evaluating a mobile-based genetics learning platform in k

Evaluating a Mobile-based Genetics Learning Platform in K-12 Educators

Teaching After-School Programs

Saul Bernal RamosLTEC - UH Manoa

Saul Bernal

Personal Background:

- Originally from Mexico. Became a U.S. Permanent Resident in 2010.

- Lived in Texas 2010 - 2015- Lived in Hawaii 2015 - Current- Became a U.S. Citizen in 2021

Academic Background:

- Associate's Degree - Physical Science- Bachelor’s Degree - Molecular Bioscience and

Biotechnology- Master’s Degree - Learning Design and

Technology

Saul Bernal

- Associate's Degree - Physical Science- Bachelor’s Degree - Molecular

Bioscience and Biotechnology- Growth Technician Waimanalo Nursery- Research in Transgenic Mice - Myostatin

Gene- Research in Anaerobic Bioreactors -

Low-cost 3D Printed Fuel Cells- Shidler College of Business - 2018

Summer Startup Launchpad - Master’s Degree - Learning Design and

Technology

Saul Bernal

- Associate's Degree - Physical Science- Bachelor’s Degree - Molecular

Bioscience and Biotechnology- Growth Technician Waimanalo Nursery- Research in Transgenic Mice - Myostatin

Gene- Research in Anaerobic Bioreactors -

Low-cost 3D Printed Fuel Cells- Shidler College of Business - 2018

Summer Startup Launchpad - Master’s Degree - Learning Design and

Technology

Saul Bernal

- Associate's Degree - Physical Science- Bachelor’s Degree - Molecular

Bioscience and Biotechnology- Growth Technician Waimanalo Nursery- Research in Transgenic Mice - Myostatin

Gene- Research in Anaerobic Bioreactors -

Low-cost 3D Printed Fuel Cells- Shidler College of Business - 2018

Summer Startup Launchpad - Master’s Degree - Learning Design and

Technology

Saul Bernal

- Associate's Degree - Physical Science- Bachelor’s Degree - Molecular

Bioscience and Biotechnology- Growth Technician Waimanalo Nursery- Research in Transgenic Mice - Myostatin

Gene- Research in Anaerobic Bioreactors -

Low-cost 3D Printed Fuel Cells- Shidler College of Business - 2018

Summer Startup Launchpad - Master’s Degree - Learning Design and

Technology

Question?

If so, what did you think about the results?

Core K-12 curriculum doesn’t include geneticsStudents have to attend after-school programs to get access to genetics education

Students have to seek higher education to get exposed to genetics.Genetics education will become more essential in the near future. Sustainable, proactive, healthier.

Human Genome Sequenced in 2001

Price of Sequencing Decreases

“just the raw data from a sequencer—dropped from about $1,000 in 2004 to about $0.10 in 2011 and is now closer to $0.01”https://www.biocompare.com/Editorial-Articles/363438-Cutting-the-Cost-of-Sequencing/

CRISPR-Cas9 Published in 2012

“Four years later, in August 2012, a small team of scientists led by Jennifer Doudna, University California Berkeley, and Emmanuelle Charpentier, University of Umea, published a paper showing how to harness the natural CRISPR-Cas9 system as a tool to cut any DNA strand in a test tube.”https://www.whatisbiotechnology.org/index.php/science/summary/crispr

CRISPR-Cas9 Babies in 2018

“Chinese Scientist Says He's First To Create Genetically Modified Babies Using CRISPR”https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/11/26/670752865/chinese-scientist-says-hes-first-to-genetically-edit-babies

mRNA Vaccines in 2020

“Moderna's groundbreaking coronavirus vaccine was designed in just 2 days”https://www.businessinsider.com/moderna-designed-coronavirus-vaccine-in-2-days-2020-11

Available genetics educational content is dated

85% of adults own a smartphone

Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/mobile/

Trends and Literature

- Mobile Game-based Learning- James Paul Gee’s 16 Principles of Good

Video Games and Good Learning

https://academiccolab.org/resources/documents/Good_Learning.pdf

- James Paul Gee is often considered the godfather of Game Based Learning (GBL) thanks to his significant academic research on effective learning methods via video games. He wrote a paper called Good Video Games and Good Learning more than a decade ago that outlines 16 components critical to strong GBL.

Trends and Literature

- Connectivism Learning Theory

- “Connectivism combines previous information with current information to create new meanings and understandings (Siemens, 2004). Elieson (2013) claims “one cannot learn something new without having first obtained certain prerequisite knowledge” (p. 29). ”

https://nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Academic-Advising-Today/View-Articles/Connectivism-A-Learning-Theory-for-Todays-Academic-Advising.aspx

Trends and Literature

https://data.unicef.org/resources/remote-learning-reachability-factsheet/

- “A global analysis of the potential reach of remote learning policies August 2020 In response to the unprecedented educational challenges created by school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 90 percent of countries have implemented some form of remote learning policy.”

- Remote Learning Adoption

Motivation

- Address lack of genetics education exposure.

- New learning tool for teachers/students.

- Connectivism principles.

- Game-based learning techniques to genetics education.

- Meet the learner on the platform they prefer (mobile).

- Substitute for after-school programs closed during COVID.

Target Audience

- K-12 students attending after-school programs

- 18+ learners interested in genetics

- K-12 educators teaching after-school programs

Design Considerations

- Prototyping in different Apple

devices

- Gagne’s 9 events of instruction

- Usability study using Steve Krug’s

protocol - Don’t Make Me Think

Wireframe Rough Draft

Wireframe Digital

Development of Games/App

Deployment of Mobile-App

- TestFlight by Apple was used to beta-test the mobile app.

