|
Home | Week1 | Week2 | Week3 | Week4 | Week5 | Week6 | Week7 | Week8 | Week9 | Week10 |
Developing Educational Materials for the World Wide Web
Week 8 - An Eduweb
We have already reached week 8! Only two more weeks to go. I hope you have been learning about website design, especially design for education.
When designing websites for education, a number of concepts should be kept in mind. Among these are Learnability, Memorability, Efficiency, Reliability, and User Satisfaction. We also need to be aware of the target audience and the learning context.
LEARNABILITY Users that come to an educational site must learn how to use the site as an educational tool and medium. Users must learn how to navigate through a site, how to find specific content and content areas, and how to use the site as a tool and a medium. For example, in order for you to use this course syllabus, you had to learn how to use the web as an educational medium and tool, i.e. you had to learn where the lectures are posted, how the lectures are presented, where and how to submit your assignments, where and how to access your instructor, etc. Thus, web designers must create web systems (navigation, labeling, search, etc.) that are easy to learn how to use.
MEMORABILITY If a site is difficult to remember how to use it will not be used extensively or regularly because the user will constantly have to expend time learning how to use the site properly. The four main factors that go into the memorability are: simplicity of design and organization redundancy of systems; the consistency of design, and reliable help If a site is too complicated it will not be easily remembered. If a site uses too many different kinds of navigational systems and labeling systems, it will be difficult to remember. Users need simplicity, redundancy, and consistency, and if all else fails a help feature.
EFFICIENCY IN USE The efficiency of use is largely determined by how well a site supports users as they progress from beginners to intermediates to experts in terms of their usage of the technology. A first-time user of a site requires different kinds of information than a repeat user. For example, a first-time user of the site might welcome splash screens with useful tips on how to access information on the site, whereas a repeat user might prefer shortcuts to content areas where they left off at a previous session. Educational web developers must therefore consider the efficiency in use of the technology as well as the efficiency in use of the educational content.
RELIABILITY IN USE The reliability in use is less a factor of the inherent reliability of the web site and more a matter of how reliable the technology is when users are factored into the equation. A web site may function perfectly in the abstract but fail when users are asked to interact with the technology. To a large degree, reliability in use is determined by how well a web designer can predict and account for human error.
USER SATISFACTION It may seem obvious but a satisfied user is more likely to use a site effectively and efficiently. A lost, bored, and/or aggravated user is less likely to become a repeat user or a motivated user. Sometimes designers get caught up in their own exploration of the technology to such an extent that they fail to accurately predict how users will react to a design and the result is a less than satisfied user. How many of us have been annoyed by those blinking words on a web page or by a confusing background that causes text to disappear and our heads to spin? How many of us have been totally lost by a poorly labeled site or a site that lacks any clear and consistent navigation scheme? How many of us have waited for what seems to be an eternity for an image to download? The obvious is not always obvious to designers, especially when designers do not know or take into account the significant characteristics of their audience.
CHARACTERISTICS OF TARGET AUDIENCE Educational webs can be designed for general learning populations, specific learning populations, or a combination of both. Design decisions should consider such factors as: educational background such as grade level or number and kind of degrees age level of domain knowledge learning styles (spatial versus sequential, kinetic versus auditory, etc.) work and other relevant experiences special abilities disabilities cultural and social background such as the native language For example, younger learners might benefit from multimedia versus textual presentation, kinetic learners might benefit from the use of more interactive tools, and webs designed for a global audience of learners might include multi-language versus a single language presentation.
CONTEXT OF LEARNING Eduweb designers need to have some knowledge of the context of learning, that is, home, classroom, workplace, library, etc. with or without a teacher or mentor (self-directed versus directed learning) intended for an individual or for a collaborative audience
TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES Educational web designers must also take into account the technology available to the user including, access limitations & options -- modem, ISDN, 56k or T1 connection. Schools that are accessing the web using modems and paying per-minute telephone rates might desire web designs that are more efficient in the use of graphics or any other features that might lengthen the download times and thereby increase charges accessed to the user.
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS Eduweb designers must also take into account considerations such as,
- USABILITY -- how easily a site can be used by users
- CONTENT UTILITY -- how reliable, interesting, relevant and up-to-date is the content
- GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN & AESTHETICS: how attractive is the design
- ASSESSMENT, MAINTENANCE & PROMOTION
Assignment & Activity
For this assignment, you are asked to serve as a judge of the education category in an International Web Site Competition. You are asked to judge the following sites based on three main criteria: Site Usability, Quality of Content, and Appropriateness of Design.
Score each of the sites in the three main categories, using a a scale of 1 to 10: Site Usability (1=unusable and 10=most usable) Quality (1=poor and 10=superlative) Design (1=not appropriate and 10=most appropriate)
Add up the scores and then rank the sites. For the top three sites, briefly describe the site in terms of usability, content quality, and design from the perspective of its educational value.
The Sites to Be Reviewed Include:
The Gene School 99 (http://library.advanced.org/28599/ )
Email me your reviews of these sites, how you would rate them and why.
Developing Educational Materials for the World Wide Web
EOU Malheur County Center (541) 889-7468 or (541) 889-6222
