DESTIN Project

Reflective Summary Report

by Jennifer Clarke, Tirrell Davenport, Ingrid Lyndon, Aubrey Parson & Whitney Rose

Usability Testing Description

Usability testing for the website, Bridging the Lexile Gap, was conducted on Friday,

November 9 and moderated in-person with Instructional Designer Tirrell Davenport. A total of

four students were selected using varied methods to participate in testing. There was a high lexile

leveled group and a low lexile leveled group. The students chosen to participate in usability

testing are good students who take their learning seriously. Instructional Designer Davenport

provided participants with computers to access the website. Each group of students took

approximately 25 minutes to view the site. Through observation, surveying, answering and

responding to questions, Instructional Designer Davenport was be able to collect the responses of

the participants.
 Usability Testing Findings

The students surveyed suggested that the modules be shortened, with less text for them to

read. One other poignant suggestion was for the text to be substituted with more comic strips,

because “students like to picture what goes on in a story,” and that would make their

understanding of the assignments and modules more complete. Other recommendations for

revision, according to one student surveyed, the web site design was not very attractive, but for

the most part the students found it simple to navigate. Two out of three students thought the

modules were too long, however, and that there was too much content crammed into each section

of the overall project design. One of the major points of agreement among the students surveyed

was that the videos and the comics were engaging and informative, so much to the point they

preferred looking and watching the visual media content rather than reading the text that was

presented throughout the modules and the website overall.

Revision Process Explanation

The revision process for the website, Bridging the Lexile Gap, was easy because the

design team decided to make minimal revisions. Based on the feedback gathered during usability

testing, an additional Pixton comic was added to make Module 1B more engaging. Although

some of the students stated they felt the modules are too long, the design team decided against

removing or shortening the text due to the fact the website is all about improving reading skills

and closing the performance gap for the targeted group of seventh-grade English Language Arts

students at Mary McLeod Middle School.