Usability Testing to Improve a Teaching Website for Graduate Counselor Education Students

Abstract

Expectations for technology proficiency in counseling and counselor education have increased; nevertheless, very little information is available in the counseling literature which describes how to effectively evaluate online resources from a design and utility standpoint. This study provides a model for such assessments, employing an affordable small scale usability study to improve an educational website designed for graduate counseling students. This predominantly qualitative analysis of effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction also provided valuable quantitative evidence of what worked and what did not, allowing the designers to prioritize needed changes in the areas of content, format/graphics, and workflow of the website.