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Design, Development and Evaluation of a 3D Web

1. Conduct task and concept analyses Do a preliminary program description Prepare a prototype Create flowcharts and storyboards Prepare scripts Obtain client sign off DEVELOPMENT Prepare the text Write program code Create the graphics Produce audio and video Assemble the pieces Prepare support materials Do an alpha test Make revisions Do a beta test O Make final revisions A Obtain client sign off Validate Figure 10 Model for design and development Standards Standards may include details of how the program will look for instance fonts colours the overall look and feel and the level of detail of the content and any other guideline available for the intended system Ongoing Evaluation An ongoing evaluation will ensure quality of the system and that standards are being followed during design and development phases Making evaluations help to discover and correct 30 errors at early stages of design and development phases This means going back to an early stage of design and this will again result in an iterative process of design Project Management This attribute includes good management of resources and time All elements of the project must be under control It is important to have a good planning and to monitor the progress of the projects activities against the plan Planning The first phase in developing interactive multimedia products is planning This phase will giv
2. The next section presents the planning phase of the evaluation 76 10 Planning the Evaluation According to Tessmer 1993 before starting an evaluation the following questions should be clarified What are the goals of performing the evaluation Who will take part of the evaluation How many evaluation stages will be carried out What methods and tools will be employed for data gathering 10 2 1 Goals of the Evaluation The reason for undertaking a formative evaluation in this project is connected to the research question What kind of design problems will arise from a formative evaluation of the 3D prototype The evaluation will have the following goals e Locate ease of use problems This goal focuses on usability aspects of the 3D prototype For this purpose a usability test was performed to find out usability aspects such as ease of use user control and freedom consistency and standards feedback navigability help and documentation e Evaluate content quality The content of the 3D prototype was evaluated by content accuracy completeness narration logical sequence match to learner s level curriculum fitness and appeal of the instruction For this purpose an expert review was conducted with one teacher 10 2 2 The Number of Subjects Figure 40 shows the proportion of usability problems found in accordance to the number of subjects involved This Figure shows that there is an advantage using more than one subject
3. The term Virtual learning environment is used today to categorise any Internet or web based learning resource with associated discussion tools while the term 3D learning environments is used to encompass a particular type of virtual environment that makes use of a 3D model Dalgarno et al 2002 According to Dalgarno et al 2002 the main characteristics of 3D environments are e The environment is built using 3D vector geometry objects are represented using x y and z coordinates describing their shape and position in 3D space e The user s view of the environment is rendered dynamically according to their current position in 3D space meaning that users move freely in space and their view is updated as they move e Objects within the environment respond to user action for instance information may be displayed when an object is selected with a mouse or audio may be played when approaching an object or a particular location within the environment e Some environments include 3D audio which is audio that appears to be emitted from a source at a particular location within the environment The volume of sound depends on the position and orientation of the user within the environment The main focus of this thesis is on the use of 3D learning environments in web based desktop VR 12 3 2 CSCL in 3D Learning Environments Collaboration on the Internet has its origin in the 1980s with the advent of MUD s Multi User Domains These env
4. klasse Cappelen forlag 1 utgave Oslo Koschmann T 1996 Paradigm Shifts and Instructional Technology An Introduction In T Koschmann Ed CSCL Theory and Practice of an Emerging Paradigm pp1 23 Mahwah NJ Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Lipponen L 2002 Exploring Foundations for Computer Supported Collaborative Learning Computer Support for Collaborative Learning Louis B Breien F amp Reigstad V 2003 Bryggen A 3D World Portal for Cultural Exchange Department of Information Science University of Bergen 132 Louis B Breien F amp Registad V 2003 An Evaluation of Active World Educational Universe Department of information science University of Bergen Myers D M 1997 Qualitative Research in Information Systems In Management Information Systems Quarterly MISQ Discovery Nielsen J 1993 Usability Engineering Morgan Kaufmann Academic Press Harcourt Science and Technology Company Norman D A 1988 The Design of Everyday Things Basic Books New York Piaget J 1976 And The Radical Constructivist Epistemology In c d smock amp e von glasersfeld eds epistemology and education Tessmer M 1993 Planning and Conducting Formative Evaluation Planning and Conducting Formative Evaluations Improving the Quality of Education and Training London Kogan Page Limited Vredenburg K Isensee S amp Righi C 2002 User Centered Design An Integrated Approach Softwa
5. om karbonatomet Karbonatomer har to elektroner i sitt indre skall og fire i sitt ytre skall cs m aga l Hjem Awslutt Hjelp Quiz Karbonatom v Gatil Hva er et karbonatom Karbonatomer finnes i mange forkjellige stoff og kjemiskebindinger Nesten alle organiske stoff er sammensatt av karbonatomer For eksempel finnes karbon i maten vi spiser kl rne vi bruker i kosmetikken i bensin og andre gasser og i alle objekter av plast blant annet Karbon er universets sjette mest forekommende element Karbonatom er byggesteinen i de fleste stoff i naturen helt opp til 95 av alle kjente stoff inneholder karbon En karbonatom binder seg lett sammen med andre stoff p mange ulike m ter Figure 43 Logical sequence changing signs position The teacher continued the evaluation and went through the portal into the organic world Here she pointed out the following Another thing that should be changed is in the organic world Here directions must be given about which sequence or order is more appropriate to follow There is no indication of where to begin It is fine to give an appropriate guidance that they should start looking at the alkanes first and then continue with other substances Comments In the organic world there was no sign or any indication with respect to where students should begin the exploration of this world The teacher went through the portal and teleported the avatar to the organic world She went in
6. or audiently by listening to a tape The presentation of information can be accomplished by any medium An important method of presenting information is through examples since most learners require more than one example before they are able to apply a rule or skill Guiding the Learner The process of guiding the learner is interactive because it includes the learner and the medium Alessi and Trollip point out that guidance is important in instruction because learners make errors and are frequently unaware of it Learners must be made aware of the errors they do in order to correct them Practice Skills should be practiced more than once in order to achieve retention practice should be repetitive Individuals need to retain information permanently and not for a short time When it comes to practice it is the learner s emphasis on practicing a new acquired skill that makes retention possible Practice is learner centred even though an instructor or interactive medium may observe the learner and makes correction when errors are observed Assessing Learning Instruction is often considered to be the presentation of information guiding the learner and practicing the new acquired skills However instruction should also include assessment learning should also be assessed with tests which are important part of the instructional process Assessing learning provides information about the quality of teaching the level of learning and future inst
7. www molecules org Table 20 Text materials 61 8 2 Program Code and Tools The programming language used to implement the 3D prototype was JavaScript VRML and HTML In order to implement the code on the computer the following tools were used see Table 21 Function Adobe Atmosphere Builder 1 0 Build 198 Used to create the 3D scene Adobe Photoshop 6 0 Used to create and edit the graphics DreamWeaver 3 0 Used to create all web pages and write JavaScript code into the pages Image ready 3 0 Used to edit video avi and mov files for the movies inside the 3D world Used to write JavaScript code to be included in the 3D world to write VRML code to create and edit PDB files Table 21 Developing tools All web pages were produced using Macromedia DreamWeaver 3 0 JavaScript code was included in most pages to code the function behind user controls like buttons drop down menus and quizzes 8 2 1 Adobe Atmosphere Builder 1 0 Adobe Atmosphere Builder 1 0 was used for building the 3D scenes This tool is highly functional for building virtual 3D worlds and also offers the possibility to publish them on the Web It provides support for real time avatar chat for up to 20 simultaneous participants a well developed design environment and support for Java script giving the possibility of hyper linking animation and movie playback among other features The following section describes briefly how the 3D prototype was built us
8. 23 3 2 ang Figure 66 Including a quiz inside the 3D scene 127 Suggestion 6 In order to make the 3D scene more interactive some subjects suggested having the possibility to build their own molecules inside the 3D world Figure 66 A shows an example of how this could be implemented The new feature was added with the help of MS Paint In order to implement this functionality a lot of programming work is needed as well as using a third party application as for instance Viewpoint Scene Builder which allows the implementation of advanced features that can be imported inside 3D worlds Bygg dine egne molekyler f rymorree y A Velg modell Kapsel a Velg bidningstype Enkel v Velg atomer Karbon ail Velg antall 1 atomer v Figure 67 Building molecules inside the 3D scene The idea is to make a box that contains combo boxes where users can choose the type of model they want to display capsel ball amp stick wireframe space filled Users can also choose the type of atomic bonds single doble and triple Users can also choose the type of atom hydrogen oxigen carbon etc and how many atoms should the molecule contain Figure 67 A shows two buttons one to reset the options and one to submit and build the molecule The molecule can be displayed in a VRML browser 128 Suggestion 7 This suggested improvement was about providing more feedback when navigating inside the 3D scene with the avatars For
9. 5cs 2 ces seipeed segsetses sas thenogeca osenbetsaseaectdessabubsossuegsbepseheidesetesDaepnebedacosthdtbessabebdesedssten ssa 62 Table 22 Usability heuristic principles eee ee ceecesecesecsseceecaeecaeeeseeeeeeeeeeseeesecssecesecsaecsaecsaecseecaeeeaeseaeeeeeenees 75 Table 23 Data gathering methods and tools 0 eee ee eee ceseceseceeeceeeceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeecaecaecsaecsaeceaecaeecseesaeseneeeeeeaeens 82 Table 24 Evaluation activities 3 csi ccceccssdsves scssadeidcce sonnen Eee aA a EOE EEE aa ER EE E E coduacsateenves 91 Table 25 The subjects personal datacd ssc cuss cdentesscosrse sell veceiasvocsdeaeceqocubincisctiivess iaeaea ia eiia 92 Table 26 PC access x assess scskesoke aucead cous essed sees a E E E E EA EEEE E R OS E E ORASE 93 Table 27 Programs pattern Of Usesiisinscreiintesena anaetoa ea aE aN aE Ea riae enna Ae 93 Table 28 Task msiuc oNSiieniniseeiseienant eor a a E ETA S EEE EE aE EOS EE OOS R EE 94 Table 29 Heuristics principles used for the evaluation see eceteeceesecseeeeceeeecsaeeecsaecaeesecsersecnaeeeeaesaeeaeeneeats 109 Table 30 Usability problems found in the 3D prototype e ec eecesesssesecsseescneteecseeeeeaecseesecsecsecsaeeeesaeeateneeneeats 119 Prototype s URL http submission intermedia uib no betzy prototype index html APPENDIX Appendix A Hardware and Software Constraints Appendix B Expert Review Interview Guide Appendix C Questionnaire Appendix D Contacting the Subjects Appen
10. Eeee EES EA SEEE E AA EE EEEE EERE EE REETA E 69 Figure 33 The entry point of the organic world seeesesssseeseesiesessestsrerrerersstsrstetretstsesestetetstssesteterstsesrseerreret 69 Figure 34 The main hall of the organic world eesseeessesssesesesesresesesrsrerrsressesrsteteetstssesestttretstssestetreretsessrsrerreret 70 Figure 35 Fhe synthetic World ranna inia eea irene E aa aa EEEa S er E eE Aa EEEE E EEE E SREE SLAs 70 Fisure 36 The navigation Dars cinio eeraa aine e aeaa thst EA S a E E E aE EERE a aariat 71 Fig re 37 Taking a gUlZ scenete oopa ere aa aE E Aaa EEEa S r E E EAE EEEE e aa RESTA Eaa 71 Figure 38 Taking a quiz th results iis sopii rerperr korsare a eE EAS eR EE SE E EER eE SEEE a 72 Figure 39 Layers of formative evaluation s sseccesesosesersesssenerencuseceseneseesseevevenenenenseserosensesessnenerenenoeronenenes 76 Figure 40 Number of evaluators ccccesecscesscssssecesecseesecseesecneesecsaseccsaecseesecnevsccnaseecsaecaeesecsesereeaseeesaseaeeaeeaeeetens 78 Figure 41 Content completeness 0 cccesssssscssesecsseesessecseesccneescesasecceaecseesecnevseenaeecesaecaessecseeseseaseeeaseneeaesneeetens 84 Figure 42 Table of contents aneen neta cee Rial ai le nihil Renilla medi aea EE E 85 Figure 43 Logical sequence changing signs position 00 eeeeeseceeeecesececesecneeecseeeecsaecatesecseesesnaeeeesaeeeteaecneeetens 86 Figure 44 Logical sequence of the organic world 000 eeeeesscseeecceseeec
11. Figure 6 A web page with frame and scrollbars 5 1 7 Interactivity The Web is primarily used as an electronic book for hypertext with little interactivity Most sites present text sound and movies but lack other types of interaction like quiz controlling or manipulating objects making choices or program response to user actions The Web is not designed for rapid interaction due to the underlying language hypertext markup language HTML that does not include many functions that permit user interaction However the Web can support much higher levels of interaction for instance it is possible to support quiz or self tests by using JavaScript language It is also possible to include three dimensional interaction with objects or virtual worlds VRML is an extension of HTML that allows the creation and displaying of 3D objects on the Web 26 There are also more advanced forms for interactivity on the Web for instance embedding 3D virtual worlds into web sites although this feature is relatively new and all browsers do not support it Figure 7 shows how the web can become more interactive by adding 3D VRML model to a web page thus creating more real time effects File Anchors Display Flip Fly Fly To Heads Up Figure 7 Virtual world 5 1 8 User Controls The Web provides the user with the possibility to control a program more freely It is important to provide controls that are easy to use Web based instructions shoul
12. Nielsen 1993 recommends using about five subjects and at least three for performing a usability test The amount of usability problems discovered in an evaluation increases according to the number of subjects that participates in the evaluation However as shown in Figure 40 one should not use a large number of subjects since the amount of usability problems found flattens when using more than 15 subjects For this reason only 6 subjects will participate in the usability test of the 3D prototype 11 25 Proportion of usability problems found a te 32 J 0 j 0 5 10 15 Number of evaluators Figure 40 Number of evaluators The Figure shows the average results from six studies discussed by Nielsen 1993 When choosing the subjects for the evaluation it is also important to consider the differences between novice and expert users According to Nielsen 1993 almost all user interfaces need to be tested with novice users and should also be tested with expert users 10 2 3 Layers of the Formative Evaluation Based on Tessmer s 1993 model of layers of formative evaluation see Figure 39 the following stages were carried out e Expert review The teacher is a valuable instructional expert because they can best evaluate the fit of the instruction to its intended context Tessmer 1993 The teacher actively participated in the expert review and helped to review the content of the 3D prototype The major goal for exp
13. Reasonable Medium Both at home and at school Only at school 10 hrs Table 4 Chart of learner characteristics learner 1 Ase Smale Educational level PM grade S Ef Reading level Pf Above average O Motivation igh Prerequisite knowledge J Basic natural science Prerequisite skills igh Ef Facility withacomputer Above average O Familiarity withthe Web J igh Typing ability PE Medium Access to computers J o S Good Ef Access to web Booth at home and at school Time available Ps OE Table 5 Chart of learner characteristics learner 2 6 3 The Constraints For web based learning programs it is important to know the hardware and software constraints of the systems in which the program will run The reason why this is necessary is because many web based learning programs need powerful processors to run effectively List 1 shows the system requirements necessary to run the 3D prototype e e 128mb RAM List 1 System requirements An important feature of web based learning programs is that it should be compatible with all types of browsers The 3D prototype has the constraint that it will only run in Microsoft 34 Internet Explorer 5 0 or higher The reason for this is that Adobe Atmosphere player plug in necessary to visualize and use the 3D scene is only supported by Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 0 or higher versions The hardware and software constraints of Ytrebygda middle school were establi
14. Rinehart amp Winston Dalgarno B 2002 The Potential of 3D Virtual Learning Environments A Constructivist Analysis Electronic Journal of Instructional Science and Technology Det kongelige kirke utdannings og forskinsdepartemenent Lereplanverket for den 10 rige grunnskolen 1996 Dillenbourg P 1999 Introduction What Do You Mean by Collaborative Learning In P Dillenbourg Ed Collaborative learning Cognitive and Computational Approaches pp 1 19 Oxford Pergamon Dix J Finlay J Abowd G amp Beale R 1997 Human Computer Interaction second edition Prentice Hall Ekeland P Johansen O Ryghg O Strnd S B 1999 Tellus 10 Natur og milj fag for undomssteget Nynorsk Aschehoug Flagg B N 1990 Formative Evaluation for Educational Technologies Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc Publishers New Jersey Galea J Legarreta J amp Marti A 2002 On the Design of Learning Contents for 3D Virtual Environments In Proceedings of ICTE International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies in Education Information Society and Education Monitoring a Revolution 2002 Badajoz Spain Greeno J G Collins A M amp Resnick L B 1996 Cognition and Learning In D Berliner amp R Calfee Eds Handbook of educational psychology pp 15 46 New York Macmillan Isnes A Krestensen T Tysdahl B Osttveit K 2000 Helix 10 natura og milj fag for 10
15. Style of the Program ccis cvssjccesssscesesadesdaachossecensehdeantasensde tedeedeavene 56 Ta I TV AS and te res ee hs i e a Soe Aaa a8 a a aes mee at A 57 Developing the 3D Prototype deena a ei eee ee a aap 61 8 1 Preparanonolrine eD S EA E Geel ee thet he A leh ed ee Vena 61 8 2 Program Codeand 1 OOIS yic c2cya cesauasoius och enad tnae aad rtie i u aerias 62 8 2 1 Adobe Atmosphere Builder 1 0 00 eceeccccsssecssececssececsscceesscceesceeeseeesnes 62 8 2 2 The Construction of the 3D W Grl 9 csiahsorceteat ss seoeceseaeey stoccoesaaeceaton ceases 65 8 3 Creation of THE Graphics aig fats ces a tative sayshgee uaa aa ses a a E st 65 8 4 Production of the VideOS u i disaccsssssesnscdstecccesassecsandsuessdeassavedie tecssecersaseceusddceusaspaveanaes 66 8 5 Assembly of the Pieces The Rendered 3D Prototype eccceesceeesseeeesteeeenneeeenee 66 8 5 1 Theile ty Uk pean Aen ne a nem Ee oe Am Ne Un NY 66 8 5 2 The Entry Point of the 3D Prototype ccssscssssscssseccssssscessecceensccesneecsenes 67 8 5 3 The Main Hall of the 3D World si cisccsteccscssaces saxdnesdnccs art cacebussdadasncsonstoueetnanen 68 8 5 4 The Main Entrance siinseist aiiis asa 68 8 5 5 The organe World aeea o a e a R wav tase eee 69 8 5 6 The Orsai Worldi irea leashed ret oa etgan eE a ea p aleer s 69 8 5 7 The Synth tic W orld x cgssccisstiasisisisacvesteceta E RE ER A A 70 8 6 Alph and Beta Testit eeann a N a aaa E Ea Es 12 9 The Eyvaliatio
16. and digestion The topics suggested are those that have most abstract concepts Scientific abstract concepts may be more difficulty to understand and grasp by middle graders students Including all the above topics is beyond the scope of this thesis After discussing this matter with the teacher it was decided to implement only one module carbon chemistry since this module was considered to be the most abstract for the students 6 2 Identify Learners Characteristics 6 2 1 The Subjects and Their Level of Competence In order to establish the learner characteristics of the target users a meeting took place on 05 09 2003 see Table 3 at Ytrebygda School with the teacher Helga Sunde It was important to identify the level of competence of the target users since this varies from learner to learner The target users were 10 graders from Ytrebygda middle school According to the teacher Helga Sunde they all had the preliminary skills and knowledge needed to learn the new topics that would be included in the 3D prototype During this meting the teacher divided the level of competence by three different skills and knowledge levels weak average and strong learners 2 students out of 24 would participate during the planning and design phase of the 3D prototype The remaining 22 students would use the 3D prototype when it was ready for deployment In order to choose the 2 students who would participate in design and evaluation phase the followi
17. development phases with end users in order to discover early as many usability problems as possible Including end users during the planning design and development phases of an interface is time consuming but it is worth the effort since it is the end users not the software designers or program developers who will use the new interface Evaluating an interface is a time consuming process but it pays off by saving developing time since design errors are discovered before implementation is done The process of trial and error is an invaluable experience for a software designer since it avoids making the same mistakes again when designing and developing other interfaces The process of designing developing and evaluating a 3D prototype for the purpose of learning was an interesting and challenging experience which I most enjoyed I personally liked working closer with middle school teachers because of their teaching experience and for providing so many constructive suggestions for improving the 3D prototype Working with two young students was a very positive and challenging experience because they have a creative mind that is certainly needed when designing and developing 3D worlds for educative purposes 131 REFERENCES Alessi S M amp Trollip S R 2001 Multimedia for Learning Methods and Development GB Edition Boston USA Allyn amp Bacon Ausubel D 1968 Educational Psychology A Cognitive View New York Holt
18. e e ea A a apea E eae pads ea Raa Eae Se eaaa eee eatin ESSEE stag an R EE 52 leapan Ty A N SAA a0 CEEE ENEE E EE E E EEEE EE EEE ENE 53 Figure 22 Text DOR er a di aie aeea Eaa i is ites ae lek rein batten E OSR EAN Aas 54 Figure 23 Colour Contrast aosi n oo eens e ast anpenpan tie RERE EEE eoe aE th vent eTe ANSEES EESE Eer EE 56 Figure 24 The portal to the organic world seseseeeseeseseesesrstsessesresssesestettetstsesestetterstssesestettetsesseseettrstsersesrereerst 63 Figure 25 A 3D object that displays a Web page eescesssssscsessscssseecssecseesecseesecsaeeccsaecatesecseserenaeeeesaeeeeesesaeeetens 63 Fisure 26 Links attached to Images rerni eesriie st uoesheveecstedepads sh eotees face apts aeaea aa Somes eptseee eoesbetesees Sete ets 64 Figure 27 Film about hydrocarbon sescsscsesesesencesesoseneesessnevevencucesesenesonssetvevsnenenonsesesosensenevsnenesencasesenenenes 64 Figure 28 The 3D prototype under construction ccescseesscseeseceseeecsecseesecseesecsaeeccsaecatesecsesseenaeeesaeeaeesesaeeeeens 65 Fig re 29 The title A E e E fase ab essen ys a a A E Ea aE E EEA SEAS E aa E ESEE R 66 Figure 30 The entry point of the 3D prototype seessessesesssrstsreseeresssrststetstetstststettetstsstststttretstssesesteeretsessrsreteeret 67 Figure 31 The M ir entrantes oi tro iana eeraa aeae o aE a EEE a E AEA EEEE AE a REEE ERa 68 Figure 32 The inorganic worl ssc siscses esse sscsessteseasspcvhye aee E aE
19. how many breaches usability problems were found in each heuristic principle ranging from 1 4 breaches Breaches N Heuristic principles Diagram 3 Heuristic principles breaches The following section presents the weakness and the strengths with the evaluation of the 3D prototype 121 12 4 Weakness and Strengths of the Evaluation This section presents a summary of the weaknesses and strengths of the evaluation of the 3D prototype The discussion will take into account the formative evaluation stages and the usability methods applied questionnaires observations and interviews 12 4 1 Strength and Weaknesses of the Formative Evaluation Stages During the evaluation of the 3D prototype two formative evaluation stages were applied One expert review and six one to one evaluations usability test Expert review vs One to one Evaluations The expert review was conducted with one teacher expert while the usability test was performed with 6 end users 2 students and 4 teachers According to Tessmer 1993 there are several advantages and disadvantages in performing an expert review over the use of other formative evaluation stages One of the major advantages of an expert review is that it does not use learners but people that have knowledge and experience that novice users do not have This provides a wide array of information about the content quality that novice users cannot provide A disadvantage of an expert revie
20. i ets tea E EAE care noo aaa E 111 12 3 1 Interview Results Analy Sis c5ccccesiuascasosvzeddasdescavaasences siagecdecansetaaiessoatnevees 119 12 4 Weakness and Strengths of the Evaluation cee eecceeeeccecssececeeeeeceeeeeenteeeenaeeees 122 12 4 1 Strength and Weaknesses of the Formative Evaluation Stages 122 12 4 2 Strength and Weaknesses of the Usability Methods sseeeeeeseseeseeeereeen 123 13 Discussion ots iyo alesse de seine gag E meso decease aos we ne mean nae 124 13 1 Suggested Improvements senesinin ii sonata iis sii 124 13 2 Redesigning the 3D Prototype eesssssesssesssseeessresseesseesseressseesseessensseeeseeeessresseesse 125 39 gt NE ONG IASI ONS re e E tam ater ae ee a ET 130 PRE REIN TS ced coarse cn aera E tee ac racs EEE E benno anaes Seance 132 FIGURE LIST Figure 1A Vatars prenn nr n R e E EEE R i e E E e TEA AENEA a e ESEE EEE EE Figure 2 Building 3D objects ninte iea e aS Eaa ee ire E ea VIN EE EE A EE AEE RETR EE ATE TE Figure 3 The AWEDU Browser Chemeet World c ccescessessseeseeeseeeeeeeeceeceseensecesecaeeaecaaecaeecaeeeaeeeeeeeneeenens Figure 4 Queen Maud s land laboratory 0 c ccceecceeccescceseceseeececseeeaeeeseeceeeeeseceseceseceecsaecaecaecaeecaeeeaeeeseeeneeenens Figure 5 The CSU Virtual Chemistry Laboratory ce ceeeesescceseeecesecseesecnevseceaseecsaeceeesecseseeenaeeesaeeeessesaeeaeens Figure 6 A web page with frame and scrollbars eesseesc
21. information page that appears He commented Most of the students will not know what VRML and Avatar means He started testing the buttons under the 3D scene He chose an avatar switched on and off the show my avatar button The subject had difficulties when using the 3D scene He needed help to know that in order to activate the 3D scene one has to click on the window Subject clicked on all the buttons to see if something happened in the 3D world He commented It is not good that one has to click on the 3D scene in order to active it S6 The subject started the program and read the first information page She commented I do not know what VRML browser or Avatar is Subject chose one avatar She used the help button and read all the information carefully and got information about how to activate the 3D scene This subject had no difficulties performing this task Comments The difficulties that some of the subjects had when choosing and avatar and entering the 3D scene can be summarized as follow Three of six subjects S1 S3 and S4 had difficulties using the controls for choosing an avatar Figure 47 shows the task in question To choose an avatar users must click the avatar button Figure 47 A Then a window with available avatars appears To choose or change an avatar users need to click on the avatar and drag it into the Current Avatar window as shown in Figure 47 B Another difficulty performing this task wa
22. it comes to use of the Internet four of six subjects S2 S3 S4 and S5 used the Internet on daily basis but two of six subjects S1 and S6 used the Internet on a weekly basis Subjects were asked about how often they used certain programs such as 3D games for instance two of six subjects S2 and S5 used 3D games on a weekly basis it is worth noting that both S2 and S5 are males while three of six subjects S3 S4 and S6 had never used 3D games before One of six subjects S1 had used 3D games seldomly When it comes to chat programs three of six subjects S3 S4 and S6 had never used a chat program at all while S1 used it on a weekly basis S2 used chat programs on daily basis and S5 used it seldom Finally subjects were asked how often they used web base learning 93 programs Three of six subjects S3 S4 and S6 had never used a web based learning program before Two of six subjects S1 and S2 had used web base learning programs seldomly and only at school S5 was the only subject that used web based learning programs monthly and this subject used web based learning programs at work at the middle schools he teaches 12 2 2 Observation Results During the one to one evaluations the students and teachers who participated in the evaluation were first given a set of pre specified tasks to be accomplished within 1 hour The tasks were designed to cover the most important parts of the interface and were as representative as possib
23. list according to how often they were used The questions of this sections concerned use patterns of pc Internet 3D games and web based learning programs The questionnaire given to subjects can be seen in Appendix C The following section presents the results from the questionnaires the observations and the interviews separately The data gathered from the questionnaires is presented in tables 25 26 and 27 Personal information Subjects were asked questions about age sex and occupation Occupation Student 10 grade 10 grade school school teacher teacher Table 25 The subjects personal data The two students S1 and S2 are the same students that participated under design phase They are above average learners and have all the preliminary knowledge necessary to understand the topic of carbon chemistry They also had previous knowledge of 3D programs as they were shown some of the applications available on the Web These two students and the teacher Helga Sunde were asked if they would like to partitipate in the evaluation of the 3D prototype which they agreed to Subjects S3 and S5 are middle school teachers from Knarvik middle school in Bergen and have taught the 10 grade level before All of the teachers were contacted by mail S4 and S6 are middle school teachers from Nygarsskolen in Bergen and have taught different levels from 2 grade to 10 grade All of the teachers were fully qualified to participate in a 92 u
24. model of the chosen molecules Students go through a portal that leads back to main world or home Remain in the Organic world Comments Flowchart 2 shows the main sequence that occurs when students choose room 2 in Flowchart 1 and go to another world In this case the organic world Once in the organic world students see the main hall which contains information boards and guidance about where to begin In the main hall there are two doors Door 1 leads to a room which contains information and images about alcohols and organic solvents Door 2 is a portal that leads back to the main world In this section the following steps were presented initial content ideas which implied brainstorming session to describe the topics to be included in the 3D prototype and how the information would be presented A task analysis was presented to show the sequence of the topics Prototypes were drawn to come up with ideas of how the screen layout of the 3D prototype should look A web base methodology was described which presented all the objects and components to be included in the 3D prototype This section also presented navigation orientation speed browsers hypermedia formats interactivity users controls learning strategies and the look and style that will be implemented in the 3D prototype Finally flowcharts were presented to show the general sequence of the 3D prototype The next section presents the development phase of the
25. neni e a E A E A E a eh aa ll 73 9 1 Human Computer Interaction HCI cee ceeccecsesecesececeeececeeeeeceeeeceeeessaeeeeneeeenas 73 9 1 1 Whatis Usability meiiies eee ennta r bee Guceatedyecy sumed oncuee ys 73 9 2 7 Formative ELV cl NEAL ies Gi elas le e e E ade ahs wed E te 75 9 2 1 The Model Layers of Formative Evaluation ceesceesseceseceeeeeeneeenneeees 76 10 Planning the Eval ation sssieranenc iaei a E a A a ai 11 10 2 1 Goals of the Evaluation sseeeneseeernoeessesssessserrsoorssosessseesesrsctsrorersosersesssessse 11 10 2 2 The Number of Subjects eoori e E e A RENGS 11 10 2 3 Layers of the Formative Evaluation 1 donee eosin 78 10 2 4 The Evaluation Setting jss isisccassveccaatvesg acts rinia a a 78 11 IVT OCS dette tt care tt tect tek a Neri eee tae ae cio Sadana See tes mes desc ctie Gs 80 Aedes Usability Methods inse oh tb a seach a segue he cusses a ane se a at berate aaa aawns 80 11 1 1 Data Gathering TOOS aie sce sean wyesti ca a A A eases 82 12 D t Anal Y SUS rareste n aar e eea e E a ata oe E i aS 83 12 1 Expert REVISW cuenta ne e aa a a E A E EE a aE 83 12 2 One to One Evaluations Usability Test ssesneennseessessseesseeessetssseessresseesseesssesssees 91 12 2 1 Questionnaires Res ltS scsinrenniiniansina nni a a 92 1222 Observation Results ii 2cciiecisn eastside eee esleeeedike 94 12 2 3 Int rvi ew R s ltSiceneciseserisoisostiesi eisien E isot 109 12 3 Usability Problems SeA
