This course was designed with my Innovation Plan in mind. It is a blended learning PL course that moves learners through the first year of implementing the Reading Horizons Discovery program. The audience includes educators, administrations, instructional/literacy coaches, paraprofessionals, and others who may be involved in program implementation. The overarching goal of the course is to develop educators who embrace the role of learner and continually strive to reflect and adjust their foundational literacy teaching practices to ensure optimal student outcomes through implementing the Reading Horizons Discovery program.
For usability testing, I knew that I would not be able to share the proprietary information from my organization with anyone outside of the organization. However, I was able to get two of my colleagues from within my organization to participate in my usability testing. While they were not the target audience for this course, they were the right people because they fully understand the current PL offerings and see the benefit of this blended learning course as a way to prepare teachers to implement our program more effectively. I met with my usability testers via Zoom and had them share their screen with me as they completed the Usability Criteria. In the future, I could improve usability testing by getting permission to pilot the course for one full year with a test group of teachers implementing the Reading Horizons Discovery program.
Usability Criteria:
- Join the Google Classroom
- Read the Welcome message
- Navigate through the Welcome module, reading instructions to ensure clarity and clicking all links to ensure they are functional
- Click through and review each session outline
- Ensure Evaluation Survey links are functional
Google Classroom as the LMS worked out very well because all of my colleagues utilize Google products on a regular basis. It was very convenient for me to invite them to the Google Classroom and they were able to access all of the Google resources in docs, forms, and sites. I think the LMS I chose had a favorable impact on the testing and results because of its familiarity and ease of use.
I am so grateful for my colleagues who provided valuable feedback during usability testing. They were able to identify areas in my instructions and wording that needed clarification. Another helpful suggestion was to put together a short walkthrough video for how to register for an account on my organization’s teacher resource website. This is where the online component video modules are housed, so it is crucial that each learner in my course is able to access the site. While I had provided instructions in the course materials, I agree with my colleagues that there are going to be some learners who need a visual of how to navigate to the online component modules.
Based on the usability testing feedback, I have made the following changes:
- Adjusted the title of my introductory module in the course from ‘Start Here’ to ‘Welcome.’ This was done because there was also a section within that module titled ‘Start Here’ and it was confusing.
- Changed the wording of the instructions for the online components in Sessions 1 and 2 to more accurately reflect the tasks learners need to complete.
- Added a video walkthrough of how to register for an account on my organization’s teacher resource website, and how to log in and access the online video module content on that site.
- Add links to all needed resources within the course, in addition to the resource website. This allows learners to easily access everything they need directly from the course, as well as access those resources in the future after they no longer have access to the course.
I believe that the usability testing process is a necessary step to improve the course so all learners have a positive experience with the course. I know the changes that I made will help my learners navigate all aspects of the course more successfully. While I did make several changes to the course based on usability testing feedback, none of these changes fundamentally affected the alignment of learning outcomes, activities, or assessments.
Each cohort for this course will be different depending on the school or district that is implementing the Reading Horizons Discovery program. My organization will provide the course resources, facilitators and program materials. The site will coordinate with my organization on the in-person component schedule and logistics, including providing an in-person meeting space. While my organization will address as many of the needs as possible that the learners face, our goal is really to build knowledge and sustainability within each school or district that we work with to ensure a successful ongoing implementation.
I would like to conduct additional usability testing with my colleagues before piloting the course with teachers. I will use a Google form to collect feedback.
Overall, I am pleased with the format of this course. It is bringing the vision of my Innovation Plan to life!
Facilitation Innovation 