A Methodology For The Evaluation Of Online Learning Resources
Tom Page · i-manager’s Journal on Educational Psychology · 2008
Novel and innovative modes of interacting with website information, which necessitate methods and tools for their evaluation have arisen. However, it is essential to develop such methods from contexts of use at a macro (i.e. cultural) and micro (individual use contexts) level. Activity theory has been used extensively in systems evaluation as it bridges these two levels. This will extend activity theory by the development of a method, Analytical Activity Method (AAM). The purpose of this method is to act as a tool to enable web designers and usability engineers to conduct usability evaluations of web interfaces, particularly the mobile web. Based on the theoretical underpinnings of activity theory, AAM seeks to extend the activity checklist (Kaptelinin, Nardi, and Macaulay, 1999) for evaluation of websites on computers or mobile devices. The application of this method contains the possibility to make visible that which was not obviously apparent from the theoretical tropes of Activity theory at system, historical and cultural level. Finally, this paper concludes that the AAM has provided a comprehensive framework within which to conduct website evaluations and informs future designs. It proposes some exciting new applications based on the AAM which not only extend activity theory but also provide a framework for understanding new methods of information access.