- 5 different screen size Apple devices were tested.

The purpose of this usability study was to prototype and evaluate the user-friendliness of a mobile-based genetics learning platform app in educators teaching After-School programs.

Research Questions

- How easy is it for the users to navigate through the mobile-based app homepage?

- How quickly is it for the users to understand the mini-game controls?

- How frequently do users make mistakes while playing the mini-games?

- How easy is it for users to exit an active lesson?

- Is it fun for the users to play the mini-games?

Recruitment

- Email

- Face-to-face

- Direct Message

- 18+ older

Pre-screening

- Are you interested in science?

- Have you ever played a video game?

- Do you own a smartphone?

- Do you like doing homework?

- Are you available to test a mobile app for 10-15 min during Jan-March?

Pre-screening

- Are you interested in science? 8/Yes 4/No

- Have you ever played a video game? 12/Yes 0/No

- Do you own a smartphone? 12/Yes 0/No

- Do you like doing homework? 6/Yes 6/No

- Are you available to test a mobile app for 10-15 min during Jan-March? 12/Yes 0/No

Research

- Introduce students to the central dogma of biology “DNA makes RNA and RNA makes protein”.

- Use game-based learning to teach genetics.

- Develop a platform that can be used by educators and learners.

Individual usability testing per participant

- 14 participants invited (18+ older)

- 12 participants responded back

- First two usability studies were discarded because of major changes suggested by users.

- 10-15 min usability studies

- Remote and in-person interviews

- All participants had a teaching background

Tools

Screen and audio recording during usability study.

Developing and deploying the mobile-app.

Round One - Usability Study

Lessons learned:

- 3 different games to introduce 3 concepts is too overwhelming for the users.

- Lack of score board.

- Games are too fast.

Round Two - Usability Study

Lessons learned:

- Excessive menu diving for accessing one video.

- Confusing menu options.

- People don’t want to read.

Pre-survey

1. What do you think about mobile learning apps (apps designed to learn different content)?

2. Do you have an app on your phone that helps you to learn a certain topic? Or do you wish to have a phone to use a certain learning app? (If not a phone owner)

3. Do you think mobile devices can be used for learning?

4. What are the limitations of mobile learning apps in your opinion?

5. Do you use mobile devices/mobile learning apps for learning in your school? (Before COVID19)

6. Would you be more likely to do homework if you had to use a mobile app?

7. Would you prefer to use a book or a mobile phone with an app for learning?

Wordcloud

Task #1 - Navigating the app’s homepage

Task #1

Task #1

System Usability Scale (SUS)

https://www.usability.gov/how-to-and-tools/methods/system-usability-scale.html

- Very hard 0/Yes

- Hard 0/Yes

- Normal 0/Yes

- Easy 1/Yes

- Very Easy 9/Yes

Task #2 - Understanding Game Controls

Task #2

System Usability Scale (SUS)

https://www.usability.gov/how-to-and-tools/methods/system-usability-scale.html

- Very hard 0/Yes

- Hard 1/Yes

- Normal 3/Yes

- Easy 3/Yes

- Very Easy 3/Yes

Task #3 - Error Frequency

Task #3 - Error Frequency

System Usability Scale (SUS)

https://www.usability.gov/how-to-and-tools/methods/system-usability-scale.html

- Very hard 0/Yes

- Hard 4/Yes

- Normal 2/Yes

- Easy 2/Yes

- Very Easy 2/Yes

Task #4 - Exiting Active Lessons

Task #4 - Exiting Active Lessons

Task #4 - Exiting Active Lessons

System Usability Scale (SUS)

https://www.usability.gov/how-to-and-tools/methods/system-usability-scale.html

- Very hard 0/Yes

- Hard 0/Yes

- Normal 0/Yes

- Easy 0/Yes

- Very Easy 12/Yes

Task #5 - Getting a high score

Task #5 - Getting a high score

System Usability Scale (SUS)

https://www.usability.gov/how-to-and-tools/methods/system-usability-scale.html

- Very hard 0/Yes

- Hard 1/Yes

- Normal 3/Yes

- Easy 2/Yes

- Very Easy 4/Yes

Post-survey

1. What did you like the best about the mobile app? 2. What did you like least about the mobile app? 3. What was your overall experience navigating the app menu? 4. What was your overall opinion about the colors used inside the app for the

menus, games, lessons,etc.?5. If this app could replace one of your school homeworks, would you

recommend this app to one of your teachers? 6. What is your overall opinion about the implementation of games, videos, and

lessons in one app for learning? 7. Do you have any suggestions to improve the app?

Wordcloud

Research Questions

-How easy is it for the users to navigate through the mobile-based app homepage? VERY EASY

-How quickly is it for the users to understand the mini-game controls? NORMAL

-How frequently do users make mistakes while playing the mini-games? OFTEN

-How easy is it for users to exit an active lesson? VERY EASY

-Is it fun for the users to play the mini-games? YES

Conclusion

Prototyping and evaluation of user-friendliness was successful. I received good feedback from all participants. I found many bugs

during the usability testing which is great.

Users logged in more sessions in the game

Future Endeavors

- Add Best Score to games

- Make background look different from buttons

- Add levels (Easy, Medium, Hard)

- Add options for educators to make their own levels

- Test on K-12 students

References

Digital Content Sources

- Google Photos

- Youtube

- DuckDuckGo

- Yahoo Photos

- Wikipedia

Questions