the left box as a changing sub menu for each top navigation topic.







I will add a 'sign in' for the portfolio section of the site. The portfolio section will need a 'sign in'. The electronic portfolio allows teachers to collect, organize, and submit evidence of their competencies in meeting the California Pre-k through K subject matter standards.

Teachers will use the Portfolio as a tool for self assessment and reflection. Teachers can collect artifacts and create showcases that document teaching competencies aligned with the preliminary and professional clear California Standards for the Teaching Profession as well as the state and national (NETS) educational technology standards. As teachers collect artifacts and design showcases, they reflect on their teaching practice. Showcases may be published for public exhibition and shared with the professional community and parents.

Flowchart

First draft of basic ClipBoard layout:

Second attempt:

First draft of portfolio section:

Index Cards

I wrote the titles of my top bar main navigation on the coloured index cards. I scanned them, however my hand writing is so poor that they don't look very good.

On the white cards I used similar questions that I had used in the video testing. For example I wrote the following and asked the participants to place them on the heading they thought they would look for these in:

1. A lesson to comply with Mathematics standards for preschool
2. Online Readers
3. Printables for use in the classroom
4. Puzzles
5. Interactive games
6. A Music lesson
7. The Literary standard for pre-k.
8. A description of the site
9. Wallcards
10.Downloads

As I only had two participants the results weren't terribly clear. Some landed in the miscellaneous section. I decided on side menu link names for each top menu topic that would make it easier. For example if you click on activies the side menu will be:


Both participants were teachers, however one was not sure what the portfolio section would be for. I will add an info side button on the home page for the portfolio and a portfolio tutorial button.

Video editing

I didn't really edit my video. It took me a couple of days just to get a format that would work on DVD and CD. I was going to go directly onto a DVD recorder, and then I realized that the NTSC DVD recorder I have might not produce a DVD readable on the Australian format. I tried out the Pinnacle Studio Plus and ran about 6 versions before I finally "hopefully" got some that worked. Just to be sure I made a data copy on CD as well as DVD.

Logo design and basic colours

I noticed some confusion with my video test subjects when the site's layout was too busy. I decided to go with a very simple screen that hopefully will be less confusing. I did a clumsy pencil sketch and then I used a ruler and marker for the next try.

Logo design:

Basic Page colours:

I won't be using advertisements. I used the color contrast verification tool to check on my colours above. http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/abouthp/accessibility/webaccessibility/color_tool.html?jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN

I am still trying to decide if I need an appropriate tagline. I chose to use tabs as suggested by Krug (2006). Each tab will open the page in the light blue.

Video testing cont'd

Still fine tuning the test script. I have my first subject tomorrow morning and imagine I should provide some refreshment. Luckily I have three volunteers who'll be my guinea pigs for no compensation.

For each of my test sites I used the following entrance, test, and exit questions based on suggestions from Krug (2006 p.148-155) and the University of Texas (2006).

[Each test will be customized to reflect slightly different tasks as appropriate]


1. First, I’m just going to ask you to look at this page. As much as possible, it will help
me if you can try to think out loud so I know what you’re thinking about. What do
you think this site is for?

User’s Verbal comments:


Do you have any suggestions for making this task easier?




2. What strikes you about the page?


User’s Verbal comments:


3. What do you think you would click on first?


User’s Verbal comments:


Do you have any suggestions for making this task easier?



[Users will have a chance to free click now and explore the site]

4. You want to find a lesson plan for a language arts poetry. How would
you locate this resource?

Observe known click stream: I will check each step the user clicks

___ lesson plans (top bar)

___ language arts (right box) or ___language arts (bottom icons)

___

Poetry

___ Roll mouse over lesson plans (or click on these links)

OR

___ used search function

Did they use the right menu? ___ Did they notice it changed? ___
Did they use the graphic icons for subject matter? ___


If user does not follow the known path, what did s/he click on?
___
___

User’s Verbal comments:

Do you have any suggestions for making this task easier?

