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HCI Group Project 8
HCI Project Group 8 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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HCI Group Project 8
Problem to be Addressed by the Project Overview There is currently no simple easy to use computer application for writing maths
equations. This is a problem for note-taking, marking and assignments in an
increasingly digital world. We aim to address this by creating an application that can
be easily used by children, parents as teachers as a learning tool for work and
revision. Problems with current systems for writing virtual maths include knowledge
required about symbols and equations which is incompatible for learning, and
difficulty with incorporating text annotation and equation-writing.
!We will create an interactive maths programme for school-age children and teachers
to be used as a learning aid. The programme will have the potential to be used as a
homework assignment and work submission area. It will be a basic symbol mapper,
with annotation possibilities to enable children to write their homework and notes,
using a database of mathematical symbols which contains definitions and basic
equations for easy insertion.
!!Literature Review
Our system aims to take into account children with learning difficulties. Some of
these include Dyscalculia:
!“...a condition that affects the ability to acquire arithmetical skills. Dyscalculic
learners may have difficulty understanding simple number concepts, lack an
intuitive grasp of numbers, and have problems learning number facts and
procedures. Even if they produce a correct answer or use a correct method,
they may do so mechanically and without confidence.”
!-(British Dyslexia Association)(1)
!This translates into trouble decoding mathematical symbols and queries as well as
counting backwards or forwards (particularly in 2s or 3s), thus the normal method of
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mass-teaching in schools is simply not enough for those with Dyscalculia: they
require appropriate methods of learning and one-on one tuition:
!“Dyscalculic children may be particularly vulnerable where teachers follow an
interactive, whole-class method of teaching as recommended by the National
Numeracy Strategy. Asking dyscalculic children to answer apparently simple
maths questions in public will inevitably lead to embarrassment and
frustration”.
- (British Dyslexia Association)(1)
!We thus hope to make our program accessible and encouraging to those suffering
from this condition where classroom teaching isn’t enough and they won’t feel
discouraged when working in their own time to solve mathematical queries. Making
this program interactive and engaging is therefore key.
!We also needed to make it a design that would be visible for dyslexics, and we found
that the fonts would need to be evenly spaced and that background colours should
not be white with black text, as this contrast is difficult to see for dyslexics. Avoiding
underlining and block capitals was also a suggestion. Concise wording and good
colours also make designs more visible for dyslexics.(2)
!
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Observations from Existing Systems
Microsoft Word
We have chosen to assess Word on its functional use as a tool for learning and
writing maths, (taking into account its existence as a word processor rather than our
end goal: a learning tool).
!Inserting charts in Microsoft Word: The user is able to insert charts in Word, however the charts are populated with
information stored in Excel, meaning that two programs are needed to perform this
function.
To simplify this for users, we would ensure that this could be done easily within one
program. This avoids any inconsistencies in information over the two programs.
!
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! The user is able to edit information in excel, which will then apply to the chart in Word
!Inserting symbols in Microsoft Word: To insert symbols in Word, you simply go to the ‘Insert’ tab and browse the drop-
down menu.
!However, despite symbols being organised into subsets (including general
punctuation, Greek and Coptic etc.), there is only one subset for maths:
“Mathematical Operators”.
Within this, highlighting a symbol brings up its name and shortcut key. This includes
a “character key” followed by a sequence of keys the user must press.
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! In the case of Square Root, the symbol is √ with the shortcut key being: 221A Shift + X
!However, this method of insertion is long-winded and requires memorising the
shortcut key for particular symbols, made up of sequences of numbers. This isn’t the
most convenient of methods, as users will have to memorise many of these
shortcuts, distinguished only by slightly differences within sequences of numbers. It
is also daunting for users with dyscalculia. (Nonetheless, it could be argued that the
“recently used” function relieves some of these problems).
Within “Mathematical Operators” the options are also limited (as seen above), as
symbols are organised into “Mathematical Operators” as a general subset of
‘symbols’, rather than being organised into different subsets of maths respectively
(trigonometry, algebra, fractions etc.)
This is hopefully something we can expand on in our project.
!Inserting equations in Microsoft Word: It is fairly easy to insert built-in equations within Word; for example:
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!
This is useful for general purposes, however there is only a limited selection of
equations available; the majority of which are overly-complicated for the levels of
education we are investigating (Key Stage 3, GCSE
and A-Level) and therefore not suitable for easing
students into maths. For example:
!This is one of 9 (equally as complicated) built-in equations available for insertion. It
describes the algebraic expansion of the powers of a binominal. Although a simple
description of the equation is given when hovered over with the mouse, there is no
simple explanation or walk-through of the harder equations for those who aren’t
necessarily comfortable with equations at this level. This would be quite daunting for
someone easing themselves into maths as Word assumes that the user is already
fully aware of the equation’s purpose.
(However, of course this is a result of Word being a word processor rather than a
learning tool: the latter of which we want our program to be).
Further, the user is also able to insert a new equation of which they can type
themselves:
!
!‘Equation Tools’ options, including ‘normal text’
!
The “insert equation” function goes further than the “insert symbol” function in that it
actually organises similar symbols for similar purposes together. For example,
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“Approximately Equal To” and “Almost Equal To” are positioned next to each other for
easier access.
!LaTeX
LaTeX is a typesetting program for creating scientific and mathematical documents,
and the creator Donald Knuth wanted a system that could “[simply construct] …
mathematical formulas, while looking professional when printed” (Wikibooks, 2014,
<http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/LaTeX/Mathematics>).
LaTeX works much like a programming language, where entering commands will
return a document that looks professional.
However, LaTeX is not an easy or intuitive programme to use, with one self-taught
American student describing the learning process as “gruelling” (Taylor Rubright,
2012, <http://www.westernfrontonline.net/news/article_512400df-0419-5171-9c79-
ab3efe785ac6.html?mode=jqm>).
! An example of some LaTeX input and what it renders as (from Wikipedia)
!LaTeX can produce highly polished-looking mathematical symbols and equations,
but would not be suitable for using as a teaching resource. It has no way of easily
inputting maths symbols quickly, and is highly complex to grasp.
!There is an applet, Detexify, which can take drawn input and respond with what
LaTeX symbol it thinks you have drawn, which would make it slightly more
accessible, but this is still not enough, as once you have this information you must
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still have mastered programming in LaTeX normally.
!
!(Detexify, LaTeX symbol classifier, <http://detexify.kirelabs.org/classify.htm>)
!A high-school aged student attempting to learn maths and have a quick and easy
way of creating easily-legible mathematical symbols would probably not be the kind
of user LaTeX is designed for, especially if they have no previous knowledge of
computing programming, as to create your document in LaTeX it needs to compile
correctly, and compiling errors can be daunting to a young person with no computer
science experience. Younger ages would have even more of a problem using LaTeX,
as it would be far too complex for the low-level mathematical symbols they would
need.
!As we’ve discussed Microsoft Word is currently the most accessible and widely used
piece of software to achieve equation-integrated text documents. It is, however not at
all user-friendly and does not provide a large number of functions that would greatly
improve its utility. Particularly, functionality for graphical maths problems, such as
graphing, are not very
!A couple of tools that we found which offered much better manipulations for graphing maths are as follows:
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!Archimy
Constructs graphs from user input equations, however equations do not look much
like natural maths and is instead input is a basic form of programming language. This
makes it not easily readable or learnable for inexperienced users. Another problem
with this software is that it only works as a calculator for
http://www.archimy.com/syntax.html
!Calc 3D Pro
Is mainly a calculator for mathematical problems, although it does support integrated
text, equations and graphing functionalities for note-taking, it could not effectively be
used in a classroom setting because it performs all the calculations automatically. It
does not have an especially easy-to-use or intuitive design
http://www.calc3d.com/
!Mathemtica
This programme offers a much more user friendly way to compute calculations than
LaTeX, and also supports output to text documentation, some of which can be
achieved via LaTeX.
http://www.wolfram.com/solutions/education/students/
!Other apps
There are two other apps that provide mathematical keyboard which allow for easy
inputting of mathematical symbols, but none of these come with explanations of the
symbols, and so would not be entirely helpful for use as a teaching or learning
resource. Also none of them are standardised to one level of study, and so some
people’s needs conflict with others, leaving less advanced users with too many
options, and very advanced users without the proper tools for taking or making
accurate maths notes.
List of links to maths keyboard apps:
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/math-keyboard/id522502607?mt=8
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.schwiz.wolfram.full&hl=en
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Here is a handwriting calculator app that takes handwritten input and gives the
answer. This would also not be entirely useful as a learning or teaching resource as
it is not ideal to simply give students the answer without them being shown the
working out.
Handwriting calculator app:
http://appcrawlr.com/ios/handwriting-calculator
!SmartBoards Smartboards are another teaching/learning resource used in classrooms which can
be used for mathematics. Their large white-board style touchscreen can be used to
write up and save class notes and also run lesson-like presentations available for
teachers to download and use.
They have no specific input for mathematical symbols that are not readily available
on a normal keyboard, and if a teacher’s handwriting is not easily legible then
students could make mistakes in their copied notes.
SmartBoards are effective mostly in classrooms, but are not very compatible with
homework or out-of-classroom learning.
! A smartboard in action (http://www.ivci.com/videoconferencing-rear-projection-smart-board
-2000i.html)
!BBC Bitesize
BBC Bitesize is a learning tool that is available to all UK children who are learning
core subjects at various stages, from Key Stage 1 to A-level.
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You cannot create any custom symbols, lesson plans, or questions, but Bitesize
comes with a set of ready-made learning resources that children can use alone or
with the guidance of an adult.
It sets out the KS3 maths topics into an easily understood layout, and then breaks
these larger segments into smaller topics that children can revise, do activities
concerning, or test themselves on.
