Tool-Mediated HCI Modeling Instruction in a Campus-Based Software Quality Course

Abstract

The Keystroke Level Model (KLM) and Fitts' Law constitute core teaching subjects in most HCI courses, as well as many courses on software design and evaluation. The KLM Form Analyzer (KLM-FA) has been introduced as a practitioner's tool to facilitate web form design and evaluation, based on these established HCI predictive models. It was also hypothesized that KLM-FA can also be used for educational purposes, since it provides step-by-step tracing of the KLM modeling for any web form filling task, according to various interaction strategies or users' characteristics. In our previous work, we found that KLM-FA supports teaching and learning of HCI modeling in the context of distance education. This paper reports a study investigating the learning effectiveness of KLM-FA in the context of campus-based higher education. Students of a software quality course completed a knowledge test after the lecture-based instruction (pre-test condition) and after being involved in a KLM-FA mediated learning activity (post-test condition). They also provided posttest ratings for their educational experience and the tool's usability. Results showed that KLM-FA can significantly improve learning of the HCI modeling. In addition, participating students rated their perceived educational experience as very satisfactory and the perceived usability of KLM-FA as good to excellent.

Don’t Leave Me Alone: Retrospective Think Aloud Supported by Real-Time Monitoring of Participant’s Physiology

“…The use of an automatic mechanism (a kind of silent alert available only to facilitator) could probably be a parameter for further investigation in an attempt to make more systematic the triggering events of these interventions. Finally, future work also involves designing PhysiOBSmediated learning activities for instruction of thinking aloud protocols and physiological monitoring of study participants in the context of our previous work [27][28][29][30][31] in HCI education.…”