extended-abstract

Effective user experience in online technical communication courses: employing multiple methods within organizational contexts to assess usability

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Marjorie Rush HovdeAuthors Info & Claims

SIGDOC '15: Proceedings of the 33rd Annual International Conference on the Design of Communication

Article No.: 30, Pages 1 - 5

https://doi.org/10.1145/2775441.2775453

Published: 16 July 2015 Publication History

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Abstract

In teaching online technical communication courses, shaping an electronic interface requires extensive consideration of the user experience, both for students and for faculty members who design and teach the courses. Technical communication faculty members should provide strong examples of effective user experiences and should be leaders in making the interfaces of online learning management systems as usable as possible.

Principles of usability designed for general web sites may or may not apply to learning management systems designed for educational purposes. In order to create effective online technical communication courses, one needs to consider both usability concerns and pedagogical concerns.

To assess the usability and pedagogical effectiveness of online courses, faculty members may use indirect means such as heuristic analyses. In addition, they may use direct means such as usability testing, student feedback, and analytic tools. Each approach has advantages as well as limitations. Faculty members will gain the richest information through using multiple approaches.

In assessing usability and pedagogical effectiveness, faculty members also need to consider the situational constraints and resources in their unique contexts. Understanding and adapting their approaches to use resources well and to work within constraints will benefit their abilities to enhance their student users' experiences with online courses.

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Araujo de Aguiar CGuo ZCui Y(2023)TOUCH: A Multi-sensory Communication System that Communicates EmotionsProceedings of the 16th International Conference on PErvasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments10.1145/3594806.3594860(347-356)Online publication date: 5-Jul-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3594806.3594860
Abramenka-Lachheb V(2023)Integrative Literature Review of Interactions in Online CoursesLearning, Design, and Technology10.1007/978-3-319-17461-7_197(4085-4110)Online publication date: 15-Oct-2023
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17461-7_197
Abramenka-Lachheb V(2022)Integrative Literature Review of Interactions in Online CoursesLearning, Design, and Technology10.1007/978-3-319-17727-4_197-1(1-26)Online publication date: 2-Sep-2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17727-4_197-1
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Index Terms

Effective user experience in online technical communication courses: employing multiple methods within organizational contexts to assess usability
1. Applied computing
  1. Education
    1. Distance learning
    2. E-learning
2. Human-centered computing
  1. Interaction design
    1. Interaction design process and methods
      1. User centered design

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Published In

SIGDOC '15: Proceedings of the 33rd Annual International Conference on the Design of Communication

July 2015

239 pages

ISBN:9781450336482

DOI:10.1145/2775441

Conference Chairs:
Kathie Gossett
Iowa State University
,
Angie Mallory
Iowa State University
,
Program Chair:
Dawn M. Armfield
Frostburg State University

Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for third-party components of this work must be honored. For all other uses, contact the Owner/Author.

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Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

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Published: 16 July 2015

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Arizona State University
North Dakota State University
University of Limerick
Chongqing Acad. Sci. Technol.
Microsoft Research
XA
Iowa State University
SIGDOC
University of Central Florida

SIGDOC '15: The 33rd ACM International Conference on the Design of Communication

July 16 - 17, 2015

Limerick, Ireland

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Araujo de Aguiar CGuo ZCui Y(2023)TOUCH: A Multi-sensory Communication System that Communicates EmotionsProceedings of the 16th International Conference on PErvasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments10.1145/3594806.3594860(347-356)Online publication date: 5-Jul-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3594806.3594860
Abramenka-Lachheb V(2023)Integrative Literature Review of Interactions in Online CoursesLearning, Design, and Technology10.1007/978-3-319-17461-7_197(4085-4110)Online publication date: 15-Oct-2023
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17461-7_197
Abramenka-Lachheb V(2022)Integrative Literature Review of Interactions in Online CoursesLearning, Design, and Technology10.1007/978-3-319-17727-4_197-1(1-26)Online publication date: 2-Sep-2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17727-4_197-1
McDaniel RTelep P(2020)Game Design Tactics for Teaching Technical Communication in Online CoursesJournal of Technical Writing and Communication10.1177/004728162097716351:1(70-92)Online publication date: 11-Dec-2020
https://doi.org/10.1177/0047281620977163
Salas JChang AMontalvo LNúñez AVilcapoma MMoquillaza AMurillo BPaz F(2019)Guidelines to Evaluate the Usability and User Experience of Learning Support Platforms: A Systematic ReviewHuman-Computer Interaction10.1007/978-3-030-37386-3_18(238-254)Online publication date: 15-Dec-2019
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37386-3_18

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Designing a user interface for game developers to enter game specific information

Towards virtualization of user interfaces based on UsiXML

Strengthening collaboration and communication skills in an online TPD program for 21st-century educators

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