The whole of the Bitesize website makes use of readable fonts, engaging colours
and pictures, and even has a games section where children can be engaged in a
more fun way by the things they are trying to learn about.
All of the Bitesize tests are multiple choice questions, and there is no possibility of
any user input, be they symbols or text.
Bitesize lacks the flexibility that our users will require from their program.
!
An example of a typical KS3 Maths Bitesize revision topic
!!!
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TouchMath TouchMath is multisensory teaching tool with interactive activities for children.
(<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plQiaCEfl5E>)
Published on Oct 9, 2012) TouchMath's new interactive whiteboard (IWB) program, TouchMath Connect,
revolutionizes the way you teach and the way your students learn math. All senses
are activated when students engage with an IWB, and TouchMath comes to life as
students move, see, say, hear, touch, and learn math like never before! Watch this
demo video to see the unique advantages of TouchMath Connect.
!Apache OpenOffice Math
Another programme for creating mathematical functions and
equations is OpenOffice Math by Apache. It is most
commonly used as an equation editor for a text document
but can be used in to create equations and notes from
scratch. The three main methods for writing mathematics is a
text box with equation symbols, a list of keyboard shortcuts,
and to right clicking on the equation editor to insert directly
into the document. As an interface it feels very intuitive, as
with the multiple input methods it is extremely flexible to its user’s needs and
abilities.
!As it works with the normal range of basic maths commands (e.g. =,+,-) this means
that although many of the functions are of a complex nature it is still relatively
straight forward. This would be useful when being used by secondary school
students or those with less computer literacy as a basic level of knowledge can be
utilised although it does assume that the user already has this mathematical
knowledge.
!Although it is intuitive the screen appears quite barren as it lacks any colour or
vibrancy which would not be ideal for our target market of secondary school students
who often find mathematics un-engaging. This combined with the lack of descriptive
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help means that this is programme designed for those with slightly more
mathematical experience and experience with computer programmes in general.
This is not an entry level programme as many of the features would be lost in a
classroom as its ability to be compatible with LaTex might be impressive but has
limited educational use. This is the flaw in Apache’s OpenOffice Math as although it
is a very intricate and well-designed piece of software it is mainly a text-editor for
personal use with the aim to help mathematicians create other programmes and
achieve other goals. Because of this it is also only single-format and lacks the ability
to work on various different platforms which would be useful.
! (an image of the interface)
!The method OpenOffice Math uses for inputting equations is quite helpful as it
changes the written format of the input into a mathematical formula. However the
language it uses is not the clearest, needing prior knowledge about the input
sequence to get the formulas to work. This would be especially true for key stage
three students who would not only have to focus on what the function does and how
it is written but to learn the language of the editor as well. If this programme was
going to be used in a classroom this would be valuable learning time would be spent
on the editor rather than learning the basics of mathematics. Although this problem
would be hard to avoid OpenOffice Math does not help itself with the lack of tutorials
and instructions which would be very useful for quick learning.
OpenOffice Math is not suitable for an educational environment as it is unable to
perform many of the tasks required for secondary school mathematics, like graph
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mathematics and shapes in. Therefore due to the specific requirements of GCSE
maths the programme is not suitable for our target market. This is a failure of aims
rather than of interactivity as it sets out to be a very usable equation editor and
achieves its goal in a focused manner but this means that it has fallen short on a few
basic functions.
!Programs that use goal-setting:
Duolingo (analysed as a learning tool)
Duolingo is a free translation platform for learning languages. Although it is not a
learning tool for maths, it is useful to evaluate for our project as it is encourages the
user to progress through goal-setting in manageable steps.
!How it works
Users gain coins (or skill points) whilst learning a language, for example when they
complete a lesson, with up to 13 points being awarded for each lesson. This is
documented on a progress bar (as shown below).
As lessons are completed in
particular topics, skills are
documented as ‘learned’ and
the user is able to progress to
the next level (‘Basics2’ from
‘Basics1’, for example). This is the bar that documents the user’s progress and the ‘coins’ they have acquired (skill points)
!Thus, users are able to break down their learning into manageable steps: selecting
the lessons they wish to attempt and unlocking the next lesson once that is
completed. (In the example below, the user is at the ‘Basics 1’ stage in their learning
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progress).
! ^ An example of the stages of ‘unlockable’ lessons available as the user progresses
!Providing help for users: Ability to adapt
Duolingo also adapts according to the user’s progress: at each level of learning, the
system analyses which questions the user has difficulty with (based on the amount
of points they scored/where they made mistakes and lost points). Duolingo then
collects this data and adapts itself according to the patterns it sees. It is therefore a
very progressive platform for education: being driven by and adapting to the data it
receives from each user.
Providing hints
Duolingo also provides tips and notes for the user before they start a lesson, which
reassures the user that they’re on the right track for learning, reinforcing the
information in the user’s mind before they can then apply it to the lesson. Of course,
these tips are optional for the user: some users may be more confident than others
and feel they can disregard these tips.
!
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This comes up on the lesson selection page, below the lesson icons
!Dividing it into separate topics
The user is also able to view their progress in various topics: and is thus able to see
where they may need to practice (for example, with plurals).
!
!< This displays the topics available to test yourself on
!This ensures that the program is not over-complex and is easily broken down into
bitesize chunks/topics.
!Encouragement and testing
Duolingo has a game-like format at times; users starting off with 4 lives in initial
lessons which decreases as the level of learning increases. A life is lost with each
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mistake the user makes. After they lose all of their ‘lives’, they then have to retry the
lesson.
!Duolingo also includes a time practice feature: the user is given 20 questions to
answer in 30 seconds, being rewarded a skill point and 7-10 bonus seconds for
every correct answer.
!This ‘game-like’ testing format could be beneficial for those lacking motivation. This
is supported by the Creative Teaching Site which claims that the using games can
improve logical thinking:
!“Here is an example of a situation where logical thinking is required: You need
to get into a building, but it's locked. Logically, what methods or steps would
you use to fulfil your objective (getting inside the building)?... Get keys from
pocket, select correct key, insert key into lock, turn key, open door handle,
push door open. Each step is required. The methods used to open a door are
obvious, but most students need to think the steps through before they can
use them. Another example of a thinking skill is the ability to think in
sequential order. It's surprising how difficult that is for some people. Things
need to be done in the correct order - in real life and in computer simulations.”
- (http://www.creativeteachingsite.com/videogames.htm)
!Lucid Research ltd also claim that:
“Research studies have previously shown that playing video games can
increase attention skills… which are typically weak in dyslexic children”
- (Lucid Research ltd: http://www.lucid-research.com/news.htm?news_id=26)
!General appearance and format
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Duolingo is laid out simply, using bright colours and eye-catching colour schemes. It
uses simple graphics, text and logos so as not to overload the user with visuals.
!
!< This icon gives a very simple overview of the user’s progress
!The tabs are laid out logically and clearly, for easy navigation and the progress icons
in the right hand corner (seen below) ensure that the user is rewarded by being able
to see themselves progress as they learn more.
! < The progress icons show the user their daily progress, as well as the courses they are
signed up for
!
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Evaluation of currently available programmes:
The current set of programmes and learning aids that aim to solve our initial problem
is quite broad, but they all have certain issues.
!Most especially, they are all quite advanced, and are not aimed at the level which we
are aiming to engage in mathematical learning. BBC Bitesize, although aimed at the
correct learning stage, is not as flexible as we would desire: there is no easy way of
teaching or learning from Bitesize.
!However, this project will be sure to take inspiration from Duolingo, which provides
an encouraging platform for learning. The progress bar/icons are items that would be
useful in our maths program, as well as the hints: which are necessary for students
that are less confident (including and especially children with learning difficulties).
!
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Personas
User Type 1: Teacher
Name: Ms. Brace
Age: 53
Occupation: Teacher
Level of Computer Experience: Very low,
an older woman who is new to most
technology.
User Requirements: Needs to:
- teach maths,
- set homework,
- mark homework,
- leave homework hints/help,
- give extra time on assignments and
more attention to students with learning
difficulties,
- teach lower level/catch-up classes,
- keep an eye on the class’ average
marks and individual students’ marks to identify areas of confusion and
misunderstanding
Frustrations: new to technology, has severe time constraints due to multiple classes
and large class size, will not be taught how to use a complex new system by her
employer
!Explanation of user: Ms Brace needs to teach Key Stage 3 mathematics to a large class but is new to
technology as she is an older teacher. She needs to keep an eye on the whole class’
marks, as well as individual marks. She makes class assignments, homeworks and
revision notes for her class to use. Sometimes, students will need to contact her out
of school hours with questions about homework.
!!
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!Scenarios:
Teaching Maths to students without learning difficulties: Ms. Brace creates class notes and in-class assignments with some questions for the
majority of her students. These in-class assignments will all have the same number
of questions, and be in the same format.
Teaching Maths to students with learning difficulties: Ms. Brace makes assignments and in-class exercises with less questions or more
time for the students with learning difficulties, and remain aware of their difficulties
when making decisions about overall class progress and what should be taught next.
Mark homework: Ms. Brace marks homework and returns it to her students with individual comments
about where they went wrong and what they might need to revise or brush up on.
Demonstrating in class: Ms. Brace draws notes and questions up on the board for the children to take down
and then revise from later.
!A Day in the Life: Ms. Brace gets up at 6am and makes sure she is in school for 7:45 to prepare her
classes for the day. Her students begin to arrive between 8 and 8 30. She attends
assembly with the other staff members and students from 8:30 until 9, and then has
classes that last an hour each from 9 until midday. These classes range from year 3,
to year 8. After an hour’s break for lunch, she helps out on the playground before
returning to class from two until 4. In lessons, Ms. Brace teaches a wide range of
topics to classes that range in size from 15 to 30 students. She sets and collects
homeworks, answers questions, and sets class work that she can help children work
through.
