Website usability Research Paper

METHOD 

A. Design 

The NPTEL website and Udemy website were selected for evaluation. While NPTEL offers courses by professors from the prestigious IITs. Udemy offers courses from some of the best tutors across the globe. So it's evident that none of the two platforms lack in terms of providing quality courses. But from a student's perspective, one is likely to enroll for the courses on these platforms if he/she has a satisfactory user experience on their websites. Hence keeping in mind the importance of usability metrics as a key indicator a study was conducted where volunteers agreed to devote their time to do certain tasks and give valuable feedback by filling out a questionnaire. The aim of the study was to analyze the data of users from this questionnaire post the completion of their representative tasks. All the participants were directly observed during the tasks. 

The carefully chosen representative tasks are as follows: 

1. Login/ Sign Up 

2. Look for a course in  a domain you are interested

3. Go through the details of the courses 

It is important to note that since the motive of this study was to study usability the participants were asked to ignore monetary aspects and were asked to look for a course that they would be willing to buy given that they have all the money to invest into the course.  As for the third task, the participants were asked to find and go through all the details about the courses that they are surfing to a point that they make a decision whether to consider enrolling for it or not. The avoid bar on user memory all the tasks were of moderate nature. The post-study questionnaire was designed keeping in mind five usability components developed by Nielsen. The usability components are learnability, efficiency, memorability, error, and satisfaction.[15] Additional questions on impression and their preferred platform amongst the two to buy courses were also included in the questionnaire. [17 pak]

Likert-scale was used for user compliance.[18 pak][19 pak] Likert-scale is a five-point scale having '1' as 'strongly disagree' and '5' as 'strongly disagree'.

B. Participants

Twenty-four participants were involved in this observational study. All the participants were volunteers. 60% of participants were females while the rest 40% were males. Most participants were among the age group of 21-22 (64%). A majority of the participants had an experience of surfing or buying online courses (84%). 88% of the total participants were students while the rest 12% were working professionals. Eighteen participants (72%) had already used the NPTEL website and twenty participants (80%) had already used the Udemy Website. 

C. Experimental Design 

A call for volunteers to take part in website usability research was posted on social media. The first twenty-five people to show interest were asked to fill out a consent form and some basic demographic details about them were collected. The volunteers were either students or working professionals who are most likely to be benefited from the courses of these two websites. The users were asked to share their screens and observed while they were doing the allotted tasks. 

Each participant was given a 20 min time frame to complete the allotted tasks. All the participants finished the tasks well within the time. A post-study questionnaire was presented to the users on completion of tasks. 

D. Procedure 

Online meets were scheduled for each participant at their convenient times. All the participants joined the meet either through their Laptop or PC. Participants were observed through screen sharing while they performed their tasks. The participants were briefed about the motive of the study and what is expected from them before they start doing their tasks. In case they felt stuck or needed some help with the tasks they were free to ask and seek some help from us. Some screenshots were also taken while conducting the experiments with the consent of participants. 

On the declaration of completion of tasks by the participants, they were presented with the post-study questionnaire. The participants were briefed about the questions on their demand. 

IV. DATA ANALYSIS 

Likert- Scale values for both the websites have been recorded against their respective usability questions(Tables III and IV)

A very important observation that was made through this experiment was between the errors committed and error recovery of both websites. Astonishingly none of the participants faced any error while doing tasks on the Udemy website while 68% of participants faced some difficulties while doing the tasks on the NPTEL website. The hardships faced by the users have been recorded in the table(NUMBER). Moreover, 33% of participants selected "Strongly Disagree" and another 33% selected "Disagree" while recording their response about the recovery from the error. 

V. Results 

The overall results showed that the user's response towards the Udemy Website was very positive in terms of usability. 

SETTING SMART GOALS

Do you struggle to set goals? How many times have you set a goal but not found enough motivation to complete it or found the goals unrealistic after some time?  The reason behind this is that we do not set proper goals. goals that are well defined and have a purpose a reason the "WHY?" behind setting the goal. Here is a step by step procedure for setting SMART GOALS by the Jim Kwick inspired by the author of the book "START WITH WHY", Simon Sinek. 

Setting SMART GOALS, we will use the acronym SMART:

S - SPECIFIC 

M- MEASURABLE 

A- ACTIONABLE 

R-  REALISTIC

T- TIME-BASED 

Tough this acronym is self-explanatory let us have a look at in brief:

S -  Specific 

Your goal should be well defined. If you want to be rich don't say I want to get rich, say you want to make a certain amount of money.

M - Measurable 

Your goal should be measurable. Getting fit isn't measurable running a six-minute mile is.