26. one may wonder what VRML browser means It can be difficult to understand S4 I think the language used in the help pages is too technical I know a lot about computers but when one reads terms that you never heard of before you get stuck with that term such as avatar and VRML browser For instance in the help pages where you use VRML browser one can used the frame to the right instead because everybody understand this term For instance a Norwegian text saying rotere rotate or vri turn something like that but not using English terms S5 Yes it was too technical For instance words like avatar and VRML I don t think students know what avatar and VRML means I would have used the frame to the right instead of VRML and the term animation or figure instead of avatar U2 Difficult Terms Another usability problem when it comes to language was found in some of the terms used in the web pages for instance subjects S1 S5 pointed out that some of the terms used in the web pages to explain the topic of carbon chemistry were difficult to understand Is the terminology used in the program easy or difficult to understand S1 You know what The terms were a little bit difficult but I did not try to concentrate in the content so much I was more focused on using the prototype S5 The terms cover more than the curriculum I think there are too many terms but this is the way the carbon chemistry t
27. point to the 3D scene should look The following section gives a detailed explanation of the meeting with the students 4 7 3 1 Session 1 Drawing the General Screen Layout of the 3D Prototype This session took place between 9 00 am and 11 00 am During this session the students were asked to draw a screen layout of the 3D prototype Nm 1 2 f lt a gA Ko D A ore t j gr A cep ae a mee Ta Semeee Ba Pat Lej TOMAT I ng j Cin Figure 12 Mock up 1 Screen layout of the 3D prototype Student 1 The paper prototype see Figure 12 was drawn by student 1 see chart of learners characteristics for details about this student under section 6 2 1 Table 4 This mock up shows how the screen layout of the 3D prototype was divided into five frames Frame 1 shows the 3D scene with avatars Figure 12 1 Frame 2 shows where the molecules would be displayed in the VRML browser Figure 12 2 Frame 3 shows where the text and information should be displayed Figure 12 3 Frame 4 shows the chat window This student suggested having the chat window separated from the 3D scene Figure 12 4 Frame 5 shows the navigation buttons and menus that should be displayed in the middle of the screen Figure 12 5 Comments This student wanted the 3D scene to take the biggest part of the screen about 50 This was the reason why the chat window was placed in a separate wind
28. sequence in which the 3D prototype presents information is logical or if something should be changed While evaluating this point the teacher went back and forward between the main hall and the three rooms of the 3D prototype She pointed out the following Is the logical sequence of the content adequate Both yes and no Generally speaking the whole 3D world has the right sequence when it comes to the subtopics but there is a detail that should be changed when it comes to sequence You should change the first information sign at the left hand side when ones entered the main hall The cyclopentane sign should be moved to the right from the carbon atom film And the sign about the carbon atom information should be placed at the left That will be a more chronographical sequence for presenting information Comments The signs to which the teacher is referring to are shown in Figure 43 with the changes she pointed out The position of these signs was changed according to the teacher s specification Sign A Figure 43 A changed position with sign B Figure 43 B The teacher meant that this was a more logical sequence for presenting first information about what is a carbon atom Figure 43 A and then showing the complex structure of the cyclopentane Figure 43 B 85 Adresse http submission intermedia uib no betzy prototype Sdverden welcome html Gat K Karbonatom k a Her kan man se en film
29. suggested during the meting on 10 11 2003 with the two students e Navigation Metaphors Metaphors may provide a good orientation method in a program For instance a lesson or a program can be designed to resemble a house or a building with rooms where each room will have specific functions Virtual reality techniques make the implementation of navigation metaphors more realistic and engaging The 3D prototype used the metaphor of a building research institute with several rooms Each room in the building has a specific function in accordance with the subtopics of the carbon chemistry topic 49 Frames Frames can divide the window in functional areas with different information and purposes especially when the program has multiple levels of navigation One frame may display information while another frame may take the user to another location of the program or a location outside the current web site Using frames gives good control over where the information will appear while preventing multiple window disorientation that occurs when clicking to links that display the new information in separate windows The students suggested dividing the screen into several frames Their suggestions were taken into account when deciding how many frames the screen layout of the 3D prototype should have Each frame has different functions and type of navigation The 3D prototype used frames for the purpose of controlling where the multiple windows of the 3D pr
30. the development phase and is especially used for conducting evaluations of the prototype such as usability appeal and quality evaluation High fidelity prototypes were used during the development phase e Low fidelity Prototypes Are used early in the design phase to show the general look of the program and to get the general idea of how the program will operate It does not include detailed information but gives a shallow impression of how the program may look Low fidelity prototypes are usually drawn on paper and are called mock ups During the design phase some low fidelity prototypes were produced during the meeting with the two 10 graders students at Ytrebygda middle school on 10 11 2003 see Table 8 The meeting lasted five hours and took place at the multimedia room of Ytrebygda school This meting was divided into two sessions During the first session 9 00 am to 11 00 am the students drew two mock ups to give their ideas about how they wanted the 3D prototype to look and to some extent how it should work They came up with ideas and suggestions of what type of objects and navigation options they would like the 3D prototype to have see section 7 4 1 and 7 4 2 for details about navigation and orientation techniques During the second session 12 00 pm to 2 00 pm the two students were shown some examples of 3D web based learning environments on the web They got some ideas from it and started drawing a mock up of how the main entry
31. the main purpose was to design and develop a web based 3D learning prototype for learning natural science for the 10 grade In the beginning the plans were to develop a complete learning environment that would include all subjects of the natural science curriculum This turned out to be too ambitious and almost impossible to accomplish within three semesters I soon realised that the subjects to be implemented in the 3D prototype had to be narrowed down in order to fulfil the thesis within the three semesters By concentrating on one subject of natural science carbon chemistry I had time to gather as many resources as possible in order to get a good insight about the subject matter Furthermore the subject of carbon chemistry had to be narrowed down in order to fit the curriculum of the 10 grade The process of design and development was time consuming and turned out to be a difficult task During the design of the 3D prototype some problems arose Since I concentrated in the subject of carbon chemistry I spent a lot of time finding and producing all of the molecules that were to be implemented Another problem that had to be solved was how to communicate and work together with two students of age 15 The main problem was that these two students had no experience with designing interfaces of any kind but they were above average learners with a high level of computer skill I found that I had to explain to them very thoroughly what was expected of
32. their work According to Koschmann CSCL applications assume a variety of forms and they can be categorised in a variety of dimensions including the locus of use how the use is coordinated in time and the instructional role it was designed to serve For instance the locus of use may be intra inter or extra classroom within the classroom or across classrooms With respect to time CSCL applications can support synchronous or asynchronous interaction Finally the instructional roles of CSCL applications may vary from mediating communication within and across classrooms introducing new resources into the classroom and supporting knowledge building Koschmann 1996 The model of instruction underlying CSCL is termed collaborative learning There is no precise definition of the term collaborative learning and the definition provided here is one that is based upon a review of a variety of approaches to collaborative learning discussed by Pierre Dillenbourg 1999 Dillenbourg 1999 views collaborative learning in three dimensions The scales of the collaborative situations group size and time span what is referred to as learning and what is referred to as collaboration Briefly the first dimension the scale of the collaborative situations refers to the scale or group size that may vary from 2 to more subjects and the time they spent collaborating time may also vary from minutes to hours or one year Di
33. them I explained to them what a 3D learning environment was and showed them some examples I also explained what prototyping was and showed them some examples of how to make paper mock ups In order to get full benefits from these two students involvement it was necessary to present a suggested paper prototype For this purpose a paper mock up was presented to them so they were prepared for the coming design session Working with youngsters was an enriching experience they came up with so many creative ideas that if I had had the time I would have implemented many of them Deciding which ideas to implement was a hard process but finally I came up with a design model that included most of the ideas suggested by the students with some modifications After finishing the design phase the task ahead was to develop the 3D prototype and test it on the Web The development phase was also a time consuming activity First I had to learn how to master and use a 3D vector geometry building tool called Atmosphere Builder I tried and failed many times before mastering how to build and position each 3D object to be included in the 3D prototype I learned that working with 3D objects is complicated Building a 3D environment using 3D vector geometry where each object is built using x y and z coordinates in order to describe the object s shape and position in space is a time consuming and a difficult activity It took longer time than expected Another p
34. to occur between pupils rather than between a teacher and a pupil or between a boss and her his employee Interactions between the group members can be more or less collaborative if they focus on negotiation between the group members rather than giving instructions or imposing one s view upon other group s members Learning mechanisms involved in collaborative learning must be those that operate in the case of individual cognition since there are still individual agents involved in group s interactions 3 1 3D Learning Environments 3D learning environments are a form of Virtual Reality VR which has been made possible by the advent of fast high performance computer processing and graphics VR falls into three categories 1 text based 2 desktop VR and 3 immersive VR The text based category also called Multi User Domains MUDs a user is allowed to specify an icon or image which becomes an avatar within the virtual world or page and users can initiate text based conversations In immersive VR a virtual world is simulated and users are required to use goggles and data gloves to manipulated objects in the virtual world In Desktop VR images are presented on a pc screen and manipulated using the mouse or the keyboard This form of desktop VR has become available to many through Virtual Reality Modelling Language VRML which allows virtual worlds to be distributed over the Web and integrated with other web based programs Dix et al 1997
35. to present information Communication tools Such as chat functionality which enables users to discuss aspects related to the learning objectives in real time It is easy to navigate and interact in 3D virtual environments once students have learned how to navigate and chat through an avatar the students can interact with objects explore an object or reflect and analyse an object and the information attached to it 3D learning environments and VRML offer visualization and immersion experiences that are not possible with traditional 2D based media The visual aspect of 3D objects and the navigation possibilities that 3D technology offer facilitate the learning of abstract scientific concepts such as molecular structures atomic bonding and DNA interactions among others For instance by manipulating a 3D VRML model of a molecule students may have a richer experience of an object that is otherwise abstract Learning natural science at middle school has often been a challenge for many students Scientific abstract concepts may be more difficult to understand and grasp by middle graders students because most early adolescents have not yet developed the ability to think on an abstract level Abstract concepts should be taught through the use of supplementary materials and concrete examples Ausubel 1968 In recent years there has been a growing interest in developing 3D learning environments on the Web for educational purposes The following s
36. to the main hall instead of the entry point or the shortcut function available in the go to button not being positioned closer enough to understand how it worked 120 U2 Difficult Terms U5 Information not Available when Needed and U13 Navigation Problems with 3D Scene Each of these usability problems was reported by 2 of six subjects U2 concerned some terms used to explain the subject of carbon chemistry being too difficult to understand by some subjects U5 concerned the quiz dialogue box not being available before finishing a quiz the frame with the quiz question being too small to show all of the questions in the frame and the score thus information was not available when needed U13 concerned having navigation problems when interacting with the avatar because subjects did not know how to move the avatars U3 Interface Metaphor Unclear U8 Wrong Colour Code U9 Buttons Lack of Feedback U14 Navigation Problems with Web Pages U16 Lack of System Documentation Each of these usability problems was reported only by one of six subjects and needs no further analysis Diagram 2 shows the usability problems and how many times they were reported Wui2 m U4 OU6 OU1 U7 U10 U11 U15 WU2 U5 U13 HU3 U8 U9 U14 U16 Times reported O ND WO LP A OD Usability Problems Diagram 2 Reported usability problems In total 16 usability problems were reported The diagram 3 below shows the heuristic principles H1 H7 and
37. undo mechanisms should be made visible in the interface and should not depend on the user s ability to remember some special code or combination keys 74 Shortcuts Accelerators may speed up the interaction with the system for expert users Experienced users should be able to perform operations in a faster way by using dialogue shortcuts For instance the system can have function keys that can perform and action with only a key press F7 for help or having buttons to access important functions directly and quickly Users should be allowed to jump directly to a desired location of information Large amounts of information should have a backtrack feature to allow the user to return directly to prior locations Good error messages Errors should be explained precisely indicating the problem and suggesting a solution Error message should be phrased clearly and simple so that they are easy to understand They should help the user to solve the problem Prevent errors A system should be designed to prevent errors from occurring in the first place Avoid building modes and similar commands into the system because they are a source of errors Help and documentation These should be provided and should be easy to search be focused on the user s task and not be too large Systems should have a manual and online documentation with search facility Help documentation should be structured and it should be easy to find read and understand Help documen
38. 001 give a number of recommendations when it comes to the visual layout of a program They point out that web based programs make more use of multiple windows than most other applications It is also a common feature of the Web for links to audio video or animation to appear in their own windows It is recommended to use a small number of windows to make clear to users if a link will open a new window Most web applications use scrolling A common observation when using the Web is that users do not scroll and fail to read information that is placed at the bottom of a page It is recommended avoid putting directions interactions or critical information in positions that require scrolling Another recommendation is to use frames which allow splitting the window in different areas The areas may be used for different purposes for instance one frame may remain constant while another frame displays instructional information Tables can also be considered to improve visual layout Tables permit precise formatting of the displayed information Figure 6 shows an example of a web application with frames and scrollbars Adresse http www bagism com frameshop v G til A Welcome to FrameShop Scrollbar FrameShop makes it easy to create and experiment with frames You can create up to 3 main frames and up to 3 sub frames for each main frame for a total of 9 frames lt gt Hide Frames Show Frames lt K gt
39. 3D player and the VRML browser these buttons are already part of the applications used in the 3D prototype The function of these buttons is explained in Tables 17 and 18 Type of objects Buttons Getting to initial position home Getting help Exiting the application Selecting a quiz Navigating back and forward between web pages Printing pages Table 13 Buttons 48 The 3D prototype includes a drop down menu with a go button for displaying a choice of key concepts as shown in Table 14 Type of objects A drop down menu for showing a list of key concepts Karbonatom from which students could directly select Karbonatom Molekyler Karbonatomets kretsl p Uorganiske stoff Hydrokarboner Hydroksyler Organiske l semidler Plast Table 14 Menus The 3D prototype also includes several tables of contents for classifying and illustrating examples as shown in Table 15 objects Tables of Displaying information that needs Kjemiske Kullepinne contents to be categorized and illustrated Alkan Struktur modell with different examples and images formell modell metan CH4 etan C2H6 propan CaHs Table 15 Table of content 7 4 2 Orientation A common problem in web based instructions is that they do not provide good orientation devices that show the users where they are in the web site There are many orientation cues that may help to avoid getting lost in hyperspace The following orientation devices were
40. 3D prototype 60 8 Developing the 3D Prototype The following section describes what was done under development phase of the 3D prototype and how all the steps described under design phase were implemented The development phase includes all of the steps necessary to produce the program This phase includes programming choosing tools writing user manuals instructions production of videos graphics texts animations etc During the development phase some of the steps depicted in Figure 10 were followed Preparation of the text Writing the program code Creation of the graphics Production of video Assembly of the pieces Alpha and beta testing 8 1 Preparation of the Text The text content of the 3D prototype was produced using Microsoft word processor and then imported into DreamWeaver to add the necessary program code Table 20 shows a description of the material and textbooks used to produce the text and content of the web pages Resources and tools Description Text books Tellus 10 natur og Provided by Ytrebygda school This it the textbook used by the school milj fag for ungdomssteget Helix 10 An alternative textbook for teaching of natural science Natur og milj fag for 10 klasse Lereplanverket for den Provided by Ytrebygda school 10 arige grunnskolen 1996 programs Encyclopaedia MOLECULES A web based tutorial by the Lebanon Valley College Molecular modelling for Available at chemical education http
41. D scene and which path should be followed as well as general information about the carbon chemistry topic for instance information about carbon atom and different types of molecules representation e Room 1 Inorganic world Contains objects and images as well as information about inorganic substances e Room 2 Organic world Contains objects images and information about hydrocarbons hydroxyl molecules and organic solvents This is a 3D world of its own e Room 3 Synthetic world Contains objects images and information about synthetic substances like plastics and polymers Having discussed the methodologies applied to describe how the 3D prototype would look and what components were included the next section presents some flowcharts that describe in general the sequence of the 3D prototype 7 5 Flowcharts There are several types of methods that can be chosen to show the sequence of a program as for instance storyboards and flowcharts Storyboards are a graphical description of the appearance of the intended system without any functionality and are used to show what the users will see in the program Flowcharts on the other hand can be used to show different levels of the program structure and sequence The levels vary from general sequence to more detailed program descriptions Flowcharts are not a very useful tool for hypermedia format However a general description of the main sequences of the program can be depicted by a flowch
42. Design Development and Evaluation of a 3D Web Based Prototype By BETZY BELL LOUIS Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Candidata Rerum Politicarum Department of Information Science and Media Studies The faculty of Social Sciences University of Bergen July 2004 PREFACE This thesis is about designing developing and evaluating a 3D web based prototype to facilitate the learning of abstract concepts within the natural science curriculum for the 10 grade This work is divided into several parts First the background is presented giving an insight of what motivated this project Thereafter a theoretical framework is discussed in details for designing and developing web based leaning environments A discussion of some developing models is taken and the chosen design model is explained in details followed by a detailed description of how all the steps of the planning design and development phases were applied for producing the 3D web based prototype henceforth 3D prototype An evaluation section is dedicated to present the evaluation methods results and data analysis At the end a discussion of some suggested improvements and conclusions are presented Acknowledgments I would like to express my thanks to Professor Konrad Morgan from InfoMedia University of Bergen for supervising my work and giving me good advice Professor Barbara Wasson from InfoMedia University of Bergen fo
43. Karbonatomer har to elektroner sitt indre skall og fire i sitt ytre Figure 25 A 3D object that displays a web page 63 e To create 3D image links JavaScript were attached to 3D objects with molecular images that when clicked displayed a 3D model in the VRML Browser see Figure 26 N i lek Ami OARA gt eo i Kule pinne Figure 26 Links attached to images e To add animations It is possible to add movies of type mov avi and mpeg to an object in a 3D world Some videos files were attached to 3D objects that displayed a movie in the 3D world see Figure 27 0 Se fil men om Hydrokarbon er Figure 27 Film about hydrocarbons 64 8 2 2 The Construction of the 3D World Atmosphere Builder provides different perspective to view the objects under construction Figure 28 shows the 3D prototype under construction a Jae Figure 28 The 3D prototype under construction The different views show the lines that make up edges of objects from different perspectives for instance top view Figure 28 A Front view Figure 28 B isometric view Figure 28 C among other available views and are used to create and edit the geometry of objects The player view Figure 28 D shows the scene as it appears in the web browser when the users enter the world 8 3 Creation of the Graphics When creating graphics it is important to take into account the medium in which the 3D prototype will be used The proc
44. ML browser and the web pages gave feedback to them when interacting with it They were also asked whether the response time of the 3D prototype was quick or slow after an interaction Clearly marked exits user control and freedom The 3D prototype intends to provide mechanisms for exiting and undo actions whenever the user wishes to Subjects were asked whether it was possible to exit the 3D prototype at any time and at whatever location Another question related to this heuristic principle was if they could repeat an action or end it if wanted and if the prototype s controls could be switched on an off at will When it comes to navigation possibilities subjects were asked whether it was difficult or easy to navigate in the 3D scene the VRML browser and the web pages and to specify their answers with examples Another related question was about the frames of the 3D prototype and whether it was difficult or easy to know which frame to focus on when interacting with the 3D prototype Shortcuts This principle points out that users should have the opportunity to interact with the system in a quicker way if wanted to by creating functions that make this possible In order to get information from subjects about this point they were asked if it was possible to jump to a desired location of the 3D prototype whether a web page or a 3D scene without having to go through the whole system Subjects were asked what they thought about the function of the go to b
45. S8 A Figure 64 Enclosing the drop down menu and the go to button in a frame 126 Suggestion 4 One important improvement suggestion was to change the VRML browser used in the 3D prototype for displaying the molecules for another tool that is more user friendly as for instance Blaxxun Contact plug in Figure 64 A shows a screenshot of Blaxxun Contact This plug in was installed in a personal computer to show an example of how it works Blaxxun Contact 5 1 plug in has no buttons at all and allows 3D object manipulation with the mouse or keyboard thus making it easer to use The reason why this plug in was not used in the 3D prototype was because of a known bug that sometimes displays the VRML code text instead of the 3D rendered object Polyeten 2t8 MrR Figure 65 Using another VRML browser Blaxxum Contact 5 1 Suggestion 5 Another major suggested improvement to the 3D prototype was making the 3D scene with avatars more interactive by including the quizzes inside the 3D scene Figure 65 shows and example of how this feature can be implemented The image shown below is not yet rendered an exiting screenshot was used and the new feature Figure 65 A has been added with help of MS Paint The new feature shows a sign with a button that users can click and display the quiz questions in another frame Har du lyst til a teste deg selvi emne om organiske stoff Klikk pa knappen og test dine kunnskaper
46. The intention with this session was to come up with ideas of how the 3D scene would look and be organized Session 2 took place between 12 00 am and 2 00 pm During this session the students saw some examples of 3D web based applications developed by Atmosphere 5 available on the Web This was not an easy task for them since drawing 3D scenarios is very complex they were only asked to draw a general idea of how the main entry point of the 3D scene should look Session 2 Student 1 Figure 14 Mock up 3 General view of the entry point to main 3D scene Student 1 During this session the students came up with general ideas about how the main entrance to the 3D scene should look Student 1 drew a bridge and a building on an island as the entry point for the 3D scene Figure 14 Entry point means the point that users see when the 3D scene is loaded the first time Student 2 also drew a similar mock up for the general idea of the main entrance to the 3D scene This can be seen in Appendix A Figure 1 The following section presents the methodology used for designing the 3D prototype 45 7 4 Methodology In this section a detailed presentation of the methodologies used under the design phase of the 3D prototype is presented The design process is explained step by step with illustrations The methodology chosen for the design and development of the 3D prototype was web based learning as explained under section 5 1 Web base learni
47. Under this section the following steps were discussed Usability methods for performing the usability test data gathering tools and methods The next section presents the data analysis of the evaluation 82 12 Data Analysis In this section the results from the expert review and one to one evaluations are presented first followed by a discussion of all the results from the usability test taken into account the heuristic principles suggested by Nielsen 1993 12 1 Expert Review Expert reviews are done with a specialist that has experience and knowledge with regard to the content being evaluated In this case the teacher of the class Helga Sunde who teaches the natural science curriculum at Ytrebygda middle school for the 10 grade is a subject expert and a valuable expert with regard to the content being evaluated for the 3D prototype The expert review was performed at the teacher s home on 09 01 2004 The teacher s personal computer had all the software and hardware necessary to run the 3D prototype She had installed the Atmosphere player and the Cortona VRML browser in her computer some months before the expert review took place since she was revising the 3D prototype as content was delivered to her The expert review took 2 hours During the expert review notes were taken while the teacher was revising the content of the 3D prototype on line The teacher was asked questions at different points of the evaluation The questions asked
48. able then a web page is displayed presenting all the information about the chosen object or image At the same time the chosen object will be displayed in the VRML browser in 3D format Room 1 Contains information about inorganic substances for instance graphite diamond and fullerene Room Leads to another world see Flowchart 2 another 3D world of its own It shows the different types of hydrocarbons and hydroxyl molecules The hydrocarbons group was sub divided into three groups Alkanes alkenes and alkynes The hydroxyl room presents information about alcohols and organic solvents Room 3 Shows images and objects of the different types of synthetic substances such as plastics and polymers 59 Flowchart 2 The Organic World Students enter the Organic world and main hall Here they find information board and guidance about where to begin Web pages of the chosen molecules are displayed with information about hydrocarbons and hydroxyl molecule groups In the main hall students can see and choose between different types of hydrocarbons alkanes alkenes and alkynes The VRML browser shows 3D model of the chosen molecules Web pages of the chosen type are displayed with information about hydroxyl group and organic solvents Students enter a room where there is information and images about hydroxyls like Alcohols as well as information about organic solvents The VRML browser shows 3D
49. active systems a combination of all these disciplines should be gathered in a design team HCI has four major focuses 1 the users 2 interactions between users and the system 3 the system and 4 usability aspects The users must be understood as an individual or groups of people using a system The system may be a desktop or a larger and complex computer system Interactions are performed on the system in order to accomplish a task The fourth focus is on usability this implies designing computer systems in such a way that users interaction with the systems is perceived as supportive when accomplishing some task rather than a hindrance In other words the computer systems must be user friendly and follow a set of usability principles 9 1 1 What is Usability The term usability comes from the term user friendly that is traditionally associated with the attributes of learnability efficiency memorability errors and satisfaction e Learnability The system should be easy to learn so that the user can rapidly start getting some work done with the system e Efficiency The system should be efficient to use so that once the user has learned the system a high level of productivity is possible e Memorability The system should be easy to remember so that the casual user is able to return to the system after some period of not using it without having to learn everything all over again 13 e Errors The system should have a low erro