5. If you were looking for activities that you could use immediately in your classroom
Or at home with your child – where would you look?

Observe known click stream:

____ Printables (top bar)
____ Worksheets (bottom bar)
OR
___ used search function

If user does not follow the known path, what did s/he click on?
____
____

User’s Verbal comments:


Do you have any suggestions for making this task easier?



6. How would you locate resources for a thematic unit (combining more than one
curriculum subject matter/cross curricular) on this site? [only ask teachers]

Observe known click stream:
___ themes
___ search

If user does not follow the known path, what did s/he click on?
____
____

User’s Verbal comments:


Do you have any suggestions for making this task easier?

If user does not follow the known path, what did s/he click on?
____
____


7. How would you access the online student activities related to “music”?

Observe known click stream:

___Subjects (from the top box bottom menu bar)

___Music Education (from the right green customized menu links)

OR
___ music (bottom box)

OR
___ used search function


If user does not follow the known path, what did s/he click on?
____
____

User’s Verbal comments:


Do you have any suggestions for making this task easier?


8. How would you find a useful science lesson for 5th grade?
Observe known click stream:
___ lesson plans (top)
___ science (right box)
___ science 3-5
___ science (bottom table)

OR
___ used search function

If user does not follow the known path, what did s/he click on?
___
___

User’s Verbal comments:
Do you have any suggestions for making this task easier?


9. Can you locate resources for assessment?

Observe known click stream:
___ click on “Main Menu”
___ click on “Rubric”

OR
___ used search function

If user does not follow the known path, what did s/he click on?

___
___

User’s Verbal comments:

Any suggestions for making this (task) easier?

10. Locate the 5th grade alphabet soup math lesson plan.

Observe known click stream:
___ click on “Main Menu”
___ click on “Lesson plans” top bar
___ click on “math” right menu or ___click on bottom math icon
___ click on 3-5
___ click on alphabet soup

OR
___ used search function


Do you have any suggestions for making this task easier?



Exit survey


Please Let Me Know What You Think…

Example Teachnology web site Feedback

1. What features of the Teachnology web site were vague or confusing to you, if any?

2. What is your impression about navigating the site? Does it seem easy or difficult?
What makes it that way?

3. What else should be included on the Teachnology web site?

4. What did you like best about the site?

5. What did you like the least?

6. Do you think some people would have problems using the Teachnology web site? What kinds of people? What kinds of problems?

7. Would you like to make any other comments about Teachnology?

Okay - after my first interview I have decided to shorten the length. I'm afraid my other two volunteers are not as tech savvy as my original test subject. I will be a little more specific on a couple of questions and take away the last. My first subject spends many hours online and researching sites.

The last two interviews were interesting. One participant is an avid eBay seller and the other had only used the web occasionally in the last couple of years. He mainly checks sports stats, travel sites, and the local online newspaper. Subject two seemed comfortable with all three sites, however she mostly used the general search function to attempt each task. That is usually my last option when I'm looking for things on a page. She clearly felt the navigation was easy, however she totally related that to the search function. Subject three did not use the search function at all, and when I asked him later he admitted he didn't even see the search, yet alone realize what it was for.

Finally went to edit my DV tape, and lo and behold I had accidentally left the tape on while bringing in subject three. Yes, that means when I thought I was taking the pause record off, I was actually putting it on. It took me a couple of days to find someone else with time to do another interview. By then, I had lost my rhythm and the interview seemed stilted and a little less comfortable.

Although I did not have the original third test subject on video, I did learn some different things from his viewpoint. He only ever used the back button to try and return to the home page. Some of the menu links opened in new windows and he was unable to return. He became quite frustrated cliking 'back' with no success. I had to direct him back to the home page and I explained at the end of the test about the 'open in a new window' feature. He had no idea he could just close the window and his original page would be underneath. He was the least computer literate of the subjects and what to do with a search function.

