An approach to usability evaluation of e-learning applications

  • Authors:
  • C. Ardito;F. Costabile;M. De Marsico;R. Lanzilotti;S. Levialdi;T. Roselli;V. Rossano

  • Affiliations:
  • Dipartimento di Informatica, Università di Bari, Bari, Italy;Dipartimento di Informatica, Università di Bari, Bari, Italy;Dipartimento di Informatica, Università di Roma “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy;Dipartimento di Informatica, Università di Bari, Bari, Italy;Dipartimento di Informatica, Università di Roma “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy;Dipartimento di Informatica, Università di Bari, Bari, Italy;Dipartimento di Informatica, Università di Bari, Bari, Italy

  • Venue:
  • Universal Access in the Information Society
  • Year:
  • 2006

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Abstract

Despite recent advances of electronic technologies in e-learning, a consolidated evaluation methodology for e-learning applications is not available. The evaluation of educational software must consider its usability and more in general its accessibility, as well as its didactic effectiveness. This work is a first step towards the definition of a methodology for evaluating e-learning applications. Specific usability attributes capturing the peculiar features of these applications are identified. A preliminary user study involving a group of e-students, observed during their interaction with an e-learning application in a real situation, is reported. Then, the proposal is put forward to adapt to the e-learning domain a methodology for systematic usability evaluation, called SUE. Specifically, evaluation patterns are proposed that are able to drive the evaluators in the analysis of an e-learning application.