Basic of php
                     
PHP Basic



  

PHP Basics

Polly, Sanser and Young
R547,  Fall 2002 


  

Online Prototype
 PHP Basic online prototype
 Please ask questions at the end of the 

presentation.


  

Learner Analysis
 Distance Masters and Residential 

Students taking R547.
 Prerequisites:

 Meet technology competencies set by IST
http://www.education.indiana.edu/ist/programs/masters/dm/requirements.html 

 Be able to use HTML tags, and create a 
webpage

 Access SSH, and web development tool 
such as Homesite.


  

Context Analysis
 To reduce the class time taken to teach 

basic PHP. 
 An online tutorial, that has instructor 

support.


  

Instructional Objectives
 to help the learner get started using basic PHP 

scripting language 
 be able to access the tools and software that are 

used at IU to create dynamic web pages. 
 to create elementary PHP applications as a part of 

web-based instruction, that is, give feedback to the 
users after they complete a quiz 

 to input and retrieve information from an online 
survey 

 to debug a PHP program that has syntax errors. The 
learners are given a model example of what the 
program can do if it is working correctly.


  

Merrill’s 5 Star ID Rating
 Present in context of real world problems?
 Activate prior knowledge or experience?
 Show examples of what is to be learnt?
 Practice and apply new knowledge?
 Integrate and transfer new knowledge?


  

Design Decisions
 Provide relevant tasks
 Reference prior knowledge of HTML
 Show examples

 Easy to understand 
- Use screen shot instead of lengthy text

 Practice and apply
 Give tasks following the instruction to reinforce learning

 Easy navigation
- Using navigation style similar to Amazon.com
- clear navigation

 Overview of the instructional Web site
- Site map on the second page 


  

Paper Prototype
 The prototype had 72 pages
 Had a linear structure


  

Usability (paper prototype)
 Authentic Users ?

 Three users, all residential graduate students.
 Two had taken R547, one did not.

 Authentic Task ?
 They reviewed the paper prototype, and worked on 

the tasks online using the tester’s mentor account.
 Authentic Conditions ?

 Two usabilities were conducted on campus, one was 
done at home. 

 The usability test lasted 2 hours per session.


  

Usability Findings (Paper)
Instructional Effectiveness Satisfaction with 

Instruction 
Subject Pre-assessment 

Mastery Level (Total 
Score = 100)

Post-assessment 
Mastery Level 
(Total Score = 100) 

Reactionnaire 
Mean Score 

S1 1 22 3.76

S2 1 25 3.07

S3 11 66 4.36

Overall Mean 
4.3

Std Dev
5.6

Mean 
37.6

Std Dev
24.5

Mean 
3.76

Std Dev
0.65


  

Usability Findings (Paper)
 Users preferred screenshots but wanted less 

text
 Users liked going through the practice 

sessions.
 Users wanted the learning to be scaffolded 

Examples:
 Quickly troubleshooting the errors
 Being able to copy and paste the text rather than 

typing the code.
 Reducing personal anxiety: one user was against 

learning a new software: Homesite


  

Usability (Online)
 Authentic Users ?

 Three users, all residential graduate students.
 All were taking R547, and they just had lectures on 

PHP in their class
 Authentic Task ?

 They reviewed the online instructions, and worked on 
the tasks by using their mentor account.

 Authentic Conditions ?
 All usabilities were conducted on campus. 
 Users spent 2 hours per session. 
 Users were not able to spend enough time for each 

section and could not complete the entire tutorial.


  

Usability Finding (Online)
Instructional Effectiveness Satisfaction with 

Instruction 

Subject Pre-assessment 
Mastery Level (Total 
Score = 100)

Post-assessment 
Mastery Level 
(Total Score = 100) 

Reactionnaire 
Mean Score 

S1  34  64  4.14

S2  42  90  3.71

S3  0  30  4.50

Overall Mean 
 25.33

Std Dev
 22.30

Mean 
 61.33

Std Dev
 30.08

Mean 
 4.12

Std Dev
 0.39


  

Usability Result (Online)
 In terms of instructional effectiveness – 

is high for all users
 In terms of satisfaction rate -Novice 

user was more satisfied than the 
advanced learners (4.50 vs 3.70).


  

Usability Observation (Online)
 Homesite on campus crashed during the 

usability tests (the work around, save files on 
the desktop and upload using SSH).

 Users skimmed through the materials. They 
felt they need to spend more time on the 
materials and complete the tasks

 As they encountered problems they chose to 
go through the materials rather than 
troubleshoot the errors

 Users used the “next” and “previous” button 
over the menu bar 


  

Usability Feedback (Online)
 Users liked the examples used in the 

instruction as they were similar to real life 
tasks (Quiz, Survey) 

 Users found the site map useful 
 Users wanted more meaningful variable 

names and descriptions for the functions, 
operators and other attributes

 They wanted to be reminded to do the tasks


  

Questions

?