Mana‘olana Website: A Usability Study

Session Description
Caring for a child with a mental illness can be extremely time-consuming and challenging for parents, especially in Hawai’i, where there is a shortage of mental health care providers. In addition, parents may not feel comfortable speaking openly about their child’s mental illness, and they may not know where to find help for their child or support for themselves. For these reasons, a need exists to provide readily accessible resources for parents in Hawai‘i who care for children with mental illness. To address this need, an online instructional resource named Mana‘olana was designed and developed. The online instructional resource includes four main components: information about service providers for psychological testing, information about service providers for children with a mental health diagnosis, parental support, and informational resources. The final version of the website was created using Wix.com, a free online site for designing websites.

As part of the instructional design process, a usability study was conducted to evaluate the website’s ease of navigation and the ability of users to locate pertinent and relevant information. In total, nine (n = 9) participants completed the study. These participants were asked to interact with the website by completing six tasks, as well as give feedback on the website’s organization and visual aesthetic. Preliminary results from the study suggest the online instructional resource is informative, useful, and relevant for parents and caregivers of children with mental illness in Hawai‘i. This presentation will summarize the usability study’s methods and results, as well as highlight key aspects of the latest version of the website.

Mana‘olana.info is considered public domain and can be shared with parent support groups, school administrators and counselors, and mental health care providers throughout the state of Hawai`i.

Presenter(s)
Joy Aiwohi
Joy Aiwohi, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, HI
Joy Aiwohi is a teacher at Kamehameha Schools Kapalama, and has been teaching at the middle school level for 22 years. She earned a Bachelor of Education degree in Secondary Social Studies and a Master of Education degree in Curriculum Studies from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa. Joy is in her final year of the Learning Design and Technology M.Ed. Program at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa.
Session Type
LTEC Session
Audience
All Audiences

A recording of this presentation is available.
Click the button to the right to access the session archive.

Kindergarten Classroom Website: A Usability Study of a Teacher Website

Session Description
Communication between a teacher and families is critical for a positive learning environment. Various forms of communication between the teacher and families can encourage parent participation as well as foster the growth of existing relationships. It is important for parents to have access to important school and classroom information in one convenient location. The current school website has limited features and design capabilities for teachers to provide information to parents.

To address this need, a teacher-created classroom website was created. The purpose of this usability study was to develop and evaluate the ease-of-use and navigation of a Kindergarten Classroom Website: A Usability Study of a Teacher Website (https://kinderclasswebsite.weebly.com) designed to provide parents with one convenient location to find all important and necessary school and classroom information. The website was created using Weebly, a cloud-based web development platform. The design of the website used Gestalt’s Principles with components from Rosena and Purinton to focus on the cognitive parts of the design. Three rounds of usability testing were conducted with three participants in each round. Data was collected via surveys and during the walkthrough sessions. Revisions were made based on feedback received from participants to improve the overall site and user experience. Based on the data, minor revisions were made to the site. The methods, participant data, design implications, and website modifications will be further discussed in this presentation.

Presenter(s)
Morisha Ogata
Morisha Ogata, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, HI

Session Type
LTEC Session
Audience
All Audiences

A recording of this presentation is available.
Click the button to the right to access the session archive.