A - Actionable 

Develop action steps. You won't reach your destination if you don't know the map and directions.

R - Realistic

Your goals should challenge and stretch you, but no so much that you give up on them.

T- Time-based 

A goal is a dream with a deadline. Setting a deadline makes you more likely to achieve it.  

   

I hope that this procedure will help you set smart goals and you won't give up on them.

You are a Genius

Usually, when we hear the word genius we think people like Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Srinivasa Ramanuja, or any other scientist, mathematician, or innovator. Someone who is extraordinarily intelligent is usually termed as a genius. But what if I tell you that there are types of geniuses? And that intelligence and academic success is not a criterion in any of them. 

There are four types of geniuses. Let's look at each one of them in detail now.

Types of Geniuses:

1.DYNAMO GENIUS 
2. BLAZE GENIUS
3. TEMPO GENIUS
4. STEEL GENIUS 

1. DYNAMO GENIUS 

They express their genius through creativity and ideas. Shakespeare was a dynamo genius for his brilliance at inventing stories, Einstein was a dynamo genius for his imagination, visualization, and his ability to do complex thought experiments. Dynamo geniuses are the ones whom we most commonly think of as geniuses. Galileo, Stephen Hawking, Beethoven, Edison are few more examples of Dynamo Genius. 

Albert Einstein was a Dynamo Genius. 

2. Blaze Genius 

Blaze Geniuses become clear through their interaction with others, They have extraordinary ability to connect with the hearts, minds, souls of a wide range of individuals. Blaze Geniuses tend to be master communicators. Oprah Winfrey, Narendra Modi, Manish Paul, Logan Paul are some examples of Blaze genius. Anchors, hosts, podcasters, social media influencers, and politicians come under this category.

Logan Paul is a Blaze Genius

 

3. Tempo Genius 

Those whose genius expresses through their ability to see the big picture and stay the course are called tempo genius. Tempo geniuses tend to understand the long view in ways that most of those around them cannot.  They didn't worry that they liked being extra careful and wanted to take more time over things.

They just stayed calm and grounded, taking their time.  Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Warren Buffet are some examples of Tempo Geniuses.

Warren Buffet is a Tempo Genius.

4. Steel Genius 

 Those who are brilliant at sweating the small stuff and doing something with details that others missed or couldn't envision come under Steel Genius. Steel geniuses love getting all the information they can get and have a vision for doing something with that information that most others miss. Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergey Brin, Henry Ford, Mark Zukerberg fall under this country.

Ronaldo is a Steel Genius.

If you are still with me you might have already figured out what kind of genius are you and that you just to improve in that. Some of you might be also feeling that you fall under multiple categories with one trait being dominant than others. There is this combination of these geniuses inside all of us waiting for itself to express the key is letting it free.

GREEN WARRIORS OF INDIA

Nature is healing. This is probably the only good news that we have read in the past few months since a worldwide lockdown was imposed and people were home quarantined because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Tough a lot of countries have now reopened, most of the people are still confined to their homes, and those stepping out have to follow certain norms and restrictions, 'the new normal' as they say.

 

While we have started to observe many positive changes in the environment because of human inactivity during these times I thought of writing this blog post to make you aware of some of the  'Green Warriors' from India who have been contributing to a better and greener future for the human civilization. 

   

1. Malhar Kalambe 

Malhar Kalambe

Malhar Kalambe started 'Beach Please' an initiative to clean the Dadar beach and Mithi River every weekend. He started Beach Please on September 10, 2017, when he was 19 years old. Malhar didn’t approach anyone formally or went to any organization asking for help to support his cause. He started the campaign simply by circulating the messages on WhatsApp. “I started sending texts to my friends urging them to come forward and help me clean up Dadar beach and now we have about 100-120 people who join us every Sunday,” he says.

One of the Clean Ups at the Dadar Beach

As of  Jan 2020, "Beach Please" has cleaned 3,800 tons of garbage from the coastlines of the beaches and banks of the Mithi river. This initiative has engaged around 40,000 citizens till the date. The cleanup drives are free of cost. The cost of equipment and other requirements for the cleanups are funded by Malhar and his team. The major focus of this campaign is on sensitizing the communities so they don't pollute the river and we don't have to collect this waste. 

Malhar's mission is to restore natural beauty as much as he can and he is doing it through "Beach Please". He received the V-Award, an initiative by the United Nations Volunteers India. The award, supported by UNICEF, aims to celebrate young people, who are making the world a better place for all through their acts of volunteerism every day and everywhere.    

Malhar receiving the V-Award. 

