Usability guideline for Mobile learning applications: an update

Abstract

Mobile learning application developers have to overcome inherent limitations imposed by mobile devices in order to produce usable applications. There are usability guidelines available to assist in the design process but with technological improvements, these guidelines should be updated and extended. In this research, we proposed an updated usability guideline to assist in the design process of mobile learning applications. A systematic analysis of seventeen usability studies on mobile learning application was conducted, listed usability problems were extracted and analyzed to formulate new usability guidelines and subsequently the guidelines were updated. The validation results indicate that the updated guideline helps to achieve a higher level of usability as compared to previous guidelines.

Appendices

Appendix A (List of Selected Papers)

	Authors	Year	Title, Source, Publisher.
1.	Bimal Aklesh Kumar, Priya Mohite	2017	Usability Study of Mobile Learning Application in Higher Education Context: An Example from Fiji National University. In H. Farley, A. Murphy and L. Dyson (Eds.) Mobile Learning in Higher Education in the Asia Pacific - Harnessing Trends and Challenging Orthodoxies (pp. 607–622). Springer.
1	Patrick Armstrong, Brett Wilkinson	2016	Preliminary usability testing of ClaMApp: a classroom management app for tablets, OzCHI ‘16 Proceedings of the 28th Australian Conference on Computer-Human Interaction, ACM.
2	Bimal Aklesh Kumar, Priya Mohite	2016	Usability guideline for mobile learning apps: an empirical study, International Journal of Mobile Learning and Organisation, Inderscience.
3	Aijaz Ahmed Arain, Zahid Hussain, Wajid H Rizvi and Muhammad Saleem Vighio	2016	Evaluating Usability of M-Learning Application in the Context of Higher Education Institute, International Conference on Learning and Collaboration Technologies, SpringerLink.
4	Mona Masood and Menaga Thigambaram	2015	The Usability of Mobile Applications for Pre-schoolers, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, Elsevier.
5	Jang Ho Lee	2014	Development and Usability Assessment of Tablet-Based Synchronous Mobile Learning System, Ubiquitous Information Technologies and Applications, SpringerLink.
6	Ahmed Sobri Hashim, Wan Fatimah Wan Ahmad	2012	A Comparison of Architectures for a usability- Aware Customized Mobile Learning Management System (CMLMS), 2012 Sixth UKSim/AMSS European Symposium on Computer Modeling and Simulation, IEEE.
7	Lim Ean Heng, Anbuselvan Sangodiah, Wan Fatimah Bt, Wan Ahmad	2012	End User’s Perspective of Usability in Mobile Learning System, 2012 International Conference on Computer & Information Science (ICCIS), IEEE.
8	Daniel Ivanc, Radu Vasiu, and Mihai Onita	2012	Usability evaluation of a LMS mobile web interface, International Conference on Information and Software Technologies, Springer Link.
9	Qing Li, Tao Wang, Jing Wang, Yun Li	2011	Case Study of Usability Testing Methodology on Mobile Learning Course, 2011 International Conference on Advanced Intelligence and Awareness Internet (AIAI 2011), IET (The Institution of Engineering and Technology).
10	Majlinda Fetaji, Bekim Fetaji	2011	Comparing Developed MLUAT (Mobile Learning Usability Attribute Testing) Methodology with qualitative user Testing method and Heuristic Evaluation, CompSysTech ‘11 Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Computer Systems and Technologies, ACM.
11	Ahmad Sobri Hashim, Wan Fatimah Wan Ahmad, Rohiza Ahmad	2011a	Mobile Learning Course content Application as a Revision Tool: The Effectiveness and Usability, 2011 International Conference on Pattern Analysis and Intelligence Robotics, IEEE.
12	Ahmad Sobri Hashim, Wan Fatimah Wan Ahmad, Rohiza Ahmad	2011b	Usability Study of Mobile Learning Course Content Applications as a revision tool, Second International Visual Informatics Conference, Springer Link.
13	Jaime Sanchez and Matia Ezpinoza	2011	mGuides, Design and Usability of a mobile System to Assist Learning in Critical Situations, International Conference on Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction, Springer Link.
14	Jaime Sanchez, Hector Flores, Mauricio Saenz	2008	Mobile Science Learning for the Blind, CHI EA ‘08 CHI ‘08 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, ACM.
15	J. Wei, J. Zhou and H.Zhang	2008	Development of a mobile learning model with usability features for online education, International Journal of Mobile Learning and Organisation, Inderscience.
16	Dan Corlett, Mike Sharples, Susan Bull and Tony Chan	2005	Evaluation of a mobile learning organizer for university students, Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, Wiley.

Appendix B (Updated Usability Guideline)