References:

Krug, S. (2006) Don't make me think 2nd edition New Riders Publishing

University of Texas (2006) Develop the Usability Test Documents. Retrieved April 14, 2008 from http://www.utexas.edu/learn/usability/test.html

Research for Usability Testing Video

Krug (2006) gives the following advice for facilitating the test subjects:

• Don’t give them hints about what to do
• Use simple instructions - Look around the page and tell me what you think
  everything is and what you would be likely to click on.” “Tell me what you would click on next and what you expect you would see then.” “Try to think out loud as much as possible.”
• explore the responses further without influencing the subject"when a user says, “I like this page” you always want to ask a leading question like “What do you like best about it?” If this produces “Well, I like the layout” then you need to follow with “What appeals to you about the layout?”
  You’re looking for specifics, not because the specifics themselves are necessarily
  important but because eliciting them is the only way you can be sure you
  understand what the user is really reacting to."
• improvise - move on if you have solved the problem with previous subjects
• take notes after each test session

Peyrichoux also (2007) suggests :

• you need to probe deeper into user's statements - ask why?
• make objective observations
• have users identify problems, not solutions
• have users relate to their own experiences

Make sure you are NOT leading your test subject to the answer when writing questions (University of Texas, 2006). http://www.utexas.edu/learn/usability/test.html The university of Texas suggests you give each subject a waiver to sign. Plan to ask entrance questions, task based questions, and exit questions. For each of my test sites I will use the following exit questions based on suggestions from Krug(2006 p.148-155) and the University of Texas site:

Entrance questionnaire

1. Name:
2. Type: Teacher - Student - Parent
3. Grade Level: Elementary Middle School High School College
4. Years Using the Web:
5. Age Group: 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-55 over 55
6. Gender: Female Male
7. How often do you use the internet? Daily Weekly Monthly Occasionally Never
8. What do you usually do on the internet? (e.g., email, use reference materials such as encyclopedias and dictionaries, read news, curriculum activities, games, entertainment etc.)

Web site Feedback (Teachnology in this example)

1. What features of the Teachnology web site were vague or confusing to you, if any?
2. What is your impression about navigating the site? Does it seem easy or difficult? What makes it that way?
3. What else should be included on the Teachnology web site?
4. What did you like best about the site?
5. What did you like the least?
6. Do you think some people would have problems using the Teachnology web site? What kinds of people? What kinds of problems?
7. Would you like to make any other comments about Teachnology?

Task based questions

According to Nielson "it only takes five users to uncover 80 percent of high-level usability problems"(as cited in Gordon, 2000, para. 1). However Faulkner (2004) suggests more subjects are needed. Gordon(2000) recommends using test subjects who could potentially be users of the site. Use repondents of varying levels of internet proficiency, age, and gender. Make the test environment casual and comfortable. I will keep questions open-ended and neutral eg. “What do you mean by that?” or “What did you expect to happen?”

When users identify a problem, we will ask them how they would fix it. I will observe body language and facial expressions as well.

1. Describe the first items you notice on the page
2. Identify which elements on the page are clickable
3. What do you expect to find behind this link?
4. Please describe your experience when trying to complete x task

Gordon(2000) also talks about eye tracking in regards to usability:

1. Users spend a good deal of time initially looking at the top left of the page and upper portion of the page before moving down and right-ward.
2. Normal initial eye movement around the page focuses on the upper left portion of the screen
3. Ads perform better in the left hand column over the right column of a page
4. Smaller type encourages focused viewing behavior
5. Larger type promotes lighter scanning
6. Dominant headlines most often draw the eye first upon entering the page- especially upper left of the page
7. Users only look at a sub headline if it engages them
8. Navigation placed at the top of a homepage performed best
9. People's eyes typically scan lower portions of a page seeking something to grab their attention.
10. Shorter paragraphs performed better than longer ones
11. The standard one-column format performed better in terms of number of eye fixations
12. Ads in the top and left portions of a homepage received the most eye fixations
13. Text ads were viewed mostly intently of all types tested
14. Bigger ads had a better chance of being seen
15. The bigger the image, the more time people took to look at it
16. Clean, clear faces in images attract more eye fixations on homepages
17. New, unfamiliar, conceptual information was more accurately recalled when participants received it in a multimedia graphic format

