Usability Report for AIMS Course Management Software Research Team: Tristan Carkuff, Samuel Childs, Derek Rumpler, Stuart Yamartino Client: Armstrong Institute for Interactive Media Studies

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Executive Summary Research and Testing Issues and Recommendations Prototype Testing and Design

Methods and Results Competitive Analysis

Actionable Intelligence Identifying the Competition Website Features Audit Comparative Research

Heuristic Analysis User Testing Analysis (Niihka Usability Testing) User Testing Analysis (In­Depth Interviews) System Usability Questionnaire Site Persona Development

Redesign Recommendations Site Map Wireframes Prototypes

Appendix A: List of AIMS Redesign Competitors Appendix B: Website Feature Audit Table Appendix C: Comparative Research Table Appendix D: Data for Heuristic Analyses of Niihka Appendix E: Usability Testing

Script Detailed Usability Results Niihka’s Initial Survey

Appendix F: Summary of In­Depth Interview Responses Appendix G: System Usability Scale Survey Data

Niihka SUS Surveys AIMS Redesign Surveys

Appendix H: Persona Supplements Interview Notes Persona Profile Persona Comics

Appendix I: Redesign Supplements Site Map Wireframes

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Executive Summary College students have a number of commitments that require their time; therefore it is important that online course management software does not become a burden in their already harried lives. Recently the authors of this study contracted with Artie Kuhn of the Armstrong Institute for Interactive Media Studies at Miami University to provide efficient course management software that minimizes the frustration associated with online courses. In our study, we conducted a series of usability tests on the Niihka course management website. Niihka is the current course management website for students and faculty at Miami University. After identifying a number of issues through various methods and in­depth interviews, we then created a new course management solution which we feel best represents the needs of the Miami University student body.

Research and Testing We used a number of different testing methods to discover the issues with Niihka. These included the following:

Heuristic Analysis: As a group, we decided to quantify our initial reactions to Niihka using Forrester’s Scorecard as a guideline. Forrester’s Scorecard provides a professional standard to assess and address usability issues. We then discussed our individual answers and created a group scorecard. After doing this, we discovered that Niihka failed the group heuristic analysis. Overall, we felt that the design of the site was far too technical and did not efficiently or effectively help students accomplish their goals.

In­Depth Interviews: After conducting a number of in­depth interviews, we discovered

that students are generally technophobic and desire one­to­one interaction with professors. They also desire a significant degree of consistency across courses on Niihka. We feel effective course management software should meet these goals.

Usability Testing: We had students conduct a number of course related tasks on the

Niihka website using eye tracking software to identify usability issues with the Niihka interface. We followed this with a similar usability test on our design. From these tests, we discovered that users spend considerably less time performing tasks on our new design as opposed to Niihka.

System Usability Scale: We used the industry standard System Usability Scale to

compare the usability of Niihka to the redesign. Initially, Niihka scored an almost failing grade of 56% (a D when converted to a standard letter grade). However, our design scored a high A (96.5%).

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Competitive Analysis: After identifying Niihka and Coursera as the primary competitor to our online course management platform, we developed a series of best practices that stressed contact with the professor, ease of navigation, and means to gauge progress.

Issues and Recommendations After the totality of our research, we decided the best course of action would include the following recommendations:

Streamline site features and focus on those features that are important to course goals (in other words, avoid feature creep).

Design an interface that makes it easy for students to contact their classmates and the professor if necessary.

Ease the tension in the homework submission process. Assist students in trusting that the assignment submission system is reliable and trustworthy.

Prototype Testing and Design We implemented the recommendations in Issues and Recommendations. Our redesigned obtained a high A grade on the System Usability Scale opposed to Niihka’s D grade. Thus we can say that the data supports that we have sufficiently dealt with the usability issues presented in Niihka and our methodology seems sound for designing course management software.

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Methods and Results Following is a detailed report of the specific quantitative and qualitative methods that we engaged in leading up to our redesign.

Competitive Analysis We decided to look at other course management platforms to inform our design for our course management site. This is the result of our research:

Actionable Intelligence Based on our feature audit and input we have received from students at Miami University, we have developed the following best practices:

There should be a system whereby students can easily track their progress within the course. This includes being able to visit previously completed weeks via some interface such as a calendar and being able to know their grade at any given moment.

Course platforms should focus on the students’ needs. Unnecessary elements which complicate student goals should not be part of a course platform. Students should be able to navigate a course platform with minimal to no tutorials or orientation.

