Feedback from Stakeholders
Reflect on who you were able to have conduct the usability testing? Were you able to get the right people? Why or why not? What can you do to better improve this in the future?
I was able to get feedback from four stakeholders: my district’s Director of Elementary EdTech, my district’s K-5 Elementary Math Specialist, an elementary teacher from my district, and an elementary teacher from another district. I requested feedback from one of our district’s math instructional coaches but I did not get a response.
I feel I was able to get the right people to give me feedback. I wanted an elementary math specialist since my PD was designed for K-2 teachers, I wanted an EdTech specialist because of the blended learning component, and I wanted teachers who would actually be taking the course.
In the future, I would reach out through a phone call rather than an email. Due to the staff being out for summer vacation, I had to work around their time off schedules.
The usability test was set up so that it would take the stakeholders approximately 30 minutes to complete. I emphasized this in my emails to them and stressed that they do not need to watch the videos in their entirety, but I did ask that they complete the Start Here module and look deeply into Module 1. According to the feedback, they followed the guidelines.
What impact did your platform (LMS, Google Docs, or other digital sharing) have on the testing and results?
I used the Canvas LMS. My district does not use it but I was told it may be the LMS of choice in the future. Most elementary teachers are already familiar with it because of their prior experience with the Texas Reading Academy, which was mandatory by the state. The feedback I received regarding a question of “ease of usability” rated it as easy to navigate by all stakeholders.
What were the lessons you learned from the usability testing feedback?
One lesson I learned from the feedback was that I will need to include a welcome/introductory video. I included a presentation using Google slides with my voice explaining why my professional development was different from what they were used to. The feedback was positive but I did receive a comment from one stakeholder suggesting that I provide a video with my face to introduce myself and allow users to get to know more about me. It was stated that the personal effect would put teachers more at ease knowing a little about the presenter.
What have you done to your design to address the usability issues revealed in the testing?
I will record a video teachers to see me speaking to them and introducing the course content, a little about myself, and what the outcome of the course will be.
What have you added or taken away?
The introduction video is all that I will add at this time. I have not taken away any parts of the course.
How has this process improved your course and your learner’s experience?
Having stakeholder feedback helped me to understand how my course would be perceived. It is a very different process to write a course through the mindset of being the instructor than it is being the teacher taking the course. Even after taking many PD sessions of my own, it was difficult to see through the lens of the teacher since I had created the course.
How has the testing impacted your alignment of outcomes, activities, and assessment?
Since my course was designed for teachers, I tried to create the course modules so that teachers would be introduced to new material, have time to reflect, time for collaboration, and time for hands-on projects to share with their grade level peers. The stakeholders commented on how important the collaboration piece was to this course.
How will you address the infrastructure, system, and support needs and issues the learner may face?
In the future, I will definitely create a welcome video speaking to the participants and giving detailed information on where to go for assistance. I included contact information in the Start Here module, but I will also set up a link for a Webex or some other live video conference to help the teachers. I will also make it clear where to get help within Canvas if the teachers have never used it before.
Blended Elementary 