EDC 385G Designs and Strategies for New Media
Research Component
Rachel Hatch
11/26/2012
Interactive Digital Literacy Websites
Rachel Hatch
November 26, 2012
EDC 385G Designs and Strategies for New Media
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EDC 385G Designs and Strategies for New Media
Research Component
Rachel Hatch
11/26/2012
Table of Contents
Table of Contents....................................................................................................................... 2
Introduction................................................................................................................................. 3
Target Audience........................................................................................................................4-5
Website Descriptions............................................................................................................ 5-7
1.
Storify........................................................................................................................................................... 5
2.
Inklewriter...................................................................................................................................................6
3.
Storybird................................................................................................................................................... 6-7
Purpose of the study................................................................................................................ 7-8
Methodology............................................................................................................................ 8-12
1.
Participants.................................................................................................................................................. 8
2.
Testing Design.........................................................................................................................................8-9
3.
Instruments............................................................................................................................................9-11
4.
Testing Sessions............................................................................................................................... 11-12
Participant Responses............................................................................................. 12-27
1.
Data from Background Questionnaire................................................................................... 12-13
2.
Site-Related Tasks Responses................................................................................................... 13-22
3.
Feedback Questionairre Responses …................................................................................... 22-26
Discussion............................................................................................….....................26-41
Summary...................................................................................................................... 41-42
Reference..................................................................................................................... 43
Appendix ...................................................................................................................... 44-56
1.
Background Questionnaire......................................................................................................... 44-46
2.
Site Related Tasks............................................................................................................................ 47-53
3.
Site Feedback Questionnaire...................................................................................................... 54-55
4.
About the Author …..............................................................................................................................56
Introduction
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EDC 385G Designs and Strategies for New Media
Research Component
Rachel Hatch
11/26/2012
In the education world there has been a call for classrooms to become more 21st Century
literate. Literate today does not mean the same as it did in previous centuries. Instead of
just basic communication through text, 21st century literacy calls for competence in many
differents avenues of communication. The National Council of Teachers of English have
defined 21st century literacy as follows. (2008)
Literacy has always been a collection of cultural and communicative practices shared among
members of particular groups. As society and technology change, so does literacy. Because
technology has increased the intensity and complexity of literate environments, the twentyfirst century demands that a literate person possess a wide range of abilities and
competencies, many literacies. These literacies—from reading online newspapers to
participating in virtual classrooms—are multiple, dynamic, and malleable. As in the past, they
are inextricably linked with particular histories, life possibilities and social trajectories of
individuals and groups. Twenty-first century readers and writers need to
● Develop proficiency with the tools of technology
● Build relationships with others to pose and solve problems collaboratively and crossculturally
● Design and share information for global communities to meet a variety of purposes
● Manage, analyze and synthesize multiple streams of simultaneous information
● Create, critique, analyze, and evaluate multi-media texts
● Attend to the ethical responsibilities required by these complex environments
Despite this nationally recognized definition, educators are still stuck behind the times not
necessarily being entirely to blame. That is why as a literacy educator myself I have chosen
to focus on websites that utilize interactive storytelling. Too often educators want
computer tools but know not where to find them. I wanted to find high quality, attractive,
accessible websites that would promote and build 21st century literacy in classrooms.
Target Audience
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EDC 385G Designs and Strategies for New Media
Research Component
Rachel Hatch
11/26/2012
In reporting on this usability testing, I hope to reach two audiences: literacy teachers and
instructional technology designers.
The research would help teachers in two ways: provide criteria in looking for 21st century
literacy and introduce new literacy websites that they could use in class. One of the
primary reasons I chose literacy teachers as participants was to lend expertise and
credibility to the findings. When speaking to the participants, several mentioned that they
wanted to participate so that they could explore new websites for 21st century literacy.
Most teachers of literacy want to broaden their technology resources but usually either do
not know how or do not have the time to research them. This study would help alleviate
those problems. I did think of choosing a more random group of participants, but wanted
more informed, invested opinions that only literacy teachers could give. Not only do they
understand 21st century literacy, they also understand what would be appealing and
accessible to their students. By choosing participants from that community, I hope to make
the research more credible and pertinent to this audience.
I also want to speak to designers of literacy websites through this report. So often I am
disappointed by what is produced on the internet for literacy. There is either a disconnect
with what teachers and students need or the design of the site is unappealing and unwieldy.
Either problem renders the website useless in the classroom. I’d like designers to
understand what teachers and students respond to when looking at educational websites.
Most “cool” websites are focused on math and science whereas the literacy websites are
outdated, cheesy or superfluous, which is shocking because most non-educational websites
deal more with literacy than math or science. Why can’t education sites reflect this? In
saying this I also must point out that literacy websites cannot be treated the same as math
or science websites in that literacy is not taught through clever games but through
interaction with text. Yet games are what I find mostly when I search on the internet for
technology tools to engage my students. Maybe there are more websites that are valuable
literacy tools, and I just can’t find them. In that case, their inaccessibility is also a problem
that needs to be resolved. Literacy websites should be easy to find and easy to use.
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EDC 385G Designs and Strategies for New Media
Research Component
Rachel Hatch
11/26/2012
Website Descriptions
My search for high quality literacy websites is a testimony to the fact that they are sadly
lacking. I spent hours pouring through the internet to find ones that I thought teachers and
students would find both useful and interesting. After much searching I found these three
websites: Storify, Inklewriter, and Storybird. Each focuses on users composing their own
stories and sharing them, but in many different ways with different focuses on formats.
1. Storify (http://storify.com/)
Storify is a website which focuses on social media. You can write a linear story and add
pictures, videos, links, and comments from your own or others’ sources. It has been used by
major companies such as CNN to relate a news story through Twitter trends. On storify a
user can create stories, collaborate with others on a story or follow/subscribe to other
writers. I liked the idea of storify for a literacy website because it incorporated social media
that students would relate to and could write a story in creative formats. The social media
format makes the stories current and layered, a quality of 21st century literacy.
Image One. Storify’s homepage.