While many of the online course platforms that we analyzed did not include instructor feedback, a frequent complaint from some students of online courses was that students felt they were unable to contact their instructor. Other features, such as online forums with other students, may benefit the student, but few things were as appreciated as having easy access to instructors. Therefore, a course platform should highlight this functionality.

These best practices were determined after identifying our competition, conducting a website features audit, and doing comparative research.

Identifying the Competition When conducting our competitive analysis, we identified a number of competitors based on their use across Miami University and from our knowledge of other popular course platforms. We confirmed our list with the client and additional suggestions were made. From this research, we identified two key competitors to the AIMS platform. We chose these two platforms since their goals seemed closer to those of the AIMS platform and thus provided a significant benchmark whereby we could judge our redesign. [A thorough list of competitors can be found in Appendix A: List of AIMS Competitors.]

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Table 1.1: Tier I Competitors to Our Course Management Site Company/Platform URL Category Description

Coursera https://www.coursera.org/ Tier I Coursera is an online course platform with both course management and tools to facilitate online classes.

Niihka http://niihka.muohio.edu Tier I Site used to display student grades, post assignments and resources, as well as forums and email support to encourage communication within the class.

Website Features Audit In conducting our websites feature audit, we first compiled a number of features that we found on the different sites that we analyzed. Based on our analysis from these sites and the feedback that we received from students, we determined that the following features were important for our redesign:

An interactive calendar Email resources Grade features Online submission Teacher feedback Forums

[A thorough table of website features can be found in Appendix B: Website Feature Audit Table.]

Comparative Research The next step was to determine perceived advantages and foibles in each of the sites that we analyzed. We decided to optimize visual aspects of the Coursera website in our redesign: a simple, clean interface which focused on student needs first and foremost. We strived to avoid the major issue that we perceived in the Niihka platform: needless information. Further, we wanted to promote social features such as email and forum posts. Our analyses of both Niihka and Coursera can be found in the following table:

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Table 1.2: Comparative Research

Platform Advantages/Core Competencies

Obstacles/Foibles

Coursera Coursera is very similar to Niihka in its design. However, the design has more white space, the font size is a size 11 Arial font, and the left tool bar only contains information essential to the course. General and weekly announcements are on the main course page and students can access other important things (such as quizzes or homework) through the left toolbar.

A casual observation of the site reveals that Coursera course learning is primarily discussion forum based. While the site is large enough for individuals to learn from students covering a wide variety of experience, it is up to the instructor to determine if they want to provide individualized responses. In one course (Gamification), the instructor decided to address overwhelming student concerns through the forums and videos.

Niihka Niihka possesses a number of customization options for navigation purposes. They can add tabs at the top of the webpage through preferences. This allows them to access each course. They can also access their current courses through the “More Sites” tab. Individual course pages contain pertinent information in the left toolbar. These include things such as assignments, announcements, a grade book, and a resource folder.

Through extensive interviewing, we have discovered that several people are not content with the Niihka platform. The primary reason being that the platform requires a substantial time commitment to master. While students have demonstrated proficiency with the platform, it sometimes takes excess time, since the Niihka platform contains unneeded information on the courses’ left sidebar. Individual professor needs might lead to a lack of consistency between courses which increase the time needed to accomplish user goals, leading to further frustration.

[See Appendix C: Comparative Research Table for a table detailing critical features of the sites that we analyzed.]

Heuristic Analysis After consultation as a group, we deemed it best to do a heuristic analysis of the Niihka platform. We decided that this was fruitful since this was the main course platform used by students of Miami University; therefore it would help us understand potential design pitfalls when planning our in­depth interviews and eye tracking tasks. We used Forrester’s Scorecard individually and then created a group scorecard after some discussion.The results of this evaluation demonstrated that Niihka failed the group heuristic, obtaining a total score of ­6. The scale for this heuristic runs from ­50 to +50. Anything higher than a 0 is considered passing. As a group, we decided to use the code “NA” when we felt that something did not apply. Therefore, it is possible Niihka might score higher or lower. [See Appendix D: Data for Heuristic Analyses.]

