Matching interaction design principles and integrated navigation systems in an electronic classroom

This article deals with cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary virtual engagement aimed to match human-computer interaction design principles and contemporary integrated navigation information systems. As interaction design principles ten general principles-heuristics are used, and as examples of contemporary navigation information systems, chart Radio Detection (or Direction) and Ranging (RADAR) device and Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) are used. This cross-disciplinary research has been achieved through a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) project by Durban University of Technology (DUT) in South Africa and University of Colima (UoC) in Mexico. Namely, the students from both sides guided by their lecturers have been engaged in analyzing today’s most frequently used marine navigational aids from the perspective of their reliability and user centeredness. The complexity of the systems and the lack of standards are observed as main problems when it comes to marine information systems effectiveness and their user centeredness.