ITERATIVE PROCESS &
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
4.1. Introduction
This chapter immediately precedes the chapter which presents and discusses the thematic analysis. In this chapter, I describe the setting from which data were extracted. Therefore, I explain how the learning activities employed in the study were constructed. The rationale for this explanation is to provide a deeper understanding of the starting point of the iterative process and, moreover, to provide an understanding of how the factors that need to be considered when designing learning activities to engage elderly learners were identified.
4.2. How the learning activities were created
For the purposes of this study, I created a Web-based language course for beginners. I selected four genres of activities from this course to be tested by four elderly learners. To facilitate the iterative process, the site was not uploaded. Instead, it was hosted locally and functioned through Internet Explorer. Each participant tested the interactive activities via the same twenty-inch laptop. Directed by the participatory iterative process of design, I further refined and modified the activities within four iterations. Adobe (Macromedia) Dreamweaver, Adobe Fireworks, Paint Shop Pro are the applications I used to build the website. CSS, HTML and XHTML were used to create the structure and the presentation of content of the learning activities. I employed JavaScript to create the interactive elements which allowed the learner to physically interact and manipulate the content. A screen recording program by Jing TechSmith Corporation enabled me to provide guide videos for each activity. The activities employed in this study utilise rollover buttons, images, click buttons, drag and drop tests, audios for listening exercises and pronunciation practice, and an automated transition for practice and reinforcement purposes. Macromedia Fireworks and Paint Shop Pro were used to modify images and photographs.
Images were used to accommodate visual memory (see Brady, Konkle & Alvarez, 2011). Mayer (2003) reports that learners learn more profoundly when words and images are used to present the learning matter than when just words are used. Plass et al (1998) found that when presenting a story in a second language in a Web-based environment, it helps with language acquisition when a choice is provided to the learner between reading the verbal form of the story and the image form. Findings from empirical research by Standing (1973) indicate that people can retain in memory a large number of images for days subsequent to viewing them, even when they have viewed the images just the one time (see Brady, Konkle & Alvarez, 2011). The multi-sensory strategy employed in the designs aimed to provide a variety of stimuli to assist in maximising learner experience and learning outcome.
Feedback is provided for via notification of errors and confirmation of correct answers. In addition, translations are available for each activity, while grammar explanations can be accessed by the click of the mouse. In prime places ‘rollover’ and ‘on click’ instructions and extra relevant information is provided as opposed to instructions and information always visible on screen. The idea behind this is to avoid cluttering up of space, which can result in cognitive overload (see Sweller, 1994; Feinberg & Murphy 2000; Mayer, 2005; Schmutz et al, 2009). The colours used throughout the learning activities were based on my perception of elderly learners’ preferences. However, the importance of colour in the original design was not important because any misalignment in the colour scheme and indeed, any shortfalls in the design of activities were predicted to be addressed by iterative process or otherwise, and very importantly, such shortfalls would form part of the analysis in some way.
4.3. Instructional Design
The learning activities which require adroit motor movements were designed in a way that aimed to retain physical effort to a sufficient minimum to allow coordinative challenge while simultaneously stimulating the cognitive processes enough to allow for effective learning. Interactive learning systems actually support effective learning better than systems without interactive features (Tversky et al, 2002). Taking into account the activities are targeted at absolute beginners of the Italian language, the degree of challenge presented by the learning objects do not lend themselves to very complex and abstract concepts. Nevertheless, the level of difficulty throughout the course varies from one learning activity to another.
4.4. The Iterative Process
Tidwell (2011) argues that interface design “starts with an understanding of people: what they like, why they use a given piece of software, and how they might interact with it. The more you know about them and the more you empathize with them, the more effectively you can design for them.” (p.6). However, business objectives and the sophistication of hardware and software capabilities often dictate the design strategies of computer systems. Such strategies tend to bypass the end user in the design process (Eberts,1994). Having reviewed literature on the participatory iterative process (see Neilsen, 1993; Brinck, Gergle & Wood, 2002, Eberts,1994). I decided to employ this process in the study. The iterative process formed an integral part of the study and played a dual role in identifying through thematic analysis the factors which are important to consider when designing technologies for elderly learners and also in highlighting the capacity of such a process to identify how designs can be modified to improve the engagement levels of elderly learners. However, the scope of this study was restricted in terms of how the activities could be modified.
Neilsen (1993) advises that iterative development of user interfaces entails a balanced refinement of the design dictated by evaluation of tests involving users (Nielson, 1993). Employing an iterative methodology does not mean that elements of the interface design are replaced with new alternatives. When a choice of any number of interface alternatives is present, comparative testing can be undertaken to evaluate which is the most usable alternative.” (Neilsen, 1993). The iterative process involved repetitive testing, analysis, and incremental modifications to the four activities within the course. This type of process allowed the activities to be adapted to the requirements of each learner.The iterative process started with the inception phase wherein the ideas for designs were researched and the specifications for the design ideas were considered. The next phase involved sketching designs to determine how the activities would look on screen and then identifying the elements of interactivity, and navigation style etcetera. The implementation phase translated the ideas and sketches into code and script. The initial language activities were then tested with the first participant within the first iteration and subsequently, the activities were redesigned as dictated by this test. The process facilitated and encouraged criticism from the learners in relation to the activities being tested. Three other tests - by three different learners -followed which directed consecutive redesigns. The process ended with a final test - the fifth test, in which the participant who tested in the first iteration retested. The final test enabled an assessment of the effect the redesigns directed by the iterative process had on a learner’s engagement levels. Moreover, it acted in a confirmatory capacity in relation to themes and factors identified. The final test was not followed by redesigns, and consequently, the process came to an end. The iterations are the periods between redesigns and testing (see figure 4.1).