!Ms. Brace stays in school for a couple of hours most days, sorting out her lesson
plans for the next day, and collecting homework to take home and mark. Sometimes,
she will have students or parents come and see her at 4pm to ask questions about
homeworks or progress.
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!She arrives home at around 6pm and makes dinner, and will spend the rest of the
evening marking homework before having a relaxing bath and going to bed at 10pm.
!How the Programme Would Address Ms Brace’s Problems: The programme would make it easy for Ms. Brace to present class notes in an easily
legible way, with clear symbols. She would be able to call on the symbol’s short
explanation to quickly aid understanding.
!It would also make it easier for her to set homeworks to the whole class, and to
answer any questions that the students may have out of hours using the messaging
centre.
She would be able to view students’ progress and previous marks and discover gaps
in their knowledge, as well as viewing the whole classes’ statistics to pick up on
areas that the whole class is unsure of.
!The system would let her give students with learning difficulties extra time on timed
homeworks, or sometimes set less questions for those students.
Overall, the system would aim to streamline her teaching of mathematics to a range
of students in the class, while remaining easy to use and quick to pick up due to her
lack of experience with technology.
!!!!!!!!
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!!!!!!User Type 2: Child without Learning Difficulties
Name: Rajesh Mamoud
Age: 12 years
Occupation: Student
Field: Maths
Level of Computer Experience: Fairly low, he has only used
computers in a school context due to
strict parenting. This means he has
had little experience with recreational
activities computers can be used for,
such as gaming. As a result of this,
however, he is proficient at Microsoft
Word and Excel-type programmes,
but has never used them for something as complex as writing maths notes.
!User Requirements: Rajesh Needs:
- An easy-to-use system that he can get to grips with quickly, and navigate with
ease.
- Interactive support from staff outside of teaching hours.
- A prompting system for symbols that he’s unsure about.
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- He needs a system that can help him to easily organise his work and notes.
- The programme will need to be able to motivate and encourage own-time
learning and revision sessions.
Frustrations: - Rajesh has difficulty motivating himself when it comes to working in his own time
and is under a lot of pressure from his parents to do so.
- He wants to do well at Maths but he finds it hard to pay attention.
- He needs to be at school to have access to a computer
- Because of parental pressure he does not want to ask them for help when he is
having difficulty with work
!Explanation of User: Rajesh is your average 12-year-old, year 8 pupil working hard to achieve good
grades like those that his parents want. He lacks any desire to do well on his own
terms and is only looking to please his family. He wants to improve his mathematical
skills and also improve his revision/working techniques as he finds it very hard to put
his mind to the task and structure his learning on his own.
Scenarios: In-class
In-class learning is split into two parts, firstly when the teacher is demonstrating
portions of the course and secondly when the class is set some work to complete for
the rest of the lesson, asking for help as necessary. Both parts need to be engaging
for the students. Rajesh needs a simple way to take legible notes during
demonstration that he can easily refer to during the exercise section.
Homework
Rajesh struggles with motivating himself to enjoy his work because of the pressure
he is put under by his family. This leads him often to work slowly and ineffectively.
The difficulty he experiences when completing homework is exacerbated by being
too embarrassed to ask his parents for help, and he finds his textbook confusing to
look-up topics in.
Revision
Rajesh finds it difficult to engage enjoyably with his work because of the need-not-
want spin put on performance by his family. Encouraging forms of group-work could
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increase his motivation and interaction with the course content, and providing fun
ways to solve-problems and approach course material will help immensely with his
desire to do work in his own time. As well as a section for his own notes he needs to
be able to call up references when he does not understand something he’s written. It
would be useful for Rajesh to be provided with extra, unassessed practise exercises
for him to complete in his own time, when revising.
!A Day In The Life
Rajesh gets to school for 8:30, ready for classes to start at 9. Each lesson last for an
hour with approximately half of the time used for the teacher going through the topic
on the board, with the class then being set work to do either on their own or with the
aid of a tutor (depending on their confidence level). Rajesh often struggles to find the
motivation to work during this time period, which makes it harder for him when he
goes home to complete the homework tasks; when he becomes frustrated
(especially with maths).
This means he often puts off tasks until later, especially when afraid to ask for help.
!How the Program would address Rajesh’s Problems: The program would allow Rajesh to engage in interactive learning; making it more
fun to use than simply a pen and paper whilst also allowing his notes to be legible in
class. It would be set up in a colourful, easy-to-read format which would make the
prospect of completing work less daunting (when compared to working from a
textbook, for example).
!The program would allow Rajesh to see his past homeworks and therefore see
where he was correct in solving problems previously (which would provide
encouragement).
!The program would also provide hints when Rajesh requested it (under a ‘need a
hint?’ link) so that Rajesh can see if he is on the right track. However, if this is not
enough and Rajesh needs extra help, the program would allow him to send
messages to teachers and tutors when he got stuck with the work. This would
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eliminate the embarrassment of asking questions in front of a class of around 15-30
people and provide reassurance.
!!!!!!
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User Type 3: Student with Learning Difficulties
Name: Xander Harris
Age: 12 years
Occupation: Student
Learning Difficulties: Dyscalculia and Dyslexia
(has performance anxiety as a result of this)
Field: Maths
Level of Computer Experience: Fairly high
because of a preference for interactive learning.
Can use Microsoft Word and Excel. He’s also
familiar with video games and owns a PC at home.
!User Requirements:
Xander Needs:
- Large, easily readable font because of his dyslexia.
- An interactive learning experience
- An easy-to-use program for his work, with clear labelling
- Extra learning support and encouragement because it takes him longer to work
than other children without learning difficulties (this includes extra hints/time)
- Preliminary work checks to avoid mistakes
- One-on-one support because of performance anxiety
!Frustrations: - Xander takes longer than other students to complete and comprehend his
work and as a result, lacks confidence within school
- Other children tease him for progressing slower
- The traditional method of teaching to large groups is not effective as it doesn’t
cater to his particular learning style; he requires extra support
- Due to the above reasons, Xander also lacks the motivation to learn
!Explanation of User:
HCI Group Project 8
Xander is a student studying maths at Key Stage 3 level. He has the barrier of
having both dyslexia and dyscalculia. Performance anxiety dissuades him from
engaging in group work as his classes are made up of around 15-20 students. He is
a bright and imaginative child, however lacks motivation in academia after years of
frustration with words and numbers.
!Scenarios: In-class
Xander needs to be able to follow the guidelines and walk-throughs of the set
homework in class and complete the exercises his teacher sets him.
!Homework
When set homework, Xander often initially panics at the prospect of doing work
independently as he needs assurance that he is approaching exercises correctly. He
is not confident in his academic ability and prefers going to homework help after-
school classes as the tutors are able to go through the work at a pace which suits
him.
Revision
When revising, Xander needs encouragement that his problem-solving is on the right
track. He also needs to be able to think and work independently as well as attending
revision sessions with other children/tutors as this will improve his confidence.
!A Day in the Life
Xander wakes up at 7:30 ready for school which begins at around 8:30. He is a
bright child, but struggles with motivation due to being discouraged by traditional
teaching methods and his performance anxiety, which makes the prospect of school
seem unattractive.
!He will often become frustrated when in class as his dyscalculia and dyslexia are
learning barriers which other children don’t have and thus he often feels left behind
whilst other students seem to be progressing quicker than him. This leads to some
teasing, which greatly affects Xander’s confidence.
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HCI Group Project 8
After going to classes and having homework set, Xander returns home where he
becomes engaged in more interactive and kinesthetic learning; including playing
games and building various projects. When attempting homework independently he
can get very frustrated and thus resort to procrastinating, however his parents make
sure he attends some after-school homework sessions once a week for when he is
encountering problems.
!How the Program would address Xander’s Problems:
!The program would allow Xander to ask for extra help without the embarrassment of
having to announce this in front of the entire class. It would provide hints and
examples where necessary that could be tailored by the teacher to Xander’s level of
learning.
!The program would also be useful by providing the option of having easy-read text
for dyslexic students- which Xander is. This would be one less barrier for him when
processing/addressing mathematical problems.
!For encouragement, the program would allow Xander to see his past graded
homework answers; allowing him to see where he was correct previously and how
the methods he used for these could be applied to the current homework.
!The teacher would also be able to see his notes- and thus see in his ‘working-out’ his
thought process when attempting to solve mathematical problems. From this, they
could then refine where Xander needs extra tutoring/time etc.
!The program could also provide a ‘buddy’ (a learning tool, similar to the paperclip in
early microsoft word) which would provide hints when Xander has accidentally used
the wrong method/symbol for a task, to get him back on track. E.g “remember that pi
r squared is for working out the area of a circle, not circumference!” (with mini
diagrams). The teacher could tailor this learning tool to give hints where Xander most
commonly gets muddled -in this case, with implementing pi.
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HCI Group Project 8
!User Type 5: Admin
Name: Joshan Giuseppe
Age: 42
Level of computer ability: High, they are
highly adapt to using technology as their job
revolves around communicating with other staff
as well as exploring and inputting into
databases.
User Requirements: •Assign Students to suitable classes.
• Ensure all results of students are collected. • Gives termly report of how students are progressing. • Checks whether teachers are achieving their government assigned targets. • Reviews class progression as a whole. • Liaise with Teachers and Head of Maths departments on progress.
!Frustrations:
• Needs to liaise between teachers and management which can take time and
many messages • Check progress of students and classes without being disruptive • Viewing past marks for children without the use of graphs can make it difficult
to make decisions about what classes they should be in
Explanation of user:
Admin staff are in many ways the bureaucratic beating heart of the educational
establishment as they have a multifunctional role which is responsible for both
students and teachers. They are in charge of appointing students to classes which
match their mathematical ability so they encourage an environment where teaching
is suited to the ability and needs of the students. They are also responsible for the
tracking of the grades students are receiving so they can warn and inform teachers
about students who are underachieving and those that are excelling. Admin staff also
are in charge of monitoring the progress of classes as a whole in order to check
HCI Group Project 8
whether teachers are performing adequately and warning the Heads of Departments
that they might need to offer extra help to some teachers. Another one of their big
jobs is the collection of results of exams and to distribute them to both the students
and the parents in order to relay the achievements of each student.
