Sadera, William A.Meiselwitz, Gabriele H.2015-12-172015-12-172013-05-032005-09DSU2005Meiselwitzhttp://hdl.handle.net/11603/2091(Ed.D.) -- Towson University, 2005. Thesis approval page signed by thesis committee members and the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies and Research included in print copy of thesis.Many institutions in higher education are offering at least some of their curriculum online and use a course management system (CMS) to support these online learning environments. Usability evaluation tools are often used to measure the quality of a user's experience when interacting with a web site. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationships between usability factors and learning outcomes in an online learning environment as well as to investigate differences in learning outcomes and system usability between several selected student groups (selected groups were: gender, age, student standing, student computer competency scores). Subject of evaluation were eight sections of an introductory computer science course taught in hybrid format using a CMS. A survey instrument, integrating usability research into evaluation of student learning outcomes in online learning environments, was developed. Results of the study have direct implications on the design and development of online instruction.application/pdfviii, 138 pagesengCopyright protected, all rights reserved.Teaching -- Computer network resources -- EvaluationEducation -- Computer network resources -- EvaluationText