Usability and Reflection Video

Reflect on who you were able to have conducted the usability testing. Were you able to get the right people? Why or why not? What can you do to improve this in the future?

The participants in my usability survey were a diverse group, including campus leadership, such as the principal and academic coach. I am delighted with the range of perspectives that responded to my course usability survey. This diversity allowed for a comprehensive understanding of how a professional learning course should look and what components should be included, making each participant's contribution invaluable.

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What impact did your platform (LMS, Google Docs, or other digital sharing) have on the testing and results?

The Participants who responded to my online course usability survey all came from my campus. My campus or district is a Google campus and is not using Canvas as an LMS. We are using Google Classroom for everything LMS. As the course developer, I chose to use Canvas to widen my knowledge and skills in using technology. There were some difficulties for my participants, such as not seeing where the syllabus was, which is why one of the responses I got was that the syllabus was not found.

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What were the lessons you learned from the usability testing feedback?

I have learned that different participants see different things when taking a course. Some will explore all the components, and some will browse the course. When creating a course, we need to be very specific about what we want the participants to see and what we want the learners to learn.

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What have you done to your design to address the usability issues revealed in the testing? What have you added or taken away?

Based on the feedback, I plan to add a time frame or checklist to my course so that the participants know what to expect in each activity and how long they should complete it. I also plan to have a cheat sheet or a video on navigating through Canvas for new participants in using Canvas as an LMS.

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How has this process improved your course and your learner's experience?

The process taught me that as course creators, we should remember to put ourselves in the participants' shoes. It is always important to know who the targeted learners are and what their backgrounds are. It is also important to know the participants' current skills and knowledge so that the course can build on what the participants already know to achieve the learning goals. 

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How has the testing impacted your alignment of outcomes activities and assessment?

The usability test and feedback have given me a better understanding of what learners are looking for when starting a course, and the learning objective. I learned that the activities and assessment should be aligned with the learning objective the course facilitators want the learners to know. The outcome should be relevant to the goals of the course. The survey has confirmed that the course has activities and assessments that is relevant to the learning outcome the course aims to have.

 

How will you address the infrastructure, system, and support needs and issues the learner may face?

Learners can contact the facilitators directly for the online course structure support needs. Since most participants are expected to do the course during the workshop phase, it is designed to be a hybrid model. Most participants will be able to ask for help personally when encountering technical difficulties. Participants who are not attending the face-to-face session can request a Zoom so that the facilitators can troubleshoot with the participants. If it is an infrastructure or system problem, the participants will be requested to create a help desk ticket for the IT department, which can help them troubleshoot whatever issues they may have.