50. aeceeeeecaeceeeecaaeceneessaeceeeeecnaeceeeeecsaeceeneeeaeseeeeesaeeees 43 Table 11 Metaphors Student 2 0 c5 c sseis csussssessassasssosecssosnsesacseusrsabsousnensssuecogesshsenaensdessanveabsodessiecspeatnsnsscsedoedaareds 44 Table 12 Images of the 3D prototype eeceeeeeseeecsseeseesecseesecseesecsaeecesaecseesecsesseesaeeecsaecatesecseesesneeeesaeeeeeaesateaeens 48 Table 13 Buttons ico scusctesscasatesececctuasessnedecees soaseahedunnedsdeaevennencesedesduonsaphbacontncdbensnannievedeckubesebbiennteceasobeevesssedecdeoneee 48 Pable TA MEnus EEE AE EEE A E EE 49 Table 15 Table of content 105 05 sccescedeseagasd dewedesssdebscueokedageasasessasotedgeenuasavhseshaed EES eaa CEEC EEE EEEE E EREEREER near STEER 49 Table 16 File fOotmatS vernesonen a E O e ea EAEE ea EE Oaar gasvaabuadasedocsgeasbanbonbeuncsebrede 51 Table 17 3D player S Controls 2 ci cs ssissid csgstessssaistsnsoyscaseesusnssespuesdaevsabadbsssienosospabnvdessdessanveabsd nssbscspestnsnsacsedbedaaven 53 Table 18 VRML Browser s controls esccessseceseeeesseceeeeeceeceeneecsaeceeeecsueceneessaeceeeessaecseneecaeeeeeesaeceeneeenaeeeees 54 Table 19 Navigation Controls ccesssesecseeeecsseeecesecscesecneeecssaeeeessecseesecseescesaecessaecaeesscneeseesaeeceeaecaeeeeseeaeenaeenses 55 Table 20 Text Materials sscscvisccesdessesasnsgsseuedessstehschucotscadesausessasevedessvbaribhieehaeed EE aAA EESE EEE EEEE E TECE EEE EE EE TERE RE 61 Table 21 Developing tools si
51. ai ee cicene Bi i eae 32 6 1 The Scope Of the Content ssassn a i e 32 62 Identify Learners Characteristics siere inene ne ire ai eE AS a 33 6 2 1 The Subjects and Their Level of Competence eeeseeseesesreereererrrersressee 33 6 3 The Constraints e eee os A aA E Oe is E he GU eee 34 6 3 1 Timelines shad Sona ces ccs eect a a e a E e iieri 35 GA RESOURCES ino ci a eieceieeii eget dieecn isi ae E EEEE ESES VAE ENSA ebay 35 6 5 Look and Feel Screen Layout sesesseeesseesseesseeeseeesseeesseesseesseesseresseeesseesseesseessees 36 T Desiening the 3D Prototype sses erena Ade oar eee lala ee 38 7 1 Initial Content Ideas inssin auc ee ene eda 38 7 1 1 SEALS COT IND ssn e aee suas aval EE eseeto iie 38 Jaze Mask PRIA WSIS 27 8 rE T E E i EE E a 40 73 PTO FOU TICS Aso cess eto a sence ns a E S 41 7 3 1 Session 1 Drawing the General Screen Layout of the 3D Prototype 42 1 3 2 Session 2 Drawing the Entry Point of the 3D Scene 45 JA Medo OAT a A ake 46 7 4 1 NavisatiOn soi a E E EE E E E N 46 1 4 2 OSETIA OD AEE EEEE 49 74 3 PSP Clits tides corsa cad E Succes ait E Ea E a a a 51 1 4 4 Browsers enan a o a e e E TRE RSS 51 7 4 5 Hypermedia Formals a e us nce dade E E E 51 7 4 6 Interactivity erii e EA E TEA teGyndendvagacde sadseubasecouane te puadeeanecenece 51 74 7 User Controls lt 4 eR A eR Gee Ci ie at 53 74 8 Support for Learning Strate ses 555 69 59 wlsacsauche ts Satvesdvndbaee a howsgieb Ge eee 55 74 9 Look and
52. an electronic guest book where students can post comments The comments may be answered or posted by the teacher of by other fellow students This guest book is not a kind of threaded discussion tool o Self test The 3D prototype has a self test or quizzes for each sub topic of carbon chemistry topic The students can take these self tests to assess whether they learned and remembered some of the material presented 55 o Printouts The 3D prototype allows printouts for every web page available This may facilitate recall and application of knowledge e Visualization and Graphing The visualization of concepts especially of abstract concepts may help learners with comprehension process The 3D prototype provides images 3D models 3D objects animations and movies in order to help learners to visualize abstract concepts 7 4 9 Look and Style of the Program This section presents some guidelines for the look and style of the web pages as well as a description of how the 3D world scene was divided e Guidelines for Web Pages When it comes to font s size colour and type headings and background colours of the web pages the guidelines suggested by W3 org 4 and Lighthouse org 6 were followed e Guideline 2 2 Ensure that foreground and background colour combinations provide sufficient contrast when viewed by someone having colour deficits or when viewed on a black and white screen o Contrast It is important to have a good cont
53. ange style button Figure 54 A in the VRML browser 4 Change style N o 4 A lt A Figure 54 Testing the Change style button S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 These subject had no problem performing this task S6 She chose one molecule and tried to use the change style button She had some difficulties when using this button the subject clicked on the word instead of clicking on the blue button Subject commented I don t see anything happening here Comments One of six subjects S6 had difficulties when using the change style button as shown in Figure 54 A The subject tried to click on the word and not on the blue button leading to getting no feedback at all 102 Task 11 Exploring the Organic World and Returning to the Main World S3 S4 S6 Had no difficulties performing this task S1 The subject tried to interact with a book that lies on a table in the main hall and commented Nothing happens here But this book had no form for interaction It was there for decoration reasons only S2 The subject moved around in the main hall and started clicking on all objects in the organic world especially the book on the table and commented I don t get any response from the book what s happening S5 Subject continued the exploration towards the hydroxyl room Here he found an error in one of the pages He pointed out that one of the molecules about the organic solvents lacked one code colour explanation
54. apping between computer concepts and user concepts with words phrases and concepts familiar to the user Keep to the user s native language and avoid using terms or words in a foreign language if possible Metaphors can be a good way to achieve a mapping between the system and the real world Minimize the users memory load Users should not have to remember information from one section to another Information about the system use should be visible and easy to retrieve System interface should be based on recognition make objects actions and options visible whenever needed Consistency Action situations in one part of the system should mean the same in other parts of the system It is recommended to use standards and conventions The same command or the same action should always have the same effect Information should be presented in the same location on all screens and it should be formatted in the same way Feedback Users should get a clear response from the systems when an action takes place Users should be informed about the status of the system informing the users about what is taking place and how user s input is interpreted The system should give feedback about response time how long an action will last about system failure and errors Clearly marked exits Users should not feel trapped by the system The system should provide an easy way to exit or escape or to undo actions in order to bring the system to a previous state Exit and
55. arning The constructivists view knowledge as a constructed entity made by each learner through a learning process Piaget states that Knowledge is actively constructed by the learner not passively received from the environment Piaget 1976 When it comes to transfer knowledge cannot be transmitted from one person to the other but is constructed by the individual Learning is viewed as the process of discovering and transforming complex knowledge structures and adjusting mental models to derive meaning Motivation and engagement is an autonomous process where the individual gains ownership of the learning activity thus engaging in discovering and experiencing real world activities 21 4 2 The Process of Instruction Having discussed the different perspectives of learning it is necessary to discuss the process of instruction and the stages that should be present when designing new instructions The term instruction should be understood as the creation and use of environments in which learning is facilitated Alessi and Trollip 2001 Alessi and Trollip 2001 suggest four activities that should be present in an instruction in order to facilitate learning in an effective and efficient way Presenting information Guiding the learner Practicing Assessing learning Presenting Information Information can be presented in a number of ways for instance it can be presented verbally or pictorially or by showing videos or animations
56. ars required more engagement from the students since navigation in the 3D world follows the laws of gravity and collision Figure 20 shows a set of avatars available in the 3D prototype My Avatars Figure 20 Avatars 52 e Direct Manipulation Direct manipulation of 3D objects was also included in the 3D prototype The students can have the opportunity to manipulate 3D objects in the VRML browser as well as manipulating the movement of the avatars in the 3D world 7 4 7 User controls An important feature in web based and hypermedia learning programs is to give the user the possibility to control the navigation options The students may be able to manipulate some of the controls of the 3D prototype For instance the controls included in the 3D player by which the students are able to manipulate avatars and movements inside the 3D scene Table 17 shows a brief explanation of the controls included in the 3D player fel Setting on and off collisions with objects Setting on and off the gravity option which enables the avatars to fly or stay on the ground Turn on an off the controls that shows the avatars Turn on and off the chat function Setting a set of preferences to control movements of the avatars Control and set preferences for the 3D scene such as acceleration and velocity Viewing the users logged into the 3D world Choosing and changing avatars Table 17 3D player s controls All of the buttons of the 3D play
57. art without going into details Storyboards are not very useful for depicting dynamic media such as animations videos or 3D environments that include advanced interactions Because the intended 3D prototype includes both hypermedia formats and 3D animations that are difficult to draw or simulate flowcharts were chosen as the tool for showing the general sequence of the 3D prototype without going into detail and without drawing screens sequences Flowchart 1 depicts the main sequences of the 3D prototype and how the program progresses 57 Flowchart 1 The Chemistry World Prototype logo Enter exit page A welcome page and instructions of how to operate and navigate in the 3D scene Students encounter the main entrance where they can see the main room with objects and images and information boards The main entrance has tree rooms that Web pages of the chosen type lead to different types of the carbon of molecule are displayed chemistry sub topics with explanation in a table of content Students enter a room with images of inorganic substances i e diamond graphite and fullerene The VRML browser shows 3D model of the chosen molecules The chosen molecule can be seen in different representations Web pages of the chosen type of molecule are displayed with explanation of concepts Students enter a room with objects and images of different types of synthetic substances like plastics and p
58. blem when choosing long distance links that have been moved to another location The hyperlinks used in the 3D prototype should only point to local locations within the 3D prototype Other object types There are other types of navigation methods such as menus buttons and tables of contents maps and picture collections among others Menus and buttons are the most common methods of non linear navigation Hyperlinks in general should not be used for exiting a program or obtaining help or going to the next page For this type of navigation it is recommended to use other techniques such as buttons or menus rather than hot word links The following object types were designed and implemented in the 3D prototype Images for displaying different types of molecules as shown in Table 12 For visualising images of molecules and other concepts Similar images were attached to 3D objects in the 3D scene that when selected with a mouse click display VRML models and web pages Fullerene Table 12 Images of the 3D prototype The 3D prototype includes buttons with text labels on them for indicating their purpose All buttons provide confirmation to users For instance buttons are highlighted yellow colour when pointed at appear to be pressed or depressed when clicked on a 3D effect and are highlighted blue when selected as shown in Table 13 It is important to remark that the 3D prototype includes several buttons that are already included in the
59. ced closer together so you know they belong together 116 Heuristic 7 Help and Documentation The breach found here concerned the system not having any kind of documentation or written user guide besides the help function included in the 3D prototype Subjects were asked what they thought about the help function in the 3D prototype U16 Lack of System Documentation One subject S4 reported why people do not use help functions in general and what kind of help function is missing in the 3D prototype Do you miss any other type of help function in the prototype S4 The reason why people do not use a help function is because of Microsoft in general you never get the help you need When you need help for something you never get the answer you need That s why people are sceptical of the use of help buttons S4 I missed documentation about how to use an avatar a written paper a user manual that you can read besides the program A little user guide so you don t miss anything else I missed instructions about how to use an avatar and how to navigate in the 3D world Open Questions At the end of the interviews subjects were asked some questions about interaction appeal acceptance and motivation These questions were meant to be open so subjects could come up with critiques and new suggestions Interactions Subjects S1 S5 pointed out that they missed other forms of interactions with the 3D prototype All othe
60. cneeseenaseeesaecateaeeneeate 128 Figure 68 Providing feedback A progress bar showing system Status ceceeeceseecssecreeeeceteecseeeceaeceteaeeneeaes 129 TABLE LIST Table 1 Navigation methods examples cescceseceesseceeeeecseeceeeeecaeceeeeecsaeceeceecsaeceeeeecsaeceeeeecsaeceeneesaeceeeeesnaeeeses 24 Table 2 Orientation methods examples ceecccescceesseceseeecsseceeneecsaeceeeeecsaeceeeeeeaaeceeeeecaeceeeeecsaeceeaeesaeceeeeeenaeeeees 25 Table 3 Planning phase schedule lt s isscsssipsecececeducedtaasicceascesdats ied oiei nsoussyeaseedae sess suasequecsced veconaseacesacesues dod EES 32 Table 4 Chart of learner characteristics learner 1 cccccccccccccesssssccsececeesessscesccececsssssessccccsesesssessessceesessseseessens 34 Table 5 Chart of learner characteristics learner 2 ccccccccccccesssssscssccececsscsscesccececsssssesssesceesessscssessceesessseseeesens 34 Table 6 Timelines Constraint ccececeessecesecessceceeeeeesseceneecsaeceeeecsaeceeeecsaeceneessaeceneeesaeceeeeecsaeceeeeecaeceeeeesaeeeses 35 Table 7 TE TESOURCES csc ce acs cs decvsacecedecaacesacecanycecess E R OEE AAEE EE EE EE EEREN 36 Table 8 Schedule for design phase cessscssccssesecsseeseesecseescceeeecsaseceaecseesecneesecsaeeecsaecasesecaeseesnaeeeesaeeaeeaesaeeeeens 38 Table 9 Brain Stormin ei e i AE eaae e seve dus E E E E EESE EEEE ER EE 39 Table 10 Metaphors Student 1 oo cee eee cesceesseceeeceesseceeeeec
61. content is complete but its covers more than the textbook The content in the 3D prototype is more extensive especially the part that covers the inorganic substances and the new molecule fullerene Comments The 3D prototype included a new substance inside the inorganic world that has recently being presented as an inorganic carbon molecule which is fullerene see Figure 41 The teacher indicated that this was too new and the textbook does not cover this new molecule at all Adresse http j submission intermedia uib no betzy prototyp J G8 til Fullerene 8 m ae Fullerene Det finnes en tredje type av uorganisk stoff som er bygd opp av kun karbonatomer Denne har nylig blitt oppdaget og den kalles for fullerene Atombindinger i fullerene er bundet sammen i geometriske m nster av nentaaoner oa sekskanter som x Figure 41 Content completeness Further she was asked whether she would like to add or change anything about the content Would you like to add or change anything about the content No I like the way it was divided and I have not thought of anything that should be changed e Accuracy The teacher continued going through the 3D world and reading the information displayed in the web pages The teacher was asked if the content was accurate or if she thought that anything was unclear about the content Is the content accurate Yes the content is accurate but as I mentioned earlier
62. d information about the subject to be learned such as textbooks training materials other multimedia programs and reference materials Table 7 shows a list of the subject matter resources collected 35 Tellus 10 natur og Provided by Ytrebygda school This is the textbook used by the school milj fag for ungdomssteget Helix 10 An alternative textbook for teaching of natural science Natur og milj fag for 10 klasse Lereplanverket for den Provided by Ytrebygda school 10 arige grunnskolen 1996 programs Encyclopaedia MOLECULES A web based tutorial by the Lebanon Valley College Molecular modelling for Available at chemical education http www molecules org VRML File Creator for This VRML file creator was used to convert PDB files to VRML formats Chemical Structures The VRML File Creator for Chemical Structures is an online service for the generation of VRML scenes from 2D or 3D data files It supports over 40 structure file formats and contains also a molecule editor for structure input It automatically generates 3D coordinates if not contained in the input structure It converts PDB files into VRML formats The VRML converter is available at http www2 ccc uni erlangen de services vrmlcreator index html Chemistry Molecular The PDB database was used to find molecular structures ee Available at http www uwsp edu chemistry pdbs Protein Data Bank PDB The PDB database is the single worldwide repository for t
63. d by Tommy Olsen at February 13 2004 10 08 AM Hei Dette virker artig og spennende En litt annerledes m te for elevene m te stoffet pa Posted by Brit Aarstad at February 23 2004 08 40 PM Figure 56 Testing the guest book S2 S5 S6 These subjects had no problem performing the task However S5 and S6 had another kind of problem that is more related to Internet Explorer browser than to the 3D prototype S1 Subject went back to the main world and visited the synthetic room She interacted with the guest book but had problems with the post button The subject needed help to understand how to post a comment into the guest book S3 Subject went back to the main world and into the synthetic room where she tested the guest book She did not know how to post a comment into the guest book and needed some help S4 Subject went back to the main world and entered the synthetic world There she chose the guest book and started writing a comment She had difficulties when posting the comment and did not know which button to use She also got an error message because she had not filled in the obligatory e mail address field S5 The subject entered the synthetic room and chose one molecule Then he clicked on the guest book and the browser Internet Explorer crashed at this point The subject restarted the program and went directly to the guest book writes a comment and posted it without difficulties 104 S6 In the main world the sub
64. d provide the users with the possibility to turn on or off controls There are many types of user controls for instance users should be able to forward rewind pause and exit a program searching or access to help access to printing or copying When using video audio or animations users should be able to pause continue or repeat a sequence Figure 8 shows an example of user controls for playing an animation in a web page 4 Mitosis Animation Micro max controls Figure 8 User controls playing a Quick time animation The next section presents first a general discussion of some design and development models use for developing programs followed by a detailed discussion of the chosen model that will be followed for the design and development of the 3D prototype 27 5 2 Design and Development Models There are several models that address the management and technical issues of design and development of software systems In this section two models will be presented one is the waterfall model of software life cycle used in user centred design as described by Alan Dix et al 1997 The other is a model for design and development of multimedia learning programs suggested by Alessi and Trollip 2001 The waterfall model is used for software life cycle which describes the activities that take place from the initial concept of a program to its eventual phasing out and replacement The activities in the waterfall model are divid
65. dix E Predefined Tasks for the Usability Test Appendix F Interview Guide English version Appendix G Interview Guide Norwegian version Appendix H Comments from the Guest Book 1 Motivation During the spring semester of 2003 and while taking the course of pedagogical information science two fellow students and I wrote two papers about evaluating designing and implementing web based 3D learning environments Louis Breien amp Reigstad 2003 We discovered that in recent years there was a growing interest in the development of 3D virtual learning environments with the use of avatars and chat functionality on the Web for instance Active Worlds la Active Worlds Educational Universe 1b and EduAction 2 The work I did during the spring semester while taking the course of pedagogical information science motivated me to write a thesis about a 3D web based learning environment Another source of motivation was the course I took in Human Computer Interaction During this latter course I learned the important techniques of how to design and evaluate a system 2 Introduction The purpose of this project is to design develop and evaluate a 3D web based prototype that will facilitate the learning of abstract concepts within the natural science curriculum for the 10 grade The 3D prototype will be deployed at a Norwegian school near Bergen Norway The visual impact of 3D objects and the navigation possibilities that 3D technologies offer ar
66. e excellent pedagogical tools for learning abstract scientific concepts This thesis has two main goals 1 To design and develop a 3D web based prototype using methods for developing multimedia learning programs 2 To evaluate the 3D prototype doing a formative evaluation where an expert review and a usability test with middle school s teachers and students will be carried out The formative evaluation will help to identify design and usability problems This thesis is divided in two main parts Part 1 discusses the planning design and development phases of the 3D prototype while part 2 discusses the evaluation of the 3D prototype the analysis of the evaluation results and a final discussion Before embarking on these sections however a brief discussion of the history of Information and Communication Technologies ICT in education as well as a discussion of instructional technology and the emergence of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning CSCL is presented 3 Instructional Technology There are many methods of instruction such as traditional classroom video radio and television but none of these methods are classified as instructional technology which is classified here as computer based instruction Before starting a discussion about 3D learning environments a brief review of how instructional technology has undergone several changes through decades will be presented first It is important to distinguish between compute
67. e 3D objects I think it may help but I m not sure S6 Yes I think it was a plus that it is 3D It can be good for youngsters it can be positive and I think that because they are more used to use chat programs 3D games and the Internet this program is not difficult for them to use 118 12 3 1 Interview Results Analysis This section presents an analysis of the usability problems found in the 3D prototype The data was analysed taking into account each heuristic principle and how many usability problems were found as well as how many times the same usability problem was reported Table 30 notation is as follows H heuristic principle from H1 to H7 U usability problem from U1 to U16 H6 B7 H3 m4 _ Usability U1 U3 U4 U5 U6 U7 U8 U9 U10 U11 U12 U14 U15 U16 problem l Fud i Table 30 shows how many usability problems were found for each heuristic principle and how many times the same usability problem was reported Times 3 reported Table 30 Usability problems found in the 3D prototype H1 Speak the Users Language Four usability problems were found U1 U2 U3 U4 where usability problem U1 for language being too technical or using foreign terms was reported 3 times U2 for terms used to explain the topics of carbon chemistry were difficult to understand was reported 2 times U3 for the building metaphor implemented in the 3D scene not matching the users conceptual mapping was repor
68. e VRML browser it has too many buttons S2 I think it was slow to navigate in the VRML browser some of the molecules were far away and I had to drag them or zoom them in and this was slow S3 It has many buttons but it was not very difficult but I don t see the point in having so many buttons some of the buttons were inactive S4 It was difficult to navigate in the VRML browser S5 It was not very easy and I have some problems with the buttons that were inactive S6 It was unusual at the beginning U13 Navigation Problems with 3D Scene with Avatars Two subjects reported problems when navigating in the 3D scene Is it easy or difficult to navigate in the 3D scene S4 I needed help to know how to navigate and use the avatar S6 It was unusual at the beginning I got confused when using the avatar and going up and down with it 115 U14 Navigation Problems with Web Pages One of six subjects reported problems when navigating the web pages These problems were about having to scroll the web page in order to read the whole content of the page Is it easy or difficult to navigate in the web pages S4 I think that the frame where the web pages are displayed is too small there where you read the text this frame a bit small It is better if this frame can be bigger when reading the web pages and then become smaller again Heuristic 6 Shortcuts One breach was found wh
69. e a general understanding of what the project is about During the planning phase the project goals are established including the learner s knowledge which can be determined by identifying learner characteristics Another important point during this phase is it to determine the constraint when it comes to software and hardware in which the program will run Planning should also include collecting resources this may include collecting textbooks multimedia programs available or other resources needed for the design and development of the program Initial brainstorming should also be carried out with users in order to establish the content and the general look and feel of the program Design The design phase is probably the most important since it is during this phase that all the details for producing an effective product are described During this phase initial content ideas are developed brainstorming can be carried out with users to come up with so many ideas as possible about the content Further a task analysis should be carried out The purpose of task analysis is to decompose complex skills into sub skills in this way one can determine the appropriate learning sequence Another step during design phase is to do a preliminary program description which may include describing in detail the type of methodology used for implementing the program Prototypes are an important part of the design because prototypes can describe to some extent how
70. e bruke to av ytterelektronene sine til 4 binde seg sammen med nabokarbonatomene i kjeden De to siste yttreelektroner brukes til 4 lage bindinger med hydrogenatom Hvert karbonatom kan binde seg til to hydrogenatomer det siste karbonatomet i kjeden kan binde seg sammen med tre hydrogenatomer Alkaner kalles ogs for parafin serie Den generelle sammensetning av alkaner har denne formel Figure 44 Logical sequence of the organic world K e Narration level This point evaluates if the narration used to explain the content is suitable to the learners level Since the teacher had allready read all the web pages of the 3D prototype and as she went through the 3D prototype during the expert review she was asked if the langauge and the narration of the content was suitable for the students level 10 graders are arround age 15 She pointed out the following Is the narration of the content suitable Tt is fine Most of the web pages are built in such a way that the first sections start with easy stuff first and so the degree of difficulty increases The language and narration used in the prototype is fine and is similar to the language used in the classroom and the books e Match to learner s level this point evaluates if the content of the 3D prototype is adequate and match the students level The teacher was asked what she thought about the level of the content in the 3D prototype she pointed out the following Is the l
71. e help button but only read the first page instead this subject started to try on her own Subject tested the preference button and gave the avatar a name S5 He tried the chat function but had difficulties using it He did not know where to click in the chat window in order to write a message He started clicking everywhere in the chat window without succeeding It was necessary to show him where to activate this chat window Subject tried the controls button and moved the avatar he tried to make the avatar lager shorter invisible etc He tried the gravity and collide buttons S6 Subject explored all of the buttons under the 3D world She tested the preference button and gave a name to the avatar The subject tried the chat function but had difficulties in writing a message She started clicking everywhere on the chat window without managing to activate the window in order to write a message Finally the subject had to be shown where to click She tried the controls buttons and tested all the available movement for the avatar She tested the show my avatar button and the gravity button Comments The difficulties when performing task 2 can be summarized as follows Four of six subjects S3 S4 S5 S6 had difficulties when using the chat function They did not know how to activate the chat window in order to write a message Figure 49 shows the problem with this task Users had difficulties knowing where to write a message in the chat wi
72. e subjects while using the interface and takes notes The major advantage of this method is that by observing users performing tasks with an interface the evaluator discovers that the interface may be used in unexpected ways The major disadvantage of this method is that it is difficult to know what users really think about the interface though the evaluator only interprets what is visible to the eye not knowing what the user may think of the interface According to Jakob Nielsen 1993 from a usability perspective questionnaires and interviews are indirect methods since they do not study the user interface itself but only users opinions about the user interface and this might be the greatest weakness of the evaluation methods used The usability test came up with a series of usability problems that have to be fixed in the final review of the 3D prototype Both methods observation and interviews try to uncover usability problems as much as possible however subjects were not asked to range the severity of the problems they reported because it would have been necessary to use a heuristic evaluation method instead of interviews A heuristic evaluation was not considered because the students were far too young to understand the complexity of evaluating the user interface and grading the severity of the problems For this reason it was decided to use observation and interviews instead of heuristic evaluation The next section presents a discuss
73. easing the need for text The types of hyperlinks included in the 3D prototype are 46 o Hot words have a different colour to the main text are underlined and cause the cursor to change shape when rolled over as shown in Figure 15 Carbon Atom Figure 15 A hot word link o Images This type of link are used for showing images of molecules that can be selected in the 3D scene as shown in Figure 16 below Purpose of links Links can be used for many purposes for instance links may be attached to important information for providing definitions or connecting to related information Links may be attached to images or objects and be used in a virtual world for exploring concepts The 3D prototype includes links for key concepts about the subject of carbon chemistry Links can be attached to key concept words see Figure 15 in web pages and to images of molecules see Figure 16 in the 3D scene for exploring concepts Density of Links The number of hyperlinks in a hypermedia program should not be overdone Too many links may cluster visibility and readability The amount of links should be considered according to the learner s level In order not to clutter the screen with many hyperlinks the 3D prototype includes hyperlinks on the most important key concepts of the carbon chemistry topic This means that web pages displaying information about a subject should have about 3 to 4 links at most Visibility Confirmation and Mar
74. ection presents some examples of 3D learning environments available on the Web such as Active Worlds Educational Universe Chemeet World 1c Education 2 and CSU Virtual Chemistry Laboratory 3 14 3 3 Related Work 3 3 1 Active Worlds Educational Universe AWEDU Active World Educational Universe AWEDU is an educational community based on VR technology on the Web VR technology is based on a computer simulation of real or imaginary 3D world that enables a user to perform operations on the simulated world The effects are shown in real time Within these educational environments users can chat and interact with each other through avatars In this educational community participants can enter a class perform experiments participate in discussions and assist conferences or meetings The members of AWEDU vary from teachers students to experts The virtual environments developed by AWEDU support learning of art language science history among other subjects and the teaching levels vary from secondary school to university levels In spite of the possibilities that 3D virtual learning environments may offer this type of web base technology has not yet been taken widely into use by middle schools AWEDU offers the following functionalities e Avatars In AWEDU users are represented as 3D avatars An avatar is the representation of a participant in virtual space As participants move around in virtual space their avatars move corr
