Computer Science

Determining the usability of fully online courses will help faculty and designers improve the design of online courses and it is expected, students’ overall experience. Few studies assess usability focused on e-learning. While research has been conducted on usability, it usually do not address pedagogical elements that are necessary for designing highly effective fully online courses. The E-learning Usability Evaluation Questionnaire created by Zaharias [29] is the closest instrument found to measure usability, including pedagogical elements and students’ motivation to learn. However, it was created for corporate settings. The purpose of this article is to present a brief review of literature, the research problem, methodology, and limitations of a proposed study designed to revise and test the adapted version of the E-learning Usability Evaluation Questionnaire [29] to educational settings using a Delphi study.

Usability in e-learning has been measured in order to improve students’ satisfaction (Nasreen & Alawi, 2011; Davids, Chikte, & Halperin, 2014). In order to measure courses’ usability in higher education online courses, the E- Learning Usability Evaluation Questionnaire developed by Zaharias (2009) is the closest instrument available. However, this instrument was originally designed for corporate settings and an adaptation was required to use it in higher education online courses. The adaptation process, including re-wording of the questions and experts’ input to obtain the adapted version of the questionnaire is described in this article. Results of the adaptation process are described, as well as validity and reliability of the redesigned instrument. Some recommendations for the use of the new version of the questionnaire are discussed.

Asynchronous and synchronous courses are offered in higher education for students enrolled in online learning. Asynchronous courses are usually available anytime for students; synchronous sessions vary, such as the time they are offered, length, frequency, and content covered in the session. Preferences of graduate students regarding their online courses are explored. The courses analyzed in this study are project-based, fully available asynchronously, and voluntary synchronous sessions are offered by the instructor on a weekly basis. Since all the content of the course is available on the course site, it was found that graduate students prefer short voluntary live sessions, offered less frequently, where key points are addressed by the instructor. Recordings of the synchronous sessions were also preferred by students, since, due to time constraints, they are not able to attend to the synchronous meetings. This study analyzed perceptions of graduate students regarding their preferences of synchronous and asynchronous modalities in the courses they are enrolled. Some recommendations for designers and faculty teaching online courses are discussed at the end of the article.

As technology has advanced, participation in the online society is common among technology users. It is very common that people use smartphones, tablets, digital watches, and computers for work, study, and personal purposes. However, researchers have recommended that students must be taught digital citizenship practices and skills since their early education. This quantitative study determined whether there were statistically significant differences between higher education students’ perception of digital citizenship and their age, gender, amount of time spent online, and computational skills. Based on the results, there were significant differences found and some recommendations for faculty to reinforce digital citizenship practices in higher education students are presented.

Usability in e-learning has been measured in order to improve students’ satisfaction (Nasreen & Alawi, 2011; Davids, Chikte, & Halperin, 2014). In order to measure courses’ usability in higher education online courses, the ELearning Usability Evaluation Questionnaire developed by Zaharias (2009) is the closest instrument available. However, this instrument was originally designed for corporate settings and an adaptation was required to use it in higher education online courses. The adaptation process, including re-wording of the questions and experts’ input to obtain the adapted version of the questionnaire is described in this article. Results of the adaptation process are described, as well as validity and reliability of the redesigned instrument. Some recommendations for the use of the new version of the questionnaire are discussed.

Determining the usability of fully online courses will help faculty and designers improve the design of online courses and it is expected, students' overall experience. Few studies assess usability focused on e-learning. While research has been conducted on usability, it usually do not address pedagogical elements that are necessary for designing highly effective fully online courses. The E-learning Usability Evaluation Questionnaire created by Zaharias [29] is the closest instrument found to measure usability, including pedagogical elements and students' motivation to learn. However, it was created for corporate settings. The purpose of this article is to present a brief review of literature, the research problem, methodology, and limitations of a proposed study designed to revise and test the adapted version of the E-learning Usability Evaluation Questionnaire to educational settings using a Delphi study.

Asynchronous and synchronous courses are offered in higher education for students enrolled in online learning. Asynchronous courses are usually available anytime for students; synchronous sessions vary, such as the time they are offered, length, frequency, and content covered in the session. Preferences of graduate students regarding their online courses are explored. The courses analyzed in this study are project-based, fully available asynchronously, and voluntary synchronous sessions are offered by the instructor on a weekly basis. Since all the content of the course is available on the course site, it was found that graduate students prefer short voluntary live sessions, offered less frequently, where key points are addressed by the instructor. Recordings of the synchronous sessions were also preferred by students, since, due to time constraints, they are not able to attend to the synchronous meetings. This study analyzed perceptions of graduate students regarding their preferences of synchronous and asynchronous modalities in the courses they are enrolled. Some recommendations for designers and faculty teaching online courses are discussed at the end of the article.