Design of an e-learning authoring tool user interface using mental models: a case study

Abstract

User interface design is very important when creating e-learning tools, especially in authoring tools where the user has to use a single application to create content and has to learn to use a lot of functionalities that combine and help each other to produce the final result. The user, when utilizing the application, will create a mental model that should fit the conceptual model that the development team has designed. If this does not happen it will be very difficult to learn how to use the application and there will be misunderstandings and mistakes. This paper presents a case study of an authoring tool called ViSH Editor, its user interface design process and how mental models and related Human-Computer Interaction concepts have been taken into account when designing the user interface of the tool.