75. ed into several steps The steps are sequential and each activity leads into the next Sometimes it can be necessary to return to a previous step to make changes before going on to the next step Such models are more iterative Alessi and Trollip s 2001 model Figure 10 is very detailed and it focuses on design of multimedia learning programs However their model is not very different from other models for example the waterfall model Figure 9 Alessi and Trollip s 2001 model as in the waterfall model is divided into three sequential steps Each step is iterative meaning that one can go back to a previous step or phase if necessary This iterativity is described as ongoing evaluation where designers can go back to an early stage of design in order to correct errors The waterfall model and Alessi and Trollip s 2001 model will be discussed in the following sections 5 2 1 The Waterfall Model According to Alan Dix et al 1997 the software life cycle is an attempt to identify the activities which occur in software development In the development of a software product two main parties are considered the customer who requires the use of the product and the designer who must provide the product These two parties interact with each other during the design and development of a product The activities in which the customer and the designer take place must be structured according to the steps depicted in Figure 9 Requirements analys
76. edetermined tasks and the evaluator watches and records or takes notes of the user s actions Dix et al 1997 One advantage of observing users doing their tasks is that one often finds that they use the software in unexpected ways Nielsen 1993 However simple observation is not sufficient to discover all usability problems since this method does not give insight into users conceptions of the system Questionnaires Questionnaires are an alternative method for gathering information from users This method is less flexible than interview and observation since questions are fixed in advance One of the major advantages of questionnaires is that they can be administered to many users they takes less time to be filled and can be analysed more rigorously The questions should be designed in advance and very well since subjects do not have the opportunity to clarify whatever might be unclear about the questionnaire Different types of questions may be posed such as general questions multi choice scalar and open ended Interviews Interviews are good tools for gathering information about user s opinions preferences impressions and experiences Interviews are methods to gather information in a direct and structured way They provide a direct way to ask users about their experience with a system what they like or dislike whether the system was easy or difficult to use Interviews should be planned and designed with a set of prepared questio
77. ee subjects reported lack of feedback when using the buttons under the 3D scene and the avatars S4 It was a bit slow when the avatar entered the portal I clicked on the arrow keys to move the avatar but nothing happened the avatar did not move because it was moving to another position but I did not know that S5 I did not understand how to move the avatar I did not understand that I have to click on the 3D scene window in order to start moving the avatar S5 I did not understand the function of the buttons under the 3D scene for instance nothing happened when I clicked the collide and gravity buttons but this is because one has to choose the button first and then click on the 3D scene window to activate it I would have preferred that it was not necessary to click on the 3D scene to activate it every time Heuristic 5 Clearly Marked Exits and User Controls One breach was found about navigation user controls not being easy to use Subjects were asked questions about all the controls available in the 3D prototype The usability problems found here are related to difficulties when navigating in the VRML browser the 3D scene with avatars and the web pages U12 Navigation Problems with the VRML Browser All six subjects that participated in the evaluation reported problems when navigating in the VRML browser Is it easy or difficult to navigate in the VRML browser S1 It was a bit difficult to navigate in th
78. eececeeeesensnaees 15 3 3 1 EdUA ction nn ainina nina Ka died a ee Ue 18 373 2 The CSU Virtual Chemistry Laboratory ssssssesssessseeessseesseesseesseessseeessees 19 As Theoretical Framework necie ae a E E E R E 20 4 1 Learning THEOTMES einiino araa r ar E A EESE nE E EEOSE 20 4 1 1 Behayio risi srun an iaae SoA bond aaa aasa OESS 20 4 1 2 COTTE NESTA e n a a sale eee welvo 21 4 1 3 Constr cti VIS Marans r nar aa eS ca E E ance TAE RaT 21 4 2 TheProcess oft Instruction ein ea cad cee E EE E EE ESS 22 5 Methodology sririsrresirinrasin ninenin E a E E EE EE EEES 23 5 1 Web based M EA TT a TAA E EEE E E E E E aaa 23 5 1 1 N vis atom esisiini e e e et oeta EE ai eor gS 24 5 1 2 Ofientatlon siisii pie a nai s a EEE enolate RA a 24 5 1 3 BB OWSE Ti na n a a a E E a EIES 25 5 1 4 SS eena a a a a a E N eticaiehstaa ate 25 5 1 5 Multimedia Components sis scccssssescaceaas sscezasessassaavegaceesbascusntnevantasebsaetessnseetece 25 5 1 6 Vista Layo to ssrt e ee ei atoe i E E g 26 5 1 7 MAC ACUI Vaiss 52 cy area diac ee dues a a ese E iw ie 26 5 1 8 User Controls Pree nore Ne eer TNR aa a a eee Eres ter ete rere Reet AEN ster 2l 5 2 Design and Development Models i c cicisiccchssenssnsadidcascaeennsiuedavesasnaeesoaees aeeidaadncesaasece 28 5 2 1 The Waterfall Mod lsisssssiciniininisiisiisinssiiniesns aiina 28 2 2 Model for Design and Development of Multimedia Learning Programs 30 6 Planning the Design of the 3D Prototype cs 2s
79. en it comes to shortcuts this breach was about lacking some common shortcuts typically used in 3D games such as control key crtl a w s d Subjects were asked if it was possible to use the 3D prototype in a quicker way whether it was possible to go to a desired position quickly U15 Lack of Shortcuts Subjects reported that they missed some shortcuts in the 3D prototype especially when navigating with the avatar and when using the home button Is it possible to go directly to one part of the prototype without having to go through the whole program S2 I tried to use other keys to move the avatar like A W S and D shortcuts but this did not function in this program I am accustomed to use these keys to move around in other programs but here I could only use arrow keys and the mouse One subject reported lack of shortcuts when returning to home location What do you think about the function of the home button S1 One returns outside the building instead of inside It could be better if one could return inside the building when using the home button One subject reported difficulties understanding the function of the go to button and menu in the navigation bar What do you think about the function of the go button S5 It was ok when I understood it s function but it is labelled go and this is English It can have another label like go to or show and maybe the drop down menu and the go button could be pla
80. en og som i orbrenning av olje gass og kull fr hos planter og dyr Ved forbrenning av olje planter og dyr binder karbonatomer seg sammen med tc slippes ut i luften og plantene tar denne Opp ved fotosyntese Gjennom fotosynti karbondioksidmolekyl omdannet til energi Nar planter og dyr spiser forbrenner a Siar RS ee ee B Figure 36 The navigation bar The students may choose the quiz button in the navigation bar Figure 37 A then 4 type of quizzes based on subtopics of carbon chemistry can be chosen Figure 37 B The chosen test is displayed in the information frame Figure 37 C Finally the points are displayed in a pop up window Figure 38 A Test deg selv i karbonkjemi B Test kunskapene dine om karbonk Du kan velge mellom 4 tester Lykke Til Quiz i Uorganiske stoff gt Quiz 2 Organiske stoff hydrokarboner Quiz 3 Organiske stoff hydroks sg Ba z g Lake a Quiz 4 Syntetiske stoff Hjem Hjelp Avslutt Quiz J Karbonatam v Uorganiske stoff C 5 Hwa er et uorganisk stoff a Et stoff som inneholder karbondioksid b Et stoff som inneholder vann gt Et stoff som inneholder hydrogen O d Et stoff som ikke finnes i levende organismer oooot Figure 37 Taking a quiz 71 Test deg selv i Sp rsm l 1 Hvilket ay disse stoff er et Alken Riktig svar er d Eten er et alken som har dobbeltbinding og formel C2H4 Sp rsm l 2 H
81. er have a text box with a description of the button s purpose that appears when pointing at the button as shown in Figure 21 Figure 21 Textbox 53 Students may also be able to control and manipulate the shape speed angles and size of the 3D objects displayed in the VRML browser Table 18 shows all the available controls in the Cortona VRML browser A K 4 Straighten a Restore Fit Change Style To change the shape of the molecules displayed Table 18 VRML Browser s controls All of the buttons of the VRML browser have a textbox with a description of the button s purpose that appears when pointing at it as shown in Figure 22 Sm Figure 22 Textbox Students can be able to control navigation in the web pages entering and exiting the 3D prototype at any time as well as getting help about how to navigate in the 3D space These user controls are available through buttons and drop down menus as explained in Tables 13 and 14 All buttons placed in the navigation frame see Figure 17 3 only contained text labels not pictures The reason for choosing text labels instead of pictures or icons was because the 3D prototype already included many buttons with pictures as shown in Tables 17 and 18 that come with the 3D player and the Cortona VRML browser Having more icons added to the 3D prototype could add more cognitive load to the users 54 Table 19 shows the buttons designed and placed in the
82. ert evaluation was to review the quality of the content e One to one evaluation Two students and four middle school teachers reviewed the 3D prototype The major goal for this review was to discover usability problems with a focus on ease of use user control and freedom consistency and standards feedback navigability and system help In order to get this information a usability test was performed taking into consideration some of the heuristics principles listed in Table 22 10 2 4 The Evaluation Settings The setting for the one to one evaluations where two students took part was the school s multi media room at Ytrebygda middle school There was one PC with a good processor capacity Pentium II 500MHz and a good graphic card and bandwidth connection speed of 100mbps The PC available at the multi media room fulfilled all the specified system requirements necessary to run the 3D prototype as explained in section 6 3 All the extra necessary software 78 was installed on that machine with authorization of the teacher Helga Sunde on 13 02 2004 one hour before meeting with the students The setting for the expert review and the others one to one evaluations with four different middle grade teachers took place at the teacher s offices or homes The pc available and the system requirements for running the 3D prototype was checked and installed before performing the evaluations The next section presents the methodology used to pe
83. eseceeesecneesecsaeeecsaecasesecaeesesnaeeeesaeeaeeaesneeeeens 87 Figure 45 Tabel of contents of hydroxy Glyserol ee ceeeceseeccsseeeeesecseesecnevseceaeeecsaecaessecsevsesnaeeeesaeeeeeaesaeeeeens 88 Figure 46 Dialogue box showing the quiz s Score escssssscseeescsseeeeesecseesecnerseesaeeccsaecaeesecseesecnaeeeseaecaeesesaeeatens 89 Figure 47 Choosing avatars cscssicssieesieseotectesthnsdgel sedusbeh Shp cases coe ugh n Sp aaa iaa aaia a ais 96 Figure 48 Testing the 3D scene buttons 00 le eeeceseeeeeecseeseceesecsseecessecseesecneeseesaseecsaecatesecsessesneseeesaeeaeenesaeeatens 96 Figure 49 Difficulties using the chat Window esscssscseesscseesecseeecesecseesecsevsecsaseccsaecatesecaeeseeneseeesaeeaeeaesaeeetens 98 Figure 50 The main hall and the information Sign oo csceesesesecssseecesecseeecseeeeceaeeecsaecaeesecseesesseeeeesaeeeeesesaeeetens 98 Figure 51 Testing the VRML browser i i c 20 ascend siesta hatin tds Ee AAE EEEE Baa nah eate eines 99 Figure 52 Testina web pasessii cis ascciadlend niisinienaiidehaiis dnt have E oaths nal ba ta 100 Figure 53 Entering the portal into the organic world 0 0 0 cee eescseeeeeseceeesecneeeeceaeeecsaecaeesecsesseenaeeeesaecateseeaeeats 101 Figure 54 Testing the Change style DUttOM eee ee cseeeecseesecnsesecsseceesecaeesecneesecsaeeeesaecseesecseeseenaeeeesaecateaeeneats 102 Figure 55 Interacting with objects a ccccaies aiidsiasiid siietaried nth aie elisa aacds hava ntivaaedn
84. espondingly Avatars often move in a lifelike manner as they walk around or even when they are standing in place Avatars also typically have one or several gestures they can perform thus one can approach another avatar within the virtual world initiate a chat or explore worlds together Most worlds have both male and female avatars as well as non human avatars Figure 1 Avatars 15 e Building In order to build 3D worlds it is necessary to become a citizen of AWEDU As a tourist one is only allowed to look and the participation possibilities are very limited Figure 2 shows an example of building a sign with a message on it f Skriv din tekst og uri her Object Properties xj Edit Move Rotate elx valeret veele asa Object sinarwx SS S Description Skriv din tekst og url her Action create sign activate url www dinlink no 2 Owner 5275 Name public 5 Built to sep 26 2002 16 23 nA e Pr a _ Figure 2 Building 3D objects e Chat One of the most important features in AWEDU is the possibility to establish synchronous communication chat with other people There are a variety of chat functions for instance teleporting making lists and messaging whispering to another avatar or just chatting to a whole class e Tutorials Lectures and Seminars Inside a 3D world one can also click on the signs and a web page will appear in the right hand side of the screen in the integrated web brow
85. essor capacity limitations of the schools computers see Appendix A Tables 1 and 2 and the time it will take to load all the files were taken into account when creating the type of files and quality of the graphics that could be loaded and displayed quickly Adobe Photoshop 6 0 was used to create all the graphic files 65 The file size was set to medium approximately between 5kb to 10kb as well as the quality of all images included in the 3D scene and in the web pages The types of graphic file formats used in the 3D prototype were jpeg and gif 8 4 Production of the Videos Both videos and animations were edited and created using Adobe Image Ready 3 0 Two videos were edited and one animated gif was created e A video showing the structure of a carbon atom This video was included in the main entrance of the main 3D scene see Figure 31 D e A video showing different types of hydrocarbons This video was placed in the organic world see Figure 27 e An animation of a cyclopentane molecule placed in the title page of the program see Figure 29 8 5 Assembly of the Pieces The Rendered 3D Prototype After all the pieces of the program were produced they were put together to create the 3D prototype The following section shows the 3D prototype and how it was assembled 8 5 1 The Title Page All programs should have a title page to inform the users what the program is about to give information about the author of the program and to p
86. evel of the content adequate to learners level Yes this is a topic for the 10 grade and it fits into the students level in spite of that some of the content in the prototype covered the topics a bit deeper than in the book Comments What the teacher meant here is that some of the molecules shown in the 3D prototype are not covered in the textbook used by her class As for instance the molecule fullerene see Figure 41 mentioned before As she went through the organic world she paid particularly attention to the table of contents about alkenes alkynes and hydroxyls These tables contain more information than students need to master 87 Figure 45 shows an example of a table of content which the teacher was referring to The table shows structural formula which is not required for students to know Figure 45 Glyserol har kokepunkt 290 C og smeltepunkt 18 C Tabellen nedenfor viser glyserol p forskjellige m ter Kjemisk kulepinne Alkohol Strukturformel formel modell sa ee gt O Strutural Glycerol C3Hs OH s EH e formula Figure 45 Tabel of contents of hydroxyl Glyserol Another part of the 3D prototype that was important to evaluate especially regarding the match to student s level was the part about taking a quiz In the 3D prototype students can choose 4 quizzes that cover the topic of carbon chemistry The teacher examined each of these quizzes carefully and pointed o
87. evelopment work focuses on allowing the learners to undertake virtual experiments and to zoom into the molecular level 8 CSU Chemistry Lab J About the virtual fab L Moving around C witiatieg actions C Lab Procedures 2 Chem 14 Lab Manual S Apparatus Sa Viewpoints C Extence L On Ramp I At Door L inside Door Your Bench L Your Locker C The Service Hatch L Draws with Bunsens Trip C Preparation room Room Fume hoods The Virtual Lab is a close model of the Laboratories found at the Wagga Wagga campus of Charles Sturt Uruvernty The current version has been designed to help students m wtroductory chemastry subjects to become farsliar with the laboratory before their practical sessions Futare vernons will inchade summulated expenments Credis Project managemert Bamey Dalgarno 3D modeling Andrew Rigney and Andrew Wikinzon j gt o VRML scnpnng Bamey Daigamo Andrew Wilanson and Andrew Rigney Hide Peski e Javasenpt menu Morton s Treemerm www treemenu com Menus aes o Advice on lab design Michael Artolowch Paul Prenzier and Andrea Bishop Educational desien Barney Dalgarno Figure 5 The CSU Virtual Chemistry Laboratory The next section presents the theoretical framework of this thesis 19 4 Theoretical Framework In this section a brief overview of learning theories behaviourism cognitivism and constructivism and the process of instruction is presented There are many approaches to learni
88. g She started to use all the buttons in the VRML browser and pointed out that the buttons had an understandable image on it The subject had difficulties using the buttons she clicked on the buttons but did not use the mouse to manipulate the object and commented Nothing happens when I click on the buttons The subject had to be told that after choosing one button one has to click on the molecule and move the molecule by using the mouse or the keyboard S5 He chose one molecule and started using the VRML browser Subject had difficulties when using this browser He clicked on the buttons and commented nothing happens Then subject was shown that after choosing one button one has to click on the molecule and move the mouse pointer in order to move the molecule He tested all the buttons and used also the keyboard arrow up and down S6 She chose one molecule and started using the VRML browser The subject had difficulties when using the VRML browser she started clicking all the buttons and commented 99 Nothing is happening here The subject was shown how the buttons of the VRML browser functioned She noticed that some of the buttons were disabled Comments Five of six subjects S1 S3 S4 S5 S6 had difficulties when using the VRML browser The problem arose when using the buttons of the VRML browser see Figure 51 B The subjects clicked on the buttons and waited for some feedback but when they did not recei
89. general to which she answered the following 89 What do you think about the instruction I think it is a good combination of images and 3D objects the visual aspect and the fact that one can navigate with avatars It is very interactive to be able to manipulate molecules One is very active and interacts a lot with the prototype in different ways not only by clicking on links as in a web page Further she was asked if she would use this prototype as a part of her instruction She commented the following Would you use this prototype as a part of your instruction Yes I will Carbon chemistry topic is very abstract and difficult to understand and one needs models in order to show the bonding between atoms It is an advantage to have a facility that can be used to visualize and manipulate models that otherwise are difficult to understand Finally some questions about the greatest weakness and the greatest strengths of the instruction were asked to the teacher She commented the following about the weakness of the 3D prototype Can you point out the greatest weakness of the instruction T think the prototype could have more tests in every part or sub world If this program is to be used to replace classroom teaching it would be nice to assess the student s knowledge and what they learned It is not easy to know what the students have learned The teacher also commented the following about the strengths of the
90. ges S2 The subject read the web pages shown in the information frame and used scrolling for reading the text He did not use the buttons at the bottom of the pages 100 Comments Two of six subjects S1 S2 did not see or use the buttons for printing and navigating between pages see Figure 52 B All subjects used scrolling see Figure 52 A in order to read the whole text in the web pages Task 8 and 9 Testing the Portal and the Organic World Figure 53 shows tasks 8 entering the portal into the organic world Organisk verden org BEAR Figure 53 Entering the portal into the organic world S1 S2 S3 S5 S6 These subjects had no difficulties performing this task S4 Subject entered the portal but had difficulties in understanding what was happening she tried to move the avatar with the arrow keys while inside the portal and commented the avatar is not moving Once in the organic world she went inside the building and read the information sign She chose the sequence suggested in the sign Comments One of six subjects S4 had difficulties using the portal This subject tried to move the avatar while it was teleporting to the organic world The avatar cannot move while inside the portal see Figure 53 A Users have to wait until the avatar arrives to the other 3D world location 101 Task 10 Testing the Change Style Button Figure 54 shows task 10 Subjects were asked to choose one molecule and test the ch
91. guest book 14 Test the menu and the go button in the navigation frame 15 Choose a topic and read the information 16 Use the quiz button choose a quiz and answer it 17 Try the home button in the navigation frame 18 Exit the prototype Table 28 Task instructions The results from the observations are presented task by task and subject by subject followed by comments and illustrations of the task and problems they encountered The comments that subjects came up with during the evaluation are presented in italics and quotation marks 94 Task 1 Choosing and Avatar and Entering the 3D Scene S2 This subject had no difficulties performing this task S1 Chose an avatar from the list of available avatars but needed help to know how to change the avatar Needed help to know how to activate the 3D scene window The subject did not know where to click on the 3D window in order to start navigation in the 3D world S3 Chose an avatar but needed help to know how to change the avatar The subject had difficulties when entering the 3D scene Subject was told to click on the 3D scene in order to activate it and start navigation S4 Had some difficulties when choosing the avatar she asked What is an avatar The subject was told how to choose an avatar Subject switched on and off the show my avatar button Subject needed help to know how to activate the 3D scene window S5 Subject started the program and read very carefully the first
92. he processing and distribution of ee 3D biological macromolecular structure data Available at http www rcsb org pdb Thermoplastic A web page with useful information about polymers Available at http www psrc usm edu macrog plastic htm Library of 3D Molecular A web site used to find some molecular structures i ee a Available at http www nyu edu pages mathmol library Molecular Model Web site used to find molecular structures Library Available at http fp academic venturacollege edu doliver pdb_files molecules molecule_library htm Table 7 The resources 6 5 Look and Feel Screen Layout In order to provide a general idea of how the 3D prototype would appear some sketches or mock ups of the computer screen were drawn on paper during a meeting on 24 09 2003 at Ytrebygda middle school During this meeting the present study was explained to the two selected students mentioned in section 6 2 1 The students also saw some similar applications of 3D learning environments available on the Web for instance those developed by Atmosphere Educational Environments 5 36 The two learners were shown a mock up of the computer screen The intention behind this mock up was to make them start thinking about how they would like the 3D prototype to look Since these two students were quite young and did not have any experience with prototyping or drawing screens layouts This example was absolutely necessary for
93. hics and videos produced were discussed Finally the whole 3D prototype was presented with screenshots from the running program The following section of the thesis presents the evaluation part of the 3D prototype 12 9 The Evaluation This part of the thesis starts with a discussion of the theoretical framework and methods that the evaluation part tries to follow First a discussion of Human Computer Interaction HCI and aspect of usability and heuristics principles is presented Second a discussion about formative evaluation is presented Section 10 presents the plans and goals of the evaluation Section 11 discusses the methodology and data collection methods and section 12 presents data analysis Section 13 presents a final discussion and conclusions 9 1 Human Computer Interaction HCI Broadly speaking the field of Human Computer Interaction HCI concerns interactions between humans and computers In its early stages this field was called Man machine Interaction HCI also called as Computer human Interaction CHI It is a multi disciplinary subject that covers disciplines including psychology and cognitive science in order to understand user s perceptual and problem solving skills ergonomics for understanding the user s physical capabilities sociology for understanding wider context of interaction computer science and engineering to be able to build the necessary technology Dix et al 1997 So in order to design good inter
94. hould be changed S1 S4 and S5 pointed out that the buttons located at the bottom of each web page should be placed in another location of the web page What do you think about the buttons location in every web page S1 The buttons in the web pages can be moved you could have one button at the top of the pages and one button at the bottom of the pages Two of each if I m in the top of the page I could click on a button to go down and if I m at the bottom of the page I could click the top button or back to top link to go up The buttons are not visible when placed at the bottom of a page because I have to scroll down in order to see the buttons S4 The back button could be placed at the top left of each page in case someone clicked on the wrong page and do not want to read that page They can click on the back button without having to scroll down the whole page in order to go back to previous location You can have a back and print button at the bottom of each page and also have a back button at the top of each page so one can escape quickly if you navigate the wrong page S5 The back button can be located in a fixed frame so the button won t disappear when scrolling a page up or down 113 U8 Weak Colour Code This usability problem is about the colour code used in the 3D prototype especially the links One subject found lack of colour contrast between last visited link and active link Is the same colour
95. ic when they are allowed to use the computers and I think this is good for the students S5 I think so and I think that when one goes around and looks at the models this is different from reading a book They get variation The content in the text is not very different from the textbook but the fact that they can go around and click and explore and show this like an exhibition I think it is very engaging S6 I think it can be very motivating because it is something new for students and it is also something they are used to use it is more exciting than reading a book which can be dull So I think this is more useful and exciting for them Appeal Subjects were asked if they thought that 3D visual effects will help to use this prototype Five of six subjects gave a positive answer Do you think that 3D visualisation can help to use this prototype S1 T think it can increase interest for this topic S2 Yes 3D models make this more real than the book S3 Yes it is more exciting so they can move and rotate these molecules and see how they are built together S4 Yes it is more entertaining to walk into the rooms than reading a book or a web page Students are used to computers so I think simple web pages are boring but the 3D world where they can do things and interact with objects can be an active process and this is good S5 I don t know it is more attractive and entertaining because of th
96. iddle of the room and read the signs so that you don t need to go so close in order to read them The big signs were easy to read Another problem with readability was the dialogue box that pops up after taking a quiz Two of six subjects S3 and S5 pointed out that the text in the dialogue box was difficult to read because the font type was too small S3 It was a small font in the dialogue box S5 What I think can be changed is the font type It was difficult to read because the font was too small Heuristic 2 Minimize the Users Memory Load Two breaches were reported about this heuristic principle These breaches are about information not being available to the users when needed and about the quiz dialogue box lacking information US Information not Available when Needed This usability problem was reported by two of six subjects S3 S4 They were asked if information was available whenever needed Does dialogues and information remain on the screen while needed S3 The dialogue box was not visible before finishing the quiz S4 The frame with the quiz questions was too small so when you got the dialogue box with the score you could not scroll the frame so you could read the questions and the answers at the same time 112 U6 Lack of Information Subjects S1 S3 S4 S6 pointed out that the dialogue box that pops up after taking a quiz lacks information That this dialogue box does
97. ified that the VRML browser should not be open at all times and that this frame could also be used to display any kind of information Figure 13 2 Frame 3 shows the navigation buttons and menus as well as text in tabular form This student suggested having pop up menus to explain difficult concepts Figure 13 3 Frame 4 shows the chat window and information about important concepts Figure 13 4 Comments Student 2 also suggested that the chat window remain apart from the 3D scene The chat window can be displayed as a part of the 3D scene or be enabled or disabled The latter means that students could choose to open or close the chat window at will Use of metaphors Student 2 suggested the following functions depicted at Table 11 The icons have been redrawn for clarity Buttons may contain either text or an image but not both in the same button A back and forward button represented with arrows and a home button represented by a house A help button with text A chart button to display a navigation chart at frame 2 A button that displays additional information about important concepts Or a menu that contains a selection of the most important concepts A rollover textbox that would explain the meaning of all the buttons when pointed at with the mouse A menu for choosing the most important concepts Table 11 Metaphors Student 2 44 7 3 2 Session 2 Drawing the Entry Point of the 3D Scene
98. ing Atmosphere Builder Atmosphere Builder provides tools for creating basic geometric forms such as boxes floors polygons walls slabs stairs columns and cones Besides these basic geometric forms one can also combine two or more objects to create a new one Combination of 3D objects can be done by e Union Creates a composite object e Intersection Creates an object from the junction of two or more objects e Subtraction Creates openings in objects All objects created in Atmosphere Builder can have textures and colours It is also possible to add more dynamic effects to 3D object by using Atmosphere JavaScript API Application Program Interface The following API functions were used for the 3D prototype e To create an entry point an entry point is the location that users will first see when entering the 3D world see Figure 30 62 e To create a Portal a portal is a link from one 3D environment to another 3D environment Portals are used to exit one environment and entering another The 3D prototype has a portal to the organic world see Figure 24 where the avatars enter a new 3D scene or world see Figure 33 Organisk verden d Figure 24 The portal to the organic world l e To create links It is possible to add links to objects within a world using JavaScript JavaScript was attached to some of the 3D object that when clicked displayed a web page see Figure 25 Her kan man se en film om karbonatomet
99. ing and rooms try to illustrate and what kind of functions each room in the 3D scene have as well as whether it was difficult or easy to understand the function of the signs inside the 3D scene Minimize the users memory load This heuristic principle is about keeping information available and visible whenever needed in the system Subjects were asked if dialogue boxes and information remain on the screen whenever needed Another question was around the dialogue boxes in the 3D prototype especially the dialogue box that appears when taking the quiz they were asked what they thought about that dialogue box and the messages displayed on it Consistency This principle is about standards that the system is to be built upon in other words whether users actions or command can be interpreted the same way throughout the system Subjects were asked if they could repeat the same action in other parts of the 3D prototype and get the same feedback or results They were also asked if information was formatted the same way and whether buttons were placed in the same location in every web page and if they have the same look Another question that touches consistency principle was 109 about the colour codes used in the 3D prototype in general fonts links background colour etc Feedback The main point of this heuristic principle is to keep the users informed of what is going on with the system Subjects were asked if the 3D prototype 3D scene VR
