Design of the electronic classroom graphical user interface: Nova Southeastern University's multimedia electronic classroom project

The goal of the researcher in this dissertation was to design a prototype for the graphical user interface (GUI) component of an electronic classroom (ECR) application. The ECR supports real-time lectures and question-and-answer sessions between an instructor and students participating at a distance. The first step was to analyze user needs and requirements. At the same time, this study included a competitive analysis of both existing products and existing technologies used by distance learning institutions. Results from the requirements step and the competitive analysis step were used to produce a mock-up for the user interface. A user evaluation was conducted, and modifications to the mock-up were identified. Two iterations of user evaluations and modifications to the mock-up were performed. Based on the mock-up evaluations, a web-based prototype was produced for the main electronic classroom window using the Java language. Then a usability test was conducted using the prototype.; The feasibility of implementing the design in Java was demonstrated. Preliminary evidence suggested that the GUI-based prototype was easier to use than an older version of the ECR that did not have a graphical user interface. This study resulted in several recommendations for designing a graphical user interface for real-time collaborative learning, such as the need to include a whiteboard. The results suggest that the proposed product design fills a niche for distance learning institutions that is not filled by other products.