[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Learning to use software programs using worked examples in screencast videos presents a classic split-attention problem that requires learners to mentally integrate information from the video with a target application. While much is known about sound screencast tutorial design, little is known about the features of the learning environment, such as monitor configuration, that may influence learning from this form of instruction. An experiment was conducted with 42 novice learners to fill this gap by comparing the effects of two common monitor configurations which split attention in different ways. In one condition, subjects split attention temporally by toggling back and forth between the video and target application on one monitor, while the other condition required subjects to split attention spatially by shifting their gaze between the video and target application displayed on two side-by-side monitors. Effects due to the monitor set-up were assessed for measures of cognitive load, instructional efficiency, and motivation using a 2x2 study design that controlled for task order. Results indicated that cognitive load as measured through task evoked pupil response was significantly higher, pless than .05, for groups with two monitors during both instruction and testing, even after controlling for working memory capacity. Analyses of three gaze-related eye-tracking metrics and NASA-TLX ratings did not indicate any differences in workload due to the experimental treatment; however, attentional patterns indicated by the eye-tracking data were shaped by two- and three-way interactions between working memory capacity and the experimental conditions. Measures of instructional efficiency indicated that the single monitor set-up was most efficient as learners attempted to transfer learning. While task efficacy and relevance ratings increased after training, monitor set-up did not affect post-training motivation.

Online courses often include interface designs that do not support a positive learner experience. Literature shows a variety of heuristics to detect issues of online courses. While heuristic-based inspection of usability is a dominant method for evaluating digital systems, these methods cannot be easily transferred to online courses. To close this gap, we identified an initial set of social, technical, and pedagogical related items (STP) heuristics based on literature. Next, we analyzed this set using empirical data from two online courses. In total, we analyzed 195 problems with the goal to substantiate a final set of 14 STP heuristics. This new set allows for efficiently evaluating online courses by supporting evaluators and instructional designers in uncovering the most crucial issues and improving the learner experience. Finally, based on this work, we discuss a definition of learner experience for the emerging field of learner experience design and research.

OBJECTIVE:The purpose of this study was to determine the information needs of primary care patients as they review clinic visit notes to inform information that should be contained in an after-visit summary (AVS).METHOD:We collected data from 15 patients with an acute illness and 14 patients with a chronic disease using semi-structured interviews. The acute patients reviewed seven major sections, and chronic patients reviewed eight major sections of a simulated, but realistic visit note to identify relevant information needs for their AVS.RESULTS:Patients in the acute illness group identified the Plan, Assessment and History of Present Illness the most as important note sections, while patients in the chronic care group identified Significant Lab Data, Plan, and Assessment the most as important note sections.DISCUSSION:This study was able to identify primary care patients' information needs after clinic visit. Primary care patients have information needs pertaining to diagnosis and treatment, which may be the reason why both patient groups identified Plan and Assessment as important note sections. Future research should also develop and assess an AVS based on the information gathered in this study and evaluate its usefulness among primary care patients.PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS:The results of this study can be used to inform the development of an after-visit summary that assists patients to fully understand their treatment plan, which may improve treatment adherence.

In today’s information-rich world, digital literacy includes the ability to quickly evaluate social media for disinformation. Improving digital literacy involves teaching social media users how to verify posts, but how do we motivate users to actually do this evaluation in their daily lives? Video games may be one way. This article presents research on a social-impact game, Fake It to Make It, which positions players as for-profit disinformation disseminators. Drawing upon the BJ Fogg’s Functional Triad for Persuasive Computers and paying particular attention to the usability and perceived credibility of Fake It to Make It, this research analyzed the game from a persuasive design lens using player-participant data. This was accomplished through screen-captured gameplay as well as interviews and retrospective think-alouds. Additionally, to determine if the game affects abilities to assess claims on social media, preand post-intervention media literacy assessments were utilized. With this data, the researchers provide design recommendations to increase usability, influence procedural knowledge on social media, and promote continued gameplay and greater emotional/behavioral impact.

