User Experience (a hidden barrier) in OER

More Open Education Resources (OER) and learning environments are being created and starting to mature and there are a number of barriers to learning and creator participation. One often overlooked barrier that has been given less attention, especially within OERs, is user experience (UX). UX is the way a person feels about using a product, system or service. We are creatures with emotional needs and, in the rush to get great content open and available sometimes the usability, the wow factor and good design principles get left by the wayside. I will demonstrate ways to think about UX for your OER and learning environments and why this is an important factor in helping engage learners with our educational materials. ‘The real payoff comes when we can make that remarkability last. When we can make people continually feel our work is worthy of discussion. When—for weeks, months, maybe even years— the people who engage with our work continue to sing its praises to everybody they meet’– (Jared Spool in Walter, A. Designing for Emotion). Walter, A. (2011) Designing for Emotion, A Book Apart. http://www.abookapart.com/products/designing-for-emotion

Introduction to Hypermedia

What is the user experience of hypermedia? Common hypertext structures plus Ryman's hypertext novel "253"

Usability testing on EdShare

The first set of Usability testing on EdShare (7th June). Tests where carried out using Silverback on the Mac. This is unedited footage - Each video is around 20minutes long.

Web4All: Web Accessibility and Usability at the University of Southampton

"Web 4 All" promotes digital inclusion at the University of Southampton through a process set up to deliver web products that are accessible, usable and enjoyable to use.

A User-Centric Approach to eCertificate for Electronic Identities (eIDs) Management in Mobile Environment

The use of electronic documents is constantly growing and the necessity to implement an ad-hoc eCertificate which manages access to private information is not only required but also necessary. This paper presents a protocol for the management of electronic identities (eIDs), meant as a substitute for the paper-based IDs, in a mobile environment with a user-centric approach. Mobile devices have been chosen because they provide mobility, personal use and high computational complexity. The inherent user-centricity also allows the user to personally manage the ID information and to display only what is required. The chosen path to develop the protocol is to migrate the existing eCert technologies implemented by the Learning Societies Laboratory in Southampton. By comparing this protocol with the analysis of the eID problem domain, a new solution has been derived which is compatible with both systems without loss of features.

Jmodels: Java models of earth system regulation

The JModel suite consists of a number of models of aspects of the Earth System. They can all be run from the JModels website. They are written in the Java language for maximum portability, and are capable of running on most computing platforms including Windows, MacOS and Unix/Linux. The models are controlled via graphical user interfaces (GUI), so no knowledge of computer programming is required to run them. The models currently available from the JModels website are: Ocean phosphorus cycle Ocean nitrogen and phosphorus cycles Ocean silicon and phosphorus cycles Ocean and atmosphere carbon cycle Energy radiation balance model (under development) The main purpose of the models is to investigate how material and energy cycles of the Earth system are regulated and controlled by different feedbacks. While the central focus is on these feedbacks and Earth System stabilisation, the models can also be used in other ways. These resources have been developed by: National Oceanography Centre, Southampton project led by Toby Tyrrell and Andrew Yool, focus on how the Earth system works.

Mobile OS Whitepaper Summaries

A summary of white papers on Android, IOS, Symbian and Series 40 Mobile Operating Systems

Mobile App Development Platforms

Tutorial Resources

Event Driven Programming in Java

Event driven programming is a way of writing a program that works by responding to things happening (rather than executing a preplanned series of tasks). It is most often used to manage more advanced user interactions, such as GUI programs. In this session we look at how event driven programming works in Java GUIs, as both an introduction to events (using MouseListeners), and also to the way that GUI programs are constructed.