100. instance some subjects complained that when the avatar was going through the portals the 3D scene did not give any kind of information about what was going on with the system In order to give more feedback one can provide a progress bar with a textbox displaying a message when the avatars go through portals Figure 67 shows an example of how this could be implemented for instance a progress bar with a message on it could be added inside the 3D scene see Figure 67 A Vent Avatar i portalen SR eee neo EI EAEN 2 3 20ao A Figure 68 Providing feedback A progress bar showing system status More improvement suggestions arose during the evaluation as listed in the previous section however presenting all of these design suggestions without having the participation of the intended end users could result in an erroneous design It is important to remember that system designers usually do not think as end users do Users should be involved in the design process In order to redesign the 3D prototype another cycle of iterative design and development is needed with the participation of end users during the design phase The next section presents some personal insights and the conclusions of this thesis 129 13 3 Conclusions This section gives some personal insights about what was learned during the process of writing this thesis An insight of what could have been done differently is also presented When I started this thesis
101. instruction Can you point out the greatest strengths of the instruction Tt is a great advantage to visualise 3D models In addition the different types of interactions in the prototype are also good To move around in the 3D world and the VRML browser by using the keyboard and the mouse keeps users concentrated on the task because it is possible to interact with the prototype in different ways and this is motivating Before closing the expert review the teacher was asked if there was anything she would like to change in the 3D prototype She answered the following Is there anything you would like to change Yes I would like the prototype to have more in it while navigating in the 3D world Apart from that nothing else The following section presents the results from the one to one evaluations 90 12 2 One to One Evaluations Usability Test One to one evaluation involves a review of the interface with one subject and one evaluator The evaluator sits with the user and observes the subject while using the program The evaluator takes notes under the reviewing and at the end the user is interviewed Goals of One to One Evaluation The main goal of this stage of formative evaluation was to discover usability problems such as ease of use user control and freedom consistency and standards feedback navigability and system help For this purpose a usability test was carried out in the following way Preparing the E
102. ion The other subjects moved the avatar or made it invisible or transparent so they could read the information sign without difficulties 98 Task 4 Testing the VRML Browser Figure 51 shows task 4 subjects were asked to choose one molecule Figure 51 A and try all the buttons in the VRML browser Figure 51 B O g Karbondioksid O C02 om 9 Figure 51 Testing the VRML browser S2 This subject has no difficulties performing this task S1 Subject entered the inorganic world first chose a molecule and started using the VRML browser This subject had difficulties while using the VRML browser and the buttons on it The subject clicked on the buttons and said Nothing happens when I press these buttons After some trials she realised that after selecting a button the mouse must be used in order to move the molecule in the VRML browser window S3 Subject entered the inorganic room and chose one molecule She tried to manipulate the molecule in the VRML browser but asked for help Subject had problems to understand how the buttons worked The subject clicked the buttons but did not use the mouse or keyboard in order to move the molecule Subject started using the mouse to move the molecule then commented some of the buttons in the VRML browser do not function at all S4 Subject entered the inorganic world and chose a molecule started using the VRML browser and commented The VRML browser is quite confusin
103. ion part of this thesis First a series of suggestions for improving the 3D prototype are discussed followed by the conclusions 123 13 Discussion This section presents first a discussion of some suggested improvements that can be implemented in the 3D prototype The suggestions are presented first followed by a screenshot presentation of some of the suggested improvements At the end a discussion and conclusions are presented 13 1 Suggested Improvements Several suggestions to improve the 3D prototype arose during the evaluation phase The 3D prototype can be improved by taking into account the following suggestions e Use Norwegian instead of English terminology to explain terms that users understand more naturally in other words by speaking the users native language e Choose a bigger font type to make information more readable This applies to information signs inside the 3D scene and the dialogue box when taking a quiz e Make the dialogue box for the quiz and the questions available at the same time so that users may read the questions and the score with the answers simultaneously e Provide more information in the dialogue box after taking a quiz e g both right and wrong answers e Position the buttons of the web pages at the top of the page or to a fixed frame e Change or increase the colour contrast between the visited and active links e Change the VRML browser used in the 3D prototype for another more user friendly brow
104. ion the buttons of the web pages at the top of the page or to a fixed frame 3 Position the go to button and the drop down menu so that users understand that these two controls function together 4 Change the VRML browser used in the 3D prototype for another more user friendly browser as for instance Blaxxun Contact 5 1 or RasMol plug ins 5 Make the 3D scene with avatars more interactive by including the quizzes inside the 3D scene Provide the possibility for users to build their own molecules inside the 3D scene 7 Provide more feedback when navigating in the 3D scene with avatars by giving information when avatars move through portals S Suggestion 1 Provide more information in the dialogue box after taking a quiz by including both right and wrong answers This is possible by including the wrong answers with another font type as for instance bold Figure 62 shows and example of how this dialogue box may look The new feature is presented in bold font type Microsoft Internet Explorer A Hvordan klarte du deg Sp rsm l 1 Hvilket av disse stoff er et Alken Du svarte a Alkohol Riktig svar er d Eten er et alken som har dobbeltbinding og formel C2H4 Sp rsm l 2 Hva er et hydrokarbon Du svarte d En sammensetning av OH gruppe og karbon Riktig svar er c Hydrokarboner er en sammensetning av karbon og hydrogenmolekyler Sp rsm l 3 Hvor mange bindinger har karbonatomet i Alkyner Du svarte c Enkelbinding Rik
105. ironments were based on computer supported games and allow synchronous interaction between users thus contributing to the development of virtual communities on the Internet Galea et al 2002 The incorporation of scripting languages allowed the extension of MUD s that originated a new type of environments called MOOs Multi user object oriented where users could now manipulate objects freely In recent years Information and Communication Technologies ICT areas had developed towards the introduction of distributed learning by means of the use of advanced communication and multimedia services Good communication infrastructures such as broad bandwidth Internet connections and advances in desktop computer graphics and processing power allowed the use of more sophisticated applications such as 3D learning environments Most of the existing 3D learning environments available today have been developed for military training or medical purposes However some of the available 3D learning environments have been developed for the learning of natural science and are available on the Internet Many of these web based applications are developed using VRML 3D learning environments have not yet being widely adopted by middle schools The reason for this slow implementation may be outdated hardware and lack of high speed access to the Internet Another reason is that 3D environments are expensive to develop and require above average programming abilities Acc
106. is Architectural specification Detailed specification hears I and unit testing t Integration and testing Operation and maintenance Figure 9 The waterfall model with feedback from maintenance activity to other activities 28 The model depicted in Figure 9 was taken from Dix et al 1997 It starts with the step of requirements analysis during this step a description of what the eventual system will be expected to provide is collected The next step is architectural specification that concentrates on how the system provides the services expected from it in other words the system is deconstructed in components in order to determine whether each component needs to be developed from scratch or some already existing components can be used and adapted to the new system Detailed specification provides an overview of the system and a description of the components that should be developed and a detailed description of how each component should be implemented The next step implementation and unit testing includes the coding of the components in the appropriate programming language this steps includes testing of the program to see if it works properly Integration and testing step consists on integrating all the components into the system and test the system with the users in order to discover design errors early The final step operation and maintenance involves the correction of errors bugs in the s
107. ject even though the content is for college students not for middle school students 17 3 3 1 EduAction EduAction is a research project for developing web based 3D virtual environments for natural science subjects The main focus is to study how these 3D environments can stimulate active participation and collaboration In these environments students can interact with other people through avatars and construct and manipulate objects directly The 3D environment combines multi user 3D graphics and Internet based information retrieval This application provides insight into the basic chemistry of a DNA molecule The focus of the EduAction project is to study the potential for using distributed virtual reality in collaborative learning from a pedagogical point of view It is based on a networked 3D application in which students from middle school age 14 can collaborate in a virtual environment EduAction topics relates to the basic characteristics of the DNA molecule and gene technology The 3D environment developed is called Mission Queen Maud s Land The scenario of the application is a research laboratory in Antarctica Here the students are represented in the virtual environment by an avatar Each avatar has a role as a researcher and as a part of the research team of the Human Genome project The student s task is to find the sequence of a human DNA molecule Students can navigate in the 3D world and move build and interact with 3D
108. ject entered the synthetic room and clicked on the guest book The web browser Internet Explorer crashed and the program had to be restarted The subject restarted the program and went directly to the synthetic room and clicked on the guest book again and wrote a comment She had difficulties knowing what kind of function the show button had but had no problem when posting her comments Comments Three of six subjects S1 S3 S4 had difficulties posting a comment into the guest book The difficulty arose after they finished writing their comments Subjects did not know how to post it Figure 57 A shows this point Skriv inn kommentarer Navn Epost Adresse URL Kommentarer C Husk info AVBRYT _ vis POST A lt Figure 57 Posting a comment into the guest book v Another problem that arose while performing this task was that two of six subjects S5 and S6 crashed Internet Explorer when they clicked on the guest book They had to restart the web browser Internet Explorer and started the program again The important poin is that Internet Explorer crashed at exactly the same point 105 Task 14 and 15 Testing the Drop Down Menu and Go Button Figure 58 A shows the drop down menu and the go button being tested oui Hydroksylgrup Hydroksyler v Karbonato Molekyler Ipper J Karbonatomets kretsl p Uorganiske stoff Alkohol er betegnelse for dhHvdrokarboner hydroksy
109. k i v r 3Dverden Y re gjester er velkomne til skrive kommentarer til oss Hvis det er noe som kan forbedres kan man skrive forslagene i gjesteboken Bade kritikk og ros mottas med takk I tillegg til kommentarer kan man ogs skrive inn sp rsm l ang ende karbonkjemiemnene 2 re Vi nsker dere velkommen tilbake til ous x enie karbonkjemiverdenen KKI Hjem Hjelp Avslutt Quiz Karbonatom Gal KKIS GJESTEBOK B Kommentarer Hei Dette var g y Posted by Camilla Vang4s at February 13 2004 09 28 AM lt Figure 35 The synthetic world 70 In this room as in the others the user can select a sign with a molecule on it and then a VRML model of the chosen molecule will be displayed in the VRML browser Inside this room there is an electronic guest book see Figure 35 A that when selected an electronic book for writing comments and questions is displayed in the information frame Figure 35 B Other features implemented in the 3D prototype are A navigation bar Figure 36 A with buttons and menus and the possibility to assess learning by taking a quiz about the three topics of carbon chemistry Karbonatomets kretsl p x A Karbondioksid CO 2pm Karbonatomets kretslap Unorganiske stoff Karbondioksid er en gass gHydrokarboner stoff Denne gassen danngHydroksyler nedbrytting av d de plant9igeniske l semidler kretsl p rarbonatomer og oksyg
110. king Links should be easy to notice but they should not be distracting to the point that they reduce text readability Links should not be placed all over the screen but placed in a consistent screen location When a link is selected it should change its visual appearance to show that an action has been performed The most common type of confirmation used for links is that they become brighter when pointed at In order to make the hyperlinks easy to visualise the hyperlinks included in the 3D prototype should have one colour when active highlighted when pointed at and marked change colour when visited Semantic Cuing A semantic cue identifies the relationship between a link and its destination or function for example it is common to use an icon of a loudspeaker or an ear next to audial links The 3D scene includes images with hyperlinks that are not highlighted but have semantic cues that identify the 3D object as a hyperlink A blue information sign as shown in Figure 16 can provide a semantic cue in a 3D scene indicating that this object can be selected with the mouse pointer 1 Karbondioksid CO2 Figure 16 Semantic cues 47 e Distance Links can point to pages within the same web site or they may point to external locations to other web sites When choosing between local links versus long distance links it is important to inform the user that they are leaving the current site Long distance links may not work a common pro
111. kmarks or sites locations thus making navigation easier Table 2 Orientation methods examples 5 1 3 Browsers When designing and developing a web based learning instruction one must think of browser compatibility There are different browsers on the Web each one supporting different features and functions Unfortunately there is no standard between the browsers and it is very difficult to make a web site that is compatible for all browsers For instance MS Internet Explorer supports a variety of 3D plug ins that are not supported by Netscape Mozilla or Opera On the other hand Mozilla and Opera browsers support more advanced programming features that are not supported by Internet Explorer or Netscape Frames may also be a problem when being displayed in other browsers rather than Internet Explorer or Netscape 5 1 4 Speed A web based learning instruction depends not only on browsers but also on network communication The bandwidth in which the target user s computers are connected is crucial when choosing the type of file formats that the program can display 5 1 5 Multimedia Components There are different multimedia components to choose from that can be included in a web based instruction for instance movies sounds animations text images among many others The choice of multimedia format depends on the network speed of the computers in which the instruction is to be used 20 5 1 6 Visual Layout Alessi and Trollip 2
112. l way where people attend to a classroom where learning and instruction take place e Distance Learning Is learning that take place in different locations this means that the learners use a program on the Web to get instructed There is no general agreement on how to design web sites for learning this is due to the Web s nature where anyone can publish a web site with or without guidelines However there 23 are some guidelines that suggest standards to be used when developing web sites for instance the guidelines proposed by W3 org 4 The most common methodology for web based learning is hypermedia There are several factors that can be taken into account when developing web based learning instructions The following factors apply both to hypermedia and web based learning navigation orientation hypermedia format browsers speed multimedia components visual layout interactivity and user controls These factors will be discussed briefly in the following sections 5 1 1 Navigation Navigation refers to the ability to get to the intended destination The navigation used in web based learning programs is the same navigation method used in hypermedia These navigation methods are hyperlinks buttons menus indexes tables of contents maps pictures and text searching among others These navigation methods will be thoroughly discussed under section 7 4 1 Table 1 shows some examples of what is meant by navigation methods Na
113. le of the intended use of the 3D prototype While performing the task the subjects were observed and notes of the subjects interactions with the 3D prototype were taken The following section presents a summary of the observations made under the evaluation Only the most relevant observations are presented which are the tasks where the subjects experienced difficulties using the 3D prototype The subjects were given the tasks listed in Table 28 To see the original text in Norwegian refer to Appendix E Task instructions O Start the 3D prototype go to http submission intermedia uib no betzy prototype index html 1 Chose and avatar and begin to navigate in the 3D scene 2 Try the different buttons under the 3D scene what happens then 3 4 Enter the main building and look around read the information sign Choose one molecule and try to manipulate the molecule that pops up at the right frame by using the buttons in the VRML browser 5 Read the information displayed in the web page 6 Use the links and try to navigate back and forwards between pages 7 Print one page 8 Go through the portal into the Organic world 9 Go inside the main hall and look around 10 Choose one molecule and test the change style button in the VRML browser what happens 11 Go inside all the rooms in the organic world and go back to the main world 12 Go to the right room the synthetic world and click on the guest book 13 Post a comment in the
114. lgrupper eller CH Set molekylene Alkoholer kjenOrganiske l semidler Alkoholer er et bi produkt Piast toffer som inneholder oksygen Disse kalles for b har en to eller tre hydroksyl OH gruppe bundet til es reaksjon med syre ved lage stoffer som ester emiske prosesser cellene Figure 58 Testing the drop down menu S1 S2 S3 S4 The subjects tested the drop down menu and the go button placed at the navigation bar without any difficulties S5 He tried the go button but had difficulties using it Did not understand that the drop down menu and the go button functioned together He clicked on the go button without choosing an option from the menu then nothing happened He commented here it is better to use go to or show instead of go S6 The subject tested the go button but had difficulties using it She clicked on the button while first choosing an option in the menu beside the button Comments Two of six subjects S5 S6 had difficulties understanding the function of the drop down menu and the go button These subjects did not understood that the menu and the go button function together First one chooses the topic in the drop down menu and then one click on the go button The text label of the go button was changed to go to Norwegian ga til after getting this feedback for subjects S5 and S6 106 Task 16 Taking a Quiz Figure 59 shows the task being performed Subjects were asked to test the
115. llenbourg discusses different implications that involves collaboration between small groups group memory and group dialogue The second dimension referred to as learning discuses the different meanings of learning Learning is expected to occur as a side effect of problem solving measured by the elicitation of new knowledge or by the improvement of problem solving performance Dillenbourg 1999 Within some theories learning is viewed as a biological process and in education learning is viewed as a cultural process which occurs over years Dillenbourg 1999 discusses the third dimension i e collaboration as follows Collaborative learning is it a pedagogical method or a psychological process The pedagogical sense is prescriptive one asks two or more people to collaborate because it is expected that they will thereby learn efficiently The psychological sense is descriptive two or more people have learned and collaboration is viewed as the mechanisms which caused learning 11 Dillenbourg 1999 goes on to define collaborative learning as a situation in which particular forms of interaction among people are expected to occur which would trigger learning mechanisms A situation can be characterised as more or less collaborative when it occurs between people with a similar status within their community have common goals and to some extent have the same level of knowledge For instance collaboration is more likely
116. n Riktig Du svarte C2H6 Din poengsum er 5 Kommentar Gratulerer Figure 46 Dialogue box showing the quiz s score e Curriculum fitness This point evaluates the level fitness it concentrates more on the national curriculum for the 10 graders in general The teacher was asked if the content fit into the curriculum She pointed out the following Does the content fit into the curriculum Yes it does Further she was asked if her students would understand the content of the 3D prototype She commented the following Would the students understand this content Both yes and no It is not possible that it fits everyone I think that images and the tables of contents will help the weaker students The images 3D models and the tables will help students that need to have visual aid in order to understand the topic It is a motivation factor in itself that this is a computer program that presents the topic visually Some of the students will find it difficult to understand everything but the average students will understand most of the content in the prototype e Appeal of the Instruction The last point considered for the expert review was about if the 3D prototype would be likely to be used by teachers At this point the teacher had finished using the 3D prototype and she answered some questions about appeal of the instruction She was asked what she thought about the instruction the 3D prototype in
117. n into account during design phase of the 3D prototype e Initial content ideas e Task analysis e Prototyping e Methodology preliminary program description e Create flowcharts 7 1 Initial Content Ideas The objective with this step was to develop initial and specific ideas about the content of the 3D prototype and how the content could be learned Alessi and Trollip 2001 suggest using brainstorming for this purpose Therefore a brainstorming session was conducted with the teacher Helga Sunde as the content expert during a meeting on 21 10 2003 7 1 1 Brainstorming The list presented in Table 9 is the final list of all the ideas that came up during the meeting with the teacher and only includes the ideas that would be implemented in the 3D prototype Two textbooks were used Tellus 10 natur og milj fag for ungdomssteget 1999 and Helix 10 Natur og milj fag for 10 klasse 1999 to come up with ideas about which subtopics of carbon chemistry should be included After discussing with the teacher the following subtopics of carbon chemistry were suggested Molecular representation Hydrocarbons Polymers Hydroxyl groups Organic solvents 38 After deciding which subtopics of carbon chemistry would be included in the 3D prototype a brainstorming session took place This session lasted one hour and resulted in the generation of ideas about what content should be included and how information should be presented The alterna
118. n the dialogue box when subjects gave the wrong answer after taking a quiz U1 Language Too Technical or Foreign U7 Buttons Location Unseen U10 VRML Lacks feedback U11 3D Scene Avatars Lacks Feedback U15 Lack of Shortcuts Each of these usability problems was reported by three of six subjects U1 Concerned language used in the 3D prototype in the information frames being too technical and that some of the terms were in English and too foreign for students to understand For instance terms such as avatar and VRML browser were pointed out U7 Concerned the location of the buttons in the web pages being unstrategically positioned Subjects suggested moving the buttons to the top of the pages or to a fixed frame U10 Concerned the VRML browser lacking feedback and not giving information to the subjects about what was going on when interacting with the buttons Subjects did not understand what happened when interacting with this browser when clicking the buttons no feedback was provided U11 Concerned subjects having difficulties when interacting with the 3D scene and avatars Subject reported having problems when moving an avatar or when using the buttons that controlled the avatars movement under the 3D scene window U15 Concerned 3D not having some shortcuts for allowing subjects to use the 3D prototype in a quicker manner Subjects reported missing shortcuts for moving the avatar more quickly or having a shortcut to return the avatar
119. n types for user interface formative and summative Formative evaluation is performed to help improve the interface during the development stage In contrast summative evaluation is used on systems that are already completed and at its final stage The purpose of summative evaluation is often comparative and aims at assessing the overall quality of an interface The reason for choosing formative evaluation is because the 3D prototype is not a finished product and it is only a prototype that is still under development 75 9 2 1 The Model Layers of Formative Evaluation Tessmer 1993 proposed the following layers for performing a formative evaluation High Resistance to Revision Fietd Test User Acceptance Implementability Organizational Acceptance Revise Smal Group Effectiveness Appeal Implementabliility Revise Expert Review One to One Content Design Clarity Appeal Technical Quality Obvious Errors Low Revise Resistance to Revision Self Evaluation obvious errors Figure 39 Layers of formative evaluation e Expert review This stage involves an expert reviewing the instruction with or without the evaluator The instruction is evaluated to review the content accuracy Expert reviews are done in the first stages of the formative evaluation and the evaluator sits with the expert and reviews the instruction together e One to one evaluation This stage involves one learner reviewing the program wi
120. navigation bar Function START i Entering the 3D prototype Avslutt Exiting the 3D prototype Hjelp Getting help Getting home Quiz Taking a quiz Neste Navigating forward Tilbake Navigating backward Printing pages Selecting a topic from a drop down menu Table 19 Navigation controls 7 4 8 Support for Learning Strategies Learning applications should include features that support learning strategies in other words to have features that help learners to enhance their own learning for instance metacognition orientation and navigation assessment visualisation are features that enhance learning Alessi and Trollip 2001 The 3D prototype may facilitate the following strategies orientation and navigation assessment visualization and graphing e Orientation and Navigation The 3D prototype may facilitate navigation by providing hyperlinks The hyperlinks can be activated within the 3D scene This may prevent the students from getting disoriented in the application so they can concentrate on the material and not on orienting themselves in the application e Comprehension and Application of Knowledge Assessment In order to encourage the learners to apply the knowledge they acquired some techniques were used to support this activity The 3D prototype included the following techniques in order to encourage students to apply the knowledge acquired through its use o Electronic notebooks The 3D prototype provides
121. ndow and had to be shown which area to click in order to write a message as shown below 97 x click here o write message Figure 49 Difficulties using the chat window Task 3 Entering the Main Hall in the 3D Scene Figure 50 shows the information sign Figure 50 A that subjects were asked to read when entering the main hall Ved KKI kar man finne infromasjon om ulike karboamolekyler uorganiske organiske og syntetiske sioffer Vi anbefalar begynne turen i den uorganiske vercenen uorganiske stoffer som grafi karbondioksid Videre kar _ den organiske verdenen __ modeller av hydrokarbo Til slutt anbefaler vi a befe verdenen hvor man ka eksempler av dverse p Vi nsker de Figure 50 The main hall and the information sign S2 S3 S4 S5 These subjects had no difficulties performing this task S1 Subject entered the 3D scene the main hall and read the information sign but had some difficulties when reading the sign because the avatar was obstructing the sign Subject tried to move the avatar aside so she could read the information sign The subject followed the instructions given in the sign S6 The subject entered the main building and read the information sign and followed the instructions given there She had problems reading the sign because the avatar was in the way Comments Two of six subjects S1 S6 had difficulties reading the sign because the avatar was obstructing their vis
122. nection the school s computers had low speed processors Pentium III with maximum 500 MHz main processors Today s personal computers have an average processor capacity of 3 GHz 3000MHz which today is considered a medium to fast processing speed This constraint meant that some of the ideas would not be possible to implement The 3D prototype was developed to the specifications of the slowest speed processor available at the school s computers 74 4 Browsers A web based program should preferably be developed in order to run on all type of browsers Unfortunately this was not possible for the 3D prototype The 3D prototype is only available for Microsoft Internet Explorer browser version 5 0 or higher This was due to the limited browser adoption of the Adobe Atmosphere player plug in that is an essential part of the 3D prototype for displaying the 3D scene This plug in is only supported by Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 4 55 Hypermedia Formats Taken into account the school s computers processor capacity and the network communication speed the file formats listed in Table 16 were used in the 3D prototype AER Table 16 File formats 7 4 6 Interactivity Web based instructions can have many forms for interaction not only reading text or watching movies but also other types of interaction that require more active engagement such as taking a quiz navigating in 3D worlds with avatars or chatting e Self Test Interactivit
123. ng criteria were discussed during the meeting e Student s knowledge about the chosen topic e Student s ability quick average or slow with instructions Student s learning interest and motivation e Student s personality level of confidence After taking into account the four criteria listed above the teacher selected two students one male and one female They were both strong learners and had the preliminary level of competence They both had a high level of confidence and were very engaged and motivated to participate in this project Table 4 and Table 5 show the learner characteristics chart of these two students These charts were partly completed by the teacher and partly by the students themselves after interviewing them on 24 09 2003 and asking them questions about their ability with computers The teacher Helga Sunde provided the part about reading level motivation prerequisite knowledge and skills The students provided the rest of the information 33 Learner characteristic chart Learner 1 Average learners Age Educationallevel o ooo y Readinglevel o o o o ooo y y Motivation CE Cid Prerequisite knowledge Cd Prerequisite skills Cd Facility withacomputer Cd Familiarity withthe Web Cd Typingability _ o o o o ooo y Access to computers Access toweb y y y Time available Stronger learners 15 female 10 grade Average Medium Basic natural science Above average Average
124. ng is designed using hypermedia methodology for this reason methodology for both web based learning and hypermedia will be described here The following section describes in detail the factors that were taken into account when designing the 3D prototype such as e Navigation e Orientation Speed Browsers Hypermedia formats Interactivity User controls Support for learning strategies Look and style 7 4 1 Navigation In a web based learning environment it is very important to get where you want to go Good navigation means that the user of the web program will not get lost in hyperspace In order to avoid getting lost in a web application a number of navigation methods can be applied Hyperlinks buttons menus and tables of contents Hyperlinks Words images pictures icons a phrase or any other object that can be selected can be a hyperlink There are a number of factors relevant to hyperlinks for instances types of links purpose of links density visibility confirmation marking semantic cueing and distance Each of these factors are explained and illustrated with examples in this section e Types of Links Hyperlinks may be words phrases text labels a picture a movie an icon or any other object that can be selected There are advantages and disadvantages for choosing one type of hyperlink over another For instance using pictures or images as a hyperlink enhances the visual learning aspect of programs while decr
