Interactive Web Site Project Report

Interactive Web Site

Overview

The purpose of this web site is to demonstrate a short example tutorial to demonstrate how the business Remote Possibilities creates an on-line learning environment for a small business looking to train their out-of-office employees. The intended audience is therefore also two-fold. I am targeting the small business as a potential client, as well as the final end-user – the person learning to perform the task outlined in the example tutorial. There is a certain amount of implied knowledge associated with the sample tutorial, as it is designed for a specific task within the context of the business.

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Objectives

Given the use of this web site’s tutorial, the user will be able to look at a questionnaire filled out with name tag data and successfully enter the correct data in the appropriate text boxes in the database data entry screen. Users will self-test their understanding of the concepts described in the tutorial.

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Audience

The audience of the sample tutorial is the end-user who wishes to learn how to correctly interpret and enter name tag data when presented with a questionnaire. This tutorial was designed specifically for employees of Reunions Unlimited, Inc. (where I currently work). Therefore, there is a level of previous knowledge expected of the end-user. Namely, the user would be familiar with the concept of the database used by the company, as well as recognize the questionnaires submitted by potential reunion attendees. The tutorial is designed to clarify certain aspects of data entry rather than begin from square-one in explaining how the business works.

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Rationale

Because the tutorial is designed to clarify and reinforce existing concepts, I felt that the user should be able to read the concepts and then check their understanding through the use of multiple choice and text entry, without having to have the data saved and sent to a central database or email. If this was an actual business site, however, I believe I would set up a small database to collect response data in an effort to make employees more accountable.

I tried to use scaffolding in the construction of the tutorial – I introduce one concept at a time and then test the user’s knowledge of that concept before they move on. There are only 4 questions asked of the user, but they grow in difficulty until the final question, where the user is asked to call upon all the concepts covered in order to handle a real-world example of the task they might face in the workplace. The tutorial concludes with what I hope is positive reinforcement, as well as a link to reference material that the user can download for future help. The tutorial itself is a job aid that uses the first three levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy – Knowledge (Question 1), Comprehension (Question 2 & 3), and Application (Question 4).

As for the look of the tutorial site, I tried to make sure the tutorial was very linear, as the questions needed to be answered in a specific order. That is why I did not include a menu on every page of the tutorial. However, I did try to give the user a way to go back to other parts of the tutorial in case they needed to review before answering the questions. The graphics used on the site are specific to Reunions Unlimited – it is that company’s color scheme. I also used actual screenshots from the database and questionnaire, to aid in the “real world scenario” I am striving for by the end of the tutorial.

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Hardships

I really underestimated the amount of time this would take. I already had a written procedure I had planned to translate into an on-line tutorial, so the subject matter was not the issue. The procedure had also been in place in my office for a bit, so I knew that people following the step-by-step instructions were doing all right. Before I built the site, I broke down the procedure into 3-4 main concepts, which I could then create questions for. I didn’t really storyboard, per se, but I certainly outlined and planned ahead – including the questions.

The hardest thing was coming up with meaningful, fair questions. Then, once I had the question, coming up with some fair choices for the multiple choice was also difficult. I also found formatting these pages to be a bit of a challenge. Coursebuilder worked great, but I had to struggle a bit until I found a look I liked. I also worried about making individual concepts too long. I’m hopeful that as I continue through the ILT program, I’ll get better at designing curriculum, because right now I feel a little like I’m just throwing stuff out there and hoping it works.

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Highlights

Coursebuilder is a great extension – and free, to boot! I liked being able to customize things. Although I didn’t experiment with the Action Manager too much, I can see future applications for that feature. I was also pretty happy with some of the screen shots – I hope they really add to the learning experience for the user. I think an actual example of what the user will see is key when teaching software use. While I’m I bit frustrated with how lengthy Question 4 appears, I like the way the question works. I think it comes as close to an actual questionnaire data entry experience as I could create in this environment. And while my husband helped me with the programming, I came up with the idea of adding hidden text fields with which to compare what the user entered. Coursebuilder didn’t appear to have that ability, so I had to get creative!

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Future Improvements

If I were to have this page live on a business web site, I would include a database with which to track responses to gauge how well users understood the concept. I might also explore ways to ensure the user does not simply click around until the pop-up box tells them they are correct. In a business setting, this sort of tutorial would most likely be compulsory – some employees might be inclined to get it over with as quickly as possible rather than trying to learn something. I might work on the introduction some as well, to better convey the value of learning what the tutorial has to teach. I may give this site out to my office to have them try it to garner some real world feedback on the effectiveness of the tutorial.

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site info

© 2005-2006 Mary Faulkner. Design inspired by Andreas Viklund.
Last edited - 05/29/06. To report problems, please contact the webmaster.