Designing Online Tests for a Virtual Learning Environment – Evaluation of Visual Behaviour between Tasks

Visual attention of learners is examined during completion of an online e-learning test consisting of three different educational tasks, namely matching, multiple choice, and true/false tasks. Eye movements of 36 learners were recorded with respect to four layout areas of the virtual learning environment’s interface, including textual instruction, visual content, selection items, and navigational elements. Visual behavior was analyzed along five traditional eye tracking metrics: total gaze duration, time to first fixation, mean fixation duration, fixation count, and regression rate. Additionally, transition matrices were used to analyze attentional switching between the four layout areas. Comparison of transition matrices facilitates effects analysis between the three different tasks, quantifying significant differences in aggregate visual behavior. Mean fixation durations indicated more visual effort for true/false tasks. The matching task transition matrix suggests a significantly more focused pattern of attentional switching, compared to the other tasks. Based on these findings, a few practical recommendations for designers of e-learning environments are offered.