A Prototype Design and Usability Evaluation of a Chinese Educational System

Driven by both technological advances and the onset of COVID, online resources have become ever more integrated into modern education. However, foreign language learning has been especially difficult in a virtual environment because the high degree of interactivity and adaptation necessary of language learning is often absent from online tools. Existing online resources which are popular among foreign language students - ranging from the self-study app Duolingo to the flashcard app Quizlet - all carry substantial shortfalls. Namely, these systems are individual-based and lack the collaboration between parents, students, and teachers which is often vital to student success. Utilizing relevant psychological principles, we consider the algorithmic and interface aspects of a prototype design for a Chinese learning application which can be integrated into the classroom to promote support between parents and students. We also conducted cognitive walkthrough and heuristic evaluation to assess the usability of the prototype's interface. The results found that the interface was majorly intuitive despite some minor violation of heuristic principles.