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User Testing Analysis (Niihka Usability Testing) Further, we conducted three usability testing sessions using the Niihka platform and eye­tracking software. After a pre­interview, eye­tracking, and post­interview, we discovered that students generally were familiar with the platform but did take some time in finding what they were seeking. This confirmed our presupposition that the Niihka platform might be too complicated for most students. We then designed a prototype including the feedback that we received from this analysis. After we gathered five different students as test subjects, we found that there was a significant decrease in time between the Niihka platform and our proposed AIMS platform. This is summarized in the following chart:

Table 1.3: Usability Task Times Task Original Time in Seconds

(Niihka) New Time in Seconds (AIMS Platform)

Time Reduced

Find News Pertinent to the Course

9.57 4.48 53.19%

Find New Assignment 10.90 1.96 82.02%

Find Due Date for Assignment

9.27 4.22 54.48%

Find Description on How to Do Homework

11.83 5.34 54.86%

Find Current Grade for Semester

12.37 4.76 61.52%

Find Quiz Grade 8.07 3.56 55.89%

It should be noted that since this was the second semester of the school year, our test subjects already had significant experience with Niihka. Even though there was a drastic improvement in time for those already experienced with Niihka, we suspect that new students without exposure to Niihka will adapt to our platform at a faster rate than if they had started with Niihka. [See Appendix E: Usability Testing for our sample script and more detailed results.]

User Testing Analysis (In-Depth Interviews) As a team, we conducted a total of nine in­depth interviews with Miami University students possessing various levels of experience with online courses and course platforms. We discovered that these students generally distrusted online platforms and desired personal interaction with professors. They also despised the lack of consistent structure across courses on Niihka. Therefore we concluded that online courses must include features that seek to deal with these anxieties and that provided close correspondence with professors.

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Included is our script guideline we used to facilitate discussions with students:

Have you taken a class where the primary component involved being online? These can include completely online classes or hybrid classes. What was the platform?

Would you take/retake an online class if you had the opportunity to do so? If you think about online classes, what are your initial reactions? What would be the key attributes of a successful online class? Do you have any fear or apprehension about taking online classes? What are they? Can you share an experience in which an online learning platform such as Niihka has

been detrimental to a class? Can you talk about the experience? Can you share an experience in which an online learning platform such as Niihka has

been beneficial to a class? Can you talk about the experience?

[See Appendix F for the Summary of In­Depth Interview Responses.]

System Usability Questionnaire We asked 5 different students for their feedback regarding Niihka using John Brooke’s System Usability Scale. Based on our feedback, we discovered that Niihka received a grade of 56% which is considered a D on this scale. Anything above 68% is considered above average using this scale. However, after testing our redesign, we discovered that it was a significant improvement over Niihka. Our final score using the System Usability Scale resulted in an average of 96.5%, a high A on the scale. [See Appendix G for System Usability Scale Survey Data.

Site Persona Development In order to best understand how to redesign the site, we created a site persona that we felt was symbolic of the variety of user data that we obtained. Our persona is a female college student named Salley O’Malley taking online classes for the first time. We decided it would be most informative to use a persona who was capable of using computers for simple tasks, but was not sufficiently tech­literate. This kind of persona was useful for us because it exposed any site characteristics that were difficult for students unskilled in computers. [See Appendix H for Persona Supplements.]

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Redesign Recommendations

Site Map When constructing our design, we created a sitemap to determine how navigation across the course platform would occur. From this exercise, we discovered that much of the central activity centered around the planner and designed our site map accordingly.

Wireframes After this, we made a simple wireframe inspired by similar interfaces such as the Windows 8 mobile theme and Apple’s iOS operating system. Our goal for the wireframe was to design a central place for students to see all of their classes and obtain an overview of tasks that needed to be completed.

Prototypes After discussing the features in our wireframe and site map, we made the following prototype.

Prototype Image 1.1

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Prototype Image 1.1 shows Union Station, the first page that Miami University students will see after they access the site through Blackboard. In this image, current courses are listed as app­style buttons with push badges demonstrating current tasks. According to this image, there is one task that needs to be completed in the course IMS 413.

Prototype Image 1.2

After clicking a course in Union Station, users will immediately navigate to a page similar to the one in Prototype Image 1.2. This page is the Planner. The text and items in the gray text box allow students to know the agenda for the current week. Students can “check” off tasks as they complete them. On the left are the core components of the class. Each component has a great big button, a large icon, and labels to quickly assist students in identification. Students can also navigate between weeks using the folder icons at the top of the page.

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Prototype Image 1.3

Prototype Image 1.3 demonstrates the message page. The messages page is setup like an email thread and the user can have message conversations with their professor. It was inspired by social networking sites such as Facebook which has its own integrated email system. This is a response to students who felt as if they did not have consistent contact with their instructors.