Medical Simulation Specialist 1

Session Description
The Medical Simulation Specialist I is a 5-week online course created to fulfill the need to train technical assistants in medical simulation. Simulation using patient manikins can place a high cognitive load on medical educators facilitating students in a scenario. Medical subject matter experts who facilitate simulation often benefit from assistance with the computer-manikin interface and simulation environment. Volunteers, staff or students can be trained to assist facilitators as simulation specialists. The standards of best practice in simulation operations list criterion specific to the role of simulation specialist’s including understanding of the principles of simulation in education and teaching methods, set up, operating and maintaining equipment, staging, and the use of moulage. This course introduces the student to the use of simulation as a strategy to train healthcare providers, terminology, technology, robotics and a practicum. Merrill’s principles of instruction (2002) were used to plan student learning centered on relevant real-world tasks. Bloom’s Taxonomy revised in 2001 was used to develop the cognitive framework and objectives in the curriculum. Laulima was used as the learning management system (LMS). Since the last week of the online course is a practicum in a simulation room, it was a challenge to develop a method to allow students who were off-site to complete this module. However, various methods were developed to enable the student to fulfill the final checklist and will likely be refined through instructor and leaner collaboration.
Presenter(s)
Kris Hara
Kris Hara, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, HI
Kris Hara is the chief simulation specialist at SimTiki Simulation Center located at the John A Burns School of Medicine in Honolulu, Hawaii. She grew up in Pupukea, HI and earned her respiratory therapy degree from Loma Linda University and Wayland Baptist University. She is currently a masters candidate at the University of Hawaii in Education, learning design and technology (LTEC). Her background as a registered respiratory therapist, pulmonary rehab specialist allowed her to actively engage in patient and staff education and clinical service for many years. In beginning a career in medical simulation in 2006 she fell even more in love with education. As a certified healthcare simulation operation specialist by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare she loves supporting medical students and faculty as the operations director of the simulation lab at JABSOM. Being a part of the LTEC ohana (family) has been a privilege and a joy!
Session Type
LTEC Session
Audience
All Audiences

A recording of this presentation is available.
Click the button to the right to access the session archive.

Dungeons and Dragons in Education: A Usability Study

Session Description
When it comes to this generation of learners, common challenges that often arise for educators include engaging learners, helping them process information, and getting them to apply that information. Game-based learning has been defined as learning that utilizes games to encourage students to be self-motivated and self-driven by presenting learning material as something enjoyable and thus facilitates engagement (Game-Based Learning: latest evidence and future directions).

In order to address these issues, a web-based instructional resource was developed on the topic of Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) in education. The target audience of the instructional resource includes educators seeking a way to facilitate learning engagement and assess learning transfer. The web-based resource is located at (https://tasian1.wixsite.com/dndineducation).

A usability test was conducted to evaluate multiple aspects of the web-based instructional resource. The researcher conducted two rounds of usability testing with a total of eight participants. Data collected from the study indicated an overall positive reception towards the content, graphics, and layout of the web-based instructional resource. Revisions were made according to user feedback.

This session will discuss the overall design of the project as well as the usability study’s methods, data, and results. By conducting this study, the researcher was able to obtain data that improved the instructional design of the website. Ideally, this helped provide a site for teachers looking to try a different method of engagement and learning assessment. Through this project, the researcher was able to expose teachers to this new method of teaching and in turn, has learned how to better present this material so that it is more accessible for educators.

Presenter(s)
Tasia Nakasone
Tasia Nakasone, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, HI

Session Type
LTEC Session
Audience
All Audiences

A recording of this presentation is available.
Click the button to the right to access the session archive.

Health Sciences Library Website Using LibGuides: a usability study

Session Description
The purpose of this usability study was to determine the ease of use and navigation of a new Health Sciences Library website, using the LibGuide platform, for biomedical students, faculty, researchers, and staff at the John A. Burns School of Medicine. The main functions of the HSL are to provide its patrons with the information they need to complete assignments, teach, conduct research, and facilitate patient care. The HSL specializes in collecting and subscribing to biomedical information. With the bulk of the library’s collection being available online it is important that the library’s website is easy to learn and use. Approval to conduct the study was received by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Institutional Review Board. For this usability study, in an effort to reduce cognitive load on users, the HSL website was consolidated to a single platform called LibGuides, and a new discovery tool/search interface was implemented. This usability study evaluates the learnability, efficiency, and users’ satisfaction of the new website and discovery tool through online questionnaires and in-person think aloud sessions. Results from the usability study show that the new website is easier to use and participants rated a higher satisfaction with the new website compared to the old website.
URL: https://libguides.jabsom.hawaii.edu/library
Presenter(s)
Melissa Kahili-Heede
Melissa Kahili-Heede, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, HI
Melissa Kahili-Heede is a final year masters student in the Learning Design and Technology program in the College of Education at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Melissa is also a librarian at the Health Sciences Library at the John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Session Type
LTEC Session
Audience
All Audiences

A recording of this presentation is available.
Click the button to the right to access the session archive.