!Scenarios
Placing the Students into a correct group: A student has recently been performing below his usual skill level for various
reasons. The marks he has been receiving in his homework have been steadily
falling and he is quickly falling behind his advanced class. The student, therefore,
needs to be moved down into a more balanced set so he can gain confidence in
maths and learn the basics he would need to rise again. Therefore Mr Giuseppe will
need to contact both teachers and the student to inform them of the decision while
also placing a tab onto the student’s progress to see if he does progress in his new
group. This would be sufficiently difficult as without an automated system in which he
can both keep track of and contact people with it would have to be done manually
which would time consuming and off putting.
!Collecting the results of a termly test: It is the easter holidays and all the classes within the school have just performed a
test in order to manage the development of the students in the school. As this test is
performed in all subjects across all years the results are enormous in proportion and
soon the admin office is flooded with information. In maths this is especially hectic as
the teachers have been lackluster in their marking and a few results have still yet to
be collected.
!The admin staff have to trawl through the mountains of tables and graphs in order to
work out which students are missing and where the hole is in their data. The
teachers had marked the work themselves and have submitted them in various
forms however some teachers have elected to submit the data in an electronic
format and others have handed in a badly written document with just the rough
pencil written results scribbled in.
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HCI Group Project 8
Out of this data it is the admins job to chart the course of each class and student in
order to develop an idea of the quality of teaching within the school. Finally when the
marks and data have been recorded they are returned to the teachers who have
already began to teach the next terms curriculum and find themselves pressed for
time in order to cover the topics which their students have struggled in.
!Inserting a new student into a class: The administrator is also in control of inserting new students into classes, should a
new student arrive. To do this he must first inspect the students previous grades and
reports from their former school to assess their ability. Mr Giuseppe must then
search through the school’s registers to investigate any free spaces within classes to
see where it is possible to place the new student. Finally he must try and match the
student to the most suited group with free places before informing the teacher of the
incoming student and adding the class on to the timetable to be given to the student
on their first day. The overall records must then be updated in order to include the
new student and the registers re-written so in case of a fire drill the student is
accounted for.
!A Day In The Life: Mr. Giuseppe gets up early, at 6am, to make sure he is in school on time to do lots of
paperwork before the children begin arriving. Having been given the registers of the
attendance for the day, he will write these up into the school’s computer system until
lunch. He will take an hour’s lunch break, and then have more homework and test
results delivered to him, which need to be copied onto children’s permanent records.
Sometimes, he will need to email parents and teachers about moving a child into a
different class from the one they are in, because their marks are suffering.
Mr. Giuseppe works late, until about 7pm, in the school office, filing paperwork and
updating the school’s system to make sure that all the students’ records are up to
date, including those of new students. He will then go home, watch some TV and go
to bed.
!How the programme will address his problems:
HCI Group Project 8
The system will aim to make it easier for Mr. Giuseppe to message teachers, view
students’ marks, view class marks, and generally perform admin tasks (such as
creating classes and students). It will aim to give him a simple way of storing
information about children’s learning difficulties which he can pass on to teachers.
!The system will also give him the ability to set goals for children to achieve in their
marks, stretching children to achieve their best.
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HCI Group Project 8
User Type 4: Parent
Name: Magnolia Harris
Age: 36
Occupation: Receptionist
Level of Computer Experience:
Reasonably high, uses computer at work
and helps her children.
User Requirements: Needs to:
- Help her child with learning difficulties
remain motivated.
- Help with homework.
- Tutor children.
- Have tips so she understands the work given.
- Check the mark Xander got for class work.
- Set goals for future work.
!Frustrations:
She is a single mother of three children. The eldest child, Xander, has various
learning difficulties and needs considerable help with learning Maths. She has very
little time after work to learn a complex new system and needs to use her time in the
most efficient way possible.
!Explanation of user: Magnolia Harris needs to be able to tutor her children, and especially Xander, Key
Stage Three mathematics to a level in which they can pass year nine SATS with
good grades. However she has barely any time between her work and looking after
her children. Therefore the interface will have to be simple enough for Magnolia to
pick up quickly. Although she has quite a lot experience with computers and a larger
than average intelligence she hasn’t performed any maths in the last decade
therefore the programme will need to be considerate of this situation and of
descriptions as to what the varying mathematical symbols and functions mean. As
Xander has learning difficulties he requires monitoring to see if the style of teaching
HCI Group Project 8
is appropriate for him, The system will then need to be able to notify Magnolia of the
progress Xander is making.
!Scenarios
Helping son with learning difficulties revise for a test: Although Xander is only 12 he faces the end of year exams which determine which
ability of maths group he should be put in for the following year. This would be a
stressful time in any parent’s life but considering the difficulties that he has extra
pressure is added as this could be his chance to keep up with the rest of his class.
As a parent who takes the success and wellbeing of her children very seriously
Magnolia is determined to help her son do well. Therefore she becomes his tutor.
The programme would need to cater for this scenario by allowing the Parents to set
questions which then the child would be able to answer. It should then have an
interface which allows the parent to mark the answers and award gold stars when
the child does well. These results should then be sent to the teacher. A timer would
also be a good addition as Magnolia would need to make sure that Xander has done
his revision even if she is too busy to manually supervise him.
!Teaching her child mathematical principles: If you suffer from learning difficulties then you often fall behind in class and lose
concentration as the class room hasn’t been designed to cater for someone with
specific problems. Magnolia therefore would have a compulsion to help her son in
learning brand new mathematical principles which had failed to be absorbed by
Xander. In order to do this she would need to use the device to show him
explanations and examples which he could copy and learn from. Therefore there
should be an inbuilt mathematical dictionary which gives a short explanation of the
purpose of each symbol and function. This would be key in a more in depth teaching
style for someone with no formal mathematical training. It would also allow Magnolia
to make sure her teaching is correct and to expand her knowledge so she can pass it
on to her son.
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HCI Group Project 8
Helping with homework: Xander’s teacher, Ms Brace, is likely to set a steady amount of homework in order to
encourage her students to progress with their mathematical ability and for
independent learning. However as Magnolia is trying to help her children progress as
far as feasibly possible then she is likely to help out and go through and mark the
homework after Xander has completed. The system should allow corrections to be
made after it has stopped being used so Magnolia can explain the mistakes that
Xander has made and so he can learn before handing it in. If the questions contain
something which Magnolia does not understand then it should have another function
which takes the information the teacher has given and links it to the correct symbol.
This would save a lot of time for a single mum trying to help her son as looking on
the internet may take up precious time for her so having an inbuilt function would
make it more accessible and help Magnolia in helping her child’s homework.
HCI Project Group 8
Overall conclusion of program requirementsStudents need a program with:
Student Without Learning Difficulties(Rajesh)
Student With Learning Difficulties(Xander)
In Class Easy navigation
A simple way of making legible notes to refer back
to
Easy navigation
Easily-readable font
A function that allows work and notes to be organised easily
Homework A messaging system allowing students to
contact staff outside of teaching hours
A hints section
A ‘past homeworks’ section
A messaging system allowing students to
contact staff outside of teaching hours
A hints section
A ‘past homeworks’ section
A prompting system for unusual symbols
Walk-throughs without time limits
Revision An option to time work
The option of having unassessed practice
exercises
References to the topics the student most
struggles with(data-driven)
Teachers need a program with:
Miss Brace
Teaching Easy navigation
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HCI Project Group 8
Clearly labelled icons
The possibility of giving less questions/ more time/ assistance to students with
learning difficulties
Marking A way of easily leaving feedback comments on students’ work
A statistics page to keep track of student’s progress
Demonstrating A clear way of writing up mathematical concepts
A function for looking up short explanationsof symbols/concepts
An ‘upload’ notes function for some students
Admins need a program with:
Joshan Giuseppe
Placing the students into a correct group
A window to check the past marks of students
A message function for contacting both staff and students
A function which measures the progress of students that are
struggling
An update function to implement thesechanges on the database
Collecting the results of a termly test
A statistics window
The ability to return marks and data back to teachers
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HCI Project Group 8
Inserting a new student into a class
A class register browser/ search function
A message function to inform teachersof the new student
The ability to access/update records
A timetable creator
An update function
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HCI Group Project 8
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First Generation Prototypes
Prototype 1
Tools used: hand drawn/drawn in Word
Primary Target: Teacher
Rationale:
The goals of homework creation, marking homework, and messaging were key in this design, with the specific needs of the teacher in mind.
This was a quickly made prototype, mostly drawn by hand, with some screens made in Microsoft Word as very little versatility was needed to demonstrate the ideas at hand.
Login screen:
The Teacher’s First Screen:
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A text entry for username and password. This would be the same for all users, and the different usernames would correspond to different versions of the system opening.
LOGIN
A clear and easy to see Log in button
A clear button to create a new class, would lead to this screen to sync the children’s devices with the teacher’s
7Bnew class
mail!
List of current classes 8J
Messages – notification of new and link to message centre
HCI Group Project 8
!!The Teacher screen opens onto a list of the current classes, and when a class is selected, it will take the Teacher to a screen where more options for this class are available, including an ability to see the students’ grades, set and mark homework, set revision, and open all lesson plans.
The mail centre will be where messages from students appear, and a picture of an unopened envelope by the ‘mail!’ button will denote an unread message.
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!The buttons along the top layer of the screen below the class name correspond to other screens the teacher can access.
