On the Usability Evaluation of E-Learning Applications

Despite the advances of the electronic technologies in e-learning, a consolidated evaluation methodology for e-learning applications does not yet exist. The goal of e-learning is to offer the users the possibility to become skillful and acquire knowledge on a new domain. The evaluation of educational software must consider its pedagogic effectiveness as well as its usability. The design of its interface should take into account the way students learn and also provide good usability so that student's interactions with the software are as natural and intuitive as possible. In this paper, we present the results obtained from a first phase of observation and analysis of the interactions of people with e-learning applications. The aim is to provide a methodology for evaluating such applications

The Usability of E-learning Platforms in Higher Education: A Systematic Mapping Study

The use of e-learning in higher education has increased significantly in recent years, which has led to several studies being conducted to investigate the usability of the platforms that support it. A variety of different usability evaluation methods and attributes have been used, and it has therefore become important to start reviewing this work in a systematic way to determine how the field has developed in the last 15 years. This paper describes a systematic mapping study that performed searches on five electronic libraries to identify usability issues and methods that have been used to evaluate e-learning platforms. Sixty-one papers were selected and analysed, with the majority of studies using a simple research design reliant on questionnaires. The usability attributes measured were mostly related to effectiveness, satisfaction, efficiency, and perceived ease of use. Furthermore, several research gaps have been identified and recommendations have been made for further work in the area of the usability of online learning

An e-Learning Environment for Deaf Adults

Raithel V, Straetz K, Kaibel A, Specht M, Grote K, Kramer F. An e-Learning Environment for Deaf Adults. In: Workshop Proceedings. 8th ERCIM Workshop on User Interfaces for All, Vienna, Austria, June 28-29, 2004. Springer; 2004.The objective of this paper is to present a learning management system (LMS) which offers German Sign Language videos in correspondence to every text in the learning environment. The system is designed notably for deaf adults who want to maintain and improve their mathematical and reading/writing skills. The described LMS offers deaf students a new paradigm of learning: For the first time they will be enabled to learn self-determined in their own language, the sign language