125. ng that have been discussed and debated by psychologist and instructors over the century a full discussion of all existing learning theories or approaches is beyond the scope of this thesis The following points will be discussed e Learning theories e The process of instruction 4 1 Learning Theories There are three basic approaches underlying the nature of learning which are behaviourism cognitivism and constructivism and each will be discussed in relation to the following themes e The nature of knowing e The nature of learning and transfer e The nature of motivation and engagement 4 1 1 Behaviourism Behaviourism approaches in learning can be said to have begun in the 20 century primarily with the work of Edward Thorndike followed by B F Skinner Thorndike conducted research known as operant conditioning which means the use of rewards and punishments to modify behaviour B F Skinner followed the work of Thorndike and extended it by demonstrating basic behavioural rules such as positive reinforcement or reward negative reinforcement and punishment Broadly speaking behaviourism maintained that the psychology of learning should restrict itself to the study of observable behaviours and environmental events The nature of knowing in a behaviourist perspective is viewed as an organized accumulation of associations and components of skills In other words knowing is viewed as having an organized collection of connections among elemen
126. not give the information needed by the users What do you think about the dialogue box that pops up after taking a quiz S1 It was good to read what I answered right and wrong but it could be better if one can get comments about how much you answered besides the score S3 You get what you answered right and you can try again but maybe it could also show an explanation of what you answered wrong and your right answers S4 It could have been arranged better you can have more space between the questions and the answers It could be nice to read what I answered so I could check it and know the right answer because I don t remember what I answered S6 What I missed is what I answered it is not easy to remember what you answered and therefore it is better to get that information in the dialogue box Heuristic 3 Consistency Two breaches were found about consistency principle One concerned the button s location and the other concerned the colour code used in the links Subjects were asked if they could perform the same actions anywhere in the 3D prototype and expect the same feedback They were also asked what they thought about the location of the buttons in general and what they thought about the colour used in the 3D prototype All subjects agreed that they could repeat the same actions and get the same feedback U7 Buttons Location Unseen Some subjects commented that the buttons location in the web pages s
127. ns Another advantage of interviews is that the questions asked to the users can be further explained and clarified and the evaluator can ask for a more detailed answer or ask the users to give further explanations of interesting issues as they appeared The level of questioning can vary to suit the context Interviews that are undertaken immediately after an evaluation section give the users the opportunity to reflect upon what they had just experienced One major disadvantage of interviews is that they are indirect methods since they do not study the user interface itself but only users opinions about the user interface Nielsen 1993 81 11 1 1 Data Gathering Tools The following methods and tools will be used to gather data during the formative evaluation e Observation e Interviews e Questionnaires These methods will be used in the following stages of formative evaluation stage Expert review Interview Prepared questions The content accuracy fitness completeness and quality One on one evaluation Interviews Audio recorder Discover design problems by performing Observations Recording log a usability test Questionnaires Notes Prepared questions Table 23 Data gathering methods and tools The tools used for the interviews and observations are e Audio recorder mini disc e Record logs prepared questions e Notes Each subject was asked if they would allow their interview to be audio recorded All subjects consented
128. nt to a usability problem are not included in this thesis since there is no point in presenting positive answers when looking for usability problems 110 12 3 Usability Problems This section presents the usability problems reported by subjects in the interview sessions after they completed evaluating the 3D prototype The usability problems will be presented linked to the breaches of the heuristic principles Each usability problem will be labelled with the letter U and a number For instance U1 U2 and so on in this order For each usability problem reported the subjects who reported it are quoted and are labelled S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 and S6 The questions asked are presented in italics Heuristic 1 Speak the Users Language Four breaches were reported for this heuristic principle The breaches were about language being too technical or using foreign terms instead of native language terms being too difficult to understand the interface metaphor being unclear and information signs being difficult to read U1 Language too Technical or Foreign Three of six subjects S2 S4 S5 pointed out that terms used in the information pages of the 3D prototype were too technical and difficult to understand and some of the terms were explained in foreign language English Is the language used in the program too technical S2 No if you read the help pages it is easy to understand but if one does not read them and only use the prototype
129. o Give practical examples of organic solvents Table 9 Brainstorming 39 7 2 Task Analysis The purpose of task analysis was to decompose complex skills into sub skills in this way one can determine the appropriate learning sequence A good learning sequence should begin with skills that only require the learner to use and combine skills they already have The sequence should proceed from basic to more complex skills Diagram 1 shows the sequence that would be followed for learning the carbon chemistry topic Carbon chemistry Molecular representation Inorganic substances Organic substances Synthetic substances l Formula Graphite Polymers Capped sticks Diamond Ball and Stick Hydrocarbons Hydroxyl CPK oA ae Polyethylene Orsai PVC rgan c Polystyrene Alcohols Solvents Double Triple bonds bonds l Methanol BER Alkanes Alken es Alkynes Ethanol Glycerol Methane Ethene Ethyn Diagram 1 Sequence of carbon chemistry topic The topic of carbon chemistry is very wide however the 3D prototype would only include the subtopics outlined in section 7 1 1 in order to remain within the curriculum of 10 grade students According to the curriculum for middle schools in Norway students should master some natural science subjects Sub objectives for the topic of chemistry of the natural science curriculum e Students shall learn concepts about atoms molecules elements and chemical bonding and di
130. objects as well as immerse the avatars inside human cells Inside the 3D world there are necessary tools and molecular components to construct rebuild and repair both DNA molecules and proteins Figure 4 shows the laboratory in the 3D world Antarctica Figure 4 Queen Maud s land laboratory 18 3 3 2 The CSU Virtual Chemistry Laboratory The Charles Sturt University Virtual Chemistry Laboratory CSU is a model of a chemistry laboratory CSU has been developed using the VRML and it is available via a web interface Within this virtual laboratory learners can explore and manipulate items Items can also be selected to display a web page with information about its use The initial version was designed to allow learners to become familiar with the layout of the real laboratory as well as to find information about procedures when using the laboratory CSU allows the learner to access information about introductory chemistry This 3D learning environment has a set of menus to allow the learners to choose a particular position within the environment and to carry out actions like moving an object in the 3D world Information about procedures and items is displayed in the text area below the environment view window see Figure 5 The environment also allows the learners to switch between different types of movements within the 3D world such as walk pan or jump CSU virtual chemistry laboratory is still under construction and current d
131. oduced a new paradigm of educational technology called CSCL Koschmann 1996 CSCL arose from research on Computer Supported Cooperative Work CSCW which consisted of computer based network systems called groupware that supported group work for a common task According to Lipponen 2002 CSCL is focused on how collaborative learning supported by technology can enhance peer interaction and work 10 in groups and how collaboration and technology facilitate sharing and distributing of knowledge and expertise among community members This new paradigm was built upon anthropology sociology linguistics and communication science disciplines For this reasons CSCL research is grounded on different concepts of learning pedagogy and research methodology than the previously discussed paradigms CAI ITS and Logo as Latin CSCL focuses on the use of technology as a mediation tool within collaborative methods of instructions Koschmann 1996 The underlying theory in which CSCL is built upon is influenced by socially oriented sciences such as constructivism Soviet sociocultural theories and situated cognition CSCL works tend to focus on process rather than outcome and in collaboration in order to facilitate learning CSCL work has an interest in understanding the process from a participant s viewpoint therefore a focus on participant s talk the artefacts that support and are produced by a team of learners and the participant s own accounts of
132. off er et Alken Riktig svar er d Eten er et alken som har dobbeltbinding og Formel C2H4 Sp rsm l 2 Hva er et hydrokarbon Riktig svar er c Hydrokarboner er en sammensetning av karbon og hydrogenmolekyler Sp rsm l 3 Hvor mange bindinger har karbonatomet i Alkyner Riktig Du svarte Trippelbinding Sp rsm l 4 Hva er navnet p denne kjemiske Formel C7H16 Riktig Du svarte Heptan Sp rsm l 5 Hvilket av F lgende formler er et hydrokarbon Riktig svar er b Etan C2H6 er et hydrokarbon Din poengsum er 2 Kommentar Du kan g tilbake til den organiske verdenen Figure 60 Feedback from the quiz dialogue box Task 17 and 18 Testing Navigation Bar Buttons and Exiting the 3D Prototype Figure 61 shows task 17 and 18 Subjects were asked to test the home button and to exit the 3D prototype 223 Boag Avsn J e Kerbonetom x Gan Figure 61 Exiting the prorotype S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 and S6 The subject tested the home button and the exit button as shown in Figure 61 A ending thus the evaluation The following section presents the results from the interviews session after subjects finished using the 3D prototype 108 12 2 3 Interview Results The subjects were interviewed right after they finished the set of tasks One of the major advantages of performing the interviews after they finished using the 3D prototype was that they remembered what they had done and could reflect upon their in
133. olymers ne The VRML browser shows 3D model of the chosen molecules Students choose to go to other part of the 3D world or return to main entrance 58 Comments Flowchart 1 illustrates what the students meet when entering the 3D prototype The 3D prototype starts at a title page with a logo and two buttons one for entering and one for exiting Then when entered they see the 3D scene at entry point A web page is displayed welcoming the students Another web page is displayed with instructions of how to use and navigate the 3D scene with avatars and how to navigate in the VRML browser When the students enter the main 3D scene they see three doors that lead them to different part of the 3D prototype The main entrance presents the students with information of what they could expect to find in the 3D scene what is in the three other rooms and general information about the carbon chemistry topic like what is a carbon atom and how molecules can be represented The basic concepts and objects are included in the main entrance More difficult subjects follow when they enter the other rooms e Door 1 Leads to room 1 Inorganic world e Door 2 Leads to sub world 2 Organic world e Door 3 Leads to room 3 Synthetic world e General Functionality All three sub worlds have the following functionally Objects and images of a topic are shown when the students select click with the mouse pointer on one of the objects or images avail
134. opic is Students are introduced with many new terms I think the web pages have too much text You could have less text and more links 111 U3 Interface Metaphor Unclear Subjects were asked what they thought the 3D scene and the rooms inside the main building represented Five of six subjects answered the same that the 3D prototype the building and the rooms represented the three major sub topics of carbon chemistry topic Only one subject had difficulties in understanding the metaphor What do you think the 3D scene represents S2 Nothing special I don t know U4 Information Difficult to Read Subjects were asked what they thought about the signs inside the 3D scene if they understood their functions S1 S2 S4 pointed out that the some information signs in the 3D scene were difficult to read and that the avatar was obstructing the signs What do you think about the signs Is it easy or difficult to understand their functions S1 It was difficult to read when the avatar was standing in front of the signs The text was difficult to read I could not read it but I could have switched off the avatar S2 It was difficult to read because the avatar was standing in front of it But I switched off the avatar S4 The function of the signs was easy to understand but it could be an advantage if one can read the signs from a distance The signs over the doors were difficult to read If one can stand in the m
135. ording to Galea et al 2002 most 3D learning environments can be framed under the constructivist learning model and situated learning since learners are active participants in the learning process by building their own cognitive structures 3D learning environments might be useful when teaching and visualizing certain abstract scientific concepts Learning through 3D environments enables a number of simultaneous activities that can influence the learning process for instance e Manipulation and exploration of 3D objects The visual aspect of 3D objects may help to manipulate and visualise objects from various perspectives that may be compared with real life experience It is even possible to magnify 3D objects that are not visible to the human eye for instance small molecules DNA and atoms e Navigation through space Most 3D learning environments include a sort of icon or figure called avatar that represents users in the 3D space An avatar can have a human appearance or any other kind of object By using avatars students can navigate freely through the virtual world and even be able to immerse avatars into 3D objects thus experiencing not only from the outside but from within an object 13 e Communication and information 3D learning environments might include a set of tools in order to facilitate leaning For instance Information tools Such as videostreaming 3D audio and universal resource locator URL navigation can be used
136. ototype would appear The screen layout was divided into 4 frames Under the prototyping sessions discussed in section 7 3 with the students 5 frames were suggested however dividing the screen in too many frames can make difficult to know which is the active frame For this reason the screen layout was divided into only four frames as shown in Figure17 Karbonkjemi portal UntitledFrame 6 Dre ojx File Edit Yiew Insert Modify Text Commands Site Window Help lt frameset gt 370x210 iK isec s W Td OS Pli Figure 17 Screen layout of the 3D prototype e Frame 1 Displays the 3D scene with avatars Figure 17 1 e Frame 2 Displays the VRML browser for displaying the 3D molecules and information pages Figure 17 2 e Frame 3 Displays a navigation frame that contains all of the buttons and menus Figure 17 3 e Frame 4 Displays all of the text with conceptual explanations and tables of contents Figure 17 4 50 7 4 3 Speed Ytrebygda middle school has a good network communication It has a bandwidth of 750 kbps Today s communication speeds vary from 58kbps with modem capability which is considered slow to 1000kbps with bandwidth capacity which is considered a medium to fast connection There are also others connection possibilities such as fibre optical connections that are even faster but this possibility has not yet been implemented as the standard network connection Despite the good speed con
137. ow Use of metaphors This student wanted to have images and text on the buttons Look closely at the metaphors suggested in Figure 12 5 42 The following buttons were drawn The icons have been redrawn for clarity Back and forward buttons using arrows z me E A home button for getting back to start position a house A help button with text and a question mark for help An exit button with an X A chart button to display the navigation map at frame 2 A chat button with a face on it and text to display the FF chat window at frame 4 Gy An information button with text more info to display ee information in frame 3 EK A button to go to external links links outside the current site A button displaying important concepts in frame 4 _ This may be displayed as a menu of concepts Oe Table 10 Metaphors Student 1 Some of these ideas were taken into account when implementing the 3D prototype Session 1 Student 2 1 AWD 2 Nagler Figure 13 Mock up 2 Screen layout of the 3D prototype Student 2 43 Student 2 drew the paper prototype shown in Figure 13 For details about this student see the chart of learner characteristics under section 6 2 1 Table 5 This student divided the screen into four frames Frame 1 shows the 3D scene This student did not specify how big this frame should be Figure 13 1 Frame 2 shows the 3D objects in the VRML browser This student spec
138. pe a qualitative approach was chosen The reason for choosing a qualitative research approach instead of quantitative is because the evaluation is based on a small sample from target users only 6 subjects participated in the evaluation and this is not representative of the target users population In addition the goal of the evaluation which is to locate design problems through a usability test does not require involving many users According to Myers 1997 it is the goal of the evaluation that determines whether research should be quantitative or qualitative 11 1 Usability Methods There are several methods to choose from when evaluating the usability of a system For instance heuristic evaluation cognitive walk through thinking aloud observations questionnaires and interviews among other methods All these usability methods are formative meaning that the system to be evaluated is under development and the evaluation is used to discover usability problems that can be corrected as a part of an iterative design process Briefly heuristic evaluation is accomplished by looking at an interface and trying to come up with an opinion about what is good and what is bad about the interface Nielsen 1993 A set of heuristic rules or principles is used in order to come up with a critique of a system and discover potential usability problems Cognitive walk throughs require a set of detailed reviews of a sequence of actions to be performed by the eval
139. quiz button Figure 59 A to choose one quiz Figure 59 B and to answer it Figure 59 C Test kunskapene dine om karbonkjemi Du kan velge me 4 tester Lykke Til Quiz 1i Uorganiske stoff Quiz 2 Organiske stoff hydrokarboner Quiz 3 Organiske stoff hydroksyler Quiz 4 Syntetiske stoff 1 Hvilket av disse stoff er et Alken a Alkohol b PVC c Diamant d Eten 9 bhes ar at Wvedeol arhan Figure 59 Taking a quiz S1 and S2 Subject chose the quiz button and took a quiz without difficulties S3 Subject took the quiz and pointed out that the dialogue box did not provide information about what was being answered S4 She took a quiz and read carefully the dialogue box that popped up showing the scores She commented There is no information about what I answered S5 He took a quiz and commented J think some of the questions may be too difficult for the students S6 The subject took a quiz and read the dialogue box carefully and commented J can not see what I answered I not sure people will remember their answers Comments Four of six subjects S3 S4 S5 S6 commented that the dialogue box that shows the score from the quiz do not include any information about what was answered when their answer was wrong but only included the right answers see Figure 60 A 107 Microsoft Internet Explorer A Hvordan klarte du deg Sp rsm l 1 Hvilket av disse st
140. r based learning systems and educational learning theories upon which they are based Timothy Koschmann 1996 classified computer based learning system according to four paradigms The four paradigms identified by Koschmann are 1 Computer Assisted Instruction CAI 2 Intelligent Tutoring Systems ITS 3 Logo as Latin and 4 Computer Supported Collaborative Learning CSCL Computer Assisted Instruction CAT The paradigm of CAI emerged from the advent of courseware building tools in the 1960s that made it possible to develop computer based aids for instructional purposes The underlying learning theory applied by this paradigm was behaviourism where instruction was seen as a process of transmission or delivery and learning was seen as the passive acquisition or absorption of an established body of information where the teacher is the final authority The applications developed under this paradigm focused on identifying learning goals and implementing these in the applications by decomposing the goals into component tasks and by developing a sequence of activities that leads the learner through the whole subject domain Research under this paradigm focused on instructional efficacy Koschmann 1996 Intelligent Tutoring Systems ITS This paradigm emerged in the 1970s and was rooted in the files of artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence focuses on the process of cognition as a computational process that can be studied through the construc
141. r helping me getting started with this project and supervising my work at the beginning Teacher Helga Sunde from Ytrebygda Middle School Hjellestad Bergen for actively participating in this project and letting me use her students during the design and the evaluation Sr Product Manager of Web3D Atmosphere Bahman Dara from Adobe Systems Inc For letting me to participate in a pre release program for testing Adobe Atmosphere building tool used to build the 3D prototype Dr Nigel Roderick Finn from the Department of Biology University of Bergen for helping me editing this thesis Advisor Rune Baggetun from InfoMedia University of Bergen for giving me technical aid and providing the necessary assistance in order to secure all the files included in the 3D prototype All the teachers and students who kindly participated in the evaluation of the 3D prototype INDEX Li Motivation sawn RG OG BEEN Cee ees OE Bee al Oe ee 9 2o MMAR O AUC OU sss dae a i iE a ate che EER OEE lalate chee E de E EE R E EER 9 S Jnstr ctional Technology vss c secisaccivascsciedesteadsveciansvesgeaeaashasacaadaydaaed i E EE is 9 3 1 3D Learning Hirvir Mme nes epei annis aa eaa o ir Ea EEES a eais 12 3 2 CSCL in 3D Learning Environments sseeseesesesseresseeeerreeseesesrerstesereeesresreseresreses 13 3 3 Related WOtk Se Aoi cee eee hee E a AE NE EEA ERA EEO Saas 15 3 3 1 Active Worlds Educational Universe AWEDU c cccccccccessssessece
142. r rate so that users make few errors during their use of the system and so that if they do make errors they can easily recover from them and further catastrophic errors must not occur e Satisfaction The system should be pleasant to use so that users are subjectively satisfied when using it Usability is measured by having a number of test users selected to be as representative as possible of the intended users use the system to perform a pre specified set of task Nielsen 1993 Jakob Nielsen and Rolf Molich 1993 proposed 9 usability heuristic principles that can be applied when performing usability tests Nielsen alters the set of heuristics principle in 1994 adding one more principles to the list Table 22 presents a list of 10 heuristics principles associated with usability Usability Heuristics Principles Simple and natural dialogue Means that no irrelevant or rarely used information should be presented in the system All information should appear in a natural and logical order Information and operations should be accessed in a sequence that matches the way users will most effectively accomplish a task Keep to the principle that less is more this mean that every time a new feature is added to the system there is one more new thing for users to learn Speak the users language All dialogues should contain words and phrases familiar to the user It is not recommended to use technical or system specific terms There should be a m
143. r subjects S2 S3 S4 S6 commented that the 3D prototype does not need other forms of interaction Do you miss any kind of interaction with the 3D scene the VRML browser or the web pages S1 The movie was fine but I think it could have been better if I could build some molecules myself S5 For instance instead of having the quiz button outside it can be placed inside the 3D world as a sign You can place it inside so it can be more integrated into what one is doing inside the 3D world You can have one in each room for each topic It could be like you have to answer the quiz in one world before being allowed to go inside the other rooms You can also have a menu that shows how long you have progress in the program like a game where you get to know that in order to go further you have to answer more questions S5 I think the VRML browser was fascinating to see how wonderful the molecules are the bonding and all the nice design That s the point with rotation that you can see it from different angles But one can think of trying to build a molecule oneself S5 About the web pages the text was too compressed you have a heading showing what the page is about but there are too many topics in the pages maybe you could have a side menu showing all the topics that one can choose from The text can be shorter and more topicalized The web pages have too much text I try to think as an student and I see that student
144. r way was reported 3 times H7 Help and documentation One usability problem was found U16 U16 for the 3D prototype lacking a users s guide and documentation was reported 1 time 119 The subjects did not grade the severity of the usability problems found in the 3D prototype For this reason only a summary of which usability problems were most reported by subjects is presented This may indicate that these problems should be prioritised and fixed during the final review of the 3D prototype U12 Navigation Problems with the VRML Browser was the most reported problem All six subjects reported this usability problem of having difficulties when navigating and manipulating the molecules and using the buttons of the VRML browser The problems reported concerned the VRML browser having too many buttons and having some buttons disabled U4 Information Difficult to Read was the second most reported usability problem in the 3D prototype and was reported by five of six subjects This problem was about the information signs inside the 3D scene being too difficult to read because either the avatar was obstructing the vision or because font types were too small both in the signs inside the 3D scene and in the dialogue box after taking a quiz U6 Lack of Information was the third most reported usability problem and was reported by four of six subjects This problem was about not providing enough information for example not providing the answer i
145. rast between the background colour the font colours and the hyperlinks colours It is recommended to use colour combinations that have high contrast such as light background with dark foreground or vice versa as shown in Figure 23 One should exaggerate lightness differences between foreground and background colours amp Effective Figure 23 Colour contrast Based on the guidelines suggested above and after testing the web site for colour blindness at http colorfilter wickline org and taking into account that 10 of men and 1 of women are colour blind the following background and foreground colours were chosen for the web pages of the 3D prototype Black for the foreground text Light grey for the background colour of the web pages Dark blue for hyperlinks Dark violet for active links Dark purple for visited links OoO000 0 56 e Guideline 5 Fonts Always specify a fallback generic font The following cascade style sheet CSS properties were used to control font characteristics like font family font size font colours and font styles in all web pages The web pages of the 3D prototype use the most common type of font family for the web verdana arial helvetica sans serif and all text have 3 levels of headings e Design proposal for the 3D scene 3D world with avatars The 3D scene is divided into the following parts e Main entrance Contains objects images and information boards about what to find in the 3
146. rder to navigate in a 3D world one has to choose an avatar There are different visibility options for the avatars for instance one can choose to see the avatar or just to navigate without seeing it third or first person view e The chat window Figure 3 2 The chat window enables communication with other AWEDU users in synchronous time In this window messages from all users who are navigating the specific world are displayed e The tab window Figure 3 3 The tab window displays different tabs with useful information for instance it shows all worlds running in the current universe and how many visitors a world have An earth globe points to the current world A blue and purple light means the world is open to the public a grey light means it is only open to selected users e The web window Figure 3 4 The Web window displays web pages that are integrated to the 3D world in use These pages can contain information that helps to navigate in the chosen world Another important feature is that 3D world s objects are linked to web pages that are displayed in the web window with relevant information about the chosen object The AWEDU Chemeet 3D world see Figure 3 relates to the subject of chemistry and biochemistry for undergraduate college students and it uses the Chime plug in to show 3D models of molecules Inside this world students can interact with objects and simulate chemical experiments This world is very closely related to this pro
147. re Quality Institute Series Prentice Hall PTR New Jersey Vygostsky L S 1978 Mind in Society The Development of Higher Psychological Processes Cambridge MA Harvard university Press Wilson B G amp Myers K M 2000 Situated Cognition in Theoretical and Practical Context In D Jonassen amp S M Land Eds Theoretical Foundations of Learning Environments pp 57 88 Mahwah NJ Lawrence Erlbaum Associates The following references are only available on the Web la Active Worlds AW Available at http Awww activeworlds com 1b Active Worlds Educational Universe AWEDU Available at http Awww activeworlds com edu awedu asp 1c Active Worlds Educational Universe Chetmeet World Available at http users unimi it chemeet index html 2 EduAction Available at http www telenor no fou program nomadiske eduaction shtml 3 CSU Virtual Chemistry Laboratory Available at http www usg edu au electpub e jist docs Vol5_No2 Dalgarno 20 20Final pdf 4 W3C Techniques for Web Content Accessibility Available at http www w3 org 5 Atmosphere Educational Environments Available at http Awww atmospherians com directory index php 133 6 Lighthouse International Effective Colour Contrast Available at http www lighthouse org color_contrast htm Colour blind Web Page Filter Available at http colorfilter wickline org Chemistry Molecular Models PDB database Available a
148. renner de stoffene for 4 skaffe seg energi e EERE SND S PEE IE EA RE R A A A O ee ee ea O IES A E O E Se AA EE A n Figure 32 The inorganic world 8 5 6 The Organic World In order to get to the organic world the avatars have to go through a portal as shown in Figure 24 Once the avatar has gone through the portal a new 3D world that resembles an institute research building is displayed as shown in Figure 33 Figure 33 The entry point of the organic world 69 Inside the organic world users can find information about the topic of organic chemistry hydrocarbons and organic solvents There are also information boards that indicate what direction to start with A movie about different types of alkanes is shown behind the avatar see Figure 34 A Adresse http submission intermedia uib no betzy prototype 3dverden welcome html v EJ cai Koblinger 7 N Se fime Hydrokarn oM ONG is A wee P MT lg Baad Hjem Hjelp Avslutt Quiz Karbonatom w Gal Figure 34 The main hall of the organic world 8 5 7 The Synthetic World The last part of the 3D prototype is dedicated to the synthetic world inside this room the students can find information about plastic substance and their uses as shown in Figure 35 Adresse http submission intermedia uib no betzy pratotype 3dverden welcome html lt SE til Koblinger Norton Antivir KKIS Gjestebok Vi takker for deres bes
149. rform the formative evaluation 79 11 Methods In this section a brief discussion of usability methods is presented followed by a description of the methods used for gathering data for the usability test Quantitative Methods Were originally developed in the natural sciences with the purpose of studying natural phenomena Laboratory experiments and numerical and statistical methods are examples of quantitative methods Myers 1997 Data gathering methods are structured and include a larger selection of subjects Subject selection is representative of the population under research Findings and conclusions are presented using numerical and statistical analysis Interviews and questionnaires are quantitative methods as long as they are designed with predefined answer alternatives Qualitative Methods Qualitative methods were developed in the social sciences to study social and cultural phenomena Myers 1997 Qualitative methods studies do not focus on numerical data and only take into account a small number of research individuals which gives more time to use on each individual and this give more qualitative quality to the collected data One downside of qualitative methods is that because the research is based on a small sample from the population the results cannot be generalised Among the most used qualitative data gathering methods are interviews document analysis observation and questionnaires For the evaluation of the 3D prototy
