A Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2014!Sponsored by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), this one-of-a-kind book demonstrates the best tools, resources, and techniques for discovering, selecting, and integrating interactive open educational resources (OERs) into the teaching and learning process. The author examines many of the best repositories and digital library websites for finding high quality materials, explaining in depth ...

UX design isn’t a new field. But sometimes new approaches lead to new perspectives. In this book, you’ll learn how lean UX has made the whole discipline more approachable and attractive to startups, and you’ll see that UX issues aren’t just a quick fix, but should also address big-pic- ture issues. Sometimes, the solution to a problem is just to fix a broken UX. At other times, you need to constantly fine-tune in order to keep up with changing demands. You’ll also explore wireframing tech...

The UX Book, winner of a 2013 Most Promising New Textbook Award from the Text and Academic Authors Association, is a comprehensive textbook on designing interaction to ensure a quality user experience. Combining breadth, depth, and practical applications, this book takes a time-tested process-and-guidelines approach that provides readers with actionable methods and techniques while retaining a firm grounding in human-computer interaction (HCI) concepts and theory.The autho...

Every chapter in the widely distributed first edition has been updated, and four new chapters on current issues such as connectivism and social software innovations have been added. Essays by practitioners and scholars active in the complex, diverse, and rapidly evolving field of distance education blend scholarship and research; practical attention to the details of teaching and learning; and mindful attention to the economics of the business of education.

Do you love your mobile phone? Your MP3 player? Your e-book reader? You laptop or tablet PC? There’s a reason for that. Usability.When usability testing is part of the design and development of products, the results are better products that users want and like. You may be doing testing now or want to help your company get started, but you may not have all the tools to know how to properly prepare, test, analyze, and measure the results across a multitude of cultures, generations, a...

Observing the User Experience: A Practitioner's Guide to User Research aims to bridge the gap between what digital companies think they know about their users and the actual user experience. Individuals engaged in digital product and service development often fail to conduct user research. The book presents concepts and techniques to provide an understanding of how people experience products and services. The techniques are drawn from the worlds of human-computer interaction, marketing, an...

Reinventing Project-Based Learning offers educators an accessible guide for maximizing the benefits of project-based learning in todays technology-rich learning environment. This reader-friendly book speaks directly to educators, administrators, and professional development specialists who want to transform learning into a more active, student-driven experience, using technology tools for inquiry, collaboration, and connection to the world beyond the classroom. Examples from educators in m...

How can online instructors and course designers' instruction harness the popular Web 2.0 tool, the wiki, for successful collaboration and learning outcomes? This book focuses on using wikis in the active learning processes that are the hallmark of collaborative learning and constructivism. It provides both the pedagogical background and practical guidelines, tools, and processes for accomplishing these goals with special emphasis on wikis and other collaborative design tools. This book sup...

Usability testing and user experience research typically take place in a controlled lab with small groups. While this type of testing is essential to user experience design, more companies are also looking to test large sample sizes to be able compare data according to specific user populations and see how their experiences differ across user groups. But few usability professionals have experience in setting up these studies, analyzing the data, and presenting it in effective ways. Online ...

User research is global – yet despite its pervasiveness, practitioners are not all well equipped to work globally. What may have worked in Nigeria may not be accepted in Russia, may be done differently in Brazil, may partly work in China, and may completely fail in Kuwait. And what often goes less noticed, but can be equally vexing are technical, logistical and planning issues such as hiring qualified translators, payment procedures, travel issues, setting up facilities and finding test pa...

Web 2.0, the second generation of the World Wide Web, allows us to connect, create, collaborate, and share information. When we bring Web 2.0 tools into the classroom, we transform learning. By applying these tools thoughtfully, we see a shift in student engagement, creativity, and higher order learning skills. In this companion book, the authors of the best-selling Web 2.0: New Tools, New Schools introduce you to more Web 2.0 tools and expertly lead you through classroom and professional ...

Instructors are under pressure to integrate technology into their traditional or online instruction, but often they aren't sure what to do or why they should do it. The Technology Toolbelt for Teaching offers instructors a down-to-earth guide to common technologies, explains the pedagogical purposes they serve, and shows how they can be used effectively in online or face-to-face classrooms.Designed to be easy to use, the book includes a decision-making matrix for each technology to...