Browsing by Subject "käyttökokemus"

The objective of this study is to evaluate the usability of horse rugs on the basis of horse owners experiences. The aim of the study is to find out how rugs match the needs of the users and different purposes in varied environments. Background of the research is based on my own hobby and interest in development of pet products. Based on my own experience of horse rugs are useful for their purpose, but there are some flaws in their functionality. Researching usability and user experiences of horse rugs may produce some valuable knowledge that can be used in design and product development of new horse rugs. This study is qualitative and the empirical data for the research was collected from horse stables by observing the use of horse rugs and by interviewing the horse owners, based on their everyday practical experience using the horse rugs. The interviews were conducted as a semi-structured theme interviews and were filmed. The resulting data was analysed by using theory-directed content analysis. In addition to the data gathered for the study the analysis was also influenced by previous background theory of horses, rugs and usability. The interviewees had a lot of experience in using horse rugs in varied environments and weather conditions. Choosing a rug is based on the needs of the horse and the horse owner. Good usability of a horse rug consists of many different factors. Well designed horse rug is easy to put on and take off from a horse and also easy to maintain as needed. Correctly fitted horse rug stays on the horse, is durable enough and does not cause friction or restrict the horse’s movement. Good horse rug also endures long-term use and does not lose its functionality after multiple times of laundering. Evident parts for design improvements were in fastening solutions, ill-fitting designs and materials.

The supply of teaching materials is constantly changing and expanding. This is also affected by the digitalization of schools and learning. Digitalization was emphasized even more in the spring 2020, when the primary education was shifted to distance learning due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Teachers are constantly required to consider and make decisions on the teaching methods they use. This study is conducted in collaboration with the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (FCCA). Among other things, the FCCA produces teaching materials. One of them is the Ostopolku [Consumption path]- teaching material, which aims to show the different parts of shopping process and how they are linked to each other. This material has been developed in collaboration with teachers. The aim of this research is to observe, what kind of user experiences teachers have from the teaching material. The purpose is to find out how teachers use the material, what kind of experiences they have as users of the material and how they would develop it. The data were collected using an electronic survey (n=10). In addition to the survey, I interviewed one teacher who had used the Ostopolku -teaching material in her teaching. Also, a specialist’s interview was conducted with Taina Mäntylä from the FCCA, the developer of the teaching material. The aim of Mäntylä's interview was to deepen the material and evaluate what kind of similarities and differences can be found in her interview and teachers' user experiences. The collected material guided the analysis, the research was conducted with the data-driven qualitative content analysis. Teachers are generally satisfied with the Ostopolku- teaching material. Pupils were actively involved in the lessons and the material was found to be suitable for both home economics and social studies lessons when the grade to be taught was taken into consideration in the content. There were also development suggestions for the teaching material, while the material itself was found to be quite extensive compared to the planned duration of the lessons. Teachers also expressed their hopes for adding various videos and smaller assignments to the material.

The purpose of this study is to implement immersive virtual reality (VR) technology as part of an environmental studies project in the actual complex school reality and analyze both the students’ and their teachers’ experiences and observations on the use of VR in learning and teaching. This study focuses on the user experiences and affordances that the appliance of VR technology brings forth in education. There are but few earlier studies on similar topics, most of which have been conducted in clinical settings. Three teachers and 59 students, 5-6th graders, from two different Finnish elementary schools participated in this study. The participants were all volunteers and took part in a nationwide VISIOT-project, coordinated by a nationwide Innokas Network. Its main purpose was to provide opportunities for trying out and developing virtual reality, augmented reality and Internet of things -technologies in education. The three teachers in this study applied a VR system that consisted of HTC Vive -device and Google Earth VR -program. The different ways in which the teachers ended up implementing the VR system turned out to be an important research topic in this study. The project went on for over three months, spanning from December 2017 to April 2018. The students assessed the use of the VR system during and after the project. Their experiences became another key research area in this study. Data was gathered with online questionnaires, pre and post-surveys for students, a test of the students’ spatial reasoning abilities, and with a pre-survey and innovative post interviews for the teachers. This mostly qualitative data was analyzed with clustering content analysis, where I would find similarities and differences in the participants’ answers and place them in schematized categories. The teacher’s encountered technical, spatial and temporal challenges, as well as challenges in orchestrating the implementation of the VR system. It appeared that VR’s implementation in education demanded more innovative scripts and different spatial, temporal and pedagogical arrangements than the two studied schools were used to. Albeit, the students adapted to the use of VR technology rather quickly and had a very positive emotional experience with it. The VR system was mostly used as a motivational addition to learning. Besides the visually enhanced exploration of the Earth and tourist role-play, the VR system’s actualized affordances included enjoyment and interest, realism and mental immersion, and mastery experiences. Students found the device as very comfortable and the program as user-friendly. Their conception of virtual reality was evidently affected by the applied VR system and its uses during the virtual field trip project. Despite of this, the students were able to imagine diverse learning worlds for VR. In addition to typical categories, they imagined high fantasy worlds and time travelling to the future. By and large, the students appeared willing to use VR technology again in the future. Their post-survey measures for self-efficacy and interest to engage with the technology were relatively high. The self-reported self-efficacy of boys was statistically significantly higher than the girls corresponding. The students found the VR program to be a credible source mostly due to the virtual world’s realism or resemblance with their experiences of the real world. Altogether, VR technology appears to be something that these 11-12-year-old students would gladly include in their learning environment, on the other hand, the teachers rightfully felt that the implemented VR system was too complex and demanding for permanent inclusion.