HU4628 Instructional Assignments

Updated 19 February 2020

This semester, HU4628 will partner with Career Services to design, draft, test, and revise several instruction sets.

This part of the course takes place between weeks 6 and 10 of the course.

Client: Nathan Axdorff, Assistant Director of Career Services; Coordinator of Career Development; Career Advisor

General instructions: Conduct heuristic evaluations and/or user interviews to identify usability problems; identify instructional interventions needed to address problems; design instructional interventions; conduct tests on interventions; revise interventions; develop recommendations; write final usability report.

Potential projects (details to be announced)

  • Career Fair app usability and learning modules
  • Career Services workshops and/or training modules related to Career Fair/Career Fest
  • Career Services website as a whole
    • Career Fair and Career Fest portions of Career Services website





Schedule for this part of the course





Thursday, February 20: Introduction to the instructional assignment: form groups and select projects.





Homework: conduct heuristic evaluations over the weekend and prepare to present your results in class on Tuesday. Write a brief heuristic evaluation report, too, similar to the one you wrote for your cross-functional team at the beginning of the team project. The heuristic evaluation results will be included in your final usability report, probably as an appendix.





Tuesday, February 25:  Lecture: Instructional design theory and sequencing; including heuristics, personas, and scenarios. P





Present: Discussion of results of heuristic evaluations.





Thursday, February 27:  Instructional design sequencing (in-class activity); continue work on planning and sequencing issues for your instructional project.





Tuesday, March 3:  MEET IN WALKER, HDMZ/USABILITY LAB.





Activity: intro to the HU department’s usability lab





Lecture/discussion: Usability testing theory. Planning usability testing with 6 participants





Homework: Line up your usability test participants and create a schedule for testing, preferably on the Monday-Wednesday immediately after break. 





Thursday, March 5: 





Lecture/activity: Draft of instructional document.  Pilot testing of usability testing plan with members of the class–in-class if at least one of your group members will be present, or outside of class if all your group-mates will be gone. 





Friday, March 6:  Before you leave for break, turn in a one-page memo briefly describing your test plan and pilot testing results.  Include your draft instructional document as an appendix, and include usability testing schedule for 6 participants.





March 9-13–Spring Break





Monday, March 16: Final usability testing plan (with revised instructions) due on Canvas.





Monday-Wednesday, March 16-18: Usability testing with 6 participants. Use classroom, usability lab, or other appropriate location.





Thursday, March 19: Present preliminary usability testing results in class and begin working on report.





Tuesday, March 24 and Thursday, March 26: 





  • Work with your CS4760 groupmates to finalize design presentation
  • Work with your HU4628 group to finalize usability report and revised instructions.





Monday, , March 30: Final instructional/usability report due.