Figure 4.1 Iterative process
This section provides detailed descriptions of examples of each genre of activity tested throughout the iterative process. Each description is followed by a screen capture of final designs. The order in which they are described is as follows:
4.5.1. Presentation Activity
The presentation activity is housed on each lesson home page. This page is the only page that provides direct access to each lesson in the course. In addition, it provides buttons which enable the learner to navigate to each part of an individual lesson. The presentation activity involves reading and listening to the target langauge and a translation of the text is also readily available if required by the learner. These activities are followed by vocabularly reinforcement exercises. Rollover instructions are also included here. In the example activity shown in Figure 4.2, the text introduces an Italian woman and an Italian man.Figure 4.2 Presentation Final Design
Click this link for Presentation Activities Demo
4.5.2. Drag and Drop
The main learning objectives of the Drag and Drop activities is to provide challenging and novel (see Keller, 1987) ways of reinforcing the target language. The objective is to select a specific word or phrase from a number of options and drag it to a slot under or beside its corresponding image or text or both. The activity uses images and words to aid in the memorisation of the target language. A translation is also available to the learner. The learner also has immediate feedback and a mechanism for resetting the activity to allow the learner try again and to reinforce the language through practice (see Figure 4.3).
Figure 4.3 Drag and Drop Final Design
Click this link for Drag & Drop Activities Lesson 2
Click this link for Drag & Drop Activities Lesson 1
4.5.3. The Alphabet
The alphabet consists of a presentation activity, a practice activity and four reinforcement activities. The objective of the first activity is to present the alphabet.
4.5.3.1 Alphabet Practice Activity
The objective of this activity is to provide the learner with an apparatus to facilitate practice and reinforcement of the alphabet. In the initial design, learners highlighted issues in relation to the lack of synchronisation of the phonetic images of the alphabet and the pronunciation audios. By the final design, these issues had been addressed (see Figure 4.4). In the final design, the learner needs only to click on the green play button to start the automated transition and to simultaneously hear the pronunciation. The learner can stop the transition at any time.
Figure 4.4. Alphabet Practice Transition Final Design
Click this link for Alphabet Activities Demo
4.5.3.2. Alphabet Reinforcement Activity
The objective of the reinforcement activities is to assist learners in memorising the Italian alphabet through spelling words as directed by the audios. The learner is required to identify the individual letters of a word and click on those individual letters to spell the word. When a learner clicks on a correct letter, the background turns red and the letter simultaneously appears in a slot beneath the alphabet – a pronunciation of the letter is also heard. When a learner clicks on a wrong letter, there is no colour change. However, the learner still hears the pronunciation of that letter. Screen captures show the first and final designs. The Alphabet activity consists of four consecutive reinforcement exercises, one of these exercises is illustrated below (see Figure 4.5).
Figure 4.5 Alphabet Reinforcement Activity Final Design
4.5.4. Guess the Word
The objectives of Guess the Word is to present a word or phrase and request the learner to identify the meaning from a choice of three options. The objectives require the learners to follow numbered steps. Learners are required to match the correct picture to a given phrase or word. In Figure 4.6, the phrase is “un bicchiere di latte”. In this way, the learner learns a new word or phrase. Weaknesses communicated in the first iteration highlighted procedural issues. For example, the first learner did not click the listen button first as was the intention of the instructional design. This was redesigned to include numbered steps that would clearly show the learner the path to follow. In the test that followed, in the second iteration, the lack of understanding of the question was highlighted. When the learner was asked why they did not look at the translation to discover the meaning, the learner explained that he had not noticed it below the activity. To rectify these weaknesses, a rollover translation was provided for the question posed and a translation was also placed centre left on the page, just in case the learner did not roll over the question. The learner had queried why a translation of all the language was not provided - this was also addressed in the redesigns. When the modified design was tested with the following learner in the third iteration, the learner queried why the activity did not provide a verbal description of the incorrect pictures as was provided for the one than was correct. He also could not understand why the translation was provided up front, as the answers were in the translation. In addition, he had doubts as to why when an incorrect symbol was shown for the wrong selection, the incorrect symbol remained even when the correct description of the picture was shown.
Figure 4.6. Guess the Word Final Design
Click this link for Guess the Word Activities Demo
4.6. Chapter Conclusion
This chapter describes the settings from which data were extracted and analysed throughout the study. By providing screen captures of the digital settings and detailing the structure and level of interaction between the learner, the interface and the instruction, the reader becomes more fully equipped to understand how the factors that need to be considered when designing e-learning environments to engage elderly learners were identified within this study. The chapter explains the functioning of the participatory iterative process. I would like to emphasise again that any shortfalls in the design of activities were predicted to be addressed by iterative process or otherwise, and very importantly, such shortfalls would form part of the analysis in some way. Although a lot of changes to the designs of the activities were made throughout the iterative process, the few mentioned above may help to inform the reader how such a process was able to provide the study with a practical configuration from which data was continuously drawn and analysed. In relation to the various activities tested, the learners in this study showed a high sensitivity to the different designs. The communications by the learner who participated in both the first and final test indicates the learner’s improved engagement, which also indicates the capacity of the iterative process to adapt to the needs of the learner. However, the scope of the study was limited in the extent to which designs could be modified. In a nutshell, this chapter provides the setting whereby, the following chapter on the thematic analysis can be more fully understood.
The screen interaction video was produced thanks to Jing TechSmith Corporation. Version 2.4.10231 .
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