Grades:
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Homework:
When a class is selected, it opens automatically to a list of all students, and when a student is selected, the teacher can see their information, and change settings such as giving them extra time, and using a reduced list of questions where available.
The teacher can select a single student from the drop-down menu to look at their individual marks and past grades in a graph format, or they can select seeing the whole class’ marks.
First the teacher can select what topic they would like to create a new homework for.
HCI Group Project 8
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!!Revision:
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!Child Screen:
Similar to the teacher’s screen in terms of layout, the student screen has a settings area, a notification for due homework or new mail, and links to homework, notes and revision.
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Here will be a file tree of premade and previously saved homeworks, sorted by topic.
Here the teacher can create questions, putting whatever input they like, and having as many questions as they like.
The teacher can either select a premade revision to set the class, or create a custom revision exercise using the same layout and input as th homework creator. Revision homeworks can be set with a time limit to test children under exam conditions, and extra time students’ systems would automatically give them the correct amount of time
Here is an example of a homework they need to fill in, they will use the on screen symbol mapper to
The child can see their grades and how they did in marked homeworks on this screen
The child can change some settings like font size, and see if they
HCI Group Project 8
!!Evaluation:
As a quickly-made design, this prototype has a lot of potential, but also obviously many flaws and areas that will need tweaking and refining if it is to become the second generation prototype. It will now be evaluated by Neilsen’s heuristics, and then looking at the personas and their scenarios.
Heuristic Evaluation:
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Visibility of System Status • No obvious way of knowing if the system is connected to the children’s wireless touchpad devices
• No evidence of loading bars
Match between system and real world • Very little, the system uses many buttons rather than some sort of overarching intuitive design metaphor
User control and freedom • The teacher can create their own revisions or use readymade ones
Consistency and standards • There is consistency between the teacher and child’s screens in terms of labelling of buttons and screens
Error prevention • There is no error prevention for creating or submitting homeworks, or editing classes when the devices sync with the teacher
Recognition rather than recall • All buttons labelled
Flexibility and efficiency of use
Aesthetic and minimalistic design • The aesthetic aims to keep the buttons at the centre of the design but is sometimes messy and may be unhelpfully laid out
Help users recognise and recover errors • No help whatsoever
Help and documentation • No obvious help manual
HCI Group Project 8
Persona Evaluation:
Teacher:
• Scenario 1: Teaching
o Ms. Brace would find it quite difficult to teach using this system as lesson plans are readymade and the design to write notes is unintuitive.
• Scenario 2: Setting and marking homework
o Ms. Brace would find it difficult to correct mistakes in both the creation and marking of homework, and there is no way to leave individual comments on homeworks for children.
Student:
• Scenario 1: Class learning
o Rajesh and Xander may find it difficult to navigate the system and make notes.
• Scenario 2: Homework
o The children can complete their homework, but submission is not yet clear.
o They can review their results, which will help with learning.
• Scenario 3: Revision
o Again, the tasks can be completed, but with no mention of how they should be submitted to the teacher.
Admin and Parent
• There is currently no functionality in this prototype for these two types of user.
!Overall:
Some of the design ideas in this prototype are good, but none of it is fully functional, and it will need some serious work to become the final prototype. Some ideas from it may be utilised in the second generation prototype, such as the file tree and the message centre.
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HCI Group Project 8
Prototype 2
Tools used: hand drawn/drawn in Word
Primary Target: Teacher and Student
Rationale:
This design concentrated more on the requirements of the student.
!Login screen options:
Both these login-page designs assume that the requirements for the teacher and student versions of the programme differ so widely that separate logins are necessary. In these designs, no information is built-in to the login details provided by the user that would give the programme appropriate knowledge to open the desired student or teacher portal.
!Version 1
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Version 2
!Pros Cons
Student V2: Do not get distracted or procrastinate by trying to login as teacher
Teacher V2: May get confused on initial few uses and not find the login button. This could lead to time wasted incorrectly logged in as a student
Teacher login buttonStudent login button
Student Teacher
Student login button
Login
Teacher Login Link to the teacher login page
HCI Group Project 8
One of the major problems with learning platforms is often that teacher usability is sacrificed in place of student (as students are the ones benefitting most from the system) BUT teacher requirements are just as important if both student and teacher are going to make the most of the system.
SOLUTION: Pop up error message with pointer to correct login when teacher details are used to try to access the student portal, however if the programme is able to use the login details to get this information why is it necessary to have separate login portals at all?
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HCI Group Project 8
Student Homepage/Notes
Automatially opens to note page
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Self-Timer Can be switched on/off at student/parent discretion. Intended to help with revision/motivation or to aid children who like a challenge
Clicking anywhere on the notepad enables typing, similarly to Microsoft Notepad, this gives flexibility in note design
Symbol-pad organised grouping by topic to make symbols easier to find.
Can hide selected pads if irrelevant.
Hovering over a symbol causes a description to display
Pop out for inserting graphs or other drawn objects – detailed later
Side arrows to switch to earler/later lesson notes
Enables symbol insertion via hand-drawn symbols in case student cannot locate correct symbol. System identifies what you have drawn and highlights it in the symbol pad.
HCI Group Project 8
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Sidebar with ‘ask a question’ link, alerts (e.g. homework due) display below.
Question-type features, while some of the most important features that learning platforms offer, are often some of the least used and therefore we have used many techniques to try to make it a more appealing section. Here, putting the Query Tool above Alerts is an attempt to make it more visible and thus more appealing to users. This has been done despite Alerts arguably being more important, this will be negated by the Alerts either being in bold, red or flashing.
Descriptions are also accessible when symbols are in homework questions or when highlighted in notes/revision
Descriptions contain interactive links through to further information in case a concept is too complication for student/parent to understand
Student Portal – Homework Main functions similar to note-taking as requirements are the same
Access most recent assignment feedback
Clicking marks where the intercept goes, instruction displays as a message
HCI Group Project 8
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Drag triangle box for gradient
Also functions as a teaching method for understanding how gradient works
Student Portal – Progress Review
Reward/Ranking System to help students with motivation
Personal StatisticsProgress Bar to indicate
distance to reward
Encouraging messages
Class Statistics
HCI Group Project 8
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Student Portal – Messages/Queries
Notification appears here if a question the user has asked has been answered. Clicking jumps to result displayed in main screen
Search for questions that have already been answered
Questions appear anonymously to the students but the teacher can identify which student asked a question so that they are able to tailor help given in person
Thread of other students’ questions
Submit a Question: tick box if you want your question to be visible by classmates
Student Portal – Revision
HCI Group Project 8
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Centre screen splits in two to make revision notes. One view has the original notes and the other imitates a notecard, to encourage students to condense their notes for revision purposes
Double-clicking creates bullet points Entry Screen for Revision section allows selection of revision
method – from notes made, teacher’s notes, past exercises, revision exercises and practise tests
Teacher Portal – In Class Notes
Flashes if any new student queries
Entry Screen for teachers is not the main note-taking tab
Layout and interaction of the teacher notes tab is the same as for student portal note-taking function but with added board-pen-writing capabilities
Save button leads to pop-up option window
Teacher Portal – Set Homework
Chapter/topic selection causes drop-down subfolder to keep work organised
HCI Group Project 8
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Submit button - commit assignment as written, leads to pop-up option window
Question overview so teacher can put in mark allocations
Icons displayed as red/green for percentage correct
Before work is Teacher Portal – Mark Homework
Link to answer overview so teacher can see general responses/which questions students got wrong a lot. Once a piece of work
is marked, icons link to student stat page
Teacher can highlight errors and leave comments for the student to view – similar to Microsoft Word ‘comment’ functionality
Mark achieved can be altered by teacher
Identity of student not revealed until teacher has committed mark to system
HCI Group Project 8
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!Evaluation:
Heuristic Evaluation:
Visibility of System Status • No methods for showing progress of upload of documents (notes, or homework assignments) or login progress.
Match between system and real world • A folder-tabbing system is used as a real-world design metaphor in this prototype, this is a strong metaphor as ought to be relatable to both staff and students.
• The metaphor is weakened by departing from the theme in the splitting of the main screen into sidebars, similar to simple web design.
User control and freedom • No other options given
Teacher Portal – View Statistics
Submit button – once submitted, dialog box pop-up to ask if teacher wishes to see student’s stats.
If ‘no’ return to work to mark page and select new piece of work
If ‘yes’ taken to this page
On selecting, takes to individual stats page, set up much like student view – highlights areas student is struggling n based on homework responses and make
HCI Group Project 8
!Persona Evaluation:
Teacher:
• Scenario 1: Teaching
o Even if unable to understand the majority of the systems, naviating to the in-class note function is straightforward thanks to the tab system, and once there Ms Brace could use the board-pen-writing funtion to make class notes.
Consistency and standards • There is a large amount of consistency for most areas of the programme, even across the student and teacher portals but there are several areas where consistency is greatly diminished
• Student Revision screen • Teacher entry screen • Both of these screens use an
otherwise avoided categorising technique that has no real-world relatability
Error prevention • Pop-up screens to check whether submission is intended are present.
Recognition rather than recall • All buttons labelled
Flexibility and efficiency of use • Programme allows flexible usage, as gives user different tools for input (typing, symbol-mapper, hand-drawing tool )
• Efficency not catered for by recently-used files
Aesthetic and minimalistic design • Although most menus are collapsible the screen is significantly cluttered and this design goes for functionality over simplicity.
Help users recognise and recover errors • None
Help and documentation • Useful notification messages pop-up for certain functions of the programme – eg symbols, graphing tool.
HCI Group Project 8
• Scenario 2: Setting and marking homework
o The comments section is quite complex though hopefully due to it’s similarity to the commonly used programme Microsoft Word, Ms Brace would quickly adjust.
Student:
• Scenario 1: Class learning
o Rajesh and Xander may find the system difficult to use as the screen is overly complicated
• Scenario 2: Homework
o Homework completion falls into the same trap as note-making due to the complicated screen organisation.
