User-testing proved to be an integral practice in the mobile learning design process. User testing led to new activities, designs, and features. This process improved the overall user experience and interface. Now the user-flow is simple, time-saving, and gives users autonomy in their learning experience.
User-testing proved to be an integral practice in the mobile learning design process.
User-Testing Phase 1: Paper Prototypes
Paper prototyping helps inform the design process by allowing the inventor to test initial ideas at low costs and rapid iterations. My paper prototyping phase consisted of three main components: the pre-learning activity survey, learning activity, and the post-learning activity survey. Although at a very small scale, the overall data I collected helped inform the target age of the users, media awareness, and relevancy of the fake news issue.
The initial learning activity was a game-like experience with 5 main core mechanics, which included: a survey data collection through a text-based tutorial, selection of the real or fake article, tag the article with red or green flags to support decision-making, a tutorial video explanation of the validity of the article, and an option to share the article through a social media outlet. Figure 1 illustrates the initial user flow of the learning application.
There were many valuable conclusions drawn from my first user-testing. I found that the game-like challenge is not engaging for my target age group, 30 to 40 years old. The overall learning experience is very time-consuming and would not be suitable for a working adult who is limited with time. A user expressed the initial iPhone messaging tutorial, which essentially replaces the pre-learning survey, was fun but time-consuming. Lastly, from a product stand point, there is an enormous workload to develop curated content for this activity to stay current with the latest news.
User-Testing Phases 2-4: Low-Fidelity Digital Designs
After I had enough data to support the objectives of my mobile learning activity, I moved onto designing Fake Me Out as a low-fidelity digital prototype. I recommend using Balsamiq because it is simple to use, web-based, and pretty intuitive. There were a total of 4 user-testing sessions, which led to the latest iteration of Fake Me Out. Figure 2 illustrates the most recent user flow of the mobile learning application.
Review the slides below for a visualization of the user-testing process
To view a presentation and a video-walkthrough of the latest prototype of Fake Me Out, go to my projects here.
Andrea Mozo 