Search for: All records

To understand demographic variations and cater for varying user preferences, we evaluated instructors’ demographic variations on a web-based platform for connecting instructors with practitioners for student development. Both objective and subjective measures were adopted to investigate age- and gender-related differences in gaze behavior, task completion time, perceived cognitive load, perceived usability, and trust. Compared to male instructors, female instructors had higher fixation counts, longer task completion times, and statistically significant longer fixation duration. Female instructors gave higher usability and trust ratings but reported a higher cognitive workload. Compared to Generation Y instructors, Generation X instructors had longer fixation duration, higher fixation count, and statistically longer task completion time. Generation X instructors reported high cognitive load, lower usability, and trust ratings. The study also reveals demographic differences in parameters that instructors focused on while connecting with practitioners via a web platform. It is important that web designers consider gender and age differences and preferences, as well as other demographic variations, when designing web platforms. 

We designed and developed our web platform, ConPEC, to bridge the gap between instructors and practitioners in the construction industry. Subsequently, we recruited 20 construction instructors to interact with the ConPEC platform for evaluation purposes. Results showed the potential for ConPEC to enhance academic pedagogy by providing instructors with improved access to practitioners and fostering a blend of theory and practical knowledge needed in industry. Users perceived ConPEC as useful, user-friendly, and likely to be adopted.