eLearning Usability

This article explores the reasons why participating in an eLearning training course may not immediately lead to speed enhancement in the performance of tasks.

It is not difficult to find entities that invest budget, resources, and equipment in the digitization of training content, with results that are far below the expected return on investment. Experts say that the contents are correct and adequate; programmers have achieved a robust and secure platform, and tutors do a proactive monitoring of students. However, there is something that still does not work, and users do not come to the platform to complete their training. What problems might be taking place? It is likely that usability and user experience on the platform and online courses are not appropriate to the needs, expectations, and knowledge of the user.

For many e-learning developers, User Experience design can be the key to unlocking a great experience for their learners. Julie Dirksen, one of the pioneers in applying UX principles to e-learning, argues that all e-learning developers need a basic knowledge of UX design to create an engaging experience. She also supplies some excellent resources to get started on that journey. What follows is a transcript of a short e-mail exchange with Dirksen; it has been lightly edited for content and length.

Asynchronous eLearning is different from traditional classroom studying and requires strong motivation and self-discipline from learners. As there is no person-to-person contact and immediate reaction to problems emerging in the process of learning, eLearning professionals should pay special attention to eLearning course navigation and usability. To help you remove all the barriers to effective eLearning course design the article provides an idea of what eLearning usability is and how to improve it by applying common usability heuristics. 

What Is The Importance Of eLearning Usability? Have you heard about the Motivation to Learn usability evaluation method?