We conducted a digital survey to explore student preferences relating to online learning. I personally played a key role in writing questions for the survey which received 24 responses and focused on ratings for various aspects with a focus on course formats, platforms, and elements. Our findings resulted in the following insights for each of our primary research segments:
Desktop was preferred over mobile for online learning.
Highly rated course elements included collaborative learning, schedules and benchmarks
Participants appreciated common formats like videos and readings, but favored gamification overall.
Our team interviewed 5 potential users to understand their motivations and preferences for online learning. We focused on gathering qualitative insights that could create actionable findings. Our persona, Donna, embodies the key takeaways from these interviews.
With our project prompt, and research and user research in hand we created the following problem statement to focus our process.
HMW allow users to gain knowledge and skills through online learning, in a manner that is accessible to various learning styles?
We mapped out the user journey with precision. Starting from login or sign-up, users explore course topics on the homepage, filter their options, select a course, and dive into the first week’s content, culminating in a quiz.
Using Figma, we crafted digital prototypes that captured our design vision and allowed us to gather insights through user testing. My focus has been on designing main course pages, including video introductions, text-based modules, and interactive quizzes. Additionally, I created a user-friendly home page and an efficient search and filtering system to help users find their preferred courses. Our research guided me in creating a clear navigation system and a multimodal course structure with diverse formats.
We tested our medium-fidelity prototype with 7 participants to evaluate our design choices. During moderated sessions, users completed core tasks and provided feedback verbally and through numerical scales. To the right you may see results pertaining to the main pages I worked on.
Our prototype underwent several adjustments to enhance usability. Notably, we improved the user flow for searching courses and applying filters. On the homepage, we added a pre-filtering option to sort results by broad course topics, maintaining a simple search function while introducing the expectation that users could filter their searches more precisely. After a preliminary search, users land on the results page, where they can implement more in-depth filtering. We enhanced feedback by adding a quick loading animation and small filter bubbles above the results, allowing users to easily see and remove active filters. On the quiz page, we simplified the progress bar for a clear view of user progress. We also added a return button, allowing users to revisit skipped questions, and changed “XP” to “points” for better understanding among our target audience.
Finally, here is a narrated walkthrough envisioning how users of ContinU may interact with the platform, to kickstart their upskilling journey. My team mate Saahil and I have provided narrations for the prototype each corresponding to the pages we worked on.
Our project honed our ability to focus a broad design prompt and make informed decisions through research. With additional time, we’d have conducted more user testing to validate our final design changes. Additionally while we aimed to introduce gamification and social interactivity, for example the ‘Classmate Corner’ concept—a space for users to discuss course material directly on course pages. With more time we would work on expanding these ideas, as well as our point system.
If you like what you see and want to work together, get in touch!
nmeleika@outlook.com