ABSTRACT

Given the increasing popularity of online learning, the study of the user experience in online courses is relevant for the design of meaningful online learning. While there exist many checklists for online course evaluation, they focus on different items and lack consensus of common usability factors. Traditional usability studies focus on technology issues; however, as literature shows, they neglect pedagogical and social usability. In addition, online courses have been studied with undergraduate or graduate students neglecting the population of older adults (55+ years old). In this study, we explored usability factors regarding social, technical, and pedagogical items with a focus on older adult learners. We applied the mental model approach to understand the adult learner experience by collecting qualitative data. The results present the following key factors: (a) usability related to social presence, instructor, and adult learner interaction; (b) usability related to technology, including access to the course and course navigation; and (c) usability related to pedagogy including learning objectives, content organization, instructional activities, and assessment. These findings have implications for instructors who are involved in teaching online courses for older adult learners.

摘要

鉴于在线学习的日益普及，在线课程中用户体验的研究与有意义的在线学习的设计相关。虽然存在许多在线课程评估清单，但它们侧重于不同的项目，并且缺乏对常见可用性因素的共识。传统的可用性研究侧重于技术问题；然而，正如文献所示，他们忽视了教学和社会可用性。此外，在线课程的研究对象是本科生或研究生，忽略了老年人口（55 岁以上）。在这项研究中，我们探讨了有关社会、技术和教学项目的可用性因素，重点关注老年学习者。我们应用心理模型方法通过收集定性数据来了解成人学习者的体验。结果显示了以下关键因素：（a）与社交存在、教师和成人学习者互动相关的可用性；(b) 与技术相关的可用性，包括访问课程和课程导航；(c) 与教学法相关的可用性，包括学习目标、内容组织、教学活动和评估。这些发现对参与老年学习者在线课程教学的教师具有重要意义。