In The Age of Netflix, UX Design Can Make Or Break Your Online Learning Experience

User experience is not extra, it’s everything.

We all know how the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the way we perceive and interact with our society.

The education sector is a living example of how rapidly one needs to adopt new technology in order to survive the wrath of ultra competitiveness.

As an exceeding number of people are forced to move to the online realm every week, there has been an exponential growth in the demand and need for an advanced, better and interactive user experience (UX).

Today, industry pundits have started understanding the impact that a well-designed user experience may have on learners.

As an aftermath of the pandemic, the need to shift educational approaches from traditional to the digital space has made people realise that using a virtual classroom is like using a bulldozer.

Without the right strategy, direction and focus, this very tool can destroy the surface on which it is deployed.

The age of advanced user experience

To be successful, an online learning solution must focus on creating a comprehensive experience that actively engages learners throughout their education process.

The major goal of e-learning UX design is to make things simple for learners to understand and navigate through the LMS so that they can focus solely on the curriculum.

The goal of e-learning interface design should be to provide a welcoming learning environment. A rightly designed interface and all of its components can enhance a student’s overall learning experience.

Factors that improve a user’s learning experience

Learning settings, screen backgrounds, course materials, and online learning tasks, all have an impact on learning results. Let us attempt to gain a deeper understanding of how emotional, cognitive, and social processes can affect learners.

Consider the following four aspects to increase learner engagement through superior user experience:

• Ethos – Ethos stands for the credibility and trustworthiness of the content you publish, so ensure that your content is well researched and detailed.
• Kairos – Timing is crucial now more than ever. Choose an appropriate time to deliver the right message for the right audience. This applies to content, platform messages and notifications, and feedback, to name a few.
• Pathos – Pathos denotes the emotion, tone & intention embedded in your message. It is all about how you convey any particular message.
• Logos – Logos stands for logic & proof. It is about how you utilise data to share crucial information with your learners.

These four elements must be implemented to ensure that your students are in the right learning mindset.

Content rules the game: Imitating the best video streaming platforms

For online courses and curriculum, content will always remain the king. Learners today have high expectations when it comes to digital learning. This has resulted from their recent experiences with platforms like Netflix and Amazon.

Such streaming services and online purchasing platforms allow for self-exploration through vast content volumes and efficient social interaction tools. Your LMS should imitate the best interactive platforms in the world.

Any extra and unnecessary elements, such as pop-up buttons, external links, forms, etc., should be immediately removed from your LMS design. Instead, adding even the simplest features can promote distraction-free learning.

A well-designed page captures the learner’s interest in the course, clearly explains the curriculum and provides total access to the LMS’s features through simple menu buttons.

Let’s wind up

After logging into a course, the interface is generally the first thing that learners notice. To put it another way, it is the first impression that you wouldn’t want to do wrong. When learners can easily navigate and explore their curriculum, they are generally more satisfied because they appreciate what they are learning.

As it stands, in an online learning environment, thoughtful design of the user experience that fulfills the demands of each type of user is not a value-added bonus; it is essential to a successful solution. Hence, paying more attention to UX is not a waste of time. In fact, it is everything that you should focus on.

If you’re interested in speaking to one of our experts about your LMS and improving the user experience, please contact us.