Arab World English Journal (AWEJ) Proceedings of  2nd  MEC TESOL Conference   2020                   Pp.133-149
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/MEC2.10

Full Paper PDF 

 

Evaluation of Hypermedia Tools in Terms of Usability Heuristics for
English Language Teaching

Vikas Rao Naidu(Correspondent author)
Department of Computing
Middle East College, Muscat, Oman
Email: vikas@mec.edu.om

Shyamala Srinivas
Department of Management Studies
Middle East College, Muscat, Oman 

Mahmood  Al Raisi
Department of Computing
Middle East College, Muscat, Oman

Vishal Dattana
Department of Computing
Middle East College, Muscat, Oman

 

 

Abstract:
The technology-assisted teaching and learning process has seen a spurt in growth in the last two decades. The education technology field has rapidly embraced new tools and techniques to enhance the student learning experience. With the evolution of multimedia elements such as digital images, audio, video, graphics, and animation, the learning supported by technology has made learning flexible and accessible in terms of time and place. With Wi-Fi enabled campuses, it is much easier for students to learn using their smart devices enabled by hypermedia content. Hypermedia, also known as active media, is the multimedia content that brings in interactivity, where the user can interact with the system, rather than viewing the content in passive mode. This helps in generating a dialogue between the system and user, sustaining user interest. Some examples of hypermedia are interactive quizzes, games, interactive videos, etc. This study aims to investigate and evaluate four interactive tools, namely FluentU, Duolingo, Livemocha, and Hello English, which are designed for language learning. A qualitative assessment of the applications, including a review of past literature on language learning using tools, was undertaken. The expert evaluation or assessment was done using Jakob Nielsen’s ten heuristics or design guidelines. The objective was to compare the applications by measuring their usability against the standard heuristics. The goal of any usability study is user satisfaction. Through this interface evaluation, the researchers have concluded for designers that could be considered during future development of hypermedia-based tools.
Keywords: language learning, HCI, interactive, usability, evaluation, and heuristics

Cite as:  Naidu, V. R., Srinivas, S., Al Raisi, M., & Dattana, V.  (2020). Evaluation of Hypermedia Tools in Terms of Usability Heuristics for English Language Teaching.Arab World English Journal(AWEJ). Proceedings of 2nd MEC TESOLConference 2020:133-149.
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/MEC2.10

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https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7354-172X
https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/MEC2.10

Vikas Rao Naidu has attained the status of Senior Fellow of Higher Education Academy of UK.
He has completed Masters in Computer Science & Engineering from Anna University India. Apart
from these, he is also a PG Certificate holder in Higher Education Professional Practices from
Coventry University, UK. Currently, he is pursuing his PhD in Computer Science & Engineering
and the domain of his research is “Education Technology”. His research area includes E-Learning,
Interactive media authoring in education, Learning analytics and Business Intelligence.

Shyamala Srinivas, is a member of faculty of Management Studies and Computing at Middle
East College. A Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, UK, she is also a certified EBusiness Professional and member of EC- Council. With a strong foundation in Information
Technology and computer applications her work experience of more than 26 years spans across
corporate and higher education in India and Oman. Her core expertise and research interests lies
in the areas of Knowledge Management and Business Intelligence, Usability studies and Human
Computer Interaction, Software Engineering and Project Management.

Mahmood Al Raisi is a final year student of B.Sc. (Hons) in Multimedia Technology at Middle
East College. His area of specialization is 3D Modeling and Animation and game development
using 2D and 3D technology. He has successfully completed his training from ITA (SAS) in
Virtual Reality, after which his major area of interest is Virtual reality and Augmented Reality
based application development. His final year bachelors project is also based on gaming, in which
he is developing a vocabulary game for Foundation students of Middle East College.

Vishal Dattana is the Moodle Administrator in Computing Department at Middle East College
(MEC), Oman. He achieved his Bachelors in computer application from Kurukshetra University
(KUK), Kurukshetra, Master’s degree (MCA) from Kurukshetra University (KUK), Master’s
degree (M.Tech) from MMU, and completed his PhD. in Optimization of stability and security in
wireless networks from Monad University in 2009. His research interests and teaching are in the
areas of MANETS, Linux, Network security, M-Commerce, IoT and AI applications. He is
actively engaged in research and publication areas of Networking and Higher Education.