Faulkner, L. (2004) Beyond the five-user assumption: Benefits of increased sample sizes in usability testing. Retrieved April 14, 2008 from http://www.geocities.com/faulknerusability/Faulkner_BRMIC_Vol35.pdf

Gordon, S. (2000) User testing: setting up the test Retrieved April, 14 2008 fromhttp://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-22-5077374.html

Krug, S. (2006) Don't make me think 2nd edition New Riders Publishing

Peyrichoux, I. (2007) When observing users is not enough: 10 guidelines for getting more out of users’ verbal comments Retrieved April 14, 2007 from http://www.uxmatters.com/MT/archives/000183.php

Spiller, F (2008) Demystifying usability. Warning: third - party usability is bad for your health Retrieved April 14, 2008 from http://experiencedynamics.blogs.com/

University of Texas(2006) Develop the Usability Test Documents Retrieved April 14, 2008 from http://www.utexas.edu/learn/usability/test.html

Survey Results

I had eight responses to the questionnaire. On reviewing this survey, I decided to limit my focus both in subject matter and in grade levels. Since my interests and expertise are primarily with visual and performing arts at the early childhood level, I decided to emphasize teacher resources in those content areas and grade levels. Once I reviewed teacher resource websites, I realized how vast this project could become without limiting the target audience.

Survey Questions - Market Research

This is my survey introduction, followed by my questions.

I am an online student at Curtin University in Perth, Australia. As part of my course assignment I am designing an instructional teacher resource website. The responses are anonymous, and I hope the feedback will help me design an effective resource site. Please answer this survey and submit. Thank you for your participation.

Olsen (2008) suggests key questions to help evaluate your market. I used my survey as primary resource data for these questions.

• Who has a real need for the service I'm offering?

My audience is specific - k through 12 teachers, students, administrators and parents who home school. With the major push to infuse technology into the classroom in the USA and new tech savvy teachers the need for online resources is growing.

Secondary sources: According to Becker (1999) 46 percent of teachers used the internet at home and at school for lesson planning. Considering this study was completed 9 years ago that figure is fairly high. 65% thought WWW access both at home and in the classroom was essential. At this time he also found, "Teachers under age 30 in their first few years of teaching are the ones most likely to use the Internet professionally"(p.16).

O'Dwyer, Russell and Bebell (2004) found teachers employ technology for delivering instruction and class preparation.

Some major commercial teacher resource companies are making it easy for teachers to align curriculum content with subject matter standards. Probably more growth in use of internet by teachers because so much more is made available online. Changes in how teachers use the internet - not just as resource? But - also using new tech tools - wikis blogs podcasts, etc.?Access to newsYouTube

• How much time are they willing to spend to address that need?

This would be a free teacher resource site. There are many commercial sites that no longer offer free resources. Advertising on the site usually requires...

• How many potential customers are out there and how do you reach them?

Every school teacher is a potential customer/user. Depending on the availability of technology and

Becker, H.J (1999) retrieved March 31, 2008 from http://www.vermontinstitutes.org/tech/research/i-use-teach.pdf

O'Dwyer, L. Russell, M. Bebell, D (2004) Identifying Teacher, School and District CharacteristicsAssociated with Elementary Teachers’ Use of Technology:A Multilevel Perspective Retrieved April 1, 2008 from
http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v12n48/v12n48.pdf

Olsen, E (2008) Three Ways to Grow Your Business Retrieved 3/20/08 from http://entrepreneurs.about.com/od/beyondstartup/a/threewaystogrow.htm

Week 4

I found this honeycomb diagram from Morville(2004) about user experience design while looking around for usability info. It's an outgrowth the the 3 circles (content, context, users) of information architecture. It is a handy resource to use as we think of the desirable balance when creating a site.

