This interactive session will explore a key element of learner experience course design, understanding the learner and their needs. Working in a team to develop an empathy map, session participants will gain a deeper understanding of their learners and how that can lead to innovative course design.
Why do iPhones look and function the way that they do? It has a lot to do with how the user experience was carefully crafted using research about iPhone users. User experience is a term that was originated by Don Norman. It focuses on design through a human-centered lens. Each aspect of an iPhone design starts with the user and develops around how the phone can meet their needs.
LX design, as learner experience design is called, focuses on creating a human-centered learning environment that enables learners to successfully achieve the learning outcomes. It emphasizes the learner and the way they create meaning from content. That process will be different for every learner because each learner brings their own prior knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, experiences, personality, and expectations to their coursework. That shapes learner motivation and engagement with their courses. Being human-centered, LX design works to stimulate learners’ intrinsic motivation to learn by understanding their goals and crafting engaging content and activities that help learners achieve those goals. The place to start is knowing the learner. Using personas and empathy mapping can provide us a glimpse into learners’ situations and how those situations can impact their motivation and engagement with learning.
The purpose of this interactive session is to explore the use of personas, how they are used to create empathy maps, and how the information gained from those tools can be used to shape the learner experience. In the session, we will examine learner experience design and how LX designers develop personas from data or student interviews. Participants will work with a partner to develop individual empathy maps based on a persona then share their maps with their partner. Using the empathy map they created, session participants will explore the beliefs, attitudes, experiences, and other factors learners bring to their online learning endeavors and how that shapes learner engagement and ultimately drives innovation in course design.
By the end of the session, participants should be able to:
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explain the importance of understanding the learner and their needs.
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develop an empathy map based on a given persona.
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discuss the impact learners’ goals and behaviors have on learner engagement.
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recommend changes to the course design to enhance the learner experience.