There are many definitions of collaborative learning depending on the purpose and mindset of the researcher. Dillenbourg summarizes it as ... a situation in which particular forms of interaction among people are expected to occur, which would trigger learning mechanisms,
but there is no guarantee that the expected interactions will actually occur" (p. 5). Interaction can take place either face-to-face or via tools. Many tools are available online and these are collectively known as Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL). Examples of CSCL include wikis, blogs and learning management systems (LMS). User interface design issues arise with the use of tools, especially to cater for users with varied skill sets, knowledge and preferences.
An important part of the collaborative learning systems is the human computer interface or otherwise known as the user interface. It establishes mutual communication between the users and the machines through the process of inputting and outputting information physically. It also interacts with the users perceptually by displaying things which can be seen or heard and conceptually by displays or messages to work out what it does and what the users should be doing. (David, 2005)
According to Stoney (1998), the user interface is the most important factor when using IT within an organization. The interface is the system for the users. A good interface design can facilitate communication and reduce error guidance for users. Furthermore, it should meet the different needs of various users. (Chao, 2009)
Principles of Good Interface Design
Effective user interfaces are designed based on principles of human interface design. Over the years, various high-level interface design principles have been developed by various researchers at different times. Chao described "the usability design of human-computer interface." Constantine and Lockwood supported the "usage-centered design." Shneiderman proposed "eight golden rules for dialog design". Similarly, Molich and Nielsen suggested "a checklist of usability considerations in a good dialogue." Hence, our list of design principles put together from the various researchers is shown in Table 1.
Good interface design approach cannot be summed up in a single way and all the views of the researchers are valid. A comparison among Table 1 shows many similarities and emphasizes significantly on the usability aspects of interface designs. Achieving usability requires adopting a human-centered approach to design in which evaluation plays a central part. One way to approach usability is balancing between the PACT elements (David, 2005):
• People
• Activities people want to undertake
• Contexts in which the interaction takes place
• Technologies (hardware and software)
Chao
Shneiderman
Mayhew
Constantine and Lockwood
Molich and Nielsen
Principle of Humanity
User compatibility
Principle of Safety and Stability
Protection
Principle of Consistency
Strive for consistency
Consistency
The reuse principle
Consistency and standards
Principle of Habit
Familiarity
Principle of Concision
WYSIWYG, Invisible technology
The visibility principle
Aesthetic and minimalist design
Principle of Flexibility
Flexibility, Ease of learning and ease of use
The tolerance principle, The structure principle
Flexibility and efficiency of use:
Principle of Memory
Reduce short-term memory load
Recognition rather than recall
Principle of Predictability
Principle of Emotion
Principle of assist through multiple-ways
Work flow compatibility
Help and documentation
Simplicity
The simplicity principle
Offer informative feedback, Design dialog to yield closure
Responsiveness
The feedback principle
Visibility of system status:
Support internal locus of control
Control
User control and freedom:
Offer simple error handling, Permit easy reversal of actions
Robustness
Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors, error prevention
Enable frequent users to use shortcuts
Product compatibility
Match between system and the real world
Task compatibility
Table 1: Comparison of user interface design principles by various researchers
User interaction issues with interface design for collaborative learning (Literature review: Problems)
Future trends and conclusion
The ways people interact with computers are often driven by technologies and tools for developing solutions. (Olsen, 2005) Today it is hard to imagine a single industry not impacted by more powerful, faster and cheaper computing. Moore's Law states that the chip performance doubles every 18 months but costs half as much as they do today and the increased connectivity of computers has a profound effect on the kinds of user interface to an increasing diversity of ubiquitous computing devices. The next-generation user interface software tool also has an impact on user interface design in the collaborative learning arena. These tools aid in the design and development of user interface.
The implication of these developments means that we can expect a growing interest in recognition-based user interfaces, especially speech, and camera-based vision systems. These new modalities interfaces will be created faster and be integrated cost-effectively into new ubiquitous and mobile environments. (Myers, 2000)
With the rise of ubiquitous computing, user interface will also be embedded into the hardware itself such as the physical buttons and switches. Other new user interface paradigms emerging are an increasing need for 3D and end-user customization. (Myers, 2000) For example, 3D collaborative learning environments can become an interactive interface for accessing e-learning material and include multi-user tools to support interaction among learners and tutors. (McArdle, 2009)
