Usability Evaluation of Learning Management Systems in Sri Lankan Universities

TL;DR

This paper evaluates the usability of Learning Management Systems in Sri Lankan universities, focusing on Moodle, to identify factors affecting their effective use and user satisfaction.

Contribution

It provides an overview of LMS usage in Sri Lankan universities and assesses their usability using predefined standards and testing methods.

Findings

Identifies key usability issues in LMS platforms.

Highlights user satisfaction levels and system effectiveness.

Provides recommendations for improving LMS usability.

Abstract

As far as Learning Management System is concerned, it offers an integrated platform for educational materials, distribution and management of learning as well as accessibility by a range of users including teachers, learners and content makers especially for distance learning. Usability evaluation is considered as one approach to assess the efficiency of e-Learning systems. It is used to evaluate how well technology and tools are working for users. There are some factors contributing as major reason why LMS is not used effectively and regularly. Learning Management Systems, as major part of e-Learning systems, can benefit from usability research to evaluate the LMS ease of use and satisfaction among its handlers. Many academic institutions worldwide prefer using their own customized Learning Management Systems; this is the case with Moodle, an open source Learning Management Systems platform designed and operated by most of the universities in Sri Lanka. This paper gives an overview of Learning Management Systems used in Sri Lankan universities, and evaluates its usability using some pre-defined usability standards. In addition it measures the effectiveness of Learning Management System by testing the Learning Management Systems. The findings and result of this study as well as the testing are discussed and presented.