ABSTRACT How can we motivate social media users to critically analyze potential misinformation? Video games may be one way. This project presents research on a social‐impact game, Fake It to Make It , which positions players as for‐profit misinformation disseminators. Drawing upon the BJ Fogg's Functional Triad for Persuasive Computers and paying particular attention to the usability and perceived credibility of Fake It to Make It , this research analyzed the game from a persuasive design lens using player‐participant data. This was accomplished through screen‐captured gameplay as well as interviews and retrospective think‐alouds. Additionally, to determine if the game affects abilities to assess claims on social media, pre‐ and post‐intervention media literacy assessments were utilized. With this data, the researchers provide design recommendations to increase usability, influence procedural knowledge on social media, and promote continued gameplay and greater emotional/behavioral impact.

Objective:Most electronic health records display historical medication information only in a data table or clinician notes. We designed a medication timeline visualization intended to improve ease of use, speed, and accuracy in the ambulatory care of chronic disease. Materials and Methods:We identified information needs for understanding a patient medication history, then applied human factors and interaction design principles to support that process. After research and analysis of existing medication lists and timelines to guide initial requirements, we hosted design workshops with multidisciplinary stakeholders to expand on our initial concepts. Subsequent core team meetings used an iterative user-centered design approach to refine our prototype. Finally, a small pilot evaluation of the design was conducted with practicing physicians. Results:We propose an open-source online prototype that incorporates user feedback from initial design workshops, and broad multidisciplinary audience feedback. We describe the applicable design principles associated with each of the prototype's key features. A pilot evaluation of the design showed improved physician performance in 5 common medication-related tasks, compared to tabular presentation of the same information. Discussion:There is industry interest in developing medication timelines based on the example prototype concepts. An open, standards-based technology platform could enable developers to create a medication timeline that could be deployable across any compatible health IT application. Conclusion:The design goal was to improve physician understanding of a patient's complex medication history, using a medication timeline visualization. Such a design could reduce temporal and cognitive load on physicians for improved and safer care.

To synthesize findings from previous studies assessing information needs of primary care patients on the Internet and other information sources in a primary care setting. A systematic review of studies was conducted with a comprehensive search in multiple databases including OVID MEDLINE, CINAHL, and Scopus. The most common information needs among patients were information about an illness or medical condition and treatment methods, while the most common information sources were the Internet and patients’ physicians. Overall, patients tend to prefer the Internet for the ease of access to information, while they trust their physicians more for their clinical expertise and experience. Barriers to information access via the Internet include the following: socio-demographic variables such as age, ethnicity, income, education, and occupation; information search skills; and reliability of health information. Conclusion: Further research is warranted to assess how to create accurate and reliable health information sources for both Internet and non-Internet users.

The School of Information Science and Learning Technologies (SISLT) was created in 1997 at the University of Missouri (MU) as a result of a merger between the School of Library and Informational Science and the College of Education’s program in Educational Technology. Within 6 years of the merger, SISLT became one of the largest graduate departments at MU. SISLT is the academic home of master’s and educational specialist degrees in Educational Technology, a master’s degree in Library Science, and a Ph.D. in Information Science and Learning Technologies. The Ph.D program in Information Science & Learning Technologies provides a unique synergy between these two disciplines.

In this paper, we investigated the genres of learning objects (LOs) within eight e-learning courses that provide boating safety instruction in the United States. Guided by findings from our literature review, five genres of LOs emerged during the analysis, including interactive and non-interactive graphics, interactive and non-interactive animations, and interactive text feedback. We surveyed the use of each genre of LOs within the courses and found that more non-interactive LOs than interactive LOs were adopted. Also, interactive text feedback was the most popular interactive genre available for seven courses. In our discussion, we explore potential management mechanisms of LOs in digital repositories. Our genre analysis provides a foundation for appropriate deconstruction of LOs into components, which can assist with the management of digital repositories. Effective deconstruction of LOs allows instructors and designers to successfully discover LOs that they need and reuse them in new learning units.

