SPLASH Project

OK, so SPLASH has officially gone live on the front end of the Internal facing University of Sussex site!

See it here...

There are some new additions to the SPLASH site and the front page:

1. #sussex keyword feed from twitter
2. bus timetables
3. Term time information
4. Flickr / BBC News feed

The reason behind this was so that we could provide information to students and staff at the front end, saving them potentially in logging in just to find that bit of info.

We are very excited about the fact that SPLASH is front page on the internally facnig site and inevitably we expect to see a rise in traffic, i.e. visitors and unique hits.

So, what happens now for SPLASH? There are a number of Academic links established and the Web Team are looking to continue these relationships beyond this Academic Year, ready for 2009-2010.

For now though, I will be leaving as Project Developer on the SPLASH project and am moving over to the InQbate centre for a fixed term. You can continue to contact me via my Sussex email address OR find me on twitter.

It has been a pleasure to work on this project and I will be keeping an eye on SPLASH, you can guarantee - every day!

Small Group Activity

So, what kind of things have been happening within SPLASH that illustrate small group activity or interaction?

There has been a small amount of this visible at the SPLASH database side, but of course, we cannot show that here because of privacy within SPLASH. The group activity was a blog by a member of staff in relation the following blog title:

Learning in the electronic age

A number of students returned comments onto the blog, which we at the SPLASH team could not see, but nevertheless, activity amongst this group was active.

PILOT groups

Activity has begun to emerge within the various academic departments involved with the Case Study, but again we cannot show these here due to the level of privacy chosen by the members of staff and students who have created discussions.

Emergence of Private Group Planning

Again, in reference to the SPLASH project, it is still at its early stages to fully illustrate what kind of small group activity is taking place, but the SPLASH Project Team believe that with the new University re-designs taking place of both the external and internally facing sites, SPLASH will increase its general user traffic and this may likely have an effect on interaction privately.

Also, with the progression of academic staff utilising SPLASH with their students at this early stage in time ready for the next academic year 09/10, it is likely we will see significant developments in the use of the system. It is also worth pointing out the current project Dr. Alana Lentin is involved in and how she wishes to involve SPLASH with this:

http://splash.sussex.ac.uk/blog/for/al229/2009/03/04/syd-for-soccul-project

SPLASH Project Walkthrough

An online Project walkthrough has been placed online for viewing. You can also download the swf flash file to view on your desktop:

http://www.sussex.ac.uk/splash/methodology.php

User Statistics

Dissemination in relation to user statistics is also now online at the following project address:

http://www.sussex.ac.uk/splash/userstatistics.php

The final project close meeting is scheduled for this afternoon at 12pm, whereby we officially conclude the SPLASH project and cover final issues and discuss future developments of the platform.

Will post shortly on the outcome of this.

SPLASH is now on twitter

View the SPLASH twitter

SPLASH Usability report - December 2008

As I haven't posted this report prior on the technical blog, it was time to do so. The Usability report has the results posted from usability sessions that were ran with 5 University of Sussex students form varying degree disciplines and ICT ability.

This post links in with Usability, PILOT Groups, Case Studies & more...

The summary of the usability testing here will cover:

1. Summary of key findings
2. Summary of results
3. Various user comments

The participants were as follows:

#1. Justyna Hodun, 1st year, History and Politics
#2. Natalie Gray, 1st year, Media
#3. Taras Zagibalov, DPhil English Literature,
#4. Hazel Mason, 3rd year, Psychology
#5. Amy Smith, 3rd year, Law

Each session ran for approximately one hour and the users tasks were recorded using screen recording software. Rather than reproduce everything in this blog, the main areas will be summarised and the full report will be available as a download in PDF format.

Users were given a preset amount of tasks to follow in using SPLASH, and users were also monitored during this process. You can view the exact type of tasks, by downloading the full Usability report at the end of this post. Following the tasks, the users were then given a list of questions to respond to that related to the key functions of SPLASH and general comments about the site.

1. Summary of key findings

1. Generally, the students found the site to be: ‘Useful’, ‘Easy to use’, ‘User friendly’ and ‘Targeted correctly’. It was surprising that a lot of the users had not heard of the site prior to their testing session and that they would inevitably use the site far more often because of its functionality and services. Impressions were generally positive and many ideas given for future development of the site.

2. A few users stated that by the time the site becomes popular, it may be their time to leave University. They however understood that this was necessary and probably a good thing for future undergraduates to get the best out of their online experience on campus and beyond.

3. All users gave clear points about the fact that the site had the ability to place lots of information in one space, on one page and not have to navigate to a large number of different sites. This was a clear favourite with all students. Students stated that the site did not have too much ‘text’, which they really appreciated. They communicated a sense of the site using far more visual than text – which was a very positive thing.

4. Throughout the test, users did experience a few small navigational confusions. Such as going to the latest blog entry, specifying widget and profile privacy settings, using the traditional search and particularly applying different settings to individual widgets. There were a number of occasions whereby the tester had to assist and/or direct the user to the correct location on the site.

5. All of the users found the adding of a profile image not very helpful and all expected to be able to add an image from their local machine, rather than an image off-site. Most users were unaware of external image sites such as Flickr or how to bring profile pictures across from Facebook.

