Working title:            JMS 550 Training Modules, Beta Test

Report Author:         Toby Hopp

Date:                         May 12, 2010

Subjects:  Two people participated in the usability study. One was a female graduate student at San Diego State University (Participant A) and one was a female undergraduate student at San Diego State University (Participant B). Both described their Internet skills and Internet self-efficacy levels as moderate. Participant A had previously completed JMS 550 and was well-versed on digital media production. Participant B had not completed JMS 550 and had no experience with digital media production.

Think Aloud Task:   Participants were asked to perform the following three (3) tasks:

1. Locate and comment on the videos used for the Photoshop tutorial.

2. Navigate through each learning module and comment, generally, on the navigational experience.

3. Compare two similar template iterations and comment on which one appeared both most “useable” and “most attractive.”

Summary:  Participants located the Photoshop videos quite readily. The Photoshop video tutorials were initially embedded into the page. Both participants commented that the embedded videos made the page look cluttered. Participant A noted that she found direct links to Youtube more helpful because similar videos on the topic were readily available via Youtube’s “Similar Video” sidebar.

Participants generally commented that the site was easy to navigate through and instructional topics were reasonably divided. No suggestions on the way the site was mapped were tendered.

Finally, two similar templates were compared. The first template had the title three (3) lines below the header. The title was font size 32, bold, and titlecase. A static menu was used. Body text was indented from left. The second template had the title two (2) lines below the header. The title size was 36, bold, and lowercase. A dropdown menu was used. Body text was not indented. Both participants favored the second template; however, Participant B indicated that she thought the indented text was visually appealing.

Post-Test Interview:  Given that dropdown menus were used, I was hesitant to place a “home” tab in the header as it did not feature multiple menu items. Instead, for this Beta Test, I simply linked the header to index.html. When I asked the participants to navigate through the site, I was hoping that one or both of them would comment on the lack of a “home” option. Neither did under their own volition. When asked specifically, both indicated that they did not need a “home” link the header. Participant A suggested inserting a “home” option at the bottom of each menu item.

Neither participant liked the embedded Youtube videos. Participant A stated that they made the site look “cheap instead of clean.” Regarding aesthetics, both participants indicated that template looked better. Participant B said that she thought the template’s relatively simple layout was appropriate for an educational website.

Findings to be Implemented: The following four (4) findings will be implemented:

1. Text will be indented from the left to align with the title.

2. The Youtube Photoshop tutorials will be linked to rather than embedded.

3. Template 2 will be used.

4. A “home” option will be inserted at the bottom of each dropdown menu.