Margit Kastner

Exploring a Text-to-Speech Feature by Describing Learning Experience, Enjoyment, Learning Styles, and Values -- A Basis for Future Studies

Speech is the most natural form of face-to-face communication. Due to more sophisticated information systems and advanced educational requirements speech also recognizes growing importance in human-computer interaction. The present study investigates a text-to-speech (TTS) feature in a learning context. 252 questionnaires allow for descriptions concerning positive and negative experiences of TTS learners. Additionally, descriptive insights for enjoyment factors are provided and differences between German and English texts are shown. Furthermore, preferences of different learning styles and values of TTS features conveyed are explored. Findings provide a starting point for more specific future studies through insights into TTS evaluation in a learning context. Based on positive and negative experiences 13 dimensions relevant for a performance measurement scale are suggested. It is shown that among others, theoretical texts and exercises are appreciated as TTS especially by the aural learning style to enable for instance language learning on the go.

Social Virtual Worlds' Success Factors: Four Studies' Insights for the Tourism Supply and Demand Side

This study summarizes success factors of virtual worlds (VWs) examined in scientific studies. One success factor attracting users is that VWs comprise a critical mass of residents. The most popular social VW Second Life (SL) struggles to reach this criterion. Nevertheless, businesses put time and money into virtual representations. This research aims at revealing reasons for this effort by conducting four empirical studies in the field of tourism. The first two studies examine the supply side, evaluating representations and looking at drivers for doing business in SL, the other two studies focus on the demand side. The aim is to detect reasons for using SL as an information source and to reveal underlying values SL provides to its residents. Results show that the supply side uses SL to arouse emotions, to target new customers, and for relationship management. Travelers are attracted by added values the social VW provides.

Mapping segments accessing user-generated content and website applications in a joint space.

Purpose – The relevant literature suggests that website designers should consider the needs of their target groups. This study aims to show the importance of certain website content/applications as perceived by specific user segments, and reveal a posteriori segments based on motivational factors for reading user‐generated content (UGC). The study then seeks to visualize the connections between segments, their perceived importance of website applications, and further explanatory variables, by applying correspondence analysis (CA). The authors show that creative usage of CA may give insight into the varying contributions of certain variables through the exclusion of scale categories or segments.Design/methodology/approach – The authors collected 440 completed questionnaires in an online survey. Of the 240 respondents who read UGC, the authors clustered motivational factors by applying a vector quantization method, and then used CA to give insights into the importance of website content/applications for cer...

Optimizing Usability Testing in the Context of a Large-scale Software Service for Digital Textbooks

The adoption of digital textbooks in education has steadily increased. This paper reports on the initiative Digi4School aiming to provide a large-scale software service for digital textbooks. Since the usability of this service is of particular concern, it is the subject of a design science research project with the goal to investigate two artifacts: (1) an optimized method for usability testing and (2) a fully-functional software service for delivering digital textbooks to users with heterogeneous IT background. We conclude that a combination of usability tests and the use of a questionnaire including closed and open-ended questions is recommended. Furthermore, both novice and expert users should evaluate a system’s usability with iterations until the usability measures reach a satisfactory level for all users. This was achieved for Digi4School. Such an approach has the potential to identify and eliminate flaws that prevent users from adopting the system.