6. A few of the users stated there was not a clear differentiation between your PRIVATE and PUBLIC space within the site. This relates to the hiding your profile within the settings area and the understanding of whether you are hiding your profile from outside the university, from other students and staff within the university etc. One user stated that within the settings area there should be a clear indication of how you could do this and maybe have specific options such as:

‘Hide from University’, ‘Hide from External’, ‘Hide Both’.

7. Questions were asked about the accessibility of the site for people who have dyslexia, impaired eyesight etc. Whether SPLASH would be able to cater for these users.

8. Users stated that the usefulness of being able to view news from the university, the badger, students union and CDEC was extremely useful. Users stated they would like to see advanced options of bringing in external RSS feeds easier than currently.

9. A number of users stated they would like to be able to separate their widgets within the dashboard by whole tabs. Thus allowing them to separate pages of widgets, giving each section a specified name and use.

10. Some users stated that the site needed more tooltips, particularly with the widget settings in order to know what each icon does. Users also specified the need for an external email widget.

2. Summary of Results

From the Summary of Findings, a priority list was compiled that focussed on the key issues that needed attention. These were as follows:

1. Examine the current navigation of Personal Blogs and Public blogs

2. Further targeted publicity of the site across the University, (such as an Open Day for SPLASH at Library Square)

3. Alter the current lists of widgets and allow for the seperation of pages of widgets at a time

4. Allow for Traditional Searching to become more prominent

5. Introduce more icons within the profile page for the user to add/amend/view profile pic, blog, courses etc

6. Add more revolving information on the homepage of SPLASH to show users reguarly some of the functions and services available

7. Import further open-source systems into SPLASH to enhance the current experience and to cater for areas such as calendars, scheduling, email, international weather and time and rich media

8. Investigate futher the relationship between Study Direct and SPLASH for students and staff

9. Further develop the layout and location of settings in relation to privacy from within the University and externally. This is particularly with regards to the profile of users.

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3. Various user comments

Do you find the functions of the site helpful and easy to use, such as the messaging and blogging to specific contacts?

Yes. Would be more useful if you could put people in groups for presentations/discuss readings before seminars etc.

Yes. I was able to find and message people on my course easily. I was also able to message a whole group, which I found useful.


How do you feel about the site design and layout?

The site is easy to navigate around and the colours are welcoming.

Straightforward layout and design that is appealing and inviting.

Do you have anything to add about the new version of SPLASH and any of its functions?

I would like to see source integration with existing internet services, such as gmail, iCalendar etc. I would like to see the addition of International Time Zones in the widget areas to cater for more international students. Also the Weather widget needs to have more detail. The search is always a problem on the main University of Sussex website and therefore it would be good if SPLASH would improve to ensure that it makes up for this. I definitely prefer the traditional searching.

More to the site than I first realised. I believed the site would be more relevant to users that utilise sites such as Facebook. Found the bus widget really helpful and I will be more likely to use the site far more often in future. I like the idea of everything being on one page and all together.

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Overall, the usability tests that ran were successful and the feedback observed covered a good spread of opinion and experience that has helped inform the SPLASH project and particularly the on-going development of the platform.

To read the the full report that includes all comments and task-by-task responses, view and download the PDF file, (79kb)

JISC Report, SPLASH and the new Internal & External sites

We are now at the final stages of the draft report for JISC, due in at the end of the month. To coincide with what has been happening with SPLASH, the new University internal and external sites are going to launch later in the year.

The most relevant issue is that SPLASH is being placed alongside the university's VLE: Study Direct and Sussex Direct, using tabs to go between the three. Alongside that, students and staff will have their own relevant areas, just as the existing site:



There will likely be some re-jigging of the SPLASH homepage, in order to bring relevant information to individuals, in terms of engaging users.

I will update soon about the final stages of the project.

It is also worth mentioning that I will be attending a JISC conference in Edinburgh next Tuesday to give a presentation on the topic: "Can technology help improve student motivation and retention?" I shall be giving a brief overview of SPLASH and how the blogs have proven a good foundation whereby students and staff raise issues and topics important to them.

Enhancing the student experience!

Bye for now,

Hesan

Jisc conference, last session

Well, Amy and i are in the last session of the jisc event currently hearing a talk about e-assessments. Been a long day, but jam packed full of great ideas and particularly about other projects and their key findings and project difficulties. I will report on this tomorrow.

JISC approaches....

Hi all,

It is fast approaching that time whereby we submit a final report to JISC and illustrate to them all of the things SPLASH has achieved, had difficulty within, expanded into and generally a big chat about the project.

It's a lot of work, but well worth it for the result at the end. I can't tell you enough of what has been happening since the end of January...But, before I do, I have a slight focus on some other things that need attention right now.

However, did you now know that Study Direct has a direct link via your profile of your SPLASH blog and profile? Courtesy of Paolo at the Study Direct team.



We feel that there could so much future development between the two, but are very much at the early stages of the potential. Post-JISC, there could be some very interesting ideas thrown around, particularly in light of Academic study and the notion of accessing documentation and files.

More to come...