If You Build It, They Will Come. But How Will They Use It?

Abstract

This article focuses on usability engineering for multimedia learning environments. Usability engineering can benefit the design and development of educational software. This critical area of educational computing design and development will be discussed using illustrations and examples from a two-year design and development effort that produced an interactive multi-media learning environment for second-language learning. It is in the context of this project that the integration of usability engineering and educational software design can be better understood.

Keywords:

• computer-assisted language learning
• language acquisition
• software design and development