150. roblem faced during development phase was my lack of programming experience with VRML and JavaScript programming languages The 3D objects implemented in the 3D prototype and the web pages were programmed using JavaScript while all of the molecules were programmed using VRML language After much trial and error I finally learned the necessary skills to produce all of the 3D objects and web pages needed to implement the 3D prototype 130 During the evaluation phase some other problems arose To begin with I wanted to evaluate the 3D prototype with the whole class This turned out to be far too ambitious since I was both designing and implementing the 3D prototype So I had to narrow down my ambitions and decided to do a formative evaluation First an expert review was done with one teacher then a usability test was carried out with 5 expert teachers and two students The evaluations were performed as planned and without any kind of technical difficulties However as I pointed out earlier I would have done the evaluation differently and included more students with different levels of skill instead of including only two above average students This could have given a different result of the evaluation and pointed out other usability problems that should be taken into account when considering weaker students After performing the evaluations and analysing the data I realised that some usability problems could have been avoided such as the problem
151. rovide a way of entering or exiting the program Figure 29 shows the title page with an animated logo The title page has two buttons one for entering the 3D prototype and one for exiting ee gt eee RAS OUINAY CIVIL VOCSUCIN IOVIS 7 2s Fo ed I Lu FRIAS Oo mH Laget av Betzy Bell Louis 2003 AVSLUTT Figure 29 The title page 66 8 5 2 The Entry Point of the 3D Prototype When users choose the start button at the title page Figure 29 the following 3D scene is displayed as shown in Figure 30 below v p ciu Koblinger Norton Antivirus X K B Hjelp til 3D nettleser Karbonkjemiprogrammet har to nettleser heretter browser En 3D browser med avatarer og en YRML browser som viser molekyler Adresse a http submission intermedia uib no betzy prototype 3dverden welcome html Velg 3D browser hvis du trenger hjelp tila samhandle i 3D verdenen med objekter og avatarer velg VRLM browser hvis du trenger hjelp til 4 manipulere objekter molekyler Hvis disse to nettlesere ikke er installert i maskinen kan man f rst installere Atmosphere player og til slutt installere I Cartana Verml Client x Hjern Hjelp Avslut Quiz Karbonatom E D Velkommen til Karbonkjemi Verden En 3D verden for 10 klasse Karbonkjemi er et 3D web basert program for 10 klasse i ungdomskolen for l re karbonkjemi Denne verden ble laget i samarbeid med to elever fra 10 klas
152. ructional needs Having discussed some of the most important basic learning theories and what the process of learning may involve the next section discusses the methods and the models for designing and implementing multimedia programs The focus of the next section is on the methodology chosen for designing and developing the 3D prototype 22 5 Methodology In this section a discussion of the methods and models that can be used to design and develop multimedia learning programs are presented followed by a discussion of the chosen method to be applied in the design and development of the 3D prototype For the planning design and development of the 3D prototype the theoretical basis and methods suggested by Alessi and Trollip 2001 Donald A Norman 1988 and Alan Dix et al 1997 for designing and developing programs will be discussed in this section The four components discussed under section 4 2 presentation of information guiding the learner practice and assessment can also be applied when designing multimedia programs There are several goals for developing a multimedia program A computer program can be used to present initial information with further guidance from the instructor it can be used to review material that initially had been presented in a lecture A computer program can also be used for the first three phases where assessment will be done in the traditional way If a computer program should be responsible for total ins
153. s of actions are visible Donald Norman 1988 29 5 2 2 Model for Design and Development of Multimedia Learning Programs The following section describes the model to be followed under planning design and development phases for the 3D prototype The reason for choosing this model is because it is very detailed and explains step by step how multimedia learning programs should be designed and developed which is very helpful for inexperienced system developers Moreover the 3D prototype to be developed is intended to be a web based learning program which falls into the category of multimedia learning programs described by Alessi and Trollip 2001 Alessi and Trollip 2001 propose a model to be used as guidance in the planning design and development phases of multimedia programs The model described in Figure 10 has three phases which are planning design and development The model also includes three attributes which are standards ongoing evaluation and project management This model was designed to be flexible so each developer can adjust it according to their project s needs STANDARDS PLANNING Define the scope Identify learner characteristics Establish the constraints Cost the project Produce a planning document Produce a style manual Determine and collect resources Conduct initial brainstorming Define the look and feel Obtain client sign off DESIGN 6 O Develop initial content ideas Z Q
154. s very confusing to know what was happening The buttons in the right frame were difficult to understand I thought that when I clicked on the buttons something would happen and that I didn t have to click on the window afterwards But if you compare this with a graphic program it is just the same you have to click the buttons first and then activate the window and use the mouse pointer to draw The VRML browser gave little feedback I did not understood what was happening S5 It was hard to know how to move the molecules in the VRML browser I think there were too many buttons and some of them did not work One thinks that something will happen when you click the buttons but here one has to choose the button first and then click on the molecule and use the mouse pointer or the arrow keys in order to move the molecule in the desired direction It is obvious that when a program has a lot of functions it is more difficult to use T did not like the functions of the VRML browser it has too many buttons and this is confusing I think it lacks feedback especially the go button that deactivates itself after using it one time One has to choose the go button again in order to zoom in the molecule and I think this was unnecessary S6 Nothing happened when I clicked on the buttons of the VRML browser but when I understood that I have to click on the window as well so it was fine 114 U11 3D Scene Avatars Lacks Feedback Thr
155. s 103 Figure 56 Testing the guest book siasncccaien itis nate diideavis Anti aaa niin hi aaths aea ba taa 104 Figure 57 Posting a comment into the guest DOOK 0 0 cc eeceesscsseseceseceeesecseesecnersecsaeecesaecaeesecseeseesaeeeesaecatesesneeaes 105 Figure 58 Testing the drop down MENU 2 0 00 sinovini noei n m ehe e RA aa a a tR 106 Figure 59 Faking a gul ra ere lare raaa bessvinnietias a Ea E EAE EE E Ea EEEE EEEE nani es 107 Figure 60 Feedback from the quiz dialogue bOX sesseseessesrseeeresesrstserterstssrststetterstssesestetretetssesestreretsersrsrerrerse 108 Figure 61 Exiting the pr rot pe oreore ee erea reee Eo e EA EA EEEE aA ERE SE OEA ESERE EEE ESTEER EAEE 108 Figure 62 Improving the quiz s dialogue bOX sssssessesessststerereesssrststttteretssrsestetterstssesesteteetstssesestrretserseseerreret 125 Figure 63 Moving the navigation buttons to the top right side of a web page cs eeceeeeceteeeeteceeeecneeeeeeeeeees 126 Figure 64 Enclosing the drop down menu and the go to button in a frame eee eeeeeceteeeeeteceeeeecnereeeeeeees 126 Figure 65 Using another VRML browser Blaxxum Contact 5 1 cceeesesscseeseceseeeceseceeesecseeseceaeeeesaecateseeneeaes 127 Figure 66 Including a quiz inside the 3D scene 0 eee eeeeeesseesessesecseeeeesecaeesecuersccsaeeeesaecaeesecsessecsaeenesaecateaeeneeats 127 Figure 67 Building molecules inside the 3D scene 0 ee eeeeeeeeeceseeeeesecseesecseeseceaeeeesaecasese
156. s about using English terms instead of Norwegian especially when talking about VRML browser and avatars I could have thought of a Norwegian term instead Another thing that I could have done differently was the VRML browser chosen for showing the molecules The chosen browser had so many buttons and functions making it a difficult tool to use for both teachers and students I should have chosen another tool for displaying the molecules for instance Blaxxun Contact 5 1 as shown in Figure 65 A that have fewer controls thus making object manipulation more intuitive Another point that I could have done differently was the amount of interactivity included in the 3D scene I could have included more interactivity in the 3D scene by implementing the quizzes inside each room and allowing the users to construct their own molecules When implementing learning environments it is important to have several methods for assessing leaning The 3D prototype does not provide the teacher with the possibility to assess how much the students have learned This is a fair criticism and something that I should have designed more carefully Finally there are always things that could have been done differently when designing and developing interfaces However one is not aware of the problems and errors that may be encountered before facing them and testing the interface with end users That is why it is important to perform ongoing evaluations during the design and
157. s entering the 3D scene Users had to click inside the 3D scene in order to activate it as shown in Figure 47 C 95 Adresse http submission intermedia uib no betzy prototype 3dverden welcome html v g csu Koblinger Nec Current Avatar Send Avatar Avat Vel ko mmen I Ke Received Avatars Figure 47 Choosing avatars Further four of six subjects S1 S3 S4 S5 needed help to know how to activate the 3D scene These subjects were told that they had to click on the 3D scene window in order to activate it and start navigation see Figure 47 C Only subject S2 and S6 entered the 3D scene without needing help Task 2 Testing the Buttons under the 3D Scene Window Figure 48 shows task 2 Subjects were asked to test all of the buttons under the 3D scene window The functions of these buttons are explained in Table 17 Adresse g http submission intermedia uib no betzy protot Coy 8 Mea Figure 48 Testing the 3D scene buttons S1 and S2 Tested the chat function and other buttons without difficulties S2 is presented because he came up with some comments while performing the task 96 S2 Subject started testing all of the buttons under the 3D scene He tested collide gravity show my avatar and got the avatar to fly The subject tried to use some shortcuts like A W S D in order to move the avatar in a more advance way but he realised that these shortcuts were not available in the 3D proto
158. s have problems dealing with too much information 117 Acceptance Subjects were asked if they would use the 3D prototype to learn more about the carbon chemistry topic Alls six subjects gave positive answer Would you use this program to learn more about carbon chemistry topic S1 Yes I think so because I don t know much about this topic yet S2 Yes to put it plainly it is better than the text book you learn more S3 Yes if I had this as a major topic I would use this program to get an overview of the topic S4 Well I don t like 3D very much but I think this is a good program to use for students and this together with math programs gives new ways of working in such a way that is fun and students manage well S5 I would use it with students so they learn more about the topic S6 Yes I would Motivation Subjects were asked if they thought 3D models and the 3D world could be a motivation factor to learn more about carbon chemistry All six subjects gave a positive answer Do you think that 3D objects and the 3D scene can be a motivation factor for learning carbon chemistry topic S1 I think so because it is more interesting to go inside the 3D world and look at the molecules than reading a book It is more interesting to see 3D models S2 Yes it can be a motivation factor S3 Yes I think so S4 I think that students will like it they are very enthusiast
159. sability test of the 3D prototype All of the teachers agreed to participate and the date for the evaluation was set according to their available time see Appendix D Access to pe and the Internet The subjects were asked to answer yes or no to the following questions Oo YOM Access to Internet other yes yes yes yes places Used of 3D programs before Table 26 PC access All subjects 1 S6 had access to a personal computer at home as well as access to the Internet at home which made them all equal when it comes to pc and Internet accessibility All subjects except for S4 had access to the Internet at other places S1 and S2 specified that they had access to the Internet at school Subjects 3 S5 and S6 had also access to the Internet at work which are the schools they work for S4 did have access to Internet at work but did not use It Concerning the use of 3D programs all subjects except for S5 had never used a 3D program before S5 had used 3D programs before called Molekyl PC and Programs Patterns of Use Subjects were asked to range how often they used computers and how often they used certain programs as shown in Table 27 pCi g dss Jsa SSS Web based learning Seldom Seldom Never Never Monthly Never programs Table 27 Programs pattern of use Four of six subjects S1 S2 S4 and S6 used personal computers 0 1 hour a day while two of six subjects S3 and S5 used personal computers 2 to 3 hours a day When
160. se ved Ytrebyggda ungdomskole Tommy Stigen Olsen Camilla Yang s og l reren Helga Sunde a Figure 30 The entry point of the 3D prototype Ki Internett The screen is divided into 4 frames Frame A displays the entry point of the 3D world and all 3D scenes Figure 30 A Frame B displays information pages and VRML molecules Figure 30 B Frame C displays a navigation bar with buttons and menus Figure 30 C Frame D displays web pages with content about carbon chemistry topics Figure 30 D The welcome page shown in Figure 30 D informs the users of the general purpose of the program and how the program is composed and works Frame B displays help information about how to navigate in the 3D scene with avatars and how to manipulate the 3D models displayed in the VRML browser 67 8 5 3 The Main Hall of the 3D World As discussed in section 7 5 Flowchart 1 and 2 the 3D prototype is divided in four parts or worlds e The main entrance e The inorganic world room 1 e The organic world room 2 e The synthetic world room 3 8 5 4 The Main Entrance The main entrance to the 3D world contains graphics and general information about carbon chemistry topic atoms and molecules as shown in Figure 31 F Karbonatom H kan m n ri lem om kartonniomet Karhonatomer har tp akvorar sin indr nksil og fre tt ytre skal H e s Syklopentan fum Hjem l Hjelp l A
161. seesecsseeecesecaeesecneesecsaeecceaecasesecseeseeeaseeesaeeeesaesaeeeeens Figure 7 Virtual WOrld PAEAS E E EA E EA E E us ubcouedusseuvaesbeuceesasuabens coecbeccdvbaveuetoauee Figure 8 User controls playing a Quick time animation Figure 9 The waterfall model with feedback from maintenance activity to other activities ssseeeeseeeeeeeeeeeeee 28 Figure 10 Model for design and development ce ccsscssescseeeecsseeecesecseesecneesecsaeeeesaecatesecsessesnaeeecsaeeeessesaeeeeens 30 Fig r 11 Example ofa mock up ex teei eg eeri roere eE arera EEE odin ei E EIE EEE EE 37 Figure 12 Mock up 1 Screen layout of the 3D prototype Student 1 eseeseesesseeesessstsrrrtereresrserrrrreresssrsrererreree 42 Figure 13 Mock up 2 Screen layout of the 3D prototype Student 2 essseesssseeresesestsrrreerererrserrrrrererssrsrsrerreree 43 Figure 14 Mock up 3 General view of the entry point to main 3D scene Student 1 00 cee eeeeeeeseereeeeceeeeeeee 45 Figure TSA hot word IMK a e ae eare e E hve E io ae eh oie EET beings R EE A E ss 47 Fig r 16 Semantic Cues eein e Suet E E E E E EE ip E EE S EEE OE EE ENS 47 Figure 17 Screen layout of the 3D prototype essseesesseesesssrstsisseeressseststetretetsstststettetstsesestetretetsstststetstsesesreeetet 50 Figure 8 QUIZ e ea orea nae eann n E eea aaae a Sea Raa eae s See aeaa aa a sustains aN aaNet 52 Fis re 19 Chat WIndows tnra ep eaae ei AREE EEE oaee aE Ea etase eE Ea aN e date 52 Figure 20 Avatars
162. ser Usually this web browser contains a lot of information forum discussions seminars and tutorials about different topics It is possible to see live lectures with a whole class chatting and participating in a lecture AWEDU Browser In order to visit Active World Educational Universe it is necessary to have the AWEDU browser installed 16 The browser allows navigation in virtual worlds It has four main windows as shown in Figure 3 below A Active Worlds Chemistry at ground zero facing N DAR Fie Teleport View Options Show Login Avatar Visibility Web Help Advanced Mode Contacts lt clicca qui gt Ez MLCCANISMI Lt READONE EJ Telegrams muto DAI sastera Geant Aueteeons b irern F Teleports ascona n vivuubcemii CARAT oe y A ene lt Corte M mpenn Help p ER PAES baw 0 lathes apes nanna Worlds penitans tapea ria rio aH Tinto semen Cnt ARYA niati i gaida home nfor f reitas nr F In rrr r ecercita7ioni c Talle W E 95 Worlds 64 siaii 3 xs buiding cura di Dr Cinzia Gandini cHEMEE 6 Diverse Fe GrMuseum C Showcase a9 visions centre G AGORA 9 Alkmaar Fe nalysys ar2unite j T E Immigration Officer du ional Uni betzy Immigration Officer Che Es ni di Chimica e Propedeutica Biochimica oooo o 8 Download complete Figure 3 The AWEDU Browser Chemeet World e The main window Figure 3 1 The main window shows the chosen 3D world In o
163. ser as for instance Blaxxun Contact 5 1 or RasMol plug ins e Make the information frame that displays web pages larger so that users do not have to scroll down the pages in order to read the information e Position the go to button and the drop down menu so that users understand that these two controls function together e Provide more feedback when navigating in the 3D scene with avatars by giving information when avatars move through portals e Include some other kind of shortcuts like placing the avatar in a desired position and not only allowing the avatar returning to entry point e Make the 3D scene with avatars more interactive by including the quizzes inside the 3D scene e Provide the possibility for users to build their own molecules inside the 3D scene e Include a user guide or system documentation to be delivered with the final version All of these suggestions for improving the 3D prototype can be implemented however due to the time constrain of this thesis and because a new design cycle is needed only some of the suggestions mentioned above are presented in the next section with examples of screenshots manipulated with MS Paint The screenshots shown below are not yet implemented in the 3D prototype 124 13 2 Re designing the 3D Prototype The following suggested improvements are presented in this section 1 Provide more information in the dialogue box after taking a quiz e g both right and wrong answers 2 Posit
164. shed the 24 09 2003 see Appendix A Table 1 and 2 The network assistant helped to complete the necessary information 6 3 1 Timelines Timelines were established as a guideline for the work to be done under design and development phases Table 6 During the meeting on 05 09 2003 see Table 3 for details certain deadlines were suggested by the teacher The reason for setting these deadlines was to ensure that the students would be able to both complete their duties to the current project as well as other obligations not related to this project Constraint Timelines Deadline Starts 15 09 03 Planning and Design The teacher two students and the system Deadline 30 01 04 Deadline 30 01 04 Expert review author Starts 01 02 04 Formative evaluation Two students Deadline 30 02 04 one on one evaluation Starts 01 03 04 Formative evaluation Four middle school teachers Deadline 30 03 04 one on one evaluation Anne Aasdal Kirsten Knudtzon Idar Mestad and Brit Aarstad and the evaluator author Table 6 Timelines constraints 6 4 Resources During the planning process it was important to gather as much resource materials as possible The collected materials and resources included any type of item that could aid in the development of the instructional 3D prototype The resource materials that were used during design and development phases were Subject Matter Resources This type of resource included any item that containe
165. side the main hall but did not see any indication to where to start the exploration of this world She pointed out this immediately and said that students could not know which topic to start reading first since they do not know the complexity of single double and triple atomic bonding She recommended to add some kind of guidance or information sign to this world indicating the appropriate sequence that students should follow in order to understand more complex topics The organic world shows molecules of hydrocarbons with single double and triple atomic bonding Further this world shows a more complex group called hydroxyls which were already in a separate room The changes pointed out by the teacher were adjusted some days after the review Figure 44 shows the main room of the organic world with two signs added Sign A Figure 44 A shows an arrow indicating the direction in which students should start the exploration 86 Adresse http ffsubmission intermedia uib no betzy prototype 3Sdverden welcome html v Ga til Vi anbefaler Setimen om begynne turen i A denne retningen E Hydrokarboner K Metan 2 8 E a aAa gt Alkaner Alkaner er bygd opp av karbonatomer og hydrogenatomer Disse binder seg sammen i lange kjeder Et karbonatom har fire elektroner i sitt ytre skall Disse brukes til 4 binde seg sammen med andre atomer For a lage et molekylkjede m karbonatomet som er i en kjed
166. some of the molecules covered are beyond the curriculum but this is fine I particularly liked the table of contents with all the different molecules representations It was well done with the colour codes Is anything unclear about the content The content is systematic it is good The content is a bit extensive but it is an advantage because the students that want to learn more about this topic have the possibility 84 Comments The teacher went through all web pages paying particularly attention to the table of contents especially the table that explained the different types of molecule representation See Figure 42 Modell Formel Fordeler Ulemper Kjemiskformel H20 viser hvor mange atomslag som finnes i viser ikke hvordan molekylet er bygd molekylet opp viser hvor mange atomslag som finnes i RETEN Strukturformel H O H molekylet og hvordan de er bundet til eae aes neet EA ELSE eN hverandre Kalottmodell Ay Viser avstanden mellom atomene i molekylet Mar lisa ekamainellnesr melen 4 atomene 4 Viser bindinger i molekylet og hvordan Avstanden mellom atombindinger er Kule pinnemodell a atomer er plassert i forhold til hverandre for stor Kapselmodell A viser atomtype i molekylet og avstanden viser ikke atombindinger mellom mellom bindinger atomene Tr dmodell viser typer atomer i molekylet Pisebibbe abometneineer me em atomene Figure 42 Table of contents Logical sequence This point tries to establish whether the
167. stinguish between different types of molecular model representations Lereplanverket for den 10 arige grunnskolen p 216 1996 e Students shall learn to distinguish between different types of chemical bonding and describe them in general terms Lereplanverket for den 10 arige grunnskolen p 216 1996 e Students shall conduct experiments to see how elements react in contact with others and how they make new atomic bonding with new qualities Lereplanverket for den 10 arige grunnskolen p 216 1996 40 7 3 Prototypes The primary reason for prototyping is to gather user feedback to an evolving design A prototype can describe to some extent how the program may look and work Vredenburg et al 2002 The use of a prototype is important in an iterative development methodology because prototyping provides better collection of user requirements it is time saving it increases the quality of the design it helps to start early testing and it also increases user involvement Prototypes can be used throughout the design and development phases There are different types of prototypes e High fidelity Prototypes This type of prototype is fully interactive meaning that users can interact with the prototype in the same way they would interact with the real application With high fidelity prototype users can evaluate navigation orientation and other functionalities that the final application will have A high fidelity prototype is used during
168. t http www uwsp edu chemistry pdbs Molecules Molecular modelling for chemical education Available at http www molecules org Protein Data Bank PDB Available at http www rcsb org pdb Thermoplastics Available at http www psrc usm edu macrog plastic htm VRML File Creator for Chemical Structures Available at http www2 ccc uni erlangen de services vrmlcreator index html 134
169. tary metal or behavioural units The behaviourist view on knowing emphasises that what someone knows is often a reflection of that person s experience and that coming to know something requires an experience in which that knowledge can be acquired Greeno et al 1996 Learning is viewed as the acquisition and strengthening of responses Wilson and Myers 2000 In other words learning is the formation of the associations between ideas or stimuli and responses A response to one situation comes to be associated with another situation thus making transfer possible Motivation and engagement in learning occurs because of rewards punishments and positive or negative incentives This means that without reward or punishment there is no motivation for learning 20 4 1 2 Cognitivism Most congnitivist psychologists found the behavioural approach unsatisfying when it came to explaining the processes inside the human mind Around 1970s cognitive psychology became a more dominant paradigm for learning Cognitivism emphasises the process that goes on in the mind of individuals such as memory motivation and others unobservable internal processes Wertheimer the founder of Gestalt psychology contributed much to the development of cognitivism and the idea that people learn through insight Cognitivism views knowledge as symbolic mental constructions in the minds of individuals In other words information and processes are organised as constructed pa
170. tation should be provided with examples and graphics rather than abstract descriptions Table 22 Usability heuristic principles 9 2 Formative Evaluation Why formative evaluation Formative evaluation helps the designer of a product during the early development stages to increase the likelihood that the final product will achieve its stated goals Evaluation in this definition means the systematic collection of information for the purpose of making informed decisions to improve the design of the product The term formative indicates that information is collected during the formation of the product Flagg 1990 Formative evaluation refers to the process of gathering information to advise design production and implementation decisions The main reason for performing formative evaluation is to inform the decision making process during the design production and implementation stages of an educational program with the purpose of improving it Flagg 1990 According to Martin Tessmer 1993 the term Formative is used in a developmental sense The evaluation target is instruction in its formative stages instruction that is developing and not yet finished The term Evaluation is a data gathering process to determine the worth or value of the instruction of its strengths and weaknesses The identified strengths and weaknesses are used to revise the instruction to improve its effectiveness and appeal There are two major evaluatio
171. ted 1 time and usability problem U4 for information on the signs and dialogue box being too difficult to read because of small font type or lack of space between the text was reported 5 times H2 Minimize Users Memory Load Two usability problems were found U5 U6 U5 for information not being available when needed was reported 2 times and U6 for the quiz dialogue box lacking information about wrong answers was reported 4 times H3 Consistency Two usability problems were found U7 U8 U7 for buttons located at the bottom of web pages should be moved was reported 3 times U8 for links lacking colours contrasts was reported 1 time H4 Feedback Visibility of system Status Three usability problems were found U9 U10 U11 U9 for buttons in the navigation frame lacking feedback was reported 1 time U10 for the VRML browser lacking feedback was reported 3 times and U11 for the 3D scene s buttons and avatars lacking feedback was reported 3 times H5 Clearly Marked Exits and User Controls Three usability problems were found U12 U13 U14 U12 for problems when navigating in the VRML browser was reported 6 times U13 for having problems when navigating in the 3D scene with an avatar was reported 2 times and U14 for having problems when navigating the web pages was reported 1 time H6 Shortcuts One usability problem was found U15 U15 for lacking some shortcuts for interacting with the 3D prototype in a quicke
172. teractions with the 3D prototype The questions asked under the interviews were designed in advance taking into account the 7 heuristics principles listed in Table 29 for a detailed explanation of heuristic principles see Table 22 Table 29 Heuristics principles used for the evaluation Interview Guide Description This section presents how the questions for the interview were designed taking into account the heuristic principles listed in Table 29 Each principle generated a set of questions as explained below To see the interview guide refer to Appendix F for the interview guide in English To see the interview guide questions in Norwegian refer to Appendix G Speak the user s language As mentioned in Table 20 this heuristic principle is about trying to match the system with the real world which means keeping the language as familiar to the target users as possible and avoid foreign and technical terms when possible Subjects were asked about the language used in the 3D prototype For instance if the language was too technical or if the terminology used throughout the web pages and inside the 3D scene was easy or difficult to understand Another important point of this heuristic principle is to match the system metaphors with the real world Subjects were asked if they understood the metaphors used in the 3D prototype for example the house building metaphors implemented in the 3D scene Subjects were asked what they thought the build
173. th the evaluator The evaluator sits with the learner and observes how the learner uses the instruction The evaluator may question the learner during the evaluation and then at the end of the evaluation The major goals for this review is to get information from the point of view of the learners when it comes to ease of use learner performance and satisfaction clarity of the instructions appeal and usability problems e Small group evaluation this stage involves a group of learners reviewing the program The evaluation takes place in an environment that is similar to that in which the program will be used in a realistic manner The group of learners may be given entry tests pre tests post tests and will be debriefed at the end of the evaluation The main goal of performing a small group evaluation is to discover the strength and weaknesses of the instruction so the primary purpose is to improve the instruction e Field test This stage involves evaluating the instruction in the same environment in which it will be used The purpose of field tests is to confirm the revisions made in previous evaluation stages To make general revision suggestions and to investigate the effectiveness of the instruction This section presented the theoretical framework for the evaluation of the 3D prototype The following steps were discussed Human Computer Interaction usability methods heuristic principles formative evaluation and layers of formative evaluation
174. the 3D Prototype In this section the steps used for planning the design of the 3D prototype will be presented A schedule of the activities as well as the persons involved during this phase is presented first in Table 3 22 08 2003 Helga Sunde middle school Meeting at Ytrebygda middle school A preliminary teacher at Ytrebygda school discussion about the topics to be included in the 3D Hjellestad Bergen Norway prototype took place The teacher also provided text books and the curriculum plan for the 10 grade 05 09 2003 Helga Sunde secondary school Meeting at Ytrebygda middle school to discuss the learner s teacher at Ytrebygda school characteristics and choose the students that will be involved Hjellestad Bergen Norway during design and evaluation phase of the 3D prototype as well as to establish some deadlines for the activities involving the students available at Ytrebygda school was classified by the network assistant and noted down 24 09 2003 Two 10 graders students and Meeting at Ytrebygda middle school with the two chosen the network assistant at students The purpose of the meeting was to explain to the Ytrebygda school Hjellestad students what this thesis is about as well as to clarify and Bergen Norway show examples of what 3D learning environments are and what is expected of them during design phase of the 3D prototype At the end the students were interviewed and asked questions about their familiarit