The Design of a Mini Course of Basic Photography

Session Description
Nowadays, visual arts are becoming more and more important in all different areas in our life and study. In universities, visuals are often needed when students to do their academic presentations regardless of their major, or to share their happy school lives through social media, or to make posters for their university clubs, and so on. The advanced development of digital tools allow people to take photos in a much easier and quicker way. Since most mobile phones have the ability to take pictures, photo-taking has become more affordable.

However, there is still differences between taking photos and taking good photos. With better quality photos, the camera person can communicate the message with their audience easily and correctly. I created a course to teach College Freshmen (in all majors) to gain basic photography knowledge and skills. Through this one credit course, the students will be able to tell the differences between the good and better photos, and more importantly, they will be able to take great photos by themselves.

How to deliver the content effectively online without fact to face opportunities to do the lectures and hands-on practices, is an interesting challenge for creating this mini course. In this session I will talk about the major design of this course which I created on Canvas.

Presenter(s)
Hongwei Shimizu
Hongwei Shimizu, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, HI
Hongwei Shimizu received BA in Visual Media and MFA in Film & Electronic Media both from AU (American University). She has big passion in teaching, so she also gained Oxford Seminars’ TESOL/TESL/TEFL (100-HOUR) Certificate and Certificate in Greenburg PH.D. Teaching Seminar. Hongwei Shimizu now is a second year LTEC Master student at UH. She hopes she can contribute more and more in the education field of her Visual Media techniques and Multi-languages (Japanese, Chinese, and English) skills.
Session Type
LTEC Session
Audience
All Audiences

A recording of this presentation is available.
Click the button to the right to access the session archive.

Happy Hapai: Evaluating the Usability of a Pregnancy and Childbirth Preparation Website

Session Description
Pregnancy and childbirth are wonderful experiences for many women, and even their partners. During the period of gestation, there is a strong focus on the overall wellness of both mother and child, as well as planning for the birth and postpartum care. For individuals living on Oʻahu, there are many resources available; however, it can be a tiresome process to find the information expecting families need and want. As a quick reference, many individuals find themselves seeking answers on the Internet. For these reasons, there is a need for a comprehensive, location-based resource to assist expecting families.

To address this need, the researcher designed and developed an online resource containing useful information to help expecting parents make informed decisions about their pregnancy and delivery (https://dmyoshimoto.wixsite.com/happyhapai). A usability study of the website was conducted with the purpose of evaluating its functionality, navigability, and ease of use, as well as determining participant satisfaction. The study recruited nine (n = 9) participants, specifically individuals of child-bearing age who were pregnant or planning to have a child in the future, to evaluate the online resource. After three iterations, the results of the study indicated that the instructional resource was more appealing to the target audience with relatable images, consistent and clean page layouts, and clear and concise information.

The presentation will discuss the study’s results, including methods, project design, analysis of data and participant feedback, design implications, and modifications. The results support the idea that usability studies provide valuable feedback for developing resources that are effective and functional.

Presenter(s)
Demi Yoshimoto
Demi Yoshimoto, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, HI
Demi Yoshimoto was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. She received her B.Ed. in Elementary and Early Childhood Education from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Following her undergraduate education, she began her teaching career through the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program in Okinawa, Japan. There she taught English to high school students. Upon her return to Hawaii, she entered the Hawaii Department of Education and began teaching Grade 2 at a local elementary school. She decided to continue her education at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and is currently in her final year of the M.Ed. Learning Design and Technology Program.
Session Type
LTEC Session
Audience
All Audiences

A recording of this presentation is available.
Click the button to the right to access the session archive.

