Usability of English note-taking applications in a foreign language learning context

Abstract

The act of note-taking offloads cognitive pressure and note-taking applications could be used as an important tool for foreign language acquisition. Its use, importance, and efficacy in a foreign language learning context could be justifiably debated. However, existing computer-assisted language learning literature is almost silent on the topic. This article reports on a controlled experiment introducing usability of note-taking applications (namely, Evernote, Memonic, SpringPad, Ubernote, and Keeppy) in English as foreign language (EFL) learning context. For pilot testing, 25 students had to complete five scenarios (text editing, entering persuasive content, sharing content, searching, and organizing) using Twitter as a tool similar to note-taking applications. Results suggest that the majority were comfortable with the tasks, although they could not complete all the tasks in the stipulated time, and certain tasks and features in Twitter caused difficulty for some students. The actual testing involved the 10 best candidates (based on their performance, when using Twitter) completing tasks (five scenarios similar to pilot analysis) with any two assigned note-taking applications, from a set of five. Participants were observed, video-recorded, and interviewed concurrently and retrospectively. They also completed perception-based questionnaires on the usability of the software. Data suggested that participants were comfortable opening accounts, typing in text, with general navigation, choosing photos, etc. A few features, such as web clipping and file uploading, caused problems for some participants. Most participants reported having no prior experience with any note-taking applications and that resulted in longer task completion time and errors. This study examines how technically oriented students reflect on using note-taking applications in an EFL learning context.

Keywords:

• usability
• note-taking
• software
• design
• interface

Notes

1. While the two assigned software (out of a set of five software used for the experiment) per participant were chosen randomly while ensuring that each software gets tested at least twice (partially randomized design), the chosen set of five scenarios per software was fixed for all participants.

2. The Evernote web clipper is a simple extension for web browser that makes it quick and easy to store just about anything you find on the web as a note in your Evernote account, including selected text, articles, and even entire web pages. A typical web bookmark will simply point to a website, which may change or be deleted over time. Evernote web clips are permanent snapshots of a webpage that preserve navigation, text, images and links, and are always fully searchable and available on all your devices anytime you need them (http://evernote.com/webclipper/guide/).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Debopriyo Roy

Debopriyo Roy is a senior associate professor at the Center for Language Research, University of Aizu, Japan. His research deals with information design, technical writing, and usability for CALL in an EFL context. He focuses on the cognitive and behavioral aspect of writing design for print and online medium for non-native speakers. He obtained his PhD degree in technical communication from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, and MA degree in communication and economics. He is an active board member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) chapters in Japan, directs his own laboratory in technical communication, supervises research projects, and is an active researcher with numerous publications in leading journals and conference proceedings.

John Brine

John Brine is a professor in the Center for Language Research, University of Aizu, Japan, and is a member of the Graduate School for Information Systems. He received his PhD degree from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (University of Toronto) where he held a doctoral scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). Following the completion of his doctorate, John was a visiting scholar of Japan Foundation at the Tokyo Institute of Technology where he also held a post-doctoral fellowship from the SSHRC. His post-doctoral fellowship continued in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Waterloo, Canada, where he taught courses in the Centre for Society, Technology, and Values. At the University of Waikato, New Zealand, he co-founded the Department of General and Applied Linguistics, and established the first CALL courses in New Zealand. His research interests include the sociocultural aspects of CALL and learning management systems, and the side-effects of information media. He is also interested in developing-nation contexts for eLearning and has received funding from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science to support research collaboration between universities in Vietnam and Japan. He has initiated several agreements between the University of Aizu and universities in Vietnam and New Zealand. He also recently co-founded an ACM chapter in eLearning and technical communication. John is currently a research associate in the Digital Library Laboratory at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. He has held academic positions at universities in Canada, Japan, and New Zealand.

Fuyuki Murasawa

Fuyuki Murasawa earned her MS degree in computer science and engineering from the University of Aizu, Japan, and currently works with Accenture, Japan.