2. Ridhima Pandey

Ridhima Pandey

Ridhima Pandey started her activism back in 2013 after she saw the devastating effects of climate change in the form of Kedarnath floods. Ridhima was among the 16 child petitioners including Greta Thunberg, who filed a complaint with the United Nations to protect lack of government action on the climate change crisis at the UN Climate Action Summit 2019 held in New York. 

In 2017 March Ridhima, at the age of 9, filed a 52-page petition in the “National Green Tribunal” to take necessary action on climate change. She wakens up the government, highlighting the growing concern of overpopulation and environmental degradation in the count.

Ridhima Pandey at UN Climate Action Summit 2019, New York. 

In 2019, Ridhima Pandey with Great Thunberg and 14 other child petitioners raised her voice against the climate change petition to the "United Nations Child Rights Committee" was, "I am here because I want all the global leaders to do something to stop climate change. If it's not going to be stopped, it is going to harm our futures."

“I want a better future.

I want to save my future.

I want to save our future.

I want to save the future of all the children and all people of future generations.”

 

3. Vandana Shiva

Vandana Shiva is a 67-year-old environmental activist, scholar, food sovereignty advocate, and anti-globalization author. She is currently based in Delhi. Author of more than twenty books she has written and spoken extensively about advances in the fields of agriculture and food.

Vandana Shiva

Her activism includes opposing Golden Rice and soaring seed prices of the GMO corporations.

She strongly opposes golden rice. Golden rice is a breed of rice that is genetically engineered to biosynthesize beta-carotene, a precursor of Vitamin A.   

Golden Rice

Shiva supports the idea of od seed freedom or rejection of corporate patents on seeds. Shiva calls the patenting os life 'biopiracy', and has fought against attempted patents of several indigenous plants, such as basmati.

Vandana Shiva receiving the Sydney Peace Prize, 2010.

Vandana Shiva has been awarded Right Livelihood Award (1993), Sydney Peace Prize (2010), Thomas Merton Award (2011) to name a few.

There are many other such Green Warriors in India and across the globe, Do you know any? Mention them in the comments below. 

Life's Amazing Secrets

Leaders are Readers. Warren Buffet reads 500 pages daily, Bill Gates reads 50 books a year, Mark Cuban reads 3 hours a day. There many such examples of successful people and their reading habits. This is a good time to develop a reading habit and get the most out of this quarantine period. So here I have a book recommendation and book review of one of the books that I read during the quarantine. 

LIFE'S AMAZING SECRETS: HOW TO FIND BALANCE AND PURPOSE IN YOUR LIFE 

Book by Gaur Gopal Das 

About the author 

Gaur Gopal Das

 Gaur Gopal Das has been a practicing monk for twenty-three years, trying to understand the deeper aspects of the human condition: our relationships, our happiness, and our purpose. A storyteller, life coach, author and a friend to millions that are following his journey on social media. His videos have reached over 500 million views and are all focused on one thing: Making a difference!

Everything you need to know about the dancing pallbearers that are going viral !!!

The dancing pallbearers are the latest viral meme trend of 2020 and here is everything that you need to know about them.

Here is the original clip of the meme trend that is viral all over the internet. This video was uploaded on BBC News Africa's Youtube channel on July 27, 2017. The Description of the video reads as,

Pallbearers are lifting the mood at funerals in Ghana with flamboyant coffin-carrying dances. Families are increasingly paying for their services to send their loved ones off in style.

The pallbearers in this particular video were dancing at the funeral of Elizabeth Annan’s mother. Elizabeth told reporters that she chose dancing pallbearers because she wanted to ‘give [her mum] a dancing trip to her maker’.

Benjamin Aidoo, who leads the dancing pallbearer troupe, told the broadcaster: ‘I decided to add choreography to it so if the client comes to us, we just ask them: “Do you want it solemn or do you want a bit more of a display? Or maybe you want some choreography on it?” ‘They just ask and we do it.’

Benjamin also says that he started this to reduce the unemployment in Ghana. As of 2017 when this video was recorded, Benjamin already had employed 100 people.

Well after seeing this video I have a question for you, is there any better way to say goodbye? Do let me know in comment section below.

BUT HEY! JUST WAIT!

DID I FORGET SOMETHING?

OH YES!!! WHAT ABOUT THE CATCHY TRACK THAT WAS BEING PLAYED IN THE BACKGROUND?

Okay, so I found it as well. The name of the song is Astronomia. It was produced by Dutch music artist duo( Ruben den Boer and Victor Pool from Groningen) named Vicetone & Russian music artist Tony Igy and was released in 2010 under an album named after the song. 

