Effect of User Interface Design in a Multimedia Courseware to Encourage Students’ Learning Process in Distance Education

Abstract

The advances and use of multimedia technology provide enormous potential by means of increased interaction between students and content in courseware to make learning more dynamic and interactive with attention to the specific needs of individual students. Some studies have shown that the interface, course structure and organization, learner interaction and engagement affect students‟ satisfaction and perceived learning in online learning environments. However, there is still limited
literature regarding how user interface design of multimedia courseware environments foster student-learning process and achievement. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of interface design and student -content interactions on students‟ perceived learning and achievement in a distance education undergraduate course. Adult learners (n=56) who registered in a distance education course participated in this quasi-experimental research design. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and one-way ANOVA and MANOVA. According to the survey results, the nature and usability of the interface design of multimedia courseware influenced learning motivation, interactivity, and achievement in a distance education setting.The study‟s findings revealed that interface design has a significant effect on students‟ perceived learning in a distance education setting and is conceptually relevant to inform practice related to increasing retention and
improving the quality of online teaching and learning. This may also need to be retested in other empirical studies on larger samples, using other research approaches and designs to allow for generalisability and gain additional credibility of the research findings.