Evaluation of the Usability of Educational Web Media: a Case Study of Grou.ps

In this study, the evaluation process of the usability of a web media used for educational purposes is discussed. In 3 different undergraduate courses, the learners have evaluated the social network creating media called as GROU.PS used for supporting these courses. During the semester, the social network of each course has been used by the course instructor and by the students taking the course regularly for sharing the source files, carrying out the online discussions, and making the announcement related to the course. The usability of the media has been evaluated by eye-tracking, observation and think-aloud methods in the first stage. The usability problems were determined upon examination of the reports prepared by the users related to the usability of the media in the HumanComputer Interaction course. In the usability tests carried out in the first stage, the determination of the usability problems was not possible due to the familiarity of the users to the system. The method used in the second stage was successful for uncovering a portion of the usability problems present in the system. In this evaluation carried out with actual users, the training of usability personnel within the scope of the course has provided positive contribution.