Morville, P. (2004) User Experience Design Retrieved March 24, 2008 from

http://www.semanticstudios.com/publications/semantics/000029.php

Week 3 - Designing a Questionnaire

Leung (2001) gives suggestions for designing a questionnaire :

• Use short and simple sentences
• Ask for only one piece of information at a time
• Avoid negatives if possible
• Ask precise questions
• Ensure those you ask have the necessary knowledge
• Sensitive issues - hard to get truthful answers to sensitive questions
• Minimize bias

Format can be open or closed. Closed is easiest to fill in. It is a structured response where subject chooses between predetermined responses. Open Form - the subject writes in any response.

Order of questions is significant. I'll note the guidelines below:

• general to particular
  
• easy to difficult
• factual to abstract
• start with closed format
• start with questions pertaining to the main subject
• do NOT start with personal or demographic questions

The survey should begin with an introductory letter detailing the purpose of the survey. The survey can either be self administered or interview administered. Multiple choice questions are easy to lay out on a written survey. The respondents can pick the best answer or answers from among all the options. Make sure to give directions about how many answers to select after the question. Use the Likert scale to assess a person's feelings about something.
(Encylopedia of Educational Technology, 2008)

InfoPoll Survey tips include:

• short questionnaire
• use simple words
• relax your grammar
• assure common understanding
• start with interesting questions
• don't write leading questions
• avoid double negatives
• balance rating scales

Avoid using difficult concepts and making the list of choices too long. Put the questions in logical order and name the survey to pique interest. Pretest the survey.


Leung, W. C. (2001) How to conduct a questionnaire. Retrieved March 14, 2007 from http://student.bmj.com/back_issues/0601/education/187.html

Waddington, H. (2000) Types of survey questions Encylopedia of Educational Technology. Retrieved 3/16/08 from http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/Articles/surveyquest/index.htm

InfoPoll Survey (1998) http://www.accesscable.net/~infopoll/tips.htm

Site Research

Back to researching sites. I have spent this week searching sites with obvious usability flaws. This might be an example of the most cluttered site I have ever seen. I have gone to the extreme picking this one. http://www.havenworks.com/ I don't think the tag line, if you even notice it, helps. I'm confused as to what it even means. This page definitely needs to be simplified and given a clear visual hierarchy. My only positive usability comment would be that it is obvious what is clickable.

I do a lot or work with resources for teachers and so I think I will put my focus on similar pages.

Sites for Teachers http://www.sitesforteachers.com/

• the first thing that jumps out on this page is the ad on top, not the logo. Moving the logo to the left would make it noticeable.
• the logo is the only working home button. I would add one to each page other than the home page.
• the visual hierarchy is not obvious. The ads on the left overshadow the main menu links.
• it doesn't appear to have a user centered design
• it would help to break up the links into defined areas of interest rather than one endless list of page links. The main menu could be expanded to include the categories mentioned next to the logo - reading, mathematics etc using tabs across the top
• Some text size options would be good
• make page easier to scan

Educational Websites for Teachers http://www.camden.rutgers.edu/~wood/edwebsites.htm



Eduscape http://eduscapes.com/

• a resource site that simply links the viewer to other teacher resource sites they recommend
• home page is very noisy
• there is a logo however with all the other graphics of equal size, the logo does not stand out well
• a navigation bar of some kind would be helpful
• the logo is the only functioning home button
• the pages are not consistent in design layout
• advertisements are mixed in with links to legitimate educational resource sites
• the Eduscape News is somewhat more valuable to the teacher, but I would doubt that the teacher would have found the link.

Discovery Education http://school.discoveryeducation.com/

• logo clearly defines the purpose of the site
• the visual hierarchy clearly describes "school resources" in large font
• menu on the left is simply presented and the categories are those teachers will be interested in.
• advertisements are present but do not take away from the content.
• the site search is clearly marked and no login is required
• the content submenus are very clear and the page design is consistent
• professional look and design
• on other pages links are not only marked with a bullet, but are also underlined
• certain pages use moving elements to attract the viewer
  
  

PBS Teachers: http://www.pbs.org/teachers/

• easy to navigate site
• the visual hierarchy is well-defined with the larger fonts introducing prominent menu items.
• the site ID is clear
• there are no breadcrumbs or text size options.
• the page design is consistent
• main resource menu is always on the left
• each page has an advanced site search and each subject area page has a search function allowing for search by grade level and content area
• visited links do not change colour.