BACKGROUND:Primary care physicians face cognitive overload daily, perhaps exacerbated by the form of electronic health record documentation. We examined physician information needs to prepare for clinic visits, focusing on past clinic progress notes.METHODS:This study used cognitive task analysis with 16 primary care physicians in the scenario of preparing for office visits. Physicians reviewed simulated acute and chronic care visit notes. We collected field notes and document highlighting and review, and we audio-recorded cognitive interview while on task, with subsequent thematic qualitative analysis. Member checks included the presentation of findings to the interviewed physicians and their faculty peers.RESULTS:The Assessment and Plan section was most important and usually reviewed first. The History of the Present Illness section could provide supporting information, especially if in narrative form. Physicians expressed frustration with the Review of Systems section, lamenting that the forces driving note construction did not match their information needs. Repetition of information contained in other parts of the chart (eg, medication lists) was identified as a source of note clutter. A workflow that included a patient summary dashboard made some elements of past notes redundant and therefore a source of clutter.CONCLUSIONS:Current ambulatory progress notes present more information to the physician than necessary and in an antiquated format. It is time to reengineer the clinic progress note to match the workflow and information needs of its primary consumer.

Evaluating distance learning environments can be a difficult task when the evaluator does not possess the appropriate skills and knowledge for the evaluation activity. Similarly, finding an evaluation tool that can be used with different types of courses can be challenging. Furthermore, complications emerge when evaluation tools have unclear definitions, along with different units of analysis and methodologies. This chapter explores the evaluation process performed by four participants with different experiences relating to subject matter expertise, instructional design, usability evaluation, and online teaching. Although participants' descriptions of their evaluation experiences were similar, the evaluation process produced inconsistent results.

The purpose of the study was twofold: to understand how usability affected physicians' performance as they used an electronic health record (EHR) and to ascertain whether use of a semantic search feature would better support physician performance during an information-seeking task. Participants (n = 10) were asked to complete two search tasks to find pertinent patient information. In the first task, participants located the information as they normally would (through browsing the EHR). In the second task, participants employed a semantic search tool. Upon task completion, participants were interviewed to further understand their perceptions and information-seeking behavior in an EHR. Statistically significant results confirmed that participants were able to more efficiently navigate through an EHR in terms of time and number of clicks when using the semantic search feature. Moreover, participants were more confident in the accuracy of their answers when using semantic search compared with the browsing method. Implications for practice are discussed.

A suite of tools is provided as part of a course management system, and effectiveness, efficiency, and learner satisfaction with these tools tend to suggest that the course is valuable. Pedagogical usability allows for a more in-depth evaluation of the course by investigating how tools are used in conjunction with instructional design techniques to obtain meaningful learning outcomes. There are varying factors that impact meaningful learning such as content organization and presentation along with minimizing non-essential cognitive load. This chapter explores pedagogical usability of online learning environments from the viewpoint whereby the design of the environment involves more than just tools, content, and delivery styles.

This case describes the agile management methods for an iPhone software development project. The overall objective was to design a smartphone solution that allowed surgeons access to dynamic Electronic Health Record (EHR) data to optimize their workflow. Three separate organizations distributed the responsibilities. Specifically, the lead organization, Cerner Corporation, collaborated with the University of Missouri Health Care and University of Missouri Information Experience Lab to create the technology. Project goals included increased surgeon satisfaction; improved task efficiency, as measured by time spent retrieving lab and vital sign data on morning rounds; dynamic data accessibility; and increased revenue from new product sales. To accomplish these goals, agile project management was utilized, applying iterative usability methods to create deliverables within a short development cycle. Each development cycle focused on user-centered design principles. Several challenges were encountered related to the user-centered design methods, usability data extraction, academic collaborations, and interface design choices.