Heuristics for evaluating usability of Learning Management Systems in Africa

Abstract

The adoption and use of various Learning Management Systems (LMS) to enhance education in Africa is becoming common. However, the majority of institutions have been adopting these systems without conducting usability evaluations. As a result, users tend to find these systems not easy to use, learn and do not meet their learning objectives. At the moment, there is relatively small and inadequate heuristics that can be used to evaluate LMS taking into account both system features and didactic effectiveness. This study presents a comprehensive heuristics usability that consolidates interface usability, didactic effectiveness and motivation to learn. The heuristics were validated through expert evaluation of the University of Dar es Salaam and Shuledirect systems. The proposed heuristics managed to uncover several usability problems. The findings from this study have shown that the proposed heuristics are appropriate and effective to be used for evaluating LMS deployed in Africa.