Page 114 - Educational Technology A Primer for the 21st Century

6.4 Indicators to Evaluate Learner Experience 103
(1) Indoor air quality—mold and airborne bacteria have adverse effects on chil-
dren’s and teachers’ health.
(2) Temperature and humidity—creates conditions which lead to Sick Building
Syndrome, related absenteeism, and lowered mental acuity.
(3) Ventilation and airflow—is an occupational health and safety issue because
children require more air than adults. Studies indicate that airflow from win-
dows is inadequate in schools to remove or prevent the buildup of carbon
dioxide. Poor airflow leads to poor performance of tasks.
(4) Thermal comfort—there is an optimum temperature for learning, retention, task
performance, and job satisfaction.
(5) Acoustics—good acoustics (quality rather than the amount of noise) are fun-
damental to academic performance.
(6) Building age, quality, and aesthetics—affect student and teacher perceptions of
safety and well-being. Building age is not as important as the quality of con-
struction conditions. Students perform better in modernized or new environ-
ments, but it is hard isolating mediating factors, and therefore inconclusive.
(7) Furniture, carpets, dampness, and pollutants can lead to health problems such as
asthma (see, for example, Filardo & Vincent, 2010).
(8) Based on the critical factors for comfortability, the following indicators for
evaluating the comfortability in a technology-rich classroom are proposed:
(1) Does the lighting system support reading healthy? (2) Does air in the
classroom meet the air quality standard? (3) Is the temperature in the classroom
suitable for learning? (4) Does the classroom have good acoustics? (5) Does
classroom decoration meet the students’ preference? (6) Is the learning device
easy to operate?

Key Points in This Chapter

(1) With the fusion of technology, pedagogy, and space, learner experience with an
educational technology gradually became essential for ensuring students’
engagement and performance.
(2) Learning experiences can be understood as learners’ perceptions, responses,
and performances through interaction with the learning environment, educa-
tional product, resources, and so on.
(3) Value, usability, adaptability, desirability, and comfortability are the five ele-
ments in educational technology that will influence learner experience, which
should be considered when build or rebuild learning space.
(4) Learner experience will change when the furnishing (providing an audiovisual
system, computers, devices, and software) and equipping (decorating classroom
and changing layout) in educational technology changed, and service was one
of the most key factors for improving learner experience with educational
technology.