context

How Effective Was the Current Online Learning Platform

Coursera’s user base increased by 66% in 2020, accounting for the pandemic. Its learners boosted from 45 million in the previous year to 75 million this year.

However, despite the advantages, a significant challenge faced by online learning platforms is the persistently low completion rates and high dropout rates among