ADRIAN GARCIA & SLOANE HOYLE

Problems : 1. Mobility: - Students carry too may items needed to study for classes: (backpacks, PC, books, notebooks, spirals or tablets) 2. Distractions: -Lack of in depth information for study content (books, journal articles) -Deviation from study content 3. Time : - Time it takes to get started and find information is important - Number of clicks/seconds it takes to get to needed information is critical

One Solution: Provide students with an integrated academic study tool Giving students access to a streamlined, single source of information thereby increasing work efficiencies and improving reliability Provide a rich study experience by bringing the independent resources available to the students Decreasing distractions by limiting the choices of non- academic resources

Profile Attitudes Study Habits

Undergraduate commuter enrolled in 15 semester hours Works at a local bookstore 4 days a week He has an active family and social life

Enjoys using computers and believes they make being a student easier Enjoys using applications that are useful, and is annoyed with applications that do not make work easier or are cumbersome to use Is frustrated with the amount of items he needs to carry

Study locations include: home, on campus or a local business Tries to study for tests well in advance, but often feels like he does not have enough time to prepare Tends to study by himself and in groups

 Observed students studying for midterms ◦ Students cross-reference frequently ◦ Study process follows the order: syllabus, class notes, text book, more notes and review. This process is frequently interrupted by needing additional information.

 Quantitative ◦ - Shall support cross-referencing and multi-tasking  View/Read Textbooks  View/Obtain journal articles related to study content  View/Read class notes  Connect to websites related to study content (video, ppt, pdf, reference)  Access dictionary and thesaurus ◦ - Shall reduce study time  Decrease load time due to direct connection of additional resources  Interaction with resource material pertaining to study content all the while never leaving the main context of study (text/journal article).  Freedom for an in depth discovery of information,  Limiting choices through discrete information  Minimize the cost/benefit paradigm regarding study time.

 Qualitative ◦ - Shall have ease of use  Give variety within the document; enough media resources to compliment the text in order to create a deeper connection  Provide comprehensive FREE rich media libraries  Appropriate visual cues through icons  Be intuitive - logical interaction (all swipes, taps, pinches)  No prior knowledge of underlying technology or expert training ◦ - Shall operate quietly, headphone accessible ◦ - Shall have ease of Learning  Aesthetically pleasing interface  All features clear and consistent  Contrast between text and background color  Simple Design for understanding and navigation  Appropriate buttons, headings, and help/error messages

 User Testing ◦ Walked users through four different tasks ◦ Each task set involved academic materials: - Familiarity of Navigation and Icons - Three different study task scenarios were used: 1)Books 2)PDF 3)Class Notes

Prototype developments :  Paper prototype  Interactive prototype - PowerPoint with Hyperlinks - Users inputs and recommendations were incorporated

Get rid of previous and next buttons Help page w/ icon Indicator between word and new window Add triangle to dropdown box Add “X” to close box ONE ITERATION: Dictionary Wikipedia Slideshare Youtube While reading, these icons are next to uncommon words, or words that have extra background and history that is not covered in the book. To enhance your learning experience, click on these icons next to the words to get more information. Home screen Class Books Class notes Primary navigation tools. These will be available throughout your interaction. Scribd Class PDF’s Help Flickr Ebsco Chapters

2 surveys were given: Modified SUS survey Perceived Usefulness and Ease of Use Other methods used: Think Aloud Protocol Exit Questions

Modified SUS n=24 Mean Score: 95.5 Standard Dev:

Pros :  Overall well accepted  Quick access to references  Everything in one place  Efficient and would save time  Visually Friendly  Simple graphics  Well identified Icons Cons :  Searches were predetermined  More academic resources (not Wikipedia)  Needs screen tips

 From our data:  Ease of Use ◦ Reducing the number of clicks ◦ Quick access to additional information-saving time ◦ Use of additional resources very helpful  Ease of Learning ◦ Navigation was intuitive ◦ Features were clear and consistent  User Satisfaction ◦ Provides more advantages then their current study method ◦ All but one participant said they would purchase this product ◦ Quicker task completion