• Scenario 3: Revision
o As this screen has a completely different design aesthetic to the rest of the programme and does not continue with the tabbing system present for other sections the children find this screen confusing.
Admin and Parent
• There is currently no functionality in this prototype for these two types of user.
!Overall:
There are several good features of this design, namely its strong use of the tabbing metaphor, however, it sacrifices simplicity for functionality so while may be a good design for an experienced computer-user it is not suitable for its intended demographic of teachers and students.
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HCI Group Project 8
!Prototype 3
Tools used: Inkscape and Microsoft Word
Primary Target: Student and Teacher
Rationale:
The main goal of this prototype was to make it simple for students to submit and understand homework and for teachers to easily create and assign marks for it.
This prototype was initially drawn by hand, then created in Inkscape and Microsoft Word in order to make it easy to edit. It was quickly drawn, in order to encourage the flow of ideas and thus has some flaws, however we will evaluate these later on.
Login Screen:
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!Main Student Screen:
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Text entry for username and password, corresponding to students in this instance
Password:
A clear Login button
This will link to another window
where the assignments will show
List of symbols. When these are
selected, they appear on
Main output screen
HCI Group Project 8
!The student screen opens up, with several tabs appearing at the top of the screen related to submitting their work.
• When the ‘File’ tab is selected, a drop down menu appears including the option to save and export work.
• When the ‘Options’ tab is selected, a drop down menu appears including the option to change the colour of the font etc.
• The ‘Submit’ tab goes to a separate window in which students can upload their work.
• The ‘Due’ tab opens up a window in which the assignments and their due dates are listed.
The main input of this design will be a hand writing converter designed for tablets or interactive whiteboards.
It will therefore be touch-sensitive.
There will also be a handwriting ‘recogniser’ which converts handwriting into computerised font, but the main option will be to type using a keyboard which pops up.
Graph/ Table Page:
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This is the Graph/Table These tabs at the
bottom allow exploration between different windows
This lists different types of graphs. When
selected, this will come up on the main
output screen
This is the ‘point inputter’ to insert
values into graphs. It is draggable around the
screen
Main output screen
HCI Group Project 8
screen which is designed to help people at Key Stage 3 to create graphs and tables for data.
The student can go to the graph page by clicking on the tabs on the bottom left which allow the user to go into a different window.
They can select the type of graph they want by exploring the types on the right hand side and selecting it, which will bring it up on the main output screen.
To enter coordinates and data, there is an ‘inputter’ which has an “enter values” button. The graph on the main output screen will then adapt according to the new data.
Teacher Screen:
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List of classes This is where the teacher declares the maximum amount of marks to be
awarded for the question
The teacher writes the correct answer
here
Subject selection for the type of question
This allows the user to switch between
questions (should be labelled as question 1
etc.)
HCI Group Project 8
Setting Homework:
The Teacher Screen allows the teacher to select which class they are setting questions for on the left. They will then select the subject for the questions from the right hand side (this will then be applied to the output screen).
The teacher can then set questions, typing them in simply. They are able to import graphs /tables if needed by selecting the ‘options’ tab. This will lead to a dropdown menu which will have an ‘insert’ option.
Assigning Marks:
The teacher can then select the maximum amount of marks available for this question by clicking on the ‘Marks’ tab, which will bring a drop down menu with numbers of marks on it from 1-15. They are also able to adapt these according to individual student’s needs by selecting “see more” under the class they have selected, bringing up a list of individual students.
They can then move on to set the next question by selecting the next icon on the bottom left (these should be labelled q1, q2, q3 etc.)
Evaluation:
This design was quite rushed, and thus has a lot of practical flaws.
We will now evaluate it using Neilsen’s heuristics, then looking at personas and scenarios through the use of cognitive walkthroughs.
Heuristic Evaluation:
Visibility of System Status • There’s no obvious way of knowing if the system is connected to the children’s wireless touchpad devices
• No loading bars
Match between system and real world • Very little, the system uses many buttons and tabs rather than some sort of overarching intuitive design metaphor
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!
User control and freedom • The student is able to make decisions regarding what symbols/ graphs or tables they wish to use, however they are very much constrained by having to answer the questions their teacher has assigned them.
• The teacher can create questions in any topic studied at Key Stage 3 and are able to insert examples
Consistency and standards • There is consistency between the teacher and child’s screens in terms of labelling of buttons and screens: the teacher obviously having more autonomy
Error prevention • There is no error prevention for creating or submitting homeworks, or editing classes when the devices sync with the teacher
• This could be a problem for when students input the correct answer, but don’t capitalise one letter etc. which would bring up an error message
Recognition rather than recall • Not all buttons are labelled (however this was because of a rushed design)
Flexibility and efficiency of use • The options for creating and answering questions are quite limited
• Students wouldn’t find this flexible at all and this lack of flexibility/ ability to be creative in their working out/ answers might even put them off taking time to learn using this system.
Aesthetic and minimalistic design • The aesthetic aims to be minimalist, however is sometimes not obvious enough (for example, with a significant lack of labelling)
Help users recognise and recover errors • No help
Help and documentation • No obvious help manual
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Persona Evaluation:
Teacher:
• Scenario 1: Teaching
o Ms. Brace would only really be able to create assignments using this program: this makes it incredibly limited in terms of its use. It is not versatile at all.
• Scenario 2: Setting and marking homework
o There is no way for Ms. Brace to 1) add extra hints and comments to the assignments when creating them and 2) to add comments to the work when marking it which explain why the student received the mark they did.
Student:
• Scenario 1: Class learning
o Rajesh and Xander will find this system hard as it is not clearly labelled and doesn’t allow much flexibility for note taking (which is essential, especially for Xander as he needs to make extra notes in order to walk himself through the steps of equations etc.).
• Scenario 2: Homework
o The Students can complete their homework, but the tabs make it confusing to navigate. It is also not obvious how exactly they would submit work
o They can’t review their results.
• Scenario 3: Revision
o The tasks can be completed, but with no mention of how they should be submitted to the teacher.
Admin and Parent
• There is currently no functionality in this prototype for these two types of user.
Overall:
The overall concept is reasonable, however when the user does the walk through it becomes clear that this prototype has a lot of flaws which would catch people out and confuse them when setting/completing work. It does have some useful features (such as the ability to import data into graphs), however it is not fully functional.
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Ultimately, another one of the first generation prototypes would be better to expand on to make into the final prototype.
!
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Final Generation Prototypes
!Evaluation of tools:
Process: • The high-fidelity prototype was created in Photoshop • We selected some of the important screens to illustrate how the system would
work • We decided against illustrating all of the screens as the system is very in-
depth, but the main aspects of its functionality are able to be explained
through the main screens. • Also as a first prototype if we decided to develop each of the individual
screens it would mean we would be too tied down when it came to developing
our ideas. Instead we decided to elect to generate an array of broad ideas
then evaluate their virtues from which we could have a suitable structure to
develop a more in depth prototype .
!Photoshop CS6:
• Photoshop is a flexible image creation tool which gave us the freedom to
make the prototype look how we wanted. • It did not leave us with any chance to make the prototype fully interactive • However, the custom graphics and designs made up for this, as it is more true
to how the real system would look. • We decided that if used appropriately it was more important to get the overall
theme correct rather than to simulate the interactivity as from a design point of
view we needed a platform which would appeal to users before playing with
interactive features.
!PowerPoint:
• PowerPoint can create basically interactive screens to illustrate our system • However, we decided against creating our prototypes in PowerPoint due to
time constraints and the desire to have a more flexible approach to the
prototypes mock-up screens.
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The interactivity of powerpoint is very limited so even if we were to develop a prototype within the programme it would still be based upon powerpoints designs and would in turn hinder our creativity.
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Presentation of Final Prototype
!This is the first screen that the user sees of
the system. The login screen includes an
option for having forgotten one’s username
or password and they will then be guided
through security questions to find out their
username or change their password.
The login screen will be the same for the 3
different types of the system, and the differences between admin, teacher and
student will be apparent in their usernames, and the correct version of the system
will load up afterwards.
This is the loading graphic, it will fill with red clockwise until the
page is ready. It will appear when the user is logging in and
performing other actions like opening a new class note.
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Student Screen
This is a typical screen for a student user of the system.
!The system for student users has four main tabs, one for notes, one for homework,
one for revision, and one for questions.
The notes section will automatically open on the previously worked on notes, which
will be highlighted in the file tree at the side.
The side file tree will also have a recently opened note section, which will show the
10 most recently opened class notes.
The notes will be saved into the topic where the child creates the file, and it can be
moved into another folder by dragging it across the screen.
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For note taking, the child has access to the creation of graphs and diagrams. For
inputting other symbols there is a topic selection at the side which will open a symbol
selection screen for symbols related to the current topic.
If the desired symbol cannot be found quickly, there is a hand drawn symbol
identifier which will make a guess at the desired symbol based on a hand drawn
input onto the screen.
At the top of the screen there are the notifications, for due homework or to alert the
student to a new message, or to a change to their goals.
There is also a progress bar and a self timer. The child can set a time for them to
complete their homework or exercise within, and this will act as a countdown,
showing how much time left until their desired time is up. directly beneath this is a
progress bar, showing how much of the homework has been completed.
These two bars are kept together so that the child can gauge their progress in the
homework with respect to how much time they have left.
!The homework tab will automatically open to the last worked on homework, and the
file tree at the side will be replaced with current uncompleted homework in each
topic, and below it will be a completed homework file tree. There will also be a
notification if a homework has been marked. This means the student can look at their
previous homework and their marks.
!The revision tab will also automatically open to the last used revision piece and have
a file tree at the side, with revision exercises in each topic, and a completed exercise
file tree in the lower section.
