Rod Sims, School of Multimedia & Information Technology, Southern Cross University, Coffs Harbour NSW 2457 AUSTRALIA rsims@scu.edu.au
This paper describes an innovative software product, the interactivity profiler, which can be used to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of interactivity associated with on-line and off-line applications designed to support the learner-computer experience. The presentation will include both poster-based information as well as a demonstration of the working product. This poster/software session is also designed to support the full paper, Measuring Interactivity: An Assessment of Useability and Learning in Computer-Based Environments.
The interactivity profiler operates on data generated by a learner's progress through a computer-based learning application, which can either be generated automatically or collected using observational techniques. The material to be presented in this session will reflect a set of data collected through observation. The data is based on a pre-analysis of the critical forms of interactivity that might be undertaken by a learner in a computer-based encounter, where that interactivity is employed in terms of content areas accessed. With this data, a dynamic representation of a learner's path (or audit trail) through an application can be mapped, as illustrated in the figure below. The innovative nature of this component of the profiler lies in its projection of both content and interactivity, enabling product developers to view how learners both navigate and interact (cognitively) with the product.
Audit Trail Profile of Interactivity
The profiler also generates a second set of data based on this audit-trail, representing the extent to which different interactivity constructs are employed throughout a learner's encounter. This data can then be used to generate a second profile that reflects the extent to which the learner (or user) has reached a level of interactive balance as they work through the application. This is illustrated in the graph below.
Interactive Balance Profile
Using these profiles, the developer and designer, teacher or instructor, can determine the extent to which the interactivity is consistent with their projections and identify content areas that may be enhancing (or decreasing) the overall interactive experience. The value of this product is in the way that interactivity can be displayed as a dynamic profile. This is a new way of conceptualising the interactive experience and will assist the ways in which the computer-based learning community can assess and evaluate the effectiveness of their products.
In the context of web-based learning, the profiler can be employed to focus on the types of interactions undertaken between learner and learner, learner and teacher, learner and interface and learner and content (Moore, 1989).
Interactivity is often identified as the critical element of contemporary computer-based applications, and in the context of learning is even more important. The ability to measure the extent to which the learner is effectively engaging with the content will be a significant step towards better utilisation of computer-based applications in the teaching and learning process.
Moore, M.G. (1989). Editorial: Three types of interaction. The American Journal of Distance Education, 3(2), 1-7.
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