Engineering Design for Educational Interfaces

Nathan Balasubramanian

Nick Joseph

Jodi Kiefer

Isaac Sanders

IntroductionIntroduction

o Educational ConsiderationsEducational Considerations 6 Basic Criteria6 Basic Criteria Criteria Tradeoffs Criteria Tradeoffs Relationships Between CriteriaRelationships Between Criteria System Evaluation – The SwikiSystem Evaluation – The Swiki

Educational Considerations

Motivation

Engagement

Intentionality

Feedback-driven Assessment

Six Basic Criteria

Simplicity Consistency Coherence Usability Accessibility Usefulness

Simplicity & Consistency

1. Simplicity limited type & color styles short text lines simple structure

2. Consistency navigation text formatting

3. Coherence

Eliminate extraneous material (i.e. pictures/sounds/words)

Remove unnecessary text (i.e. in-depth explanations) Similar to Reseeding Phase in SER Model

Usability & Accessibility

4. Usability Good labeling Spatial Contiguity (text close to relevant picture) Reduce working memory load

5. Accessibility Interface accessible to everyone Minimal technology requirements

6. Usefulness

Limit the focus Know the audience Address student needs Use emotional impact

Criteria Tradeoffs

Simplicity – Less powerful features / Interfaces less useful

Consistency– User may feel “Controlled” or “Confined”

Usefulness vs. Usable– More complex = less usable

Accessibility– Advanced technology is less accessible but more useful

Coherence– User engagement issues

Relationships Between Criteria

Moderation is key to success

Hand-in-hand (“AND”) Relationships– Usability Consistency– Simplicity & Coherence

“Versus” Relationships– Usefulness vs. Usable– Usefulness vs. Accessibility

System Evaluation: The Swiki

Educational Considerations: – Motivation– Engagement

Applying the 6 Basic Criteria:– Simplicity– Consistency – Coherence– Usability– Accessibility– Usefulness

The Swiki: Pros

Supports Wiki Markup Language & HTML– Wider range of users– << Usability >>

Consistent Navigation– Navigational Side-Panel– << Consistency >>

Uploading Capability– Easy-to-use– << Usability >>

The Swiki:Recommendations for Improvements

Standardizing User Contributions & Space– Color– Time Stamp & Name– Basic Generated Profile Pages

Subsection Navigation– Back Button within new page creation

Fixing “References to this Page” Link