Implementing Learning Analytics: The journey to improve teaching and learning at five Australian universities

Universities are under heightened pressure to become more efficient using less resources., the quality of teaching and the student experience must not be sacrificed in pursuit of efficiency. One strategy is to use automation, smart technology to augment the work of human teachers. Not to replace the teacher but to make them better at what they do. Give them smart tools to do their jobs more effectively. Learning Analytics is one such tool that has the potential to leverage teaching capability. This paper examines the learning analytics implementations at five diverse Australian universities (regional and metropolitan) with varying degrees of success reported. These implementations are evaluated using of DeLone and McLean’s (2003) information system success model. It will be seen that participants in this interpretivist case study regard learning analytics as having potential benefits but are not sure about how best to realise analytics systems with extensive usability research built-in and offering sophisticated functionality seem likely to emerge and take precedence over the trial and error approach. This study addresses an apparent gap in the research as limited studies exist targeting both learning analytics and information system success.

Visualising user–website interaction: description and evaluation of a teaching method

This paper presents a teaching method applied in a usability research course that is part of a bachelor degree programme at the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice. The method employs visualisation techniques of the user–website interaction, a design practice popular in other fields, but less often used in usability studies. The theoretical background of the data visualisation method, as well as examples of its use in research, are presented and discussed in this paper. In addition to presenting the method, the paper evaluates and analyses how students have responded to it. Using the technology acceptance model, we identified the perceived usability of the method as the main factor influencing students’ behavioural intention to use it in the future.

The Application of a Novel, Context Specific, Remote, Usability Assessment Tool to Conduct a Pre-Redesign and Post-Redesign Usability Comparison of a Telemedicine Website

The usability of telemedicine provider websites is an essential component of increasing the public’s awareness of, understanding of, and safe and effective use of telemedicine. A newly developed usability data collection tool was used to conduct a usability assessment of the Teladoc website pre- and post- a redesign. The results suggest that the Teladoc website had better usability prior to the redesign. The Teladoc Website Usability Survey (TWUS) developed for the Teladoc website usability assessment can be modified and used in future usability studies of telemedicine provider interfaces. Usability research that takes place in specific context of use settings is more valuable to identify usability problems.

ANALISIS TINGKAT PENERIMAAN PENGGUNA OVO DI ARAWANG MENGGUNAKAN PENDEKATAN TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE MODEL (TAM)

This study aims to determine the level of acceptance of the OVO application as a digital wallet in Karawang with the TAM (Technology Acceptance Model) approach. This type of research is an explanatory research with a quantitative approach. The method used is using TAM with user ease and user usability research variables. The population in this study is the Karawang people who use the OVO application. The samples used in this study were 100 respondents taken using simple random sampling techniques and data collection methods using survey methods and questionnaires with questionnaire instruments and measurements using a Likert scale. The results of this study indicate that this research illustrates that the level of acceptance as part of a company has an influence on the users of the application. So the OVO company must continue to improve the quality of its application so that more and more users are using the OVO application. Keywords: User Acceptance Level, OVO, TAM Method

Digitalized Transformation, Social Networking and its Effect on Talent Acquisition

Advancement in technology has led to adoption of digitalized platforms for recruitment. Hiring in the current age is candidate driven. Competitive success of organizations has made it imperative for the recruiters to draw right talent. A vital appropriate digitalized professional social networking platform facilitates the recruiters to connect personally and professionally. The study attempts to analyze effectiveness of LinkedIn as a digitalized SNS platform by analyzing information content and website usability. Research was conducted through a structured questionnaire in Delhi, NCR with a sample size of 125 recruiters. Factor analysis was applied to identify varied attributes of the LinkedIn for its adoption by talent acquisition teams. Correlation and Regression enabled to study the influence of information and website quality on Intention to use LinkedIn. Findings of the study showed that perceived usefulness and information relevance influence the intention to use LinkedIn by recruiters the most.

EUREKATAX: A Taxonomy for the Representation and Analysis of Qualitative Usability Test Data

Usability tests serve as an insightful source of feedback for product teams that want to deliver user-centered solutions and enhance the User Experience (UX) of their products and services. However, in many cases, formative usability tests in particular may generate a large volume of qualitative and unstructured data that need to be analyzed for decision making and further actions. In this paper, we discuss a more formal method of analyzing empirical data, using a taxonomy, namely Engineering Usability Research Empirical Knowledge and Artifacts Taxonomy (EUREKATAX). We describe how it can provide guidance and openness for transforming fuzzy feedback statements into actionable items. The main aim of the proposed method is to facilitate a more holistic and standardized process to empirical data analysis while adapting on the solution or context. The main contributions of this work comprise the: (a) definition of the proposed taxonomy which represents an organization of information structured in a hierarchy of four main categories (discover, learn, act, and monitor), eight sub-categories, and 52 items (actions/operations with their respective properties); (b) description of a method, that is expressed through the taxonomy, and adheres to a systematic but modular approach for analyzing data collected from the usability studies for decision making and implementation; (c) formulation of the taxonomy’s theoretical framework based on meticulously selected principles like experiential learning, activity theory: learning by expanding, and metacognition, and (d) extended evaluation into two phases, with 80 UX experts and business professionals, showing on the one hand the strong reliability of the taxonomy and high perceived fit of the items in the various classifications, and on the other hand the high perceived usability, usefulness and acceptability of the taxonomy when put into practice in real-life conditions. These findings are really encouraging, in an attempt to generate comparable, generalizable and replicable results of usability tests’ qualitative data analysis, thereby improving the UX and impact of software solutions.

Performance and Usability of Smartglasses for Augmented Reality in Precision Livestock Farming Operations

In recent years, smartglasses for augmented reality are becoming increasingly popular in professional contexts. However, no commercial solutions are available for the agricultural field, despite the potential of this technology to help farmers. Many head-wearable devices in development possess a variety of features that may affect the smartglasses wearing experience. Over the last decades, dairy farms have adopted new technologies to improve their productivity and profit. However, there remains a gap in the literature as regards the application of augmented reality in livestock farms. Head-wearable devices may offer invaluable benefits to farmers, allowing real-time information monitoring of each animal during on-farm activities. The aim of this study was to expand the knowledge base on how augmented reality devices (smartglasses) interact with farming environments, focusing primarily on human perception and usability. Research has been conducted examining the GlassUp F4 smartglasses during animal selection process. Sixteen participants performed the identification and grouping trials in the milking parlor, reading different types of contents on the augmented reality device optical display. Two questionnaires were used to evaluate the perceived workload and usability of the device. Results showed that the information type could influence the perceived workload and the animal identification process. Smart glasses for augmented reality were a useful tool in the animal genetic improvement program offering promising opportunities for adoption in livestock operations in terms of assessing data consultation and information about animals.

A Weekly, Evidence-Based Health Letter for Caregivers (90Second Caregiver): Usability Study

Background Informal caregivers are family members or close friends who provide unpaid help to individuals with acute or chronic health conditions so that they can manage daily life tasks. The greatest source of health information is the internet for meeting the needs of caregivers. However, information on the internet may not be scientifically valid, it may be written in language that is difficult to read, and is often in very large doses. 90Second Caregiver is a health letter whose aim is to disseminate knowledge to caregivers in a user-friendly, weekly format, in order to improve their wellbeing. Objective The main objective was to test a sample of 90Second Caregiver health letters in order to assess their usability and to optimize the design and content of the health letters. Methods Usability research themes were assessed using semi-structured phone interviews, incorporating the Think Aloud method with retrospective questioning. Results Usability was assessed in the context of five main themes: understandability and learnability, completeness, relevance, and quality and credibility of the health letter content, as well as design and format. Caregivers generally provided positive feedback regarding the usability of the letters. The usability feedback was used to refine 90Second Caregiver in order to improve the design and content of the series. Based on the results of this study, it may be of maximum benefit to target the series towards individuals who are new to caregiving or part-time caregivers, given that these caregivers of the sample found the letters more useful and relevant and had the most positive usability experiences. Conclusions The findings assisted in the improvement of the 90Second Caregiver template, which will be used to create future health letters and refine the letters that have already been created. The findings have implications for who the 90Second Caregiver series should be targeting (ie, newer or part-time caregivers) in order to be maximally impactful in improving mental health and wellbeing-related outcomes for caregivers, such as self-efficacy and caregiving knowledge. The results of this study may be generalizable to the examination of other electronic health information formats, making them valuable to future researchers testing the usability of health information products. In addition, the methods used in this study are useful for usability hypothesis generation. Lastly, our 90Second delivery approach can generate information useful for a set of similar products (eg, weekly health letters targeted towards other conditions/populations).

Usability: Adoption, Measurement, Value

Objective We searched for the application of usability in the literature with a focus on adoption, measurements employed, and demonstrated value. Five human factors domains served as a platform for our reflection, which included the last 20 years. Background As usability studies continue to accumulate, there has been only a little past reflection on usability and contributions across a variety of applications. Our research provides a background for general usability, and we target specific usability research subareas within transportation, aging populations, autistic populations, telehealth, and cybersecurity. Method “Usability” research was explored across five different domains within human factors. The goal was not to perform an exhaustive review but, rather, sample usability practices within several specific subareas. We focused on answering three questions: How was usability adopted? How was it measured? How was it framed in terms of value? Conclusion We found that usability is very domain specific. Usability benchmarking studies and empirical standards are rare. The value associated with improving usability ranged widely—from monetary benefits to saving lives. Thus, researchers are motivated to further improve usability practices. A number of data collection and interpretation challenges still call for solutions. Application Findings offer insight into the development of usability, as applied across a variety of subdomains. Our reflection ought to inform future theory development efforts. We are concerned about the lack of established benchmarks, which can help ground data interpretation. Future research should address this gap in the literature. We note that our findings can be used to develop better training materials for future usability researchers.