2. Inklewriter (http://www.inklestudios.com/inklewriter)
Inklewriter was developed by the creators of the innovative ebook, Frankenstein, which
allows the reader to choose how to follow the story similar to “Choose Your Own
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EDC 385G Designs and Strategies for New Media
Research Component
Rachel Hatch
11/26/2012
Adventure” books of bygone days. This website allows users to create their own interactive
stories. It’s interface allows users to view their story in multiple views to understand how
alternate storylines impact one another. From this website users can edit, share and
publish their work. They may also read others’ work, but this is limited to those created by
the website founders. Users can also add pictures downloaded from their computer to their
story. I chose this website because it fulfilled the different criteria I was looking for in a
literacy website (write, publish/share, read) and added a whole different level to it through
alternatives points of the story.
Image Two. Inklewriter’s homepage
3. Storybird (http://storybird.com/)
Storybird basically creates picture books inspired by artwork from illustrators hired by the
website. The interface allows users to see previews of the pages in their book as they type.
Throughout the process users can add and size pictures on either side of the books drawn
by an artist they chose before creating the book. The book can be published online or in
print for a fee. Once the story is published, others may read by a sent email or through the
site itself.
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EDC 385G Designs and Strategies for New Media
Research Component
Rachel Hatch
11/26/2012
Image Three. Storybird’s homepage
Purpose of Study
The purpose of the study is to determine whether these websites fulfil the definition of 21st
century literacy as well as to determine what criteria educators are looking for in an
interactive literacy website. From this purpose I have focused on four main questions.
1 Is this a website that would engage students and teachers immediately?
○ How appealing is the interface?
○ What aspects draw the user in to the website?
○ What aspects repulse the user to the website?
2 How well does the website allow the user to maneuver between texts?
○ How easy is it to start writing a story?
○ How easy is it to publish or share a story?
○ How easy is it to read other people’s texts?
3 What ways does this website fulfill 21st century literacy?
○ Does it promote proficiency in technology?
○ Does it promote sharing texts across communities and cultures?
○ Does it help students “manage, analyze, evaluate multi-media?” (NCTE 2008)
4 Is this website compatible to school classrooms? What school situation would this
website be appropriate for?
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EDC 385G Designs and Strategies for New Media
Research Component
Rachel Hatch
11/26/2012
○ What grade levels would the website be appropriate for?
○ In what ways could teachers and students use this website in literacy?
○ How accessible is the website to schools?
Methodology
This study follows Rubin and Chisnell’s usability procedure and strategies from their
Handbook of Usability. (2008) This section covers details of the testing process including
participants, test design, testing instruments, and testing procedure. I would like to
recognize at the beginning of this report that due to the purpose of my study and the
position in the literacy education field, this usability test will not be quite the same as
others. I seek in this study to gain feedback in an almost discussion format. Most of my data
consists of open-ended responses rather than scales and multiple choices. I felt this might
be more useful in the conversation of 21st century literacy websites.
1. Participants
As stated before, I chose literacy teachers from a Teaching of Literacy class I’m currently
taking for my Masters degree. During the class, we have discussed different ways to
incorporate 21st century literacy in the classroom. While testing the different websites, I
asked them to review the websites from the lens of a literacy teacher. I was curious to see
what similar and different perspectives they would reveal about the websites and 21st
century literacy.
2. Testing Design
Due to different characteristics of the websites and the purpose of the study, it was
necessary to use site related tasks that were both similar across the board but unique to
each site. Four of the participants were assigned to two different websites to complete
these tasks. The other two could not complete a second usability test due to time issues. In
the end Storybird and Storify were tested three times while Inklewriter was tested four
times.
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EDC 385G Designs and Strategies for New Media
Research Component
Part. A
Test Session 1 Storybird
Test
Session 2
Part. B
Storybird
Part. C
Inklewriter
Storify
Storybird
Inklewriter
Rachel Hatch
11/26/2012
Part. D
Inklewriter
N/A
Part. E
Storify
N/A
Part. F
Storify
Inklewriter
Table One. Participants assigned to websites.
3. Testing Instruments
For all the questionnaires and task completion forms, I used Google Forms. I chose Google
Forms because I was accustomed to the Google Drive and felt like this would help maintain
correct data more so than participants writing out their responses by hand or me taking
notes. The anonymous format of the electronic forms also helped participants to be able to
answer freely and to work independently.
Background Questionnaire
The questionnaire was divided into three parts. Demographic information (age, gender),
literacy educator background (years and grade levels of teaching), technology experience,
and teaching experience. This questionnaire was emailed to the participants before the
testing and completed by them before coming to the testing site.
For actual background questionnaire see appendix A.
Scenario
I wanted to make the scenario and tasks as true to life as possible, so I simply made the
scenario one of a literacy teacher looking for websites to promote 21st century literacy in
her classroom looking for both appeal and accessibility. The participants were asked to
keep this in mind as they went through the tasks, but as most of them commented, this was
already the case.
Site Related Tasks
The tasks were divided between three categories starting with first impressions, specific
tasks and ending with open-ended tasks. Again the goals were to see how useful, accessible
and attractive these sites would be to teachers of literacy and students.
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EDC 385G Designs and Strategies for New Media
Research Component
Rachel Hatch
11/26/2012
● Task 1 First Impressions: Participants were asked to preview a website’s home page
and remark on their first impression especially whether they would have entered
the website on their own or bypassed for whatever reasons.
○ What was your first impressions of the website? (paragraph answer)
Users were encouraged to briefly look at a website and decide whether this website
would appeal to them enough to continue to explore it. They then were asked to
write down the reasons why or why not.
● Task 2 Specific Tasks: Participants performed different actions pertaining to entering
text, publishing and sharing their work. While these tasks were focused on similar
actions, each was specific to the site since each differed in composition format. The
participants were timed and given the choices “completed with time,” “did not
complete within time” and “other” if explanation was needed (example: did not
complete because I did not want to register for the site). The general nature and
timing of these specific tasks are below
○ Write a story. (10 minutes)
○ Publish/share your story. (5 minutes)
○ Read another person’s story on the site. (5 minutes)
Write a story
Publish/share your
story
Read another’s story
Storybird
Create a picture book Publish and share your
on the site.
story.
Read someone else’s
picture book and make a
comment.
Inklewriter
Begin a story with at Publish and share your
least one alternative in story.
story.
Read another story from
the website.
Storify
Write a story on the
website (add at least
one content item).
