Why I Chose a Survey Instead of a Test
Instead of a usability test, I chose to do a survey. The usability test in my situation doesn’t really apply for two reasons. First, the overwhelming majority of my students are only familiar with Google classroom. They have been using Google Classroom since elementary school. Secondly, Google Classroom is not as robust as Blackboard. As a result, because the LMS system has only a few features, the usability is higher.
What Did I Learn From the Usability Test?
My preconceived notions were reinforced. Google Classroom is easy for our students to use. So what did I learn? I did learn from the kids that if there is no due date on the assignment the students don’t get a message saying you need to get this assignment done. Why is this a big deal for me? When I do my projects I have an estimate of when the assignment will be due but I cannot say for sure, because of the pace of each student. I can only give them a ballpark answer. So if we have been working on an assignment for 2 days, and the kid hasn’t been here for 2 days, they will not get a notification from Google that this assignment has started. I think what I’m going to have to do is add a possible due date, and then adjust the due date as we go.
The Journey 