Effects of interface layout design on mobile learning efficiency: a comparison of interface layouts for mobile learning platform

A study on satisfaction evaluation of Chinese mainstream short video platforms based on grounded theory and CRITIC-VIKOR

In recent years, Chinese short video platforms have experienced vigorous development, accompanied by increasing expectations and demands from users. This study aims to explore the factors influencing user satisfaction on mainstream Chinese short video platforms and provide a scientific and objective evaluation framework to support the enhancement of user satisfaction and the development of short video platforms. Through a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods, multiple mainstream Chinese short video platforms were evaluated and analyzed. Firstly, semi-structured interviews with users were conducted using Grounded Theory to delve into the key factors shaping users' expectations, needs, and satisfaction towards short video platforms. Secondly, the CRITIC-VIKOR method was employed to assign comprehensive weights to various factors and to evaluate the satisfaction levels of the mainstream platforms. The study revealed that the core categories affecting user satisfaction include content quality and interaction, trust and values, and user experience. The weighted values of the main categories are as follows: interface and interaction design 0.124, personalized experience 0.115, platform stability and performance 0.075, privacy and security 0.133, user service and communication 0.060, social impact and values 0.124, content quality and diversity 0.088, social interaction 0.094, and advertising experience 0.186. Furthermore, the satisfaction evaluation of mainstream short video platforms indicated that bilibili platform garnered the highest user satisfaction among surveyed users. This study provides specific directions for improving user experience and enhancing user satisfaction for short video platforms, while also offering a evaluation framework based on Grounded Theory and CRITIC-VIKOR method for similar studies, thus expanding the theoretical and practical fields of user satisfaction research.

The relation between players' motivation, virtual communities and stickiness in augmented reality games

Purpose

The purpose of this research was to explore the stickiness of players' motivation in a virtual community and to explore the important factors for gamers.

Design/methodology/approach

In this research, motivation was the independent variable; the virtual community was the mediator; and stickiness was the dependent variable. An online questionnaire survey was conducted, with users of augmented reality (AR) as the research objects. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS and AMOS software to verify the research model and research hypotheses, to understand the relation between player motivation and stickiness and to determine whether there were any changes in the virtual community.

Findings

The authors found that the relation between players' motivation in AR-based games and the virtual community had a significant positive impact. Ingress had a significant positive impact on the virtual community and stickiness, and Pokémon had a significant positive impact too. The virtual community of the Ingress game played a completely mediating role in motivation and stickiness, but the virtual community in Pokémon did not have a mediating effect.

Originality/value

The novel approach adopted in this study enabled us to determine the causal relation between player motivation, the virtual community and stickiness, on the basis of the theoretical framework formulated, and the latter was used to construct a path analysis model diagram. The correlation between motivation and the virtual community, between the virtual community and stickiness, and the causal relation between all three was verified. The study results and conclusions may help companies understand how to use virtual communities in AR games to improve stickiness and motivate gamers to continue playing.

The effects of the superstar learning system on learning interest, attitudes, and academic achievements

The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to the production of a mobile learning app--the Superstar Learning System. Designed by Superstar Company, the Superstar Learning System is a mobile application for curriculum learning assisted with PPTs, knowledge dissemination, and management sharing based on micro-service architecture. To identify the effects of the Superstar Learning System, we randomly selected 71 tertiary students to participate in the study. The data were obtained through three research instruments: a scale to measure learning interest, a scale to measure learning attitudes, and a scale to measure academic achievements. Based on the analysis of a Mann-Whitney U test, it was concluded that the Superstar Learning System could: (1) enhance significantly more learning interest than the multimedia projecting system, (2) cultivate significantly more positive attitudes of students than the multimedia projecting system, and (3) lead to significantly better academic achievements than the multimedia projecting system. In the future, interdisciplinary cooperation, involving statistics, computer sciences, education, linguistics, and related disciplines, is necessary to arrive at solid conclusions.

The effect of student self-efficacy on learning outcomes in a business simulation mobile game: a quasi-experimental study

Purpose

This study has two objectives: to explore the factors that influence student self-efficacy regarding engagement and learning outcomes in a business simulation game course and to compare the difference between hierarchical and general teaching methods.

Design/methodology/approach

From September 2021 to May 2022, a questionnaire was administered to 126 students in a business simulation game course at the Zhongshan Institute, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China. Data were analyzed using nonparametric paired samples tests and linear regression.

Findings

The results showed that student self-efficacy, engagement and learning outcomes were significantly higher with the hierarchical teaching method than with the general teaching method. There were also differences in the factors that influenced self-efficacy regarding learning outcomes between the two teaching methods. With the general teaching method, student self-efficacy did not directly affect learning outcomes, but did so indirectly by mediating the effect of engagement. However, with the hierarchical teaching method, self-efficacy directly and significantly affected learning outcomes, in addition to indirectly affecting learning outcomes through student engagement.

Research limitations/implications

Compared with the control group experimental research method, the quasi-experimental research method can eliminate the influence of sample heterogeneity itself, but the state of the same sample may change at different times, which is not necessarily caused by the hierarchical teaching design.

Practical implications

Based on the results of this study, teachers can apply hierarchical teaching according to student ability levels when integrating business simulation games. The results of this study can inspire teachers to protect student self-confidence and make teaching objectives and specific requirements clear in the beginning of the course, and also provide an important practical suggestion for students on how to improve their course performance.

Social implications

The research results can be extended to other courses. Teachers can improve students' self-efficacy through hierarchical teaching design, thus improving students' learning performance and also provide reference value for students to improve their learning performance.

Originality/value

This study built a model based on self-system model of motivational development (SSMMD) theory, comparing factors that affect student self-efficacy regarding learning outcomes under different teaching methods. The model enriches the literature on SSMMD theory as applied to business simulation game courses and adds to our understanding of hierarchical teaching methods in this field. The results provide a valuable reference for teachers that can improve teaching methods and learning outcomes.

The Impact of Interface Design Element Features on Task Performance in Older Adults: Evidence from Eye-Tracking and EEG Signals

It is crucial that the interface design of mobile apps be age-appropriate at this stage of global aging, as the new epidemic has resulted in a higher sense of isolation among older persons. In this study, four typical senior social service mobile applications were chosen to give older persons the ability to complete user login duties. The participants were 16 older adults (7 men and 9 women) aged 55 to 76. Both objective and subjective data, including task completion time, gaze length, pupil diameter changes, EEG wave amplitude changes, and subjective sensations of older persons, were gathered using a combination of eye-movement and EEG signal approaches. The program was created to investigate the effects of interface design aspects on older people’s task performance, including interface layout, interface color, information density, icon size and position, etc. The study’s findings revealed that when the user task completion time and average fixation duration were shorter, the line of sight was more equally distributed, the visual focus was closer to the login button, and the average EEG amplitude of the user changed more, the older adults performed better. The palace layout had a more positive effect on job completion among older individuals when it came to interface layout. In terms of interface color, colored (contrasting) colors should serve to highlight the interface’s essential information points while they can be removed. In terms of interface information density, a low-density level interface design can simplify and lower the cognitive load of task execution for older people. The first level of icons in the interface and their position in the visual center of the interface is the best interface design for older persons in terms of icon size and position. The results of this study have theoretical ramifications for a thorough understanding of the factors influencing older people’s task performance, practical ramifications for the design of older people-centered interfaces, and they contribute to our understanding of the characteristics of older people’s interface interaction behavior.