Usability training for TUI course developers and usability testing of their courses - Essay Example

Usability Training for TUI Developers and Usability Testing of Their s Introduction An online is highly challenging in the competitive scenario of today with complete dependency upon the interaction of human beings and computer. Sufficient planning is required on the part of the faculty to make online knowledge presentation a rich learning experience in terms of usability. This incorporates the continuous monitoring and assessment of the utility, comfort in usage, control, navigation criteria and various other attributes of usability to ensure quality education to all the students.

The effectiveness of usability should be reflected across the design and usage from both the perspective of the students and teachers. Usability training for TUI course developers and usability testing of their coursesWith the emergence of the virtual schools, the demands for on-line teachers are increasing. However, it is not an easy task since lot of in-service training (both short term and long term) and guidelines have to be provided to the faculty so that the education standard meets the requirement of the students and the institutions.

The teachers must move from the image of mere knowledge provider to the more consolidated image of knowledge facilitator through their continuous involvement in the students’ activities by providing them the opportunity to expand and express. First of all, the teachers should be trained to create flexibility in their approach and the strength to undertake experiments with extensive writing skill. For the effective development of the course, it is important to design the materials keeping the target audience at the top priority level.

While designing the materials, it is to be kept in mind that the contents should be more specific in accordance to the institutional curriculum. These products are continuously evaluated so that the necessary modifications can be implemented to improve the quality. The structure of the material encompasses the activities and their classification, easy navigability, selective use of texts and images, simple language and appropriate presentation. The interactivity has to be imposed as it facilitates a feedback from users enabling the testing of usability.

After having decided upon the design, the next step involves the collection of resources such as tools, products, technologies and participants in accordance to the planned objectives. On the basis of development procedure, the roles and responsibilities are segregated. The implementation stage encompasses setting up the technology and tools, effective training for the teachers and students and finally the easy navigation of students. Summative evaluation helps to determine the effectiveness of the implementation of planning procedure.

The weak points are thus identified and analyzed for further improvements. Apart from designing and evaluating the product, it is recommended to allow the easy accessibility of the information by the students in order to enhance smooth learning.ConclusionThe virtual schools that are providing the online course have gained quite an impressive number of students in the recent years. The faculty will immensely benefit from the practical orientation in the training session. Most of the faculty is given a short period training just before the commencement of the online course.

This may prove to be detrimental as the faculty is not able to fully grab the complexities involved in online teaching. The training under strict supervision may greatly enhance the teaching skill of the faculty.BibliographyCuesta, L., (2010). The Design and Development of Online Course Materials: Some Features and Recommendations. Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Retrieved Online on September 10, 2010 from http://www.revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/profile/article/download/13996/14764 Dringus, L. P. & Cohen, M. S., (2005).

An Adaptable Usability Heuristic Checklist for Online Courses. Frontiers in Education Clearing House. Retrieved Online on September 10, 2010 from http://fie-conference.org/fie2005/papers/1141.pdfKearsley, G. & Blomeyer, R., (2004). Preparing K-12 Teachers to Teach Online. Earth Link. Retrieved Online on September 10, 2010 from http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/TeachingOnline.htm