UX creation is essential because its purpose is to help learners easily navigate through digital learning modules and classes without getting confused. The learner shouldn’t have to think about the learning process—the learning material should guide them through the module or class. But this is easier said than done. These days, digital learning classes are no longer simple slide decks, but fully-fledged learning experiences consisting of interactive videos, gamified activities, links to learning portals, simulations, and whatnot. This is why there are five  basic points every instructional designer should keep in mind when designing modern digital learning classes. In this article, we’ll discuss these points.

1. Use basic terms

Instructional designers are professionals. But, the average employee/learner isn’t. Instructional designers are in love with their field, so much that sometimes, they forget that they have to create the digital learning class for the learner. If this happens, the learner will not be able to understand the digital learning terminology, nor will they make any effort to do so as they have more classes to complete and lots of other stuff to do. Therefore, you should use easy terminology in your classes—terminology that everyone can understand.

2. Make navigation quick and easy

As mentioned before, corporate employees don’t have a lot of time. Because of this, the instructional designer should focus on making navigation as easy as possible for learners. This means no unfounded complications and no hidden tabs, functions, buttons or pages; no unnecessary clicks to advance to the next page or slide; and no long walls of text that take an eternity to read.

3. Design matters, but only to a certain extent

Instructional design is a highly creative job; there’s no doubt about that, but designers must know how to utilize their creativity to make things easier for learners, not harder for them. Sometimes, designers can get carried away with creativity or love for creating and develop a UX that takes learners unnecessary time to learn. This defeats the entire purpose of the UX. A good UX is like air: Learners should be able to utilize it without thinking about it. Use simple controls and navigation and utilize them consistently during the whole class.

5. Feedback is essential

Learners who are consuming your digital class need to know that their actions have been acknowledged. How will they know that unless you tell them? There should always be a way to let the learner know that their assignment has been accepted or graded or that they need to make further revision. Otherwise, it is easy for the learner to get confused and assume that all is well.

Concluding thoughts

So, there you have it, five things to remember when designing a UX for digital learning. Do you have any additional tips, techniques, or strategies that you would like to share with our readers? If so, leave them in the comment section below.