Lambda Solutions e-Learning 2.0 Online Training and Moodle Experts

• If you want to learn more about designing interactions from leaders in the field, click here
• If you would like to learn how Donald Norman (noted authority on workable technology) has redefined usability in the eLearning context, click here
• If you would like some of your questions answered about Moodle, click here

Probably the most recognized name in usability testing is Jakob Nielson who first brought the concept to the web. He believes that web pages must be simple to navigate and intuitively organized so that users can easily find the information they are looking for.

But does that definition go far enough in our world of eLearning? Shailesh Shilwant, in her article, Usability testing for eLearning thinks not, in fact she mentions three additional components that are key to defining usability in the eLearning world.

Purpose

The product must not only be easy to use, but also serve a purpose. Usefulness is a key measure when developing a needs assessment for an online course.

Learnability

This term, coined by Donald Norman, is defined as the ease and speed with which users can figure out how to use a product. In eLearning this concept may be expanded to include the ability of users to learn and retain skills and knowledge. Most often the learnability of the course is directly associated with the strengths of the instructional design.

Motivation

Principles such as feedback, curiosity, relevance, control, challenge and contextualization each contribute to build engagement and motivation for users.

• feedback in interface design, such as visual and audio cues help users understand the consequences of their action
• feedback in instructional design offers guidance and remediation to help reinforce learning points.

Beyond this definition of usability for eLearning is the need to engage in user interface design testing, personas (creating archetypal learners that represent the target learner) and more conventional post-course assessments, surveys and interviews as a means to understand the impact of training on the learners.

Lambda is currently fully engaged in usability issues as we near completion of our BC Hydro Emergency Procedures On-line Training Course.

One key aspect in redefining usability in the eLearning space is to apply instructional design principles to attain learnability. Once again learnability is defined as the ease and speed with which users can learn and retain skills and knowledge. Lambda has created both a concept-based on-line course along with a series of scenarios where they must work through an emergency situation from the onset until users are completely safe in a muster area.

Our own usability standards required us to:

• create a mock-up of the scenarios for client approval
• storyboard a number of emergency scenarios for fire, earthquake and possible earthquake
• photo-reference a specific office environment to ensure greater authenticity and transferability
• create a look and feel of all visual elements that are absolutely accurate representations from the work environment
• leverage curiosity as a motivational principle to create an environment of discovery
• use feedback to offer guidance and remediation to reinforce learning
• obtain feedback from members of the target audience for iterative design

Cheryl Milner, Lambda Solutions Newsletter editor asked Tom Grady about his perspective on usability issues.

Jakob Nielsen believes web pages should be simple to navigate and intuitively organized. Given our work in the eLearning field, I'm wondering if you have identified other components to consider beyond good interface design?

Yes, not only must the interface be intuitive but it should be based on sound instructional design. Each page should logically follow one to the next. Given that on-line learning, by definition, is missing the on-going cues and context set in a traditional classroom, the learner must always be informed about where they are in the learning process.

Learners want to feel that there is a flow to the learning - that they are making progress so we tend to keep individual pages slim and ensure that all instructions are clear and demonstrative.

What methods have you used to increase learner motivation while engaged in an on-line course?

Simplicity is important. We tend to allow the learner only two or three places to go to on a screen. We don't believe in overloading the page with content but rather to give them the sense that they are moving forward.

In increasing levels of complexity and engagement...

• use audio redundantly with the text to help reinforce the content as we believe it helps with learner engagement and retention.
• use Captivate (a means to capture onscreen activity) to demonstrate a process.
• engage in "e;Try me"e; interactions such as a process or a transaction
• provide web-conferencing through synchronous learning

What are your fundamental usability standards or protocols in conducting usability testing?

ICBC has its own usability department so under normal circumstances all courses would be reviewed by them, but for the purposes of this interview this is what we are concerned with:

• Ensuring there is intuitive navigation - that a learner can go through the learning experience easily, and that they can find what they are looking for
• Testing our own internal consistency - that there is internal consistency to the course, standards in the look and feel of the course including for example, placement of buttons on the screen
• Analysis of a course element if a learner makes more than 2 - 3 attempts
• Attempts to break the course by anticipating inappropriate actions
• Engaging in pre-pilot with target audience members (prior to production)
• Engaging in pilot test with target audience (post-production)

Lambda Solutions is a co-sponsor and will participate in the upcoming MoodleMoot sponsored by Athabasca University from May 3 - 5 in Edmonton, Alberta. A MoodleMoot is a conference that you can attend either face-to-face (f2f) in Edmonton or you can attend online. The Canadian MoodleMoot is of interest to anyone who uses (or wants to use) Moodle to work with others!

• Post-secondary instructors,
• University professors,
• Work-place based trainers,
• People in Small Training Organizations and businesses,
• New and questioning Moodlers,
• Moodlers and open source advocates, and
• Geeks, Techies & Developers.

What will I Be a Part Of?

You will also have the opportunity to meet with other Canadian moodlers and can participate in real-time conversations and asynchronous discussions with worldwide Moodlers. Together we can learn more about using Moodle with others.

MoodleMoot Streams

There will be four streams:

• K-12 & post-secondary issues
• Business Moodling
• Moodle Administration
• Moodle Tools and Techniques

Efrat Ben-Yehuda has recently joined Lambda Solutions as our newest consultant in the area of instructional design and usability. She is about to complete her M.A. in Interactive Arts and Technology at Simon Fraser University. Her areas of interest are information architecture and software usability. Efrat has had twelve years experience in working with eLearning, Telcom, and High-Tech companies.

Social engagement in web-based communities is of particular interest to Efrat because she sees the inter-relationship between on-line communities and historical gift economies. Gift economies were typical of Native communities who shared resources, and knowledge based on trust relationships.

Lambda's newletter editor, Cheryl Milner has a few burning questions to ask of Efrat in the area of usability.

How will you apply your knowledge of on-line communities in a web-based learning environment?

It's really important to understand what builds strong communities and this can be analyzed by observation, and studying relationships of members of those communities. When you extract patterns of behavior you can build a better infrastructure to support the needs of the community and increase the usability of the interface.

Tell me more about what we need to do to support learning and knowledge sharing?

In relation to the gift economies, there are three main approaches to build strong on-line communities. They are based on reciprocity, participation and bonding. Positive examples include the Open-Source community, on-line Blogs, Wikipedia, Web 2.0 standards and alike.

First steps should be supporting open channels of communication and feedback circulation, including implementation of features such as users 'rating', and 'tagging'. Those will help to transfer workload from the organization to the community. Participants engaged in a democratic open sphere, are able to contribute their efforts to improve the organizations products, processes and information flow.

How do you envision the future of social networks?

Based on the decrease costs of technology and production, we can anticipate a rise in 'niche' markets. Within a short period of time we will be able to see more collaboration between various networks including a mash-up of projects and resources shared by academics, and industry in varying centers of knowledge.