175. the light blue colour for hydrogen s atoms Subject went back to main world and tried to interact with the books in the main room he tried to click on them and went to another room Comments A difficulty when performing this task was that three of six subjects S1 S2 S5 tried to interact with the book placed on the table in the main hall see Figure 55 A These books were only for decoration reasons and do not provide any kind of feedback one Gen Organiske verden sven vi man finne uike organiske ir bant amet ises hydrokarboner eks alkaner alkener og alkyne U hay kan man se modeller ay ia somfeks alkoholer 1 Viensker de ge ra dewr l of Bragg Figure 55 Interacting with objects 103 Task 12 and 13 Testing the Guest Book Subjects were asked to go to the synthetic room and click on the guest book as shown in Figure 56 KKIS Gjestebok Vi takker for deres bes k i var 3Dverden i KKIS GJESTEBOK V re gjester er velkomne til skrive s i kommentarer til oss a Hvis det er noe som kan forbedres kan man eg eS skrive forslagene i gjesteboken 28g AE i Hjem Avslutt Hjelp f Quiz Karbonatom v Gatil Hei Dette var gay Bade kritikk og ros mottas med takk Posted by Camilla Vang4s at February 13 2004 09 28 AM Dette ser jo bra ut morsomt var det ogsa Pr v og ta av graviteten P Ser jo helt bra ut dette her Poste
176. the program may look and work During this phase flowcharts and storyboards are also created to show the general or detailed flow of the program Development This phase is when all the planning and design steps are activated to produce the program During this phase all the computer code is written to make the whole program function All the material that the program may include such as images animations videos movies audio text and controls should be produced and assembled together The support materials such as user guide or manual should be produced It is very important to do alpha testing during the development phase An alpha test should be carried out by experts and will discover design problems early before the program is ready Each test should be followed by revision in order to make the necessary changes in the program and eliminate problems Beta testing should be carried out with a larger group of users A final revision after performing a beta testing should be done in order to correct usability and design problems of the program before it is ready for deployment After discussing the chosen methodology for developing multimedia programs which is web based learning and the chosen model for designing and developing multimedia programs see Figure 10 it is appropriate to present in the next section all the steps that were applied under planning design and developing phases of the 3D prototype 31 6 Planning the Design of
177. them in order to come up with ideas during design phase Figure 11 Example of a mock up This section presented the steps that took place under the planning phase of the 3D prototype Under this section the following steps were described the scope of the content to be implemented in the 3D prototype the characteristics of the learners that implies what is the level of competence of the target users the software hardware and timelines constraints the resources and materials available for implementation and the look of the program which implies the screen layout of the 3D prototype The next section presents the steps that took place under design phase of the 3D prototype 37 7 Designing the 3D Prototype During the design phase two meetings took place at Ytrebygda middle school Table 8 summarizes the time place persons involved and the activities that took place during design phase of the 3D prototype Meeting date Activity 21 10 2003 Helga Sunde teacher at Ytrebygda school Discussion about the topics to be included in the 3D Bergen Norway prototype brainstorming session 10 11 2003 Two 10 graders students at Prototyping drawing mock ups of the screen layout Ytrebygda school Bergen Norway Table 8 Schedule for design phase During the design phase all the details for producing an effective product were described The model depicted in Figure 10 suggests a number of steps for this phase The following steps were take
178. tig svar er a Alkyner har trippelbinding mellom karboatomene i kjeden Sp rsm l 4 Hva er navnet p denne kjemiske formel C7H16 Riktig Du svarte Heptan Sp rsm l 5 Hvilket av f lgende formler er et hydrokarbon Riktig Du svarte C2H6 Din poengsum er 2 Kommentar Du kan g tilbake til den organiske verdenen Figure 62 Improving the quiz s dialogue box 125 Suggestion 2 Another suggestion was to position the navigation buttons back and forward buttons of the web pages to the top right side of the pages Figure 63 A shows a web page with the navigation buttons positioned at the top of the page Tiere Neste gt A Bevegelser med Tastaturet Bevegelser tastatur Framover Pil opp Bakover Pil ned venstre venstre pil H yre H yre pil Stige opp Shift pil opp Stige ned Shift pil ned vipp syn opp Ctri pil opp Vipp syn ned Ctrl pil ned Shift venstre pil Shift h yre pil Fly til venstre Fly til h yre Figure 63 Moving the navigation buttons to the top right side of a web page Suggestion 3 Locate the drop down menu and the go to button so that users understand that these two controls function together One way of implementing this new feature is to enclose the drop down menu and the go to button in a frame in order to indicate that these two controls function together Figure 64 A shows how this feature may be implemented in the navigation bar of the 3D prototype Keboneiom
179. tion activities and the subjects involved in the evaluation Evaluation date Activity 13 02 2004 Two students from Ytrebygda school One to one evaluation usability test 23 02 2004 Teacher Brit Aarstad One to one evaluation usability test 08 03 2004 Teacher Kirsten Knudtzon One to one evaluation usability test 11 03 2004 Teacher Idar Mestad One to one evaluation usability test 12 03 2004 Teacher Anne Aasdal One to one evaluation usability test Table 24 Evaluation activities The next section presents the results from the usability test Data gathering was performed with three methods questionnaires observation and interviews First the results from the questionnaires are presented followed by the results from the observations Finally the results from the interviews are presented 91 12 2 1 Questionnaires Results Before starting to use the 3D prototype subjects were given a questionnaire The information sought from the questionnaires was about the subject s profile and computer use The following types of questions were used e General questions Subjects were asked questions about age sex and occupation e Multi choice Subjects were presented with a choice of explicit responses and were asked to select yes or no The questions of this section concerned access to pc at home access to the Internet and use of 3D programs e Ranked A list of different applications was presented and subjects were asked to rank the items of the
180. tion of mechanically aware systems The instructional applications developed under this paradigm were designed to assume the role of a skilled teacher In other words these applications were designed to provide every student with a personal tutor The underlying theory is cognitivism Instruction consists of activities designed to facilitate the acquisition of knowledge The applications were designed to pose a problem with interactive feedback to the learner The research focus for this paradigm is on instructional competence rather than instructional efficacy Koschmann 1996 Logo as Latin Paradigm This paradigm emerged in the 1980s and had its basis in constructivism that earlier originated in the work of Piaget 1976 Learning is viewed as the process in which new information interacts with prior knowledge through a process of assimilation and accommodation The applications designed under this paradigm focused on letting the learners teach the computers so that learners assume the role of the teacher The learners engaged in programming activities such as designing and building programs with emphasis on the use of Logo a programming language designed for young children by Wally Feurzeig in the mid 1960s The research focus for this paradigm is on instructional transfer and on learning to program in the service of more general educational objectives Koschmann 1996 Computer Supported Collaborative Learning CSCL In 1996 Koschmann intr
181. tives discussed varied from just explaining concepts by plain text or hypertext to making images and tables of content to illustrate important categories making images and video streaming to show some examples of atoms and molecules including VRML programming to show molecules in 3D format among other alternatives for presenting information List of contents Topic Carbon chemistry oS o Oe Show a table that illustrates different representations What are the differences between the types of molecular Show the same 3D model in different representations to representations illustrate the differences between the models Make a table Molecular formula wire frame ball and stick capped of contents with images sticks and CPK or space filled What are the properties of carbon atoms Show a figure of a carbon atom and explain its properties Show a movie What is plastic Explain the concept with examples images and show 3D models of different kind of plastics What do alcohol molecules look like Show a 3D model What types of alcohols molecules are there Make a table with images and examples and show also 3D models What are single double and triple atomic bonds Make a table with images to illustrate the differences Where are plastics found Give practical examples of what kind of objects are made of plastic What are organic solvents Explain the concept and show images make a table with images of it What can organic solvents d
182. to the teacher were predefined and are given in Appendix B Goals of the Expert Review The goal of the expert review was to evaluate the content quality of the 3D prototype For this purpose the information sought from the review was divided in two major types e Content information Evaluate the content completeness accuracy logical sequence and narration level e Teaching information Evaluate the match of the content to learner level curriculum fitness and appeal of the instruction The following section presents the results from the expert review in accordance to content and teaching information The teacher had already read all of the web pages available in the 3D prototype before starting the evaluation so she knew exactly the content of the whole 3D prototype The teacher started running the 3D prototype from the following URL http submission intermedia uib no betzy prototype index html The teacher s answers are presented in quotation marks and her answers were translated into English The questions are presented in italics e Completeness The teacher was asked if the content about carbon chemistry topic was completely covered or if something was missing from the topic She went through the main entrance of the 3D scene and entered the inorganic world where substances such as diamond graphite carbon dioxide and fullerene are shown and explained She pointed out the following 83 Is the content complete Yes the
183. truction the four components described under section 4 2 should be present Alessi and Trollip 2001 suggest eight methodologies for designing and developing interactive multimedia programs these are tutorials hypermedia drills simulations games tools and open ended learning environments tests and web based learning A discussion of these eight methodologies is beyond the scope of this thesis From these eight methodologies web based learning was chosen as the methodology basis to be used for the design and development of the 3D prototype 5 1 Web based Learning Web based learning is a method for developing a learning environment when using the web as a delivery system it is possible to combine various technologies such as visual audient and text Web based learning is designed using hypermedia methodology Hypermedia is based on hypertext which means text that contains pointers to other texts that are related The term hypertext has its origin in the work of Vannevar Bush and Theodor Nelson Bush and Nelson proposed a new way of designing and storing information that would be easier to manage and use by linking texts that are related Hypermedia consists not only of hypertext with information linked together but also includes objects like images audio and video The web is used for learning in mainly two ways 1 traditional on site learning and 2 support for distance learning e On site Learning Is learning in the traditiona
184. tterns of symbols Learning is viewed as acquisition or reorganization of cognitive structures through which individuals process and store information Transfer of knowledge depends on acquiring an abstract mental representation that can be transferred to other situations Motivation and engagement comes from the person s interest in learning and engaging in activities it is a relation between individual and the organisation of information There are three elements that help motivation challenge fantasy and curiosity Greeno et al 1996 4 1 3 Constructivism Constructivism has lately emerged as a challenging learning paradigm to cognitivism There are different approaches to constructivism that are cognitively and socially oriented Piaget and Vygotsky among other theorists can be described as constructivists Vygotsky s theoretical framework is based on the idea that every function in the child s cultural development appears twice first on the social level and later on the individual level first between people inter psychological and then inside the child intra psychological Vygotsky 1978 The main idea behind constructivist perspective is based on the individual s own knowledge construction and understanding of the world through experiences Another important aspect of constructivist is based on the theory that learning always occurs in some context and that the context affects learning This is also known as situated le
185. type The subject was interrupted and was asked what he was doing and he answered I am trying to move the avatar in a more advanced mode like strafing instead of rotating which is something I am used to when playing Half life 3D game The subject continued using the 3D prototype and was now testing the chat function He tried a shortcut nick in the chat window in order to give a name to the avatar He chose the shortcut instead of using the preference button which displays a dialogue box where users can enter the name of their avatars S3 Subject entered the 3D world and started using the buttons under the 3D scene window Subject started testing the chat function and needed help to know how to write a message in the chat window Subjects did not know where to click in order to activate the chat window She tested the preference button gave a name to the avatar Tried the controls button and tested all of the functions for the avatar like making the avatar invisible visible shorter larger She tested collide and gravity buttons and try to make the avatar fly She also tested the show my avatar buttons on and off S4 Subject tested the chat function but did not know how to activate the chat window and write a message The subject was shown where in the chat window to click in order to write a message Subject tested the controls button and tried all the functions available for the avatar like opaque disappear etc Subject used th
186. uation would have given a different set of usability problems but it would have been difficult to distinguish between what was a usability problem and what was an ability problem because of lack of computer skills On the other hand the major strength of the evaluation might be the fact of using expert teachers for reviewing the 3D prototype since experts come up with many suggestions for improving the interface 122 12 4 2 Strength and Weaknesses of the Usability Methods Three methods were used to gather data during the usability test of the 3D prototype questionnaires observation and interviews These data gathering methods have both advantages and disadvantages Questionnaires have the advantage that they can be administered to many users and are answered quickly However the major disadvantage of this method is that it is not flexible and subjects answer questions without further explanation Further questions are difficult to design without performing a pilot test Interviews are very flexible the questions asked to subjects can be further clarified and deepened Interviews are effective for eliciting information about users preferences and impression and opinions about the interface The major disadvantage of interviews is that they only elicit information about users opinions of the interface and not about the actual performance while using the interface Observations is a very simple method since the evaluator watches th
187. uators the sequence of actions refers to the steps that an interface will require a user to perform in order to accomplish some task The main focus of a cognitive walk through is to establish how easy a system is to learn Dix et al 1997 Thinking aloud involves having a test subject use the 80 system while continuously thinking out loud and verbalizing their thoughts thus making it easy to identify users major misconceptions Nielsen 1993 The principles of validity and reliability should be noted no matter which method is chosen to gather data Reliability is about whether the same results can be reached if other researchers repeat the test Validity refers to the question of how well the gathered data reflects the research question or hypothesis of the study in question When it comes to usability methods these two principles are a downside of these methods The reliability of usability tests is a problem due to the enormous individual differences between test users Nielsen 1993 If other researchers were to repeat the same test but using other users it is not probable that the same results can be reached Validity of usability tests may arise some problems involving using the wrong users or giving the users the wrong task which again will give wrong results Observations Observations are the simplest of all usability methods since it involves observing the users while using the system Users are asked to complete a set of pr
188. used through the whole program S4 The links can have a stronger colour contrast between the last visited link and the active links so you can se the difference between last visited and active link Heuristic 4 Feedback Visibility of System Status One major breach was reported here Subjects stated that the system was not keeping them informed about what was happening when interacting with it That the 3D prototype lacked feedback when interacting with buttons the VRML browser the avatar and the 3D scene Subjects were asked about the 3D prototype s response when executing an action Subjects reported some problems about the system not showing status when executing some actions U9 Buttons Lack of Feedback One of six subjects reported lack of feedback when interacting with the buttons in the navigation frame Do you get feedback from your actions when interacting with the 3D scene VRML browser and the web pages S2 I had some problems with the help button when I clicked it nothing happened I did not see any change because the help page was already there I expected feedback from the system but nothing happened U10 VRML lacks feedback Three of six subjects reported lack of feedback when interacting with the VRML browser S4 Navigating in the 3D scene was new to me and I did not know what to expect when I clicked on the buttons under the 3D scene or the VRML browser For instance the frame with the molecules wa
189. ut the following Are the tests difficult The quizzes have a tolerable level for average students but the weaker students can experience that they do not manage to answer some of the questions What is good for weaker students is that they can help themselves by going inside the prototype and navigate in order to find the answers in the prototype while taking a quiz What should be changed here is the dialogue box when one gets the answers The questions should be provided too In this way they can read the questions and answers simultaneously You should show the questions in the dialogue box Comments The 3D prototype includes 4 quizzes when students answered all the questions from one sub topic a dialogue box is displayed showing the score and what option they answered The dialogue box did not include the question text so it was not possible to remember what question was answered Figure 46 shows the dialogue box with the question text included as suggested by the teacher 88 Microsoft Internet Explorer Sp rsm l 1 Hvilket av disse stoff er et Alken Riktig Du svarte Eten Sp rsm l 2 Hva er et hydrokarbon Riktig Du svarte En sammensetning ay hydrogen og karbon Sp rsm l 3 Hvor mange bindinger har karbonatomet i Alkyner Riktig Du svarte Trippelbinding Sp rsm l 4 Hva er navnet p denne kjemiske formel C7H16 Riktig Du svarte Heptan Sp rsm l 5 Hvilket av f lgende formler er et hydrokarbo
190. utton with a drop down menu Help and Documentation This principle points out that any system should provide documentation help and search possibilities in order to help users with tasks to be performed on the system The 3D prototype has a help button and subjects were asked if they used this function at all and if they found the information they were looking for or whether they missed any other type of help function in the 3D prototype At the end of the interviews subjects were asked two open questions One question is about interaction if they missed any other form of interaction with the 3D prototype and to comment on the interaction options available in the 3D prototype The other question was about appeal acceptance and motivation Here subjects were asked if they would like to use the 3D prototype for learning more about the carbon chemistry topic and if the 3D prototype can be a motivation factor to learn about the carbon chemistry topic Finally subjects were asked a question of appeal and acceptance whether they think the visual aspect of the 3D prototype will help to use it The following section presents the results from the interview the usability problems found during the interview will be presented pointing to the heuristic principle breaches Subject s answers are presented in quotation marks Only the subjects answers that reported a usability problem will be discussed in this section Subject s answers that did not poi
191. va er et hydrokarbon Riktig svar er c Hydrokarboner er en sammensetning av karbon og hydrogenmolekyler Sp rsm l 3 Hvor mange bindinger har karbonatomet i Alkyner Riktig svar er a Alkyner har trippelbinding mellom karboatomene i kjeden am Sp rsm l 4 Hva er navnet p denne kjemiske formel C7H16 Riktig Du svarte Heptan Sp rsm l 5 Hvilket av f lgende formler er et hydrokarbon O c Propan d Heptan Riktig Du svarte C2H6 z Di ue 5 Hvilket av f lgende formler er et hydrokarbon asakan a CsHs OH s b C2He c CH 0H djcOz Kommentar Du kan g tilbake til den organiske verdenen Din poengsum Pr v pa nytt Figure 38 Taking a quiz the results 8 6 Alpha and Beta Testing The purpose of alpha testing is to go through the program to evaluate the content the program s flow strength and weaknesses and to identify errors Beta testing is the full or final test of the program before deployment the purpose behind a beta test is to discover usability problems The beta test is performed with end users Alpha and beta testing are also referred to as formative evaluation and will be explained in detail in the evaluation part of this thesis In this section the following steps were presented Preparation of the text which implied writing the content of the web pages The program codes and tools used to implement the 3D prototype were explained in details The grap
192. valuation Before starting the evaluation subjects were informed about the purpose of the evaluation They were told that it was the system that was being evaluated not them They were informed of the purpose of the evaluation and how long the evaluation would take The subjects were also informed about the procedures of the evaluation and that they were going to be observed while using the 3D prototype and that notes would be taken Further they were informed that after finishing the reviewing of the 3D prototype an interview was to take place and that the interviews were going to be disc recorded which they agreed to Subjects were also told to ask questions under the evaluation if needed Subjects were first given a questionnaire to fill in before starting to use the 3D prototype Then they were given a set of pre defined tasks to be performed by using the 3D prototype They read the set of tasks and were told to ask questions if something was unclear Then subjects started using the 3D prototype Observation took place notes were taken and some questions were answered during the evaluation when subjects asked for help Finally when the subjects finished the predefined set of tasks a break of 15 minutes took place before starting the interviews The interviews were disc recorded with a Mini Disc The evaluation of the 3D prototype was performed with one subject at the time and it took several days to perform Table 24 shows an overview of the evalua
193. ve any they had to be told that in order to move the object in the VRML browser window one has to click on the window see Figure 51 C and move the mouse or use the arrow keys in the keyboard in order to manipulate the object Task 5 6 and 7 Testing web pages and links For performing these tasks subjects were asked to read information in the web pages to use the links and try to navigate back and forwards between the pages and print one page a Karbonatomets fysiske egenskaper figur1 Karbonatom A Atomisk struktur Atom nummer 6 Smeltepunkt 3823 K 3550 C Kokepunkt 4098 K 3825 C Stabile Isomerer 2 Et karbonatom har 6 elektroner To elektroner i det indre skallet og 4 elektroner i det ytre skallet Karbonatomer binder seg sammen med andre atomer med elektronparbindinger Hvert ytreelektron kan lage fire elektronparbindinger og dette gjgr at et karbonatom kan binde seg til seg selv og til andre stoffer p mange forskjellige m ter Sewu Teake _ B Figure 52 Testing web pages s S3 S4 S5 S6 These subjects had no difficulties performing this task S1 The subject read the information page shown in the information frame and used scrolling to read all of the text She tested the print button for printing a page She read web pages of this section but did not manage to navigate back and forward between the pages She did not see the back buttons located at the bottom of the web pa
194. vigation method Hyperlinks Take the user to a destination inside or outside the same site This is a hyperlink Buttons May allow navigation back or forward between pages a Menus Give a list of choices allowing direct navigation between web All Products pages or site locations All Products Hardware Accessories Software Text searching Allows users to find text or pages quickly Table 1 Navigation methods examples 5 1 2 Orientation The concept of orientation means knowing where you are Visualizing where you are in the program is very important to avoid getting lost in hyperspace Because of the nature of the Web where every web site has different layouts and navigation methods it has become more difficult to keep the user oriented of where they are in hyperspace There are some orientation cues like navigation metaphors frames sitemaps bookmarks among others that help users to keep oriented in a web based application Orientation methods will be discussed under section 7 4 2 Table 2 shows some examples of orientation methods 24 Orientation method Frames Allow dividing the screen in different sections so information can be displayed in one section while keeping another part of the window unchanged Frame 1 Frame 2 Site maps Give a pictorial overview of the program allowing the user to know the current location in the site Bookmarks Allow users to mark pages w46 Boo
195. vslutt Quiz Karbonatom v G karbonatom binder seg lett sammen med andre stoff p mange ulike mater Karbonatomets fysiske egenskaper Fullfort D Internett Figure 31 The main entrance All signs inside the 3D scene have an information sign like this one Figure 31 A meaning that the sign can be selected When the users select a sign with a molecular image on it the 3D model of the molecule is displayed in the VRML browser Figure 31 B and a web page with information about the molecule is displayed in the information frame Figure 31 C The avatar is looking towards the movie about carbon atom Figure 31 D 68 8 5 5 The Inorganic World Inside the inorganic room there are images of molecules related to the topic of inorganic chemistry as shown in Figure 32 In this room students can select images about inorganic substances such as carbon dioxide diamond fullerene etc Karbondioksid c02 mer og oksygen og som ikke regnes med som et organisk stoff Denne gassen dannes blant annet ved I av olje gass og kull forbrenning av planter og dyr nedbrytting av d de planter og dyr cellanding hos planter og dyr Ved forbrenning av olje planter og dyr binder karbonatomer seg sammen med to oksygenatomer Denne gassen slippes ut i luften og plantene tar denne Opp ved fotosyntese Gjennom fotosyntesen blir karbonatomene fra karbondioksidmoleky omdannet til energi Nar planter og dyr spiser forb
196. w is that it cannot provide performance or opinions from a learner s point of view An experts point of view about instructional effectiveness and learners appeal is inferential and sometimes the opposite to what learners think is good or bad instruction Tessmer 1993 When it comes to one to one evaluations one major advantage of performing one to one evaluation with end users is that it elicits information from the end users point of view No expert evaluation can provide the perspective and reactions of a learner from the target population One disadvantage of one to one evaluation is that these evaluations do not involve a great number of end users may therefore not be representative of the target population Furthermore one to one evaluations are performed with end users which depend primarily on the user s opinion and performance During the evaluation of the 3D prototype only two learners two 10 graders participated in the usability test The other subjects were experts although they also are end users since the 3D prototype is supposed to be used by both learners and teachers So the greatest disadvantage of the evaluation might have been not including more students do graders in the evaluation with different skill levels Another point to notice is that the two 10 graders that participated in the formative evaluation were above average learners with high level of computers skills Using below average learners under the eval
197. y and ability with computers After meeting the students The software and hardware Table 3 Planning phase schedule For the planning of the 3D prototype some of the steps in the model depicted in Figure 10 were followed The planning phase gives a general understanding of what the project is about The following steps of the planning phase will be discussed Define the scope of the content Identify learner characteristics Establish the constraints Determine and collect resources Define the look and feel 6 1 The Scope of the Content During this step it is necessary to establish what is to be learned and by whom In order to establish the scope of the content a meeting with the teacher of the class took place on 22 08 2003 see Table 3 for details During this meeting several topics of the natural science curriculum that include abstract concepts were discussed with the teacher Helga Sunde The discussion was based on several textbooks including the textbook used by her class Tellus10 Natur og milj fag for ungdomssteget 1999 and the curriculum plan for 10 graders Lereplanverket for den 10 arige grunnskolen 1996 The following chapters of 32 Tellus10 textbook were reviewed Chapter 3 Carbon chemistry chapter 4 Diet and digestion and chapter 7 Genes and inheritance After reviewing and discussing the textbook the teacher came up with the following topic to choose from e Carbon chemistry e Genes and inheritance e Diet
198. y is an important feature of hypermedia and multimedia programs It is a very limited form of interaction if users can only read text watch videos or listen to audio Web based learning programs should support a higher level of interactivity For this reason the 3D prototype includes self tests or quizzes related to the topic of carbon chemistry The students suggested having a quiz inside the 3D scene where they would 51 have to answer some questions in order to proceed to other rooms of the 3D scene However since weaker learners may find this too difficult quizzes were only included at the end of the sections and outside the 3D scene Figure 18 shows an example of a quiz included in the 3D Prototype 1 Hvilket av disse stoff er et Alken O a Alkohol O b PVC O c Diamant O d Eten Figure 18 Quiz e Chat Functionality Another form of interaction is the chat functionality included in the 3D scene The learners can chat with one another and discuss the material being presented to them in synchronous time Figure 19 shows an image of the chat window included in the 3D prototype The chat window appears in a separate window and can be opened and closed whenever needed Figure 19 Chat window e Avatar Interaction The 3D prototype includes avatars that students can choose to navigate with or without inside the 3D world The avatars available in the 3D prototype vary from human figures to animals or robot like figures The use of avat
199. ystem which are discovered after release This step is iterative its provides feedback to all of the other steps as shown in Figure 9 The waterfall model of software system life cycle is used in user centred design According to Donald A Norman 1988 User centred design is a philosophy based on the needs and interest of the user with an emphasis on making products usable and understandable Donald A Norman 1988 Donald Norman 1988 suggests taking into account the following point during design phase e Make it easy to determine what actions are possible at any moments e Make things visible including the conceptual model of the system the alternative actions and the result of actions e Make it easy to evaluate the current state of the system e Follow natural mappings between intentions and the required actions between actions and the resulting effect and between the information that is visible and the interpretation of the system state He suggests that a designer has to make sure that the user can figure out what to do and the user can tell what is going on in the system Design should make use of the natural relationships and natural constraints As much as possible it should operate without instructions or labels Any necessary instruction or training should be needed only once A simple explanation will suffice if there is reason to the design if everything has its place and its function and if the outcome

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