Edutopia http://www.edutopia.org/
This is a George Lucas Educational Foundation Site - so no lack of money or talent to spend.

Usability Research Continued

Nielson (2005) also recommends content specifically written for the web should be:

• short
• able to be scanned
• to the point
• answer users questions
• uses common language

He also suggests using contact info and liquid layout for page resizing.



Nielson, J. (2005). Top ten web design mistakes of 2005. Retrieved March 12, 2008 from http://www.useit.com/alertbox/designmistakes.html

Assignments - Week 2

Usability Research Scrapbook:

This blog is going to be my usability research scrapbook. I have only done one blog before this so hopefully I will not make too many mistakes. At least blogger seems pretty easy to use.

Market Research for Proposed Project:

I did ask this question in discussion but I'm still not sure. Are we to find a site we think has a usability problem and make suggestions for redesign after testing 3 similar sites? OR do we decide on a website we'd like to design and then find similar 3 sites to do usabilitytesting on? I don't know yet what I'll base my website on but I have started looking. So many choices! I'm still confused on the problem solving idea?

Usability Testing Video & Written Report:

Luckily I have a video camera, though I imagine I could do it with my web cam as well. I think
my friends are going to have to be my guinea pigs for this assignment. I will try and follow/adapt Krug's testing techniques and script. He makes it look easy, but I'm sure it's not.

Final Documentation:

I'll use Krug's "Don't make me think" to get ideas so I can get started on this assignment.

Research notes:

Krug (2006) has quite a lot of practical suggestions for successful site usablility. I''ll make notes of them here for quick review and a checklist to use. He suggests:

• A clear visual hierarchy
• the use of accepted web conventions
• each page should be clearly defined
• it should be obvious when something is 'clickable'
• include a search box on each page
• keep pages simple without much noise, not too busy
• use breadcrumbs (so that users can easily see where they are and how they got there). He suggests the greater than symbol > in between levels. For example Home > Subject > Category > This Page
• clear global navigation
• home buttons on every page
• importance of site ID - use logo and taglines
• distinct sections and utilities
• well thought page names
• likes use of tabs

Some additional things to watch for:

• low contrast text
• text that can't be resized or that can be and in so doing causes the content to disappear. http://www.456bereastreet.com/archive/200711/common_usability_problems/
• differentiate between visited and unvisited links(Nielson, 2005) http://www.useit.com/alertbox/designmistakes.html

Krug, S. (2006) Don’t Make Me Think, A common sense approach to Web Usability, Second Edition.
Berkeley: New Riders Publishing

Nielsen, J. (2008) Current Issues in Web Usability,
Retrieved March 10, 2008 from: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/


Identify a problem:

So I need to create a questionnaire and distribute it to help identify the problems. Still looking for site theme to focus on.

Usabilitiy - Week 1

"Matching the user's natural flow is just one challenge a web-based application developer needs to address" (Spool, 2008, para.5) . I found this useful. Can you find the application, is it what you expected, does the order flow as you thought?

I read through Krug "Don't make me think" and found it very easy to read - unlike most of my readings in other classes. He seems very practical and states things simply. I wish most text books followed his style. I changed my own site after reading it and added a site search to each page. I will probably add a site map too. It is making me critique sites I visit with his suggestions in mind.


Spool, J.M (2008). Important Usability Challenges for Designing Web Apps. Retrieved March 6, 2008 from http://www.uie.com/articles/web_app_challenges/

Student page

Yesterday I uploaded my student web page to webct.

Module 1: Usability Background

Starting with Module one I hope to keep a record of my research for this class here.