Page 94 - Educational Technology A Primer for the 21st Century

5.3 User-Centered Design 83

Table 5.1 Ways to involve users
Technique Purpose Stage of the
design cycle
Background Collecting data related to the needs and At the beginning
Interviews and expectations of users; evaluation of design of the design
questionnaires alternatives, prototypes, and the final artifact project
Sequence of work Collecting data related to the sequence of Early in the design
interviews and work to be performed with the artifact cycle
questionnaires
Focus groups Include a wide range of stakeholders to Early in the design
discuss issues and requirements cycle
On-site observation Collecting information concerning the Early in the design
environment in which the artifact will be used cycle
Role playing, Evaluation of alternative designs and gaining Early and
walkthroughs, and additional information about user needs and mid-point in the
simulations expectations; prototype evaluation design cycle
Usability testing Collecting quantities data related to Final stage of the
measurable usability criteria design cycle
Interviews and Collecting qualitative data related to user Final stage of the
questionnaires satisfaction with the artifact design cycle

product must consider the wide range of stakeholders/users of the product. Not
everyone who is a stakeholder needs to be represented in a design team, but the
effect of the product on them must be taken into consideration (Preece et al., 2002).

After the stakeholders have been identified, a thorough investigation of their
needs should be conducted by doing tasks and needs analyses (Clark & Estes,
1996). Then, designers can develop alternative design solutions to be evaluated by
the actual users. In both the design process and evaluation process, users should be
involved in. Ways to involve users in the design, development, and evaluation of a
product were shown in Table 5.1 (Preece et al., 2002).

5.4 Learner-Centered Design

Comparing with UCD, learner-centered design (LCD) emphasizes the importance
of supporting students’ growth and their motivational needs in designing educa-
tional software. Learner-centered indicates a move from ease-of-use issues toward
the development of a student’s comprehension and expertise. Table 5.2 shows the
difference between users and learners.

• Users have the expertise in their work domains, and they understand the tasks
they are accomplishing. Learners do not have the same domain knowledge as