Content Organization -The learning content must be organized logically. - All tasks must be in sequential order. - Use Acrobatx to create pdf of lecture notes for mobile devices. - Use section and dividers to organize content in respective sections. - Display only when and where it is needed. - Ensure that only necessary information is displayed. - Do not display more than six lines on any page. - Avoid long text and use simple sentences for menu options. - Prioritize one primary section on the screen. - Establish a level of importance (high to low) and infuse this approach in all pages of the app. - The structure of learning contents should be in small and homogenous chunks and fit well within one screen. - Recommend learner to any related materials or links. - Possible learning materials to be put in ordered lists. - Must have an index page as part of the content to direct and welcome users. - Make important items reachable from the index page. - Announce major changes of the app on the home page. - Minimize the number of clicks. Layout - Use a tabular structure for the input field. - Distinguish clearly and consistently between required and optional entry fields. - Use no more than two buttons on the page. -Meaningful and short names for buttons to be used. - Height and width of the display area should not exceed the screen size. - Necessary input and button dimensions must be large enough for touch and designed for finger-friendly target taps. - Content must be responsive and fit within the viewport. - Place content on the central part of the screen. - Place important items at the top center of the viewport. - Content must be aligned appropriately for the learner and distinguish it from other parts of the page. - Visually align page elements, either vertically or horizontally. - Place content on the central part of the screen - Place important items at the top center of the viewport. - Content must be aligned appropriately for the learner and distinguish it from other parts of the page. - Visually align page elements, either vertically or horizontally. - Arrange content vertically using tabs. - Extensive scrolling should be minimized. - Facilitate fast scrolling by highlighting major items. - Limit white space by making adequate use of the entire screen. - Group related elements. - Include index page that provides a link to all other relevant pages. Consistency and Standards -The app must follow the standard app design methodology and criteria. - The application should practice aesthetics integrity, that is, how well an app’s appearance and behavior integrate. -Standardize common task sequence. - The design should be consistent with other similar applications so that users can easily adapt it. - The language of interaction should be similar to that used in other mobile learning applications. - The adopted design, images, and icons should be consistently used throughout the application. Interaction - Where text input is needed, allow the learner to interact with the application through an input dialog box. - Provide the user with a real-time communication facility for the learner. - Make app appear fast with skeleton screen. - Allow content to be dragged and dropped on controls when applicable. - Use interactive animations. - Support both portrait and landscape orientation. - Use intuitive gestures that are most natural for the app. Learner Experience Optimizers - Provide remember options for learners for logging in/out. - Help menu to assist learner if problems occur. - Provide tooltips when dealing with button and inputs. - Provide zoom in and zoom out features. - Provide alerts and alarms for new messages, saving changes, updates and sudden exiting of pages. - Provide links with different colors for visited, unvisited and new links. - Provide search fields to allow learners to search for content using keywords. - Provide recent search history. - Use of autocomplete in the search box. Customization - Provide the user with options to customize the app as per their preference. - Allow the user to choose the workspace area and its settings.

Navigation - Make navigation self-evident from the start page. - Open new page in a new window, leave the current page unchanged. - Include index page that provides a link to all other relevant pages. - Eliminate broken navigation links. - Place emphasis on links to seek attention from users. -Eliminate directing users into pages that have no navigation options. - Avoid too many images with links. - Ensure that items that are not clickable do not have characteristics that suggest they are clickable. - Ensure that important content can be accessed from one link. - Use color changes to indicate to users when a link has been visited. - Ensure that embedded links are descriptive. - Provide navigation options to move between different pages. - Navigation options should be on easy to find places on the page. - Maintain consistency in navigation options used. - Appropriate working menus to be named semantically. - Use standard navigation pattern similar to other apps. - Ensure that all tab labels are clearly descriptive of their function or destination. - Ensure that navigation tabs are located at the top of the page and look likes a clickable version of real-world tabs. - Eliminate horizontal scrolling. - Provide vertical scroll bars where needed. - Provide content tree link to users to move freely. - Temporarily hide navigation bar when displaying full-screen content. - Avoid overcrowding a navigation bar with too many controls. - Appropriate, meaningful and consistent toolbar icons to be used. -Use sitemaps, should there be many pages. Visual Representation - Use optimized images. - Use of images will slow the application, be mindful of using images. - Only use images to facilitate learning. - Ensure that all clickable images are either labeled or readily understood by typical users. - Avoid using background images that make it difficult for users to read text. - Provide alternative text labels for images and icons. - Useful, consistent and meaningful icons to be used. - Use of visual effects can enhance learning, however, should be kept to a minimum. - Use images and visuals that emulate real-world objects. - Use appropriate symbols to facilitate learning - Use of appropriate color to enhance, distinguish and highlight content. Help and Feedback - Error messages should be used to help recover from errors. - Error messages should be precise, indicate the error and suggest a solution for recovery. - Mobile learning app should inform the user of the status. - Use haptic feedback to seek attention and engage users with the use of pickers, switches, sliders, etc. - Use of appropriate animations to provide feedback. - Provide appropriate feedback while users are waiting. - Indicate approximate time required to download an image or document at a given connection speed. - Prevent data loss by reminding users of unsaved data. - Provide sufficient reminder for learners for online activities. - Avoid notification overkill (too many notifications delivered in a very short time span). - Provide assistance to users who need additional help from the app, e.g. FAQs, help links. Selection Based Command - Provide selection based prompts for input. - Wherever possible replace text input with list selection. - Provide radio buttons for mutually exclusive options. - Provide checkbox to enable multiple selections. - Use checkboxes to enable multiple selections. - Enable auto-complete features. - Provide reasonable default values. - Dynamically validate field values when navigating back and forth after an error. Accessibility -Implement search recognition system in the app. - Add illustrations or audio files to the text to enhance its perception by disabled people. - Make app easier for users to re-engage when they return to it after an interruption. - Ensure that double-clicking on a link will not cause undesirable or confusing results, thus, catering for novice users. - Allow smart gestures to be used for faster learning pace e.g. screen taps, double taps, drag, rotate, press and drag. - Provide client side image maps instead of server side image maps. - Enable users to access a page from any other page of the app.

Appendix C (Thematic Map)