The Questions tab will automatically open to an FAQ, and then the children will have
an inbox on the left where they can see messages from their teacher. It will look
much like the Teacher messaging screen, meaning the child will have options to
create and send a message using buttons on the right hand side of the screen.
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!
Teacher Screen:
!
A typical screen for a teacher trying to create a homework.
!The screen has 5 main tabs, one for notes, one for set work, one for marking, one for
messages and one for stats.
!The ‘Set Work’ tab will allow the teacher to quickly assign questions under various
topics using the topic selection icons. For instance, in the example above Ms Brace
is setting work for the topic “numbers”.
!To aid her with this, there are also icons for ‘recently used symbols’ that can be
easily inserted into the questions.
!
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The program also allows her to set due dates for the assigned work, ensuring that
she is able to mark work and keep to deadlines.
!She can also assign different homeworks for different classes, so that groups of
students are allocated questions appropriate for their level of maths.
!There is also a drop-down menu for each question which allows the teacher to
assign how many total marks are available for each question. We have chosen to
practice it in this format in order to reduce the error percentage.
!
A typical screen for a teacher marking work.
!The screen above exemplifies the format for marking students’ work. On the left,
there is a list of classes and when selected, the program will then come up with a list
of students from which the teacher is able to assess their work and their progress.
!
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Their work appears in the centre of the page, where the teacher is then able to
decide (again on the drop-down menu) how many marks should be allocated to the
student for each question. The teacher is also able to leave multiple comments on
the right which aid the student’s learning process and, (as it is in a computerised
font) is easily readable. The latter is an essential feature for children with learning
difficulties as the feedback should be made clearly and simply.
!
A typical screen for a teacher trying to send a message with a view of their inbox.
!On the top left the teacher is able to access e-mails from the teaching staff. Below it
on the lower-left the teacher can contact and receive messages from students
regarding the work.
!This is necessary as Ms Brace is able to discuss problems with her students and
adjust the difficulty of the work accordingly, or give extra hints where possible.
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!On the right, there are easily-recognisable icons for sending, forwarding, replying
and deleting messages. When deleting messages, there will be a “multiple select”
option for deleting several e-mails. A warning message will come up when delete is
selected, ensuring that important messages aren’t accidentally discarded. A
‘deleted’ folder will also be added which the teacher is able to empty when
necessary.
!
A typical screen for an admin, viewing class stats and the option to create more students.
!The admin has four main tabs, for Classes, Statistics, Schedule and Goals.
The Classes tab has a set of all classes on the left hand side, with and the currently
selected class will be underlined. There is a selection to create a new class at the
bottom.
When a class is selected the members of it will be shown on screen, with the option
to add a new student. When a student is selected on this screen it will open a page
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which displays information about the student such as their name, their date of birth,
and a note of any disabilities.
At the side of the selected class there will be an at a glance view of the classes’
statistics, such as their past mark averages, and a pie chart showing how much of
the class passed or failed the last homework assignment.
Under statistics, the admin can look at the statistics of the class more closely, with
the possibility of selecting individuals to view their statistics and past performance.
This means that the admin can move a student from one class to another if they
believe they are struggling with respect to the rest of the class. A student can be
moved under the Classes tab by dragging their name to the desired class at the left
hand side in the class tree.
Under the schedule tab, the administrator can view class timetables and their
messages from various teachers.
In the goals tab, the administrator can select a student and set them goals based on
their performance, pushing children to do better than previously. These goals will
appear in the child’s notifications tab at the top of their screen, and the teacher will
receive a message updating them of the new goals for their students.
!Prototype Evaluations
We will now evaluate the final prototype using heuristics and then using cognitive
walkthroughs to test it against the goals of the users.
!Heuristic Evaluation of Final Prototype: Heuristic Discussion
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Visibility of system status: • The central portion of the
screen will have a
background colour that
corresponds to the colour of
the currently selected tab. • There will be a loading
graphic which appears over
the central section of the
screen when the system is
transitioning between tabs
or working on a request
from the user
• This will help users quickly and easily
identify if they are in the right place to
do the work that they need to. • The loading graphic will mean that
the user will be aware of when the
system is processing something. The
graphic has portions that become
coloured as the program nears
completion of the current task, further
aiding the user in gauging how long
they will be waiting.
Match between the system and the
real world • The system uses an intuitive
tabbing system which
mimics real world folders
with coloured tabs. • Names of children and
classes are ordered
alphabetically • Use of file trees for storing
notes
• The design metaphor of using a
tabbing system is very intuitive and
will help users navigate the system
more easily as people are used to
using coloured tabs in folders. • Ordering things alphabetically will
help the admin and teacher users find
the classes or children they are
looking for on the lists. • File trees are also an intuitive design
metaphor, as people know that
folders can store information related
to the name of that folder. In our
system, the class notes are
organised by topic, making it easy for
the user to find what they are looking
for.
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Consistency and Standards • All class notes use the
same file tree system
throughout the programme,
even in the revision section • All toolbars will be located in
the same places on every
work screen.
• This will aid users in finding the notes
and work that they are searching for
as the file tree system does not
change and will remain on the same
side of the screen. This is especially
important for the children. • This will maintain consistency
throughout the programme as the
students will know where they
required information and design help
is stored.
Error Prevention • The homework creation for
the teacher utilises a
“review” page. • Children will have a ‘review’
page for submitting
homeworks • The admin will have
prompts of “are you sure
you want to continue” when
creating or deleting classes
and students or making
changes to student records • When deleted the
information will be retained
up to a day.
• This means that a teacher can review
all of their homework questions
thoroughly before submitting them. • Letting the children review their
homework answers will mean they
can look over their work and make
sure they haven’t made mistakes
before submitting • These prompts will mean that the
admin has less of a chance of making
a mistakes in important situations like
deleting a class. • By retaining the information for a day
it will create a temporary back up so if
the admin staff do make a mistake,
despite the prompts, there is a
margin for error and the information
can be retrieved.
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Recognition rather than Recall • Tabs are named • Buttons have labels • Having a recently used
symbol section • Admin messages are under
schedule
• Having these labels and recently
used sections makes it easier for all
users to navigate the system,
whether they have used it many
times before or are just using it for
the first time. • It is not intuitive and must be
remembered by an admin that their
messages are stored in the schedule
tab of their workspace.
Flexibility and Efficiency of Use • User can select the last
worked on piece from any of
the menus, such as note
creation • Teachers can add as many
or as few questions to a
homework as they like
• This allows the user to easily select
their next piece of work without
becoming distracted by having to
endlessly scroll again and again to
the piece they wish to work on. This
accessibility leaves more time for the
problem at hand. • However, organising files by dates
accessed rather than by title/
assignment could be annoying,
especially when a file is selected by
accident. • As there aren’t a fixed amount of
questions for each task, teachers are
able to tailor how difficult/ how many
questions there are in respect to
particular classes’ levels of learning.
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Minimalist Design • Cluttered and possibly
confusing screens
• The desired effect is to make the
system colour-coded and easily
understood by children, but this has
led to the design being very colour-
intensive and having many boxes and
options on screen at once. • This means that the program appears
very busy, and thus could be
overwhelming to some students.
Help Error Recovery • If not saved, when a tab is
reopened, it will
automatically recover the
last piece of work • Rectifying moving students,
classes, and notes is not
easily undone without
moving them back.
• With all tabs recovering the last
worked on or last saved piece of
work, whether that be a homework, a
message or class notes, this means
the system is consistent in aiding the
user in not losing their work. • Making changes to class structure,
note structure and other options is
difficult to rectify if a mistake has
been made.
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!!
Help and Documentation • The login screen has an
option for if the user has
forgotten their username
and password • The children’s FAQ section
has a pointer to the ‘new
message’ button
encouraging children to ask
a question if they still cannot
find the answer. • An explanation of the
mathematical symbol that
has been chosen is visible
by tapping the symbol. • No easily visible help
section for the teacher or
admin.
• This is a good addition because there
is always a chance that a user will
need walking through steps to reset
their password or be reminded of
their username. • The FAQ is an easy way for the
children to find the answers to
questions they may have without
overloading the teacher with
messages to answer. • The explanation of the mathematical
symbol aids children and teachers in
a classroom and a homework
environment, providing a quick and
easy explanation of the current
symbol. • There is the issue of there being no
obvious help section for the teacher
or admin.
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Cognitive Walkthroughs
A cognitive walkthrough is a way of checking the created system against the possible
users. Instead of evaluating the prototype based solely on impersonal heuristics, it
puts us in the shoes of our personas and asks us to take their steps through a task
and make an evaluation of the successes and failures that they encountered trying to
use the system. We will start with a task for a user, break it down into steps, and look
at those steps individually, before evaluating the outcome.
!Task #1
Goal: For the admin user to create a class and add a certain number of students to it. Steps in the task:
• Login as admin • Go to classes tab • Add new class (with appropriate information) • Add students to class (with appropriate information)
!(X) - Firstly, Giuseppe opens the programme and enters his username and
password. It takes him a moment of searching for the login button to realise that he
simply needs to press enter to login to the system.
(✓) - He is opened automatically into the classes tab and easily selects the “new
class” selection at the side of the screen. He enters the name of the class and the
username of the teacher into the information box that pops up, and then selects the
“create” option at the bottom of the screen.
(✓) - He can easily see the “Add new Student” option on the screen of his new class,
and selects this, to be taken to a popup where he enters information about the child,
including their name, date of birth, and a note of any learning difficulties that they
may have.
(✓) - He repeats this step until he has as many students in the class as he needed.
!
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Overall, this task is a success, and the only real problem is that Mr. Giuseppe does
not understand the login options, and it takes him a while to understand that the
enter key is needed to login.