Find a story by MsHatch.
Read and comment on the
story.
Publish and share your
story with someone.
Table Two.
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EDC 385G Designs and Strategies for New Media
Research Component
Rachel Hatch
11/26/2012
● Task 3 Open-ended Tasks: To finish the main part of the testing of the websites,
participants were asked to further explore the website and answer questions on the
merits and demerits of the website they tested. These questions were left openended to get a more personalized response from the participant.
Site Feedback Questionnaire
This final part of the testing consisted of the participants answering questions and
comparing the two websites they tested. I wanted to see which sites they preferred, how
they would use the websites in different situations like grade level and topic, and whether
the websites fulfilled their criteria for 21st century literacy. The questions were again
open-ended. I wanted to focus more on their personal opinions of the websites rather than
on numbers. The questionnaire consisted of six open-ended questions.
● According to you what are the most important features on an interactive literacy
website?
● Overall which website did you enjoy the most? Why?
● Do you think any of these websites fulfill your definition of 21st century literacy?
Why or why not?
● Do you know of any other interactive literacy websites?
Testing Sessions
The websites were tested over two sessions both held on two different nights. The sessions
lasted about an hour including giving directions and debriefing. Some participants ended
sooner or later depending on their feedback responses. Participants came in at staggering
times but were given the same scenario and directions.
The sessions were held in a classroom on a university campus. The participants used their
personal computers to complete the tasks. No difference between these computers was
noted due to brand or model.
Participant Responses
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EDC 385G Designs and Strategies for New Media
Research Component
Rachel Hatch
11/26/2012
Background Questionnaire
From the background questionnaire, I gathered information regarding age, gender internet
usage, technology use in classroom and status of teaching. All the participants were female.
Four were between the ages of 31-35, one between 26-30 and one between 18-15. All used
the internet multiple times a day. All were taking breaks from teaching to go to graduate
school but had taught within the last two years. Among them there were one high school
teacher, two middle school teachers, one elementary teacher, one early childhood teacher
and one early childhood/elementary teacher.
Participants
Age
Gender
Internet
Use
Teaching
Technology in Teaching
A
26-30
Female
MTD
NCT,
middle
school
Internet, videos, laptops,
computer software, internet
presentation tools
B
31-35
Female
MTD
NCT, high
school
Internet, videos, laptops,
computer software, prezi
C
18-25
Female
MTD
NCT, Early
Childhood
internet, laptops, digital
camera, computer software
D
31-35
Female
MTD
NCT,
Elementary
internet, videos, computer
software
E
31-35
Female
MTD
NCT, Early
Childhood,
elementary
internet, ebooks
F
26-30
Female
MTD
NCT,
middle
school
videos, internet
Table 3. Information from background questionnaire
*MTD=Multiple times a day
*NCT=Not currently teaching
*italicized words=added as “other”
Responses to Storify
1 First Impressions: All three of the participants testing Storify emphasized the heavy
use of images and graphics of the website, but they differed on whether this
repulsed or attracted them.
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EDC 385G Designs and Strategies for New Media
Research Component
Rachel Hatch
11/26/2012
○ Participants E and F reported that initially they were offput by the style of
the website and did not relate literacy with the website. Both mentioned
how they saw the site as more news/social studies related than literacy
related.
Participant E
I found this website a little off-putting. I didn't get a good feeling for the bias or
lack of bias in the news provided there. I got caught up in a silly story that felt like a
waste of time. I'm sure this could be a good tool, but I got stuck on something not
useful. Major new providers endorsed the site, but I still didn't get a good feeling
for it.
Participant F
I don't know that I would have explored the website on my own. I was not sure how
this website was related to literacy because the pictures on the main page
seemed kind of random: a picture of envelope with the title birthday project, a
picture of Star Wars and the Obama logo, a child's drawing about the election and
another picture I can't remember. Because of these pictures I had the impression
that this site was about the news or something related to teaching social studies.
Table Four.
○ Participant F reported later that after exploring a little, she began to enjoy
and appreciate the site as a literacy tool.
In that sense, I didn't necessarily feel interested to explore more, until I clicked on the main
feature article and found it very interesting! From that point on, I was interested in
reading more about the article, until I started clicking around and found out that this site is
used for making stories! So cool!
○ Participant B had a completely different reaction saying she was immediately
interested in the website for the same reason the previous two did not like it.
She also saw how this site could be used for literacy even if unsure about the
details.
It looked really intriguing. The pictures looked current and hip. I immediately saw the
graphic and social media rich content which also attracted me. This wasn't a website
just for education but an actual social literacy website. I was excited to explore even if I
wasn't sure how this site would create a story.
2 Specific Tasks:
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EDC 385G Designs and Strategies for New Media
Research Component
Rachel Hatch
11/26/2012
As in all the websites, participants were asked to create, share and read texts from
the website. Each task was altered to fit the website’s unique characteristics. Below are
Storify’s.
● Write a story on the site (Add at least one content item)
● Publish and share your story with someone.
● Find a story by MsHatch. Read and comment on the story.
All participants completed the tasks of writing and sharing within the allotted time.
Participant F did not complete the reading and commenting task from the site because she
did not want to register.
I [would have made] a comment on the penknife story but I would have to sign in to post a
comment. Since I am choosing not to open an account right now, I guess my comment will not
be posted.
Eventually she did register, though, wanting to save her own work.
I decided to get an account because I wanted to go back to my story. It took me awhile to
figure out how to save and publish the story.
3 Open-ended Task: The open-ended tasks were the same as the other websites.
Overall the open-ended tasks reflect some of what the participants said before about
their first impressions.
● As a teacher, when would you use this website? Explain briefly how or why.
● What did you like about the website?
● What didn’t you like about the website?
What did you like about the website? What didn’t you like about the website? Participant E,
the participant who least liked it, again mentioned the news feeling of the site but admitted
to seeing potential for literacy in it. She cited unfamiliarity of the website being a possible
reason why she didn’t immediately endorse it.
The other two participants, F and B, enjoyed the interaction of the website although some
aspects such as publishing were confusing. Both participants also noted their wariness of
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EDC 385G Designs and Strategies for New Media
Research Component
Rachel Hatch
11/26/2012
registering for the website, Participant B commenting on possible student dilemmas
associated with accounts.
