A Preliminary Study on Primary School Teachers' User Experiences in Distance Learning

Affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Taiwan has been at alert level 3. Schools at all levels and kindergartens have closed and switched to distance learning. While many kinds of free online video software are currently available, they are mostly designed for corporate meetings, with far less consideration given to learning environments and fields. Therefore, this study aims to design distance learning interfaces, regarding the task as the focus of online video software development. User experiences are examined to understand teacher-student interactions in the distance learning context. Furthermore, users' needs are suggested, with various distance learning activities provided and assisted. The research purposes include the following: 1) to explore the interface design elements of video software for primary school students involved in distance learning, 2) to grasp the interactions between primary school teachers and students employing video software for distance learning, 3) to propose the triggers of distance learning through user experiences, and 4) to put forward the environmental requirements of interfaces suitable for distance learning. The research methodology is divided into three stages. In the first stage, three sets of commonly-used free online video software are analyzed and compared to identify their functions and interfaces. In the second stage, participant observation is followed to recognize the interactions between primary school teachers and students engaged in distance learning, and triggers are proposed as interview topics in the next stage. In the third stage, through participatory interviews, primary school teachers are requested to describe the problems in class concerned with the triggers. The findings are as follows. 1) Students scramble to answer questions, which produces mutual interference and unclear hearing. 2) Changing the background and chat function of video software will distract students. 3) Increasing teacher-student interactions and reducing the distraction of students' attention can help to improve the quality of course-teaching. 4) Teachers and parents are worried that too much class time will worsen students' myopia. 5) The video software available now is more suitable for online meetings, with much less video software designed for distance learning. The findings can be provided as a reference for software interface design and development.