!Task #2
Goal: For the admin to move a struggling student into the correct class
Steps in the task: • Login to the system • Open the statistics tab • Select a class • Select a student • Check their statistics • Move them into a more suitable class • Alert the teacher of this change
!(✓) - Firstly, Giuseppe needs to login to the system. This takes him less time than the
first, as he is aware that he needs to press enter to login to the system
(✓) - He can quickly navigate to the statistics tab and select a class from the left
hand side of his screen.
(✓) - Mr. Giuseppe then quickly selects a certain student and can see their progress
over the past few weeks. He can also see a pie chart of how many previous
homeworks they have successfully achieved more than 50% in (and thus passed)
(X) - After searching for a way to move the student, he realises there is an option on
the students screen at the top to move them to another class. He selects this, and
then selects their destination class.
(✓) He can then send a message to the teacher of the class that the student has
been moved into, alerting them of this change to their register.
!Overall, this task was successful, but had the large problem of the admin not
realising how they would be able to move the student into another class from the one
that they are currently in.
!Task #3
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Goal: For the teacher to create a homework
Steps in the task: • Login as a teacher • Go to the Set Work tab • Create a new homework - selecting the class, due date and topic • Create questions • Review the homework • Send the work out to all the students
(X) - Ms. Brace enters her username and password, but like the admin user, she fails
to realise there is no login button, and will need to press enter to login to the system.
This takes time.
(✓) - Once logged in, Ms. Brace can see the Set Work tab and quickly navigates to it
(✓) - She selects the class, due date, and topic from the intuitive drop-down menus.
(✓) - Ms. Brace creates new questions, and selects how many marks each question
will be worth from the drop-down menu, up to a maximum of 20 marks.
(X) - it takes her a moment to find the button for finishing a homework and sending it
out to the class, which causes her frustration
(X) - she initially navigates away from the homework by accident, and panics that
she will have lost her work, but reopening the tab shows her work has been
autosaved and is ready for her to continue working with
(✓) - Sending out the homework brings up a review page, meaning she can check
her work for mistakes, and select if she wants less of the questions to be sent out to
the children with learning difficulties.
(✓) - the homework is then sent out to all the children and will appear as a new
homework notification
!Task #4
Goal: For the Teacher to send a new message Steps in the task:
• Login as teacher • Go to the messages tab • Go to the “New Message” icon • Address it to a recipient
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• Add a subject • Write the message • Send message
!(X) As above, there is no login button
(✓) The messages tab is easy to see and select
(✓) The new message button brings up a new window where the message can be
written
(X) There’s no address book, so Ms Brace has to remember email addresses,
which makes the process of writing emails slower. Also, although on the left, the
messages are divided into ‘Staff’ and ‘Students’, there is no similar division in the
address book, which would mean that Ms Brace would have to scroll through all the
names on the system, (rather than through a subset)
(✓) She simply selects the ‘subject’ bar, and then types it in
(X) Writing a message is easy, however there is no ‘symbol insert’ option for when
Ms Brace is helping students with their assignments
(✓) Sending a message is simple- just click on the ‘send’ icon
!(This walkthrough will be similar in the cases of admin and student)
!Task #5
Goal: For the teacher to make legible notes
Steps in the task: • Log in as a teacher • Create new notes • Write up the notes as the class takes place • Save the notes so they are available for students to access at a later date
(X) - once again, it takes Ms. Brace a moment to remember that logging in simply
requires her to press the enter button rather than finding a login.
(✓) - she can quickly find the notes tab and creates a new note in the correct topic
(✓) - Ms. Brace finds note creation easy, as she can type in the notes she needs,
and add relevant symbols to her notes in front of the class, explaining it as she goes.
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When she is unable to find the relevant symbol quickly, she draws it in the symbol
identifier and the correct one is selected.
(X) - at first, she is confused at how to create a new page in the notes, but eventually
realises she needs to press the green arrow to the right to move forward onto a new
page.
(✓) - the notes are automatically saved by the system and then available in the
children’s revision tabs, saved under the correct topic. The system autosaves it with
the date of creation.
!Task #6
Goal: For the Student to take notes in a class. Steps in the task:
• Login as a student • Create a new set of notes • Take class notes • Save them for use at a later date
!(✓) - Rajesh is able to quickly login to the system, simply by pressing enter.
(✓) - the system opens automatically onto the notes tab and Rajesh finds the
selection to create new notes.
(X) - at first, he struggles to find the list of symbols, but eventually finds them within
each of their relevant topics on the right hand side of the screen.
(✓) - when he forgets a symbol, he uses the symbol identifier to find it more quickly
(✓) - Rajesh’s notes are saved automatically onto the system by the date into the
folder where he selected to create new notes.
!Task #7
Goal: For a student to complete and submit a piece of homework
Steps in the task: • Login as a student • Select the homework that is due • Complete the homework • Review all answers
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• Submit the homework
!(✓) - Xander successfully logs into the system by pressing enter after filling in his
details
(✓) - the latest homework is obvious at the top left hand side of his screen, indicated
by a flashing red button. He selects this and is taken directly to the homework.
(✓) - using the symbol mapper and the drawn symbol input, Xander completes the
homework to the best of his ability.
(✓) - before submitting, he is taken to a review page where he can check out his
answers. Here, he is prompted by the system about some simple errors, such as
writing a plus symbol instead of a divide symbol.
(✓) - Xander successfully submits the homework and hopes for the best.
!Task #7
Goal: For a teacher to mark a piece of homework
Steps in the task: • Login as a teacher • Select the Marking tab, correct class, correct homework, and first student. • Mark the work, including adding comments • Review the marks. • Return the marked homework to the correct student.
!(✓) - Ms. Brace logs into the system successfully.
(✓) - She selects the purple Marking tab from the top, then sees a list of classes at
the side. She selects the correct class and sees the latest homework from them.
(✓) - Ms. Brace selects the first student in the list on the right hand side of the screen
and is shown their homework.
(✓) - She marks their work, giving them marks using the drop-down menu, and
writing in comments when the child has made a mistake that she feels need some
extra elaboration upon.
(✓) - Once completed, she is prompted to review the marks, and then submits it back
to the child for them to find in their homework tab.
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!Task #9: For an admin to set a learning goal for a struggling child. Steps in the task:
• Login as an admin • Select the goals tab • Select the correct class and child • Set a goal for their next homework • Message the teacher and alert them of this.
(✓) - Mr. Giuseppe successfully logs in as an admin
(✓) - He can quickly navigate to the goals tab
(✓) - He selects a class from the right hand side, and then a student
(✓) - He then inputs adds a ‘New Goal’ and selects that he wants Xander to achieve
55% in his next homework assignment
(✓) - He then navigates to the messages tab and messages Ms. Brace to alert her of
this change. The notification will appear on Xander’s main page when he logs in.
Discussion of Results: Our prototype was not in-depth enough to be shown to possible users, and thus our
evaluation of it consists solely in the heuristic evaluation and the cognitive
walkthroughs.
They have shown that our system does well through its use of the intuitive tab
design, however there are some areas where it lacks depth. These include the
symbol mapper and the file tree. Although they seem well-designed, when it comes
to using them there are some vagueties about how symbols and text will actually
appear on the screen, and how it will aim to be legible.
The topic selection at the right hand side of the children’s notes also seems
superfluous, as the notes are sorted by topic. The question of whether the symbols
for the relevant topic would be chosen automatically or the student would need to
navigate through them to find the correct symbol is not fully addressed.
There is also no illustration of how the graph creator and diagram section would
work. The forgotten password button is also not in a very intuitive place on the login
screen, hidden in the corner. There is also no send button on the message centre.
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The goal setting and schedule sections for the Admin need considerably more
explanation and illustration to be entirely useable.
!Overall, the system has some strong features, but some other very weak ones that
would make using it at this early prototype stage completely impossible.
!
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Recommendations
For this system to be usable the admin section would need to expanded on • The message centre would need re-working to include a send button and a
set of contacts • The goal setting system would need to be modified • The teacher area would need work, including on the setting and marking work • Example revisions and homeworks would need to be created and tested on
user group • More in-depth investigation of how to lay out class marks and grades • Better communication methods between admin and teacher user types so
they can coordinate children’s marks and learning
!Summary
We were observing solutions to the problem of children implementing and
understanding mathematical symbols, and while some of our prototypes focused on
this, the main focus became how the system would be used in a teaching and
learning classroom environment.
We looked at relevant literature and information on specific types of learning
difficulties, and how to adequately design for students with learning disabilities.
Then, the currently available programs were considered, and it was found that they
all lacked the kind of flexibility and learning-centered approach that we wanted ours
to have, with most of them being either far too advanced, or without the ability to be
implemented in a classroom environment.
The personas that we chose illustrated this, how we chose to have an admin user,
and although the parent user’s needs were never considered in the system design, it
was still an integral part of the process to understand their role in teaching young
children mathematics.
The first generation prototypes did not cater to the needs of the admin or the parent,
but rather focused on the student and the teacher. The first prototype was mainly
aimed at the teacher, with an ability to create and modify classes and set and mark
homework, with homework capabilities for the children.
The second prototype had very strong design techniques and the side bars.
HCI Group Project 8
The third prototype focused mainly on symbol creation and had no user capabilities
for admin or parent users.
The second generation prototype focused on being usable by the main user classes
of Teacher, Admin and Students (both with and without learning difficulties), and
implemented the main look from the second prototype (the tab design). We took this
forward and aimed to make it usable in a teaching environment, with full capabilities
for all of the goal scenarios, which was illustrated in the cognitive walkthroughs being
mainly successful for the most key of tasks.
The heuristic and overall evaluations of the system, though, showed that there was a
lot of work left to do to make the system usable in a professional way.
!Bibliography - a list of all utilised resources
This has numbering where applicable
(1)
http://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/about-dyslexia/schools-colleges-and-universities/
dyscalculia.html
(2) http://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/about-dyslexia/further-information/dyslexia-style-
guide.html
!