Helping the Helpers: A Learning Assessment of Domestic Violence Online Advocacy Training

Session Description
The purpose of this learning assessment study was to explore how the use of case-based scenarios and continuous assessment effects learner engagement for domestic violence advocates participating in an online training from the Hawai`i State Coalition Against Domestic Violence (HSCADV). For this project, an online learning module on the essential elements of safety planning was developed that addressed: victim choice and autonomy, threat assessment, and safety strategies for victims who are in or planning to leave an abusive relationship. A three-part, fictional case-study video was filmed and played throughout the course of instruction to engage learners and tie the instructional content back to the learners’ job-related functions. Participants in the study were also asked several questions throughout instruction that required them to relate the facts of the scenario with the training content. After rating the instruction across the affective dimensions of attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction, learners in the study generally found the training to be engaging. Participants with learner characteristics most similar to first-time advocates provided the most consistently positive ratings. This presentation will discuss the findings and recommendations for future study.
Presenter(s)
Suzanne Brown-McBride
Suzanne Brown-McBride, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, HI
Suzanne Brown-McBride is a consultant and student at the University of Hawaiʻi LTEC program. She lives on the Big Island with her partner, Pug and French Bulldog.
Session Type
LTEC Session
Audience
Novice, Intermediate

Ready?
Click the button to the right to join the session.

E-Portfolio Development & Pathways of Learning for Middle Schoolers

Session Description
Attending the School of the Future Conference inspired the idea of creating an e-Portfolio to prepare the next generation of the workforce. With a 49% of the college graduates not meeting the employers’ expectations, the idea of creating an ePortfolio to prepare eighth graders to obtain the essential skills to meet these expectations. These 8th graders will be directed to a website where they will find mini-lessons. These mini-lessons display activities that are related to the HA concepts as well as the 21st Century principles. The students collect evidence of their best academic and multiculiculars activities while making sure that they complete the requirements from the mini-lessons.
Presenter(s)
Maeva Anderson
Maeva Anderson, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, HI
Maeva Anderson is a 2nd year student in the Learning Design and Technology at the University of Hawaii Manoa.
Melanie Chan-Vinoray
Melanie Chan-Vinoray, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, HI
Melanie Chan-Vinoray is a 2nd year student in the Learning Design and Technology at the university of Hawaii Manoa. She will graduate from the program at the end of this Semester.
Session Type
LTEC Session
Audience
All Audiences

A recording of this presentation is available.
Click the button to the right to access the session archive.

The Usability of an Early College Online Resource

Session Description
Early College is quickly becoming a popular option for high school students to simultaneously earn high school and college credit. However, for high school counselors looking for course information, tutorials and guides about the Early College program in Hawaiʻi; there is no centralized source of information to provide such resources. To address this need, an online instructional resource in the form of a website was created for high school counselors interested in Early College at the University of Hawaiʻi — West Oʻahu. A usability study was conducted to evaluate the website design for its ease of use, navigation, user satisfaction, and participant interest in the resource.

This session will discuss the usability study’s methods, participants, and results, emphasizing design implications, and subsequent website modifications. In terms of measures, the usability study used the System Usability Scale (SUS) and Design-oriented Evaluation of Perceived Usability (DEEP). Data from the study found the online instructional resource to be a highly valuable source of information, with functional accurate content, and easy to navigate. Participants also reported satisfaction with the online instructional resource. The results of the study suggested that the instructional resource was able to provide high school counselors with a single online source, which provided tutorials, instructions, and Early College course information to better help their students. The outcome of this study highlights the importance of implementing well designed online resources to serve Hawaiʻi’s school counselors. Future modifications may include reaching out to both parents and high school students.

Presenter(s)
Brandon Carlos
Brandon Carlos, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, HI
Brandon Carlos grew up in Waiʻanae, Hawaiʻi. Earning his B.S. in Psychology and Sociology from the University of Hawaiʻi — West Oʻahu (UHWO); he moved into the education field as the Early College Coordinator. He is currently a Learning Design and Technology Masters student at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa by night and an Early College Coordinator for UHWO by day. Brandon is passionate about supporting high school administrators, faculty and students and grateful to have had the opportunity to create an online instructional resource for the Early College program.
Session Type
LTEC Session
Audience
All Audiences

A recording of this presentation is available.
Click the button to the right to access the session archive.