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Prototype Image 1.4

Prototype Image 1.4 shows the grade pages. This page is setup to easily let a student to view their previous grade on assignments. Further, the grades icon in the left toolbar is interactive and displays the student’s current grade. This feature is consistent across the site.

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Prototype Image 1.5

Prototype Image 1.5 displays the calendar page. The calendar page is setup to lay out all of the users assignments on the calendar. The user can hover over each day on the calendar and see what they have to do for that day. They can then click on any of the assignments on the calendar and it will navigate the user to the assignments page and to that specific assignment.

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Prototype Image 1.6

Prototype Image 1.6 shows an assignment page as categorized by week. It provides a description of the assignment, allows users to upload files, and provides a textbox to allow students to provide further comments if they feel the need to do so.

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Prototype Image 1.7

Prototype Image 1.7 is the forum page as categorized by week. This allows students to discuss with their peers and professor various topics at the professor’s discretion. It was incorporated because it was a feature that students appreciated.

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Prototype Image 1.8

Prototype Image 1.8 is a resource folder similar to the one found in Niihka. This is a place where instructors can upload syllabi, course readings, and other files pertinent to the course. The students can then download these for their own perusal. [See Appendix I for Redesign Supplements.]

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Appendix A: List of AIMS Redesign Competitors The following is a complete list of the competitors that we analyzed. Within the body of our report, we chose to only focus on competitors that we deemed to be Tier I. This designation was chosen since their goals seemed to overlap what we were doing with our redesign.

Table A.1: Complete List of Competitors to Our Course Management Site Company/Platform URL Category Description

Chalk and Wire https://ep.chalkandwire.com/ep2_muohio/login.aspx?cus=228

Tier II Chalk and Wire is the online course management software for Miami University’s Honors Program.

Coursera https://www.coursera.org/ Tier I Coursera is an online course platform with both course management and tools to facilitate online classes.

Desire2Learn http://www.desire2learn.com

Tier II System that allows teachers to focus on teaching, leaving the design and management of the online course to experts at Desire2Learn. The platform allows for online assignments, resources, and grading as well as other analytic services.

Khan Academy https://www.khanacademy.org/

Tier II Khan Academy is an online learning platform that is based around user achievements. It also has features that can be used by instructors to track user progress.

Niihka http://niihka.muohio.edu Tier I Site used to display student grades, post assignments and resources, as well as forums and email support to encourage communication within the class.

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Appendix B: Website Feature Audit Table In conducting our websites feature audit, we first compiled a number of features that we found on the different sites that we analyzed. We then took note when a site had a given feature (x) or when it did not (­­­). The following table is a list of these features:

Table B.1: Complete Website Feature Audit Website Features and Functionality

Chalk and Wire Coursera Khan Academy Niihka

Calendar/ schedule

­­­ x ­­­ x

Email resources ­­­ ­­­ ­­­ x

Help x x x x

Tutorials x x x x

Grades* *measured feedback, not necessarily lettered

x x x x

Online submission x x x x

Embedded videos ­­­ x x x

Teacher feedback x x x x

Forums ­­­ x x x

Blog ­­­ ­­­ ­­­ x

Course roster ­­­ x* *if course roster is understood to include students in forums

x x

Online tests/quizzes ­­­ x x x

Multiplatform support ­­­ ­­­ x x

Portfolio x ­­­ x x

Student selects courses

­­­ x x ­­­

Tracking progress ­­­ ­­­ x x

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Appendix C: Comparative Research Table The following concerns the competitors outlined in Table A.1. Within this table, we outline both the positive and negative design decisions of each of our competitors.

Table C.1: Complete Comparative Research Table Platform Advantages/Core Competencies Obstacles/Foibles

Chalk and Wire Chalk and Wire is arranged by portfolio. Within the Miami University Honors portfolio, Honors requirements are marked as categories in the left toolbar. This clear design allows students to readily access what is needed for the program and to submit their work within sections relevant to program goals.

Chalk and Wire has a steep learning curve that requires a great deal of outside help and tutorials to master. It is difficult to find material on the site since the mappings do not seem logical, menu items are unclear, and there is too much information on the pages. Further, the information on how to operate the site is spread across several Miami University websites.

Coursera Coursera is very similar to Niihka in its design. However, the design has more white space, the font size is a size 11 Arial font, and the left tool bar only contains information essential to the course. General and weekly announcements are on the main course page and students can access other important things (such as quizzes or homework) through the left toolbar.

A casual observation of the site reveals that Coursera course learning is primarily discussion forum based. While the site is large enough for individuals to learn from students covering a wide variety of experience, it is up to the instructor to determine if they want to provide individualized responses. In one course (Gamification), the instructor decided to address overwhelming student concerns through the forums and videos.

Khan Academy Khan Academy is a free online learning platform that allows people to tackle any subject that interests them. Progress is tracked through a progress map that shows their “trek” across various interrelated domains of knowledge. Students can also earn merit badges which they can display publicly. The site also contains metrics of the individual’s progress, which either they or “coaches” can use to improve learning.

Like Coursera, discussions are relegated to an Internet forum (unless a coach ­­ such as an instructor ­­ provides outside feedback). The site is designed to be self­paced and self­motivated with students able to engage themselves with anything that interests them. This design might not benefit all students.

Niihka Niihka possesses a number of customization options for navigation purposes. They can add tabs at the top of the webpage through preferences. This allows them to access each course. They can also access their current courses through the “More

Through extensive interviewing, we have discovered that several people are not content with the Niihka platform. The primary reason being that the platform requires a substantial time commitment to master. While students have demonstrated proficiency with the

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Sites” tab. Individual course pages contain pertinent information in the left toolbar. These include things such as assignments, announcements, a grade book, and a resource folder.

platform, it sometimes takes excess time, since the Niihka platform contains unneeded information on the courses’ left sidebar. Individual professor needs might lead to a lack of consistency between courses which increase the time needed to accomplish user goals, leading to further frustration.

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Appendix D: Data for Heuristic Analyses of Niihka For more information on the Forrester Scorecard, you can peruse their website for more information: http://www.forrester.com/home Following is a table of individual group scores corresponding to the Forrester Scorecard with the group scorecard scores provided.

Table D.1 Table of Individual and Group Scores

Individuals Score

Individual 1 0

Individual 2 ­15

Individual 3 ­1

Individual 4 N/A

Group Consensus ­6 Due to a number of technical issues, we are unable to include the score cards in the appendix. Nonetheless, they can be accessed here: http://goo.gl/r10Gr

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Appendix E: Usability Testing

Script The following is the script that we used for both usability tests (note: we omitted everything before Familiarization and the Post Test Section for the test of our redesign since the Niihka test was diagnostic): Introduction We are going to do a number of usability tests to ensure that the site operates the way that you think it should. Because of this, we are testing the site, not you. If you are confused about something or can’t find anything, tell us and we will communicate that to the site’s creators. Since we did not create the site, you should not worry about offending us. Niihka/AIMS Platform Usability Process Do you have any experience with courses where the online component was predominant? These can include courses that were fully online or hybrid courses. Could you describe your experience with these courses? What is important to you when trying to locate course work or class materials online? Do online course platforms work how you would expect them to work? If not, why/how? Familiarization Have the user look at the material for a minute. Can you tell me briefly what you can do on the site? Could you discuss how the site is organized? Tasks (eye­tracking) 1. Your instructor posted a new assignment. Can you show me where you would access this information? 2. Your instructor graded the quiz that you took yesterday and posted this grade online. Show me how you would find this grade. 3.You wanted to find your grade on a homework assignment that you took at the beginning of the semester. Show me where you would go. 4. Show me where you would go if you want a description on how to do the homework. 5. Your instructor recently posted news pertinent to the course. Show me where you would go.

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6. Show me where you would go if you wanted to know the due date of an assignment. Post­Test

1. What was the most difficult task we asked you to do? 2. What did you like visually about the site? 3. What didn’t you like visually about the site? 4. What is something that you have had difficulty doing with Niihka over the semester? 5. What is something that you wish you could do with this interface? 6. Do you prefer a consistent navigational structure or does it matter for your courses?

Detailed Usability Results The following table is the detailed results of the usability data between Niihka and our redesign (termed AIMS Platform in this table):

Table E.1: Complete Usability Results

Niihka’s Initial Survey Miami University Students’ initial reactions to handling the Niihka interface were documented in the form of a survey when Niihka was first launched. The majority of the student population agreed that it was helpful to be able to access class content through the web and improved student teacher communication. Few students experienced problems, most of which were minor. On the written portion of the survey several students expressed interest in some sort of help system for the Niihka interface. When asked to describe the nature of the problems they experienced, a great deal of students reported problems with either the layout or network/server errors. This data is located at http://goo.gl/EhVYu

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Appendix F: Summary of In-Depth Interview Responses Table F.1: Summary of Coded In­Depth Interview Responses

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Appendix G: System Usability Scale Survey Data We distributed the survey for the System Usability Scale to different two groups of five people each. The first group used Niihka and the second used our redesign. As the survey data demonstrates, we have made a significant improvement over Niihka. Our data can be reconfirmed by using this guideline to calculate the results into a letter grade: http://www.measuringusability.com/sus.php Survey data continues on the next page.

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Niihka SUS Surveys

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AIMS Redesign Surveys

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Appendix H: Persona Supplements

Interview Notes We conducted interviews with seven different students. Included are the important highlights of these interviews. These highlights informed our redesign. Student 1

never taken online class would like to take online class desires contact with professor beyond simply email wants lots of resources offered in the course afraid professors might not be accessible

Student 2

never taken online class willing to take online course but dependant on topic, because he wants to be able

to have contact with professor for explaining doesn’t feel that online classes are really focused on by professors thinks that online classes are only easy course, more flexible than standard

courses, require less effort a good online class should have more structure, which isn’t what he would like good course would have lots of interaction between professor/students afraid he would forget to do assignments, since you don’t go to classes feels that some professors are very unorganized in an online course/platform

Student 3

never taken online class wouldn’t want to take online class, because he wants personal interaction with

professor feels like online classes have lack of structure feels that professors have less to do with online classes than with regular classes would like online classes to be structured feels like you will learn more from interaction with a real professor (not online) more concrete courses (Mathematics, Statistics) would work better than flexible

(philosophy, social sciences) afraid of computer/platform errors, such as niihka not submitting homework

Student 4

has taken online course (on Niihka) enjoyed online class enjoyed interaction with other students (forums) thinks online classes will be easier and no group projects

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exams easier, because they are all open book, long time to complete blogs very helpful, videos helped wasn’t sure if she could talk to professor for help used virtual office hours through Skype interaction with other students is really helpful

Student 5

has taken an online class wouldn’t retake online class, it was very difficult to access not in touch with the professor, has trouble keeping up with assignments access should be simplified online classes require lot of independent work dislikes only being able to communicate with professor through email would like access to old material forgets to turn things in, no reminders site is not standardized enough to allow people to use it properly from class to

class Student 6

has taken online class before would retake an online class liked online class (useful during the summer) feels that online classes are very independent feels that online classes need good communication thinks that an online classes requires a good platform afraid of miscommunication in the course afraid of missing assignments afraid that it will be difficult to contact professors for help afraid of platform not working properly (not submitting assignment) likes that online resources can be accessed through any computer

Student 7

never taken online class would like to take online class likes that online classes allow more freedom feels that online classes are easy likes that online classes can be taken anytime of the day feels that a good online class should have at least one assignment a week fears video chatting teacher because it would be awkward fears platform will not work properly likes how online class allow for submission times at midnight

Student 8

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has taken online class found online class to be more interesting than regular class feels that online classes are more dependent on the student to learn no fear of online class likes being able to look back at past material feels that online classes are more organized than regular classes

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Persona Profile

Image H.1 Persona Profile

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Persona Comics Before we began designing our wireframes, we felt that it was important to step into the role of our persona, Salley O’Malley. Below are two web comics that were designed to help us understand how Salley might interact with the proposed AIMS Platform. In the first comic, Salley wants to figure out a quick way to get to her AIMS course. She needs to read the syllabus in this course. As the user can see, this is a quick process of clicking the appropriate course tab and clicking the syllabus icon. She begins this process feeling neutral, slightly elated, and then excited. At the climax, she is elated since the process was seamless for her.

Image H.2: Syllabus Usability Comic

In our second scenario, Salley is trying to access her course reading. As in the previous comic, she clicks on the course but instead opts to click on the Homework tab. This brings her to the Homework page, then an Assignment page with a link to her reading. After doing her homework, she presses the Submit button which also excites her considerably.

Image H.3: Assignment Usability Comic

From this exercise, we decided that navigation through the AIMS Platform should be as seamless as possible.

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Appendix I: Redesign Supplements

Site Map

Image I.1: Site Map

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Wireframes

Image I.2: Wireframe of Union Station

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Image I.3: Wireframe of Planner Page

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Image I.4: Wireframe of Resources Page

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Image I.5: Wireframe of Grades Page

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Image I.6: Wireframe of Messages Page

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Image I.7: Wireframe of Forums Page

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Image I.8: Wireframe of Calendar Page

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Image I.9: Wireframe of Assignments Page

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