0219--How pedagogical environments can learn: An analysis of course management system usability Presented by: Julian Kilker, University of Nevada

How pedagogical environments can learn: An analysis of usability challenges and opportunities in course management systems Presented by: Julian Kilker, University of Nevada Web-based learning environments hold great promise but remain relatively unsophisticated in terms of usability, user experience, and the use of well-established environmental psychology concepts. As with other information technologies, pedagogical technologies do not arise out of a vacuum; rather, their characteristics reflect the social, political, and practical forces of its development and use. Thus, their characteristics deserve close attention and comparison with previous pedagogical, interactive, and architectural environments. This paper argues that (1) current instructional environments contain numerous usability limitations in interface, presentation, and conceptual design; (2) these limitations, while generally trivial to address in a technological sense, potentially have important implications for student and instructor learning experiences; and (3) in the long-term, a more sophisticated interface approach to pedagogical environments is likely to improve online learning experiences. This paper examines online education from the perspective of the design of learning environments. In particular, it demonstrates current environments do not effectively “learn” (Brand, 1995); that is, their form does not allow them to be adequately shaped to reflect shifts due to experimentation, changing functions, and social contexts. Concepts and guidelines from previous design contexts can improve interactive pedagogical environments for both students and instructors. The primary theoretical perspective for this paper is that of “meta-control”—the “ability to reconfigure interactivity control options available to a technology’s users”—in interactivity features as perceived by multiple relevant social groups.