What did you like about the
website?
What did you not like about the
website?
Participant E
I'm not very much familiar with it. I I did not understand that it was not a
thought, at first, that it was a news
purely news-related website.
site. Apparently it can be used for
informal communication as well. I
would like to know more about it. I
can see good educational potential
there, but I clearly did not get a good
Participant F
How the images are readily available The thing I disliked the most was that I
(all you had to do was drag them over had to create an account in order to
to the story section), the text feature save, publish and share my stories.
made adding text easily accessible to
authors to add what they want to
write, and how easy it is to change the
order of the two elements.
Participant B
I like the layout of the writing pad. I
like how it's divided between the pad
and the content you want to add. I
like how you can drag media to your
story. It's pretty intuitive how to use
it.
I had a hard time finding the create story tab
even though it's in the corner. I think you're just
distracted by all the pictures and stuff. I also
wasn't sure about other features like publishing
and what you could do without registering
which I really didn't want to do. I had hoped it
would just let you comment or share with just an
email or something. As an adult it's annoying
having lots of accounts. As a teacher I worry
about students creating accounts-forgetting
passwords, no emails, etc
Table Five
As a teacher, when would you use this website? Explain briefly how or why. The other openended task question was regarding using the website to teach literacy. All three show a
range of answers. Participant E flatly says no, F is unsure but leaning towards using the
website whereas B is all for it. Despite their range of reactions, they all address concerns
they have about the website. E raises the issue about security for students and teachers
sharing in a seemingly public environment. F and B see this website as more appropriate
for older students citing the navigation difficulties, the complexity of the website and more
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Research Component
Rachel Hatch
11/26/2012
adult subject matters that students would be exposed to on the site. Both also comment
how the website could be used more enriching and culminating events.
Participant E
No, not unless I could learn more about the security options for this site. It seemed
too easy to share articles through Facebook which could encourage dissemination
of the students thoughts in permanent way. They might share ideas that I would
not want to have associated with my class.
Participant F Hm, because I work with younger students (elementary age), I wonder if this would
be too difficult for them to navigate. I had a bit of a problem finding my way around
the site, but then again, kids are much more technology savvy than me. I could see
this site being used as a culmination activity for a lesson or unit of study, where
students can display what they have learned. But they can also create their own
stories if they wanted to, it would just take modeling on the teacher's part.
Participant B Definitely! I think I would primarily use this for older grades due to the social
media and unedited images. I'm not sure this is a website for little kids. I think older
kids would really like it. I would use to create personal narratives rich in different
media like pictures, videos to give layers to their story. I think they would find it
more comprehensive and meaningful than just writing on a piece of paper that
only I'm going to read.
Table Six.
Responses to Inklewriter
1 First Impressions: Overall the initial impressions of Inklewriter were favorable in
that it looked interesting enough to encourage the participants to want to go further
on their own. Most of them also immediately understood that the website was
targeted towards creating and publishing ebooks. Only Participant A was not
impressed by it citing that it was difficult to use.
Participant C This website seems providing a chance for people to write their own essays or stories.
Also, after finishing the story, I think it is possible to make that as an ebook.
Participant D My first impression is that this site is literature-infused and rich. From the inkblots to
the references to Frankenstein and Kindle, it seems like this site can be used by teachers
to enhance the teaching of literacy. And after browsing and exploring more I see that
the site is actually an interactive writing site that combines computer and literacy
skills.
Participant A It is a little overwhelming, I'm not sure if it was the tutorial or the many options on
the main page. I think if the main page was a little more simple it would be more
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appealing.
Participant F It is inviting because it looks simple. It appears easy to work with. I could understand,
at first glance, the tone of the website and was able to figure out the main purpose of
the website very quickly. The tutorial was helpful, as well as the sample story I read.
Table Seven
The ease of the website received mix reviews, though. There was a general
comprehension that it was a writing website but some confusion on what that exactly
entailed. Participant B reported having difficulty maneuvering the site and identifying what
the website actually was for.
The only thing that was not appealing was finding my way around the site in order to identify the
"main purpose" of the website.
Participant C also voiced having a difficult time finding and maneuvering the website, but
was still intrigued by it.
However, I think it would have been hard for me to find this website by myself but this site definitely
makes me want to explore more about it.
Participant F claimed to be overwhelmed by the amount of information on the website.
It is a little overwhelming, I'm not sure if it was the tutorial or the many options on the main page. I
think if the main page was a little more simple it would be more appealing.
While the other three suggested the site could be simpler and more userfriendly,
Participant E stated that she liked it because of its simplicity and useful help.
It is inviting because it looks simple. It appears easy to work with. I could understand, at first glance,
the tone of the website and was able to figure out the main purpose of the website very quickly. The
tutorial was helpful, as well as the sample story I read.
2 Specific Tasks: As in all the websites, participants were asked to create, share and
read texts from the website. Each task was altered to fit the website’s unique
characteristics. Below are Inklewriter’s.
● Begin a story with at least one alternative in the story.
● Publish and share your story.
● Read another story on the site.
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11/26/2012
All participants finished the tasks within the allotted time except for the first task.
Participant C began a story but did not add an alternative to the story because she spent
most of the time figuring out how to create the story. The website takes you through an
interactive tutorial which you can choose to curtail to get started or to complete. This
tutorial takes a while and this is why the participant did not finish.
4 Open-ended Task: The open-ended tasks were the same as the other websites.
● As a teacher, when would you use this website? Explain briefly how or why.
● What did you like about the website?
● What didn’t you like about the website?
When it came to what they liked and disliked about Inklewriter, the responses reflected the
first impressions of the participants. Three of them talked about the interactiveness, the
authenticity and the creativeness of the website. One mentioned the friendly interface. The
same three also talked about how the site was at least overwhelming as was the tutorial.
Interestinly the participant A found the interface and tutorial incredibly clear and userfriendly.
What did you like about the
website?
What didn’t you like about the
website?
Participant C I liked the fact that it is possible for
Even though the website provided the steps
about how to use and make their own
stories, actually doing it was a little bit
tricky. Before using this website, teachers
should clearly explain about how to deal
with this one to students.