Tony Igy 

Vicetone

It was uploaded on youtube on July 9, 2014, on Vicetone's Youtube channel. The song has become a big hit after this meme went viral with comments of people flooding with messages like "Who else came here after watching the pallbearers video?". The video so far has been viewed more than 35 million times.

You can enjoy the song here:

Books to read during quarantine!

A 21-day lockdown has been imposed in India from 12am today. People are now finding it difficult to engage themselves at home during these hard times. Some people are binge watching Netflix and Amazon Prime while some are busy gaming. But only a few people have realized that now is the perfect time for them to do most of the things which they always wanted to do but their daily student and work-life did not permit. Still with me? I really appreciate that your taking your time out to read this post, especially after reading the title. Now that you have reached till here, I am assuming two things, first, you like reading or always wanted to start reading. Second, you are willing to invest your time doing productive things. So here are some of my picks which I would like to recommend to you. 

1. THE MARTIAN

We all are finding it difficult to stay at home for 21 days but have you ever wondered how an astronaut stuck all alone on a planet 227.47 million kilometers from earth would feel like?

This book according to me is perfect for quarantine reading.  This Sci-Fiction book by Andy Weir would take you through the journey of a NASA astronaut Mark Watney stuck on mars all alone!!! With limited resources and lost communication from the earth will he be able to return back? Read the book and find out! 

Kindle Link: The Martian

2. THE DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL

This is the diary of a 14-year-old Jewish girl Anne Frank  (diary entries betweeen June 12, 1942 to March 14, 1944). She narrates her days hiding in a "Secret Annex" with her family to escape persecution under Nazi rule. Her diary entries start on a happy note as she and her family lead a happy life like all until things start getting worse for them as the Jews under the Nazi rule start getting persecuted systematically and she and her family have to go into hiding. She also writes about her struggles during her teenage and hiding. The book is full of emotions, hope and stoicism. She lived in hiding for almost 2 years before getting caught by the Nazis and was sent to concentration camps where she eventually died three months short of her sixteenth birthday.

Kindle Link: The Diary Of A Young Girl

3. HYPERSPACE

Written by Japanese origin American theoretical physicist, futurist and populariser of science Michio Kaku, Hyperspace will blow your mind. As the book cover says it is a scientific odyssey through parallel universes, time warps, and the 10th dimension.

It has been written in a manner that even a layman with basic knowledge of physics would understand it. Astrophysics and theoretical physics books always leave you in awe of the world around you. They change your perspective of seeing the world around you. 

Kindle Link: HYPERSPACE

  

4. PHYSICS OF THE FUTURE

Do you ever spend time wondering how the future world and technologies would look like?

If yes, then you would definitely have a good time reading this book. Michio Kaku has talked to the world's top scientists, innovators, and researchers to give us an insider's perspective on the things that we can expect from science in the coming years. He mentions numerous inventions that we can expect from the future that would transform our lives completely. The best thing about this book is that you just don't need any science background to read it. The language is quite simple and the chapters in the book have been divided based on the field of research.

This book is suitable for beginner readers as well. The book has been written keeping in mind that even laymen can understand it easily.

Kindle Link: Physics of the Future

5. FASTER THAN NORMAL

If you are someone who likes to read self-help books, books that emphasize being more productive, more efficient at work or if you are someone who has always been driven to distraction this book is for you. Peter Shankman writes about how he dealt with his ADHD and used it to improve his focus and productivity. I have written a detailed review of this book earlier.

Do check it out if you haven't read it by clicking at the link given below

FASTER THAN NORMAL REVIEW

Kindle Link: FASTER THAN NORMAL

6. WHO MOVED MY CHEESE?

 We all face difficulties in anticipating and adapting to changes in our work and in our lives. This book came into existence after Dr.Spencer Jonhnson dealt with a difficult change in his life. Who moved my cheese? is a short story that would take around 30 minutes to 1hr to read but would have a profound effect on the reader. The language of the book is very very easy and also it is a very small book(96 pages with half of the area covered with sketches and empty spaces) ideal for beginners. 

Kindle Link: Who Moved My Cheese?

7. THE QUICK AND EASY WAY TO EFFECTIVE SPEAKING 

Out of all the phobias out there Public Speaking is considered as the highest one.

Around 75% of people today suffer from speech anxiety. This anxiety can be because of many reasons like fear of failure/judgment, unfamiliar audience, lack of preparation, etc. This book would help you deal with all these issues and help you become a better public speaker. At some point in time, we all have to speak in front of the audience and no one wants to be embarrassed in front of them. This book is must read and again an ideal one for beginners.

Kindle Link: The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking