PEDAGOGICAL USABILITY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THE E-LEARNING SYSTEM IN MUNI UNIVERSITY, UGANDA

This study was intended to unveil the pedagogical usability of the e-learning system in Muni University. The study adopted a case study design to allow in-depth study. Quantitative and qualitative approaches were employed. A total of 218 questionnaires were administered to the respondents and 179 questionnaires were received back registering a response rate of 82%. Descriptive statistics were computed. Inferential statistical analysis included correlation and multiple regressions, which were used to test the hypotheses. The correlation coefficient (r) was used to determine the strength of the relationship. The significance of the coefficient (p) was used to test the relationship between the independent and the dependent variables. Regressions and ANOVA determined which of the independent variables accounted most for the variance in the dependent variable. Qualitative data were analyzed under themes. Results show that pedagogical usability has very high influence on the effectiveness of the e-learning system at Muni University accounting for 82% variance.   Article visualizations

A conceptual framework highlighting e-learning implementation barriers

Purpose– E-learning has gained much focus from educators and researchers, with many extolling e-learning over traditional learning. Despite this focus, implementation of e-learning systems often fails. Literature considers a range of barriers, impacting the success of e-learning implementations, yet to the best of our knowledge no conceptual framework is able to consolidate existing research. Design/methodology/approach– This paper undertook an in-depth review of literature concerning e-learning implementation barriers. Papers were extracted from established journals and open sources. Articles not related to e-learning implementation barriers were discarded. A total of 259 papers were identified, published between 1990 and 2016. Hermeneutics and data-driven qualitative content analysis was used to define 68 unique barriers. Findings– The 68 unique barriers were thematically grouped into four conceptual categories, i.e. Technology (T), Individual (I), Pedagogy (P) and Enabling Conditions (EC). These 4 categories led to the conceptualization of ‘TIPEC’ Framework, which highlights the key concepts hindering e-learning implementation and delivery. Results show that most articles only consider a narrow range of success barriers. Practical implications – The proposed TIPEC framework acts as a guide for education practitioners, system developers, policy makers and researchers. It provides stakeholders with a summary of e-learning barriers. Originality/Value – This paper fulfils an identified need for a conceptual framework that consolidates all current research related to E-learning implementation barriers

ОЦІНЮВАННЯ ЮЗАБІЛІТІ ЕЛЕКТРОННИХ ЗАСОБІВ НАВЧАЛЬНОГО ПРИЗНАЧЕННЯ

Purpose is to justify the importance and the necessity of usability evaluation of e-learning applications. The method of study is definition of the concept of usability, analysis of existing methods and criteria for usability evaluation, as well as determining the parameters that are necessary to carry out the proper usability evaluation of e-learning applications. The basic methods for usability evaluating, as well as the criteria by which to conduct this assessment are determined. It is established that the assessment of usability of e-learning applications is an integral and important part of the development of life cycle of most tools and systems. Usability Evaluation enables the creation of e-learning systems that will be used to support its users, namely those who teach and those who learn. Development of appropriate methodologies for usability evaluating of e-learning is the key to creating effective, productive and high suitable educational systems.Обоснована необходимость оценки юзабилити электронных средств учебного назначения. Определены понятие юзабилити, параметры, необходимые для проведения соответствующей оценки юзабилити электронных средств учебного назначения, основные методы оценки юзабилити, критерии, по которым нужно проводить эту оценку, составляющие юзабилити – техническая и дидактическая. Установлено, что оценка юзабилити электронных средств учебного назначения является неотъемлемой составляющей разработки жизненного цикла этих средств и систем. Показано, что оценка юзабилити дает возможность создания таких систем електронного обучения, которые будут направлены на поддержку своих пользователей, а именно того, кто обучает, и того, кто учится. Отмечено, что разработка соответствующей методики оценки юзабилити систем электронного обучения является ключом к созданию эффективных, продуктивных и «высокопригодных» обучающих систем.Обґрунтувано необхідність оцінки юзабіліті електронних засобів навчального призначення. Визначено поняття юзабіліті, параметри, що необхідні для проведення відповідної оцінки юзабіліті електронних засобів навчального призначення, основні методи оцінки юзабіліті, критерії, за якими потрібно проводити цю оцінку, складові юзабіліті – технічна і дидактична. Установлено, що оцінка юзабіліті електронних засобів навчального призначення є невід’ємною і важливою складовою розробки життєвого циклу цих самих засобів і систем. Показано, що оцінка юзабіліті дає можливість створення таких систем електронного навчання, які будуть спрямовані на підтримку своїх користувачів, а саме того, хто навчає, і того, хто навчається. Зазначено, що розробка відповідної методики оцінки юзабіліті систем електронного навчання є ключем до створення ефективних, продуктивних і «високопридатних» навчальних систем

The Assessment of the Usability of Digital Educational Resources: An interdisciplinary analysis from two systematic reviews

Producción CientíficaInternational reports analyzing current and future educational trends with an emphasis on technologies applied to education declare the importance of the design and application of digital educational resources. Guaranteeing its usability allows obtaining an adequate resource with a high pedagogical and technological quality. The objective of this paper is to analyze the empirical researches to determine if exists convergence between educational and computational researches on the assessment of the usability of digital educational resources. To fulfill the objective, the PRISMA protocol was used to carry out two systematic reviews and answer the two scientific questions. The results show that in few cases an adequate integration is achieved between: (1) the criteria for assessing usability as established by Software Engineering; (2) the methods and computational models to assess usability and, (3) the criteria established in pedagogical usability. Due to these shortcomings, a model for evaluating the usability of digital educational resources is proposed as future work. It concludes with the importance of interdisciplinary integration to assess the usability of digital educational resources

Usability evaluation method for mobile learning application using agile: A systematic review

The use of mobile phones for academic purpose has been on the rise in recent years.Most m-learning applications have been proved that they did not undergo usability evaluation while a few of the application underwent reliable usability evaluations.This paper reviews previous research that has been carried out to evaluate the usability of m-learning applications and how this approach could be integrated into the Agile development process in a bid to make a more effective and usable m-learning application. We focus on previous works that has been done in both, mobile application usability and integration of agile approaches for Usability evaluation.The incorporation of agile development processes and the usability evaluation of m-learning applications has produced a significant impact.This is seen as more m-learning applications are done in the sprints with the usability evaluation preceding it and following the development process which makes the applications more usable and user friendly

Learning Management Systems: Understanding the Expectations of Learners in Developing Countries

The main objective of this study was to identify strategies of enabling learners in developing countries to fully exploit the potential of learning management systems (LMSs). The study set out to: (i) identify the services of learning management systems that are most needed and desired by university learners in developing countries, and (ii) to identify appropriate access strategies that would guide design decisions on how to effectively and satisfactorily deliver such services to the university students in developing countries. A total of 144 students from two African universities participated in the study by responding to an online survey questionnaire. The questionnaire asked students; how often they accessed LMSs to obtain, create and exchange information and knowledge; their preference for the different devices used for accessing the LMS; the LMS services they are most often required to access; and the services they most desire to use. The findings of the survey indicate that the most desired and most accessed LMS services by the students include assignments, announcements, resources, course outlines and the chat room. At the same time, mobile phones are rated the least used devices for accessing the LMS services

Designing Mobile LMS Interfaces: Learners’ Expectations and Experiences

Purpose – This paper aims to present findings of a study that was carried out to identify strategies of enabling learners in developing countries to fully exploit the potential of learning management systems (LMSs). The study set out to: identify the services of learning management systems that are most needed and desired by university learners in developing countries; and identify appropriate access strategies that would guide design decisions on how to effectively and satisfactorily deliver such services to the university students in developing countries. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 144 students from two African universities participated in the study by responding to an online survey questionnaire. The questionnaire asked students: how often they accessed LMSs to obtain, create and exchange information and knowledge; their preference for the different devices used for accessing the LMS; the LMS services they are most often required to access; and the services they most desire to use. Findings – The findings of the survey indicate that the most desired and most accessed LMS services by the students include: assignments, announcements, resources, course outlines and the chat room. At the same time, mobile phones are rated the least used devices for accessing the LMS services, mainly due to inadequate design of LMSs for mobile interaction. Originality/value – The paper also presents mobile LMS interface designs and ideas achieved through a participatory design process for enhancing the accessibility of the most needed and desired LMS services on mobile phones

Aspectos a considerar en la evaluación de la satisfacción en entornos virtuales de aprendizaje

Cada vez hay un mayor interés en medir y evaluar la experiencia de usuario de manera más objetiva y precisa con respecto a las necesidades reales de los usuarios. Sin embargo, la evolución de la tecnología ha implicado diversos retos que involucran lograr un acercamiento y comprensión de los elementos implícitos en la interacción de un usuario y un sistema interactivo. En el caso de entornos virtuales de aprendizaje, el desafío es mayor, ya que hay aspectos propios del contexto, que los métodos tradicionales son insuficientes para proporcionar una forma adecuada de evaluar la satisfacción de uso en este tipo de entornos. En este artículo se presenta una propuesta que pretende incluir dentro de la evaluación de la satisfacción de uso, elementos cruciales que caracterizan a los sistemas software dedicados al aprendizaje, y a su vez se propone la manera de evaluarlos desde un enfoque emocional

A Streamlined Mobile User-Interface for Improved Access to LMS Services

Abstract— Universities in developing countries face greater challenges in implementing Learning Management Systems (LMSs) due to resource-poor settings, characterized by: low levels of ICT infrastructure; electricity outages; few computers; and limited and expensive Internet bandwidth, among other constraints. It is anticipated that if mobile phones are carefully integrated into the ecologies of LMSs, the impact of some of the above challenges in implementing LMSs would be reduced. This paper presents a user-centered design process of mobile LMS interfaces for accessing selected LMS services on mobile phones, and a user experience evaluation for a mobile LMS application implementation. From the design and implementation processes of the mLMS (mobile LMS), and the user experience evaluation of a working mLMS prototype, we conclude that: the ideas presented in the mLMS are technically feasible; the application is useful to the students and the students are encouraged to use their mobile phones to access LMS services more often, thereby reducing the over-reliance and pressure on the constrained institutional ICT resources

Aspects to consider in the evaluation of satisfaction in virtual learning environments

Cada vez hay un mayor interés en medir y evaluar la experiencia de usuario de manera más objetiva y precisa con respecto a las necesidades reales de los usuarios. Sin embargo, la evolución de la tecnología ha implicado diversos retos que involucran lograr un acercamiento y comprensión de los elementos implícitos en la interacción de un usuario y un sistema interactivo. En el caso de entornos virtuales de aprendizaje, el desafío es mayor, ya que hay aspectos propios del contexto, que los métodos tradicionales son insuficientes para proporcionar una forma adecuada de evaluar la satisfacción de uso en este tipo de entornos. En este artículo se presenta una propuesta que pretende incluir dentro de la evaluación de la satisfacción de uso, elementos cruciales que caracterizan a los sistemas software dedicados al aprendizaje, y a su vez se propone la manera de evaluarlos desde un enfoque emocional.Every time there is an increased interest in measuring and evaluating the user experience more objectively and accurately with respect to the real needs of users. However, the evolution of technology has meant various challenges and has achieved a closer understanding of the implicit elements in the interaction of a user and an interactive system. In the case of virtual learning environments, the challenge is greater as there are contextual specific aspects that traditional methods cannot provide in an adequate way to assess the satisfaction of use in such environments. This proposal intended to include crucial elements that characterize learning software systems and to show how to evaluate these systems from an emotional approach