Participant F How interactive the reading of
At first, I found it hard to navigate the
website. I wasn't clear on what it offered me
as a teacher, or even personally.
students to make their own authentic
stories and this will put them in
writer's position which would help
children engage more in the literacy
activity.
literature and writing becomes!
Teachers can use this website with
students who are resistant or not very
strong in reading or writing, as
students might find that this website
makes either or both literacy activities
more accessible to them because of the
technology features it offers. I really
enjoyed reading my published work as
well - it looked like a real book and
made me feel like an accomplished
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author!
Participant D I loved the interactivity and the
The instructions were a little
creativity it inspires. I really liked the overwhelming. It was a lot to absorb and
stories already on there (though the
do. As a teaching tool it might need to be
one I was reading took longer than five simpler.
minutes!)
Participant A It had a friendly interface and was so I had trouble setting up my own account.
easy to use. I think a student would
have no trouble getting started. The
tutorial was especially helpful.
That could have been my fault.
Table Eight.
When asked about how this website could be used in schools the participants all thought
the site was more appropriate for older grade levels. Participant A even answered that such
a complex website might only be possible for advanced students. Participant C and F
suggested the website could be used in elementary as a whole class activity. Several
different options were given for this site from the participants such as continuing a story
they read in class, imagining alternate endings and plot twists for the book, developing
multi language texts and create a space to explore different story options.
Participant C
I could use this website with my whole group of students to make stories together.
It could be hard for prek-kindergarteners to directly use it but I think it will be
possible for me to combine each children's stories after they make their own stories
related to certain topic. There were certain story contents which people can use or
they could make their own from the beginning.
I think it would be interesting to use this website after reading about a storybook
with children and make up stories or continue the story even though the official
story is over.
This activity would help students to imagine what would happen to the main
character and provide chances to become a writer which will make them feel
more proud and participate in literacy activity.
Participant F
I find this website really great because it makes writing so interactive! It gave me
the ability to write and think of many different paths to take my story. I can see
how this allows students to use their imagination and create different plots and
endings for their story - especially when they cannot make up their minds about 2
great ideas on the draft stage. I'm not sure what this would look like with
elementary students, but I can see 4th and 5th graders really enjoying the aspect
of choice. Maybe with the younger grades, the website can be used as a whole-class
activity!
Participant D
I would use it with high schoolers, I think it would be a fun interactive way for
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them to write and share stories. I think because they are the authors it would also
provide a space for multiple languages to be valued.
Participant A
Yes! I think it would be a fun and motivating activity for 5th or 6th graders. They
might have to be gift and talented students, though, because writing a single story
is hard enough. This website invites you to, essentially, write several stories at once.
I think most kids would have too much trouble keeping these options straight in
their heads and making sure all the different options make sense. I think I would
start by just allowing my strongest writers try this out. I don't think they would
need a lot of teacher support, so I could allow them to work on it when they were
done with other activities. Then, if it was really manageable for them, I might invite
more students to try it.
Table Nine.
Responses to Storybird (3)
1 First Impressions: All three participants had favorable first impressions of the site
both in regards to visual appeal and to ease of entering the site. Only participant C
noted that some of the illustrations were not to her taste. Both participant A and B
commented on how accessible and user-friendly the site was. Participant A
appreciated not having to pay a fee for signing up. Both participant A and C praised
the interactiveness, appealing and engaging it was.
Participant A My first impression of the website is a really positive one. I was able to quickly watch
the tutorial video and get a 5 minute summary of all the things the website has to offer
and how to get started on creating my own story and generating my own pictures.
Signing up was easy and quick. I like that there was no fee attached to signing up. I
probably would have stopped exploring on the website if there had been. I would be
willing to pay for something I produced as long as it was something I was proud of and
the website allows me to create without paying. The website was easy to access and not
overly stimulating in terms of links. It is pretty straightforward and user friendly.
Participant C I think it was pretty appealing, though the art varied for me from very appealing to
offputting. The idea itself is really engaging, I like that it can be interactive and that
there is a lot of choice in illustration.
Participant B Love the pictures! So colorful and alluring! Looks very accessible.
Table Ten.
2 Specific Tasks: As in all the websites, participants were asked to create, share and
read texts from the website. Each task was altered to fit the website’s unique
characteristics. Below are Storybird’s.
● Create a picture book on the site.
● Publish and share your story.
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● Read someone else’s picture book and make a comment.
All participants finished the tasks within the allotted time. I explained to participants that
as long as they began a book by adding text and picture together, they had fulfilled the task.
3 Open-ended Task: While still approving of the website, the participants’ opinions of
the easy navigation of the site somewhat changed during the process of exploring
the website. Participants A and B commented on how some the aspects of the were
confusing. Participant C brought up issues with commenting on sites such as this in
regards to students. She worried about the accessibility to her students’ work by
other people. Participant B commented that while the illustrations are nice, she
would like the option of putting in her own pictures.
What did you like about this
website?
What did not you like about this website?
Participant A The plethora of graphics are really
I found the text boxes and formatting not
intuitive and kept deleting things accidentally.
Participant C I liked the artwork, the flexibility
I didn't like the commenting section and it
made me nervous to use it with kids or myself.
Internet commenters are not always the nicest
and I don't necessarily like the idea of my work
being out there to be commented on (I didn't
read the commenting guidelines, so I could be
wrong about how it is monitored)
cool. There is so much that can be
done on this website.
and choice and just the idea of
writing and publishing stories for
people to read so easily. It was rather
straightforward and had a tutorial
which I appreciated.
Participant B The accessibility. The colors. The
Having to sign in. I have way too many accounts.
pictures. Easy to get into. And easy to I also found the set up a little confusing at first.
publish!
I wasn't sure how to start the story once you
chose the illustrator. Once I did it was super easy.
I also wish we could add in our own photos. It's
nice to get inspiration but what if I wanted to
write a more specific story?
Table Eleven
Feedback Questionnaire
The feedback questionnaire focused on how the websites measured up to each other and to
the definition of 21st century literacy. Below are the questions the participants answered. I
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wanted to keep these questions open-ended because I wanted the opinions and
suggestions of the participants. I wanted this to be closer to a discussion on characteristics
that make a good interactive literacy website instead of merely asking about usability.
1 Overall which website did you enjoy the most? Why?
2 Do you think any of these websites fulfill your definition of 21st century literacy? Why
or why not?
3 According to you what are the most important features on an interactive literacy
website?
4 Do you know of any other interactive literacy websites?
5 Any other comments on the websites or interactive storytelling?
Since two of the participants did not complete testing for the second website, they did not
complete a feedback questionnaire.
1. Overall which website did you enjoy the most? Why? Despite the fact that each
participant only tested two websites and not all three, I still wanted to see how they
compared the two websites they tested and what reasons caused them to choose
that website. Each website was chosen by different participants. Only storybird was
voted for twice. While the participants chose different websites, their reasons for
choosing that website was very similar and repeated what had previously
impressed them in testing the websites. Participants cited variety, creativity,
engagement and visual attractiveness.
Participant B Storify. So many different subjects were jumping out at me. I was drawn to
investigate all the different stories on there.
Participant C
Storybird, it was easy to use and very engaging.
Participant F
I enjoyed inkle.com because once I figured out what I could do on the website,
writing a story was fun and appealing. I was excited to try writing my own story,
with different versions of the plot and ending. I also enjoyed seeing my finished
product, which looked like a REAL book - that made me feel like a REAL author!
Finally, I also enjoyed reading the examples on the website of books that are
considered classics of literature, and the choice I was given in which direction to
take my reading! I think kids would enjoy the experience of creating their own
stories and reading stories with different "paths."
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Participant A Storybird. It is easily my favorite. It would be very encouraging for students who
lack confidence with their writing. The images would get them inspired and help
them feel successful.
Table Twelve.
2. Do you think any of these websites fulfill your definition of 21st century literacy?
Why or why not? I wanted the participants to be more specific in their criteria of
websites, so I asked them to focus on evaluating the websites based on 21st century
literacy. From their comments, three characteristics of 21st century literacy
emerged that the participants commonly deemed important.
● Technology as an innovative tool. Website goes beyond what traditional paper
and pencil tools can do.
● Engaging and interactive. Website is creative in providing tools and ideas to users.
● Variety of literacies. Website uses diverse ways to communicate, share and create.
Participant B
Yes. Very much so. It brings so many relevant communication medias together,
i.e. twitter, FB, youtube, and more.
Participant C
I used both storybird and inklewriter, I think both of them fulfilled my definition of
21st century literacy, because they not only engaged the user in a way that they
could not be necessarily engaged without that technology, but they also
provided space for the value of multiple literacies.
Participant F
I think both of these sites fulfill my definition of 21st century literacy as they use
technology to enhance the teaching and learning of literacy. A person is able to
use computer skills as the tool through which to practice the writing process publishing and sharing their own stories, as well as reading others' stories. Users of
these sites can engage individually in reading and writing, and collectively as a
class in the latter and in speaking and listening, which builds on literacy skills in
unconventional ways.
Participant A
Absolutely! They help connect readers and writers with one another. They take
advantage of the visual capabilities of the internet. They make students think
about writing in a whole new way, especially because they easily connect them
with a diverse audience.
Table Thirteen.
3. According to you what are the most important features on an interactive literacy
website? Again I wanted specific feedback by participants on what makes interactive
literacy websites successful. While similar to the previous question about 21st
century literacies, I wanted participants to shift their thinking about interactive
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literacy websites specifically. I wanted to see what they thought should be a valid
framework for a website they would use in their classroom or suggest to students.
This goes back to my purpose of educating designers of these websites by making
them aware of what literacy teachers look for in a website. Again participants had
broad similarities.
● Accessibility. Should be easy to use and perform tasks. Website is user-friendly and
provides tools to introduce user to process. Focus should be on the actual
composition and sharing not on trying to figure out the website.
● Engagement. Should be creative with a variety of content rich sources. Users should
be drawn to both the simplicity and innovativeness of the websites process.
● Interactiveness. Should be exciting and user centered. Users should be able to take
resources and tools of website to create their own text.
Participant B The ease of publishing your own story and the way many different sources are
brought together in one place.
Participant C Clarity, intuitive instructions, interactivity and engagement.
Participant F The most important features on an interactive literacy website is how easy it is for
you to navigate the site and interact with the materials on the same. If a site claims
to be interactive, that means the design of the same has to allow users to feel
comfortable and excited about exploring/browsing its content (not frustrated by
how clutter/ busy the site looks or how hard it is to get to something interesting).
Also, strong/rich literacy content is key if a website is to build literacy skills.
Participant A I think they should have simple interfaces that are easy to understand and easy to
use. Tutorials can be especially helpful.
Table Fourteen.
4. Do you know of any other interactive literacy websites? Any other comments on the
websites or interactive storytelling? These last two questions were mainly to record
any further ideas that would be useful to teachers and designers. The three websites
I chose are not the only literacy websites, and I was curious what other websites the
participants might know about. I thought this information might also be useful to
see what other websites they considered as literacy websites. Not only would this
suggest further websites to explore for literacy teachers but also give examples to
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designers of what websites do work for classrooms. The last question allowed for
any other comments the participants would have to say. I knew that while they may
all be taking the same literacy class, they still would have different opinions and
perspectives. I also knew that the tests would not cover everything literacy teachers
are concerned with in literacy websites and so wanted to provide a space in which
they could voice those concerns. Below is a list of different websites categorized by
type suggested by the participants.
● Social media. Facebook, myspace, youtube
● Online presentation tools. Prezi (3), Glogster (2), Xtranormal, Voki, Animoto
● Reading and writing. Starfall, ebooks online, raz-kids, Brainpopsl,
● Miscellaneous. brainpop.com, brainpopjr.com
Among these websites the participants also cited concerns of privacy, accessibility, ease of
use. These concerns were also brought up in the last question. Participant B and A seemed
very adamant that security be an issue for any interactive literacy website even if the
website is an amazing tool.
Do you know of any other
interactive literacy websites?
Any other comments on the
websites or interactive storytelling?
Participant B FB, myspace, youtube are all
I think it is important for teachers to be
interactive and contain literacy, but I
aware of security features they can use
don't know that I would recommend
with their students when using online
them to educators without a note of
resources.
caution. Glogster and Prezi are great
websites I would recommend.
Participant C
I've used Prezi and Animoto in the past These were both really fun. As I teach
to have kids present. They aren't the
younger children, I would definitely use
easiest but they pretty good.
storybird again!
Participant F
I think there's a good one for younger I am glad I learned about 2 new
kids called starfall.com and one with interactive literacy sites!
ebooks online that I cannot remember
the name of. It's a website where you
can choose books to be read aloud. I
found a website that works in a similar
way called http://www.raz-kids.com.
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Learning Odyssey also has come great
things but you need to buy a
membership to access their program.
There's also brainpopesl.com which is
great for teaching emergent bilinguals
English. I don't know if brainpop.com
and brainpopjr.com would fall into the
category of literacy websites, but they
are great interactive sites for student
learning.
Participant A Xtranormal.com, voki.com,
I would want to be very certain that these
prezi.com, and glogster.com. I haven't websites my students were using were
personally used any of these with
secure. I love the idea of allowing them to
children yet, but I find them easy to use share their work with others, outside the
and expect they would be very
classroom, but I would want to make sure
motivating for kids.
there was some control, that my students
were not putting writing into the world
that they would regret later.
Table Fifteen.
Discussion
In this section I will discuss my findings in relation to the 3 I’s of design -- information,
interaction, interface. While the participants had no knowledge of these three elements of
design, they did comment on the influence they had in their perception and use of each
website. Due to the nature of this report, I will not only discuss how these websites fulfilled
the elements of design but also how that fulfillment served 21st century literacy.
Information Design
As stated before all three sites’ main goal is to enable storytelling. Each differs slightly in
the purpose of storytelling and how they organize their tools. Participants reported that
critical literacy content as well as simple, clear organization were important in an online
literacy tool for the classroom.
Most participants liked the simple, streamlined organization of Storybird the best. It was
the easiest to understand the site’s purpose and how to use the tools. Storybird simplified
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its content by offering the user clear one step directions on each page. Straight from the
homepage where there is a short, to-the-point description and an example image, the user
immediately knows what the site is for and what it can do. There are really only two
choices, “Start a Storybird Now” or “take the tour” simplifying the process for the user.
(image)
Image Four. Storybird’s homepage simplifies website by minimizing text and graphics as well as choices.
The user then is taken through a step a page to get to the final product.
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Image Five. Storybird’s clearly organized, step-by-step process.
The participants didn’t like when the purpose of the site was not clear or the steps of
composing and sharing were not streamlined. Both Inklewriter and Storify were somewhat
guilty of these faults. Inklewriter was streamlined but not simple. The site faces the
challenge of making the tools on the website intuitive and clear but also comprehensive in
its scope. It attempts to accomplish these two goals with large red buttons, whitespace, and
tutorials. Each element is very helpful but is more time-consuming and taxing than
Storybird’s simple 1-2-3 steps. Simplifying their introduction to a clear, dual section of
published examples and steps to starting a story would minimize the overwhelming nature
of the site but allow the user to immediately understand the site’s purpose as well as to
continue to explore. The site does attempt to do this by inserting two large, red buttons
saying, “Start writing” and “Read a story” but most users did not notice them in their right
corner position and instead immediately went to the larger, more central images and
tutorials.
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Image Six. Inklewriter’s homepage
Storify is even more confusing and overwhelming with it’s distracting images and graphics.
Participants had a hard time understanding how to use the tool. Storify has the most
complex and complicated content to organize. While it is primarily a writing website, the
writing tools are used for many, very different reasons such as news, jokes, trends and
diaries. Along with these different purposes are different audiences and creators ranging
from corporations, lobbyists, individuals, and small communities. The site organizes their
content to try to reflect the flexibility and media-rich nature of their stories. If the user is
unfamiliar with the overall goals of the site, the organization can be quite overwhelming.
There is no real explanation on the homepage and no clear path to take. Buttons at the top
that direct the user to “create story” and “get a tour” are clear and simple but are
overwhelmed by the trending topics accompanied by pictures, symbols and videos. During
the time I have written this report, storify has seemingly attempted to simplify their
content by minimizing distracting images and isolating the key introductory buttons to
make them more noticeable. While this does help getting started, the new format of the
trending stories do not help in identifying the purpose of the site. A combination of the last
trending articles format and the current top menu would improve the organization of this
site.
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Image 7. Storify’s homepage. Pictures while attractive distract from clarity of purpose.
Yet out of all three of the websites participants recognized Storify’s multi-literacy and
media rich content. Only Storify included the freedom to tell a story in many different ways
such as social media, searched images, and downloaded pictures. Storify also had a farther
reaching, more sociopolitical community for students to delve into. In regards to 21st
century literacy all websites seem to fulfill the criteria of proficiency, analyzation,
communitiy, multi-literacy but not to the extent as Storify. While only one participant chose
Storify as their favorite, all the participants conceded it was not because of the content
alone but issues of safety and accessibility. Each saw the potential of Storify in the context
of critical literacies.
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Image Eight. An example of a story from Storify.
Interaction Design
The interaction element was probably the most important in regards to the three different
websites. While each provided critical literacy, the main objections and praise from the
participants for the websites came in the amount of ease and control the user had in the
site.
Storybird according to the findings was probably the easiest to maneuver in it’s simple
steps. The information aspect helped in streamlining the process for the user. Not only was
it the easiest to start but also the easiest to finish, save and share. The layout used mostly
pictures and shapes (presumably designed for young children) to identify what to do next.
Yet along with it’s simplicity comes some loss of control. As one participant noticed, the
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user is restricted to the pictures provided and may not add their own. While the beautiful
pictures lend inspiration, it is not helpful when the user has to change the story to fit the
pictures given. It would be nice to have an option to download personal pictures. The
layout also hampers the choices on the size and position of the picture. One participant
complained about this while attempting to write her first book. While students may create
a storybook through paper and pencil and glue which has been done for years, Storybird
provides an innovative way to expand that process. While creating their own ebook and
viewing others, students are presented with a quicker, more professional text than a simple
pasted together booklet. Their text can reach farther and a community can be explored that
couldn’t be in an ordinary classroom through social media on and outside of the classroom.
Image 8. An example of a published book on Storybird. Notice comments by other users and social media widgets.
Inklewriter attempts to streamline its interaction and does so, but the tutorial that takes the
user through the process of creating a story is quite long and for a teacher or student with
limited time, this can be a dealbreaker. This was primarily the concern for the participants
who tested the website. Most of them preferred to go straight to creating the story and
ignore the tutorial, yet when they began to compose they were confused on how to proceed.
Encouraging the reader to preview a book would make the composing process more
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intuitive since the interaction with an already created story informs the reader on the
capabilities of the tools. Once participants had been through a story, they understood the
potentials of such a text. They then could more easily go on to create their own story.
Image Nine. An example published text, Frankenstein, on Inklewriter. Notice the format of the text including
hyperlinked chapters and story options at the end of the text.
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Image Ten. Inklewriter’s composition page. Although it takes the user step by step through the process, it is
confusing if the user hasn’t seen an example. The site tries to keep it simple, but there is just too much
information to keep it intuitive and simple.
Storify thrives on interaction and offers an array to interact with the site and with
communities. Again, though, the design of the homepage gets in the way of the purpose of
the website. Once the user gets to the composition page, the directions are much more
intuitive and user-friendly.
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Image Eleven. Storify’s composition page. The purpose and options are clear and intuitive with a few helpful
hints.
One of the biggest concerns, though, for the participants was control and safety for
students on the websites. While these literacy teachers were excited at the prospect in
enabling their students to engage in multimedia and literacies, they feared that the privacy
of their students would be threatened by the very things they were excited about. This is
indeed a problem for online literacy sites. None of the sites seem to offer an easy, straightforward answer. Inklewriter was the only one not to have stories shared publicly but this
also limited the community effect since a finished ebook could be either emailed to one
recipient or published onto the user’s Kindle. Storybird and Storify offered the ability to
choose to make stories public or to share to a limited amount of people, but again this
either threatens a user’s privacy or limits the scope of community which hampers 21st
century literacy.
Along with this is the issue of setting up an account. All three websites required the user to
register eventually if they wanted to save or publish their work. Most of the participants
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cringed at the thought of creating yet another account as well as at the thought of students
remembering account information. This issue of accounts also feeds into the time
investment that teachers and students must put into the site.
Image Twelve. Storybird requires the user to register to save work. It offers different account options but still
requires email and password.
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Image Thirteen. Once you wish to share your story, Inklewriter requires you to sign in or sign up. You may only
share it through email, though, not as a community.
Image Fourteen. In order to save or publish your story, Storify requires the user to log in or join. Facebook and
Twitter are encouraged which makes privacy an even bigger issue for classrooms.
Interface Design (appearance) 21st century literacy-innovative tools. accessibility
All three websites’ appearances were remarked upon favorably. Even the sites that were
more distracting and confusing were said to be colorful and intriguing. Storybird and
Inklewriter were also said to use their interface to infer that the site dealt with writing.
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Image Fifteen. Storybird uses birds with book wings and Inklewriter uses inkblots to denote the literacy nature
of the site.
Participants noted that Storybird’s artwork and colorful interface were immediately
attractive to them. Indeed the artwork available is outstanding. It is varied and high-quality
unlike many other similar websites for children where artwork is simple and moronic. The
layout also makes it easy to maneuver between pages, to view pictures, to organize texts
and pictures
Image Sixteen. Two examples of illustration options from Storybird.. Interface is intuitive, clear but colorful.
Illustrations are varied and high-quality.
In Inklewriter participants able to focus more on the structure of the layout due to the
simple use of colors. It’s obvious that that designers wished to create an interface that
linked to the real world (the use of a wooden background and paper like sections) but was
also innovative.
Image Seventeen. Inklewriter provides a
sleek interface with minimalistic color
choices and multiple perspectives for your
story.
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Storify although confusing at first was attractive to participants in its graphic rich interface.
Image Eighteen. Storify divides the composition page into two sections: the actual composition and then a
dashboard for different social media and search engines. Hyperlinks and shadows make dragging and dropping
intuitive.
Summary
As stated previously, this test was not only to assess the usability of these sites but also to
discuss what makes a website appealing to teachers and students and relevant to 21st
century literacy. While participants differed in their preference of different websites, it was
clear that all participants held similar criteria to be important in literacy websites.
● Accessibility: Ease and immediacy of use, privacy protection, community building.
● Critical literacy: Use of multi-literacies and media, valid and authentic uses of
literacy, sociocultural natures.
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● Innovation: Takes traditional literacy tools, methods and formats and builds upon
them using current technology, encourages students to be creative in a way they
could not using traditional materials, build proficiency in multi-media.
It’s important for educators and designers to think of these criteria in evaluating and
creating websites for literacy.
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References
Levine, Alan. “50+ Web 2.0 Ways to Tell a Story.” Last modified March 27, 2012. Retrieved
from http://50ways.wikispaces.com/
Rubin, Jeffrey and Dana Chisnell. Handbook of Usability Testing: How to Plan, Design, and
Conduct Effective Tests. Wiley Publishing Inc., 2008.
Team LAL. Pearltrees. “Pearltrees--Narratives.” Retrieved from
http://www.pearltrees.com/#/N-s=1_4515372&N-p=36886762&N-u=1_430829&Nfa=3705035&N-f=1_4515372.
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Appendix A: Background questionnaire
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Appendix B: Task forms
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Inklewriter
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11/26/2012
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EDC 385G Designs and Strategies for New Media
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Rachel Hatch
11/26/2012
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EDC 385G Designs and Strategies for New Media
Research Component
Rachel Hatch
11/26/2012
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EDC 385G Designs and Strategies for New Media
Research Component
Rachel Hatch
11/26/2012
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EDC 385G Designs and Strategies for New Media
Research Component
Rachel Hatch
11/26/2012
Appendix C: Post-Test Questionnaire
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EDC 385G Designs and Strategies for New Media
Research Component
Rachel Hatch
11/26/2012
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EDC 385G Designs and Strategies for New Media
Research Component
Rachel Hatch
11/26/2012
About the Author
Rachel Hatch is a Curriculum & Instruction Masters student at the University of Texas
specializing in Language and Literacy. She has taught middle school language arts for the
last five years in Houston. Before teaching professionally she voluntarily taught ESL to
adult immigrants in Toronto, CA. She is a graduate of Brigham Young University in Provo,
Utah.
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