Current Projects
I am currently involved in several projects, some are academically related, while some are not.
Web, Eye Movements, And Perception (WEMAP)
The WEMAP research group was formed in December 2008. The aim of this research group is to better understand the relationship between eye movements, perception, and the web. This group is expected to continue research for the next several years.
My current focus in this research group contends with text advertisements on the web. I am exploring various factors that affect the efficiency of text advertisements on the web. This is the basis of my thesis project. This project should be completed by December 2009.
SPTE Scheduling and Notifications
SPTEs are the university's method of measuring instructor performance in the classroom. SPTEs are tied to promotions, tenure decisions, and pay increases. Each semester, several hundred instructors schedule SPTEs for over two thousand courses in each of the Fall and Spring semesters. The aim of this project is to eliminate the paper scheduling forms and move this functionality into the university web portal. By doing so, the SPTE notification project facilitates the ability for instructors to schedule their SPTEs electronically, thus eliminating the need to mail each instructor SPTE scheduling sheets each semester. Moreover, by eliminating the paper to electronic transfer that occurs with each recieved form, data entry errors and the time spent scheduling each SPTE should be greatly reduced. The current proposed solution is nearing a limited beta trial.
Twitter.Com
Over the course of Summer 2009, we explored usability issues of Twitter.Com amongst novice/first-time users. Our findings can be found in Usability News. We are in the process of conducting additional studies that focus on how and why Twitter is used via the web and 3rd party interfaces.
Web Portals
Since joining higher education, I have perpetually been involved in a web portal related project. I was a member of the initial implementation team of the myWSU web portal and continued as a member of the web portal management team for the next several years. Upon admittance to the Human Factors program, my interest web portals hasn't diminished. In 2007, SURL conducted a usability study of myWSU as part of the continuing effort to myWSU. During the same time frame, I began researching eye movements in web portals. This research has continued to expand and has covered task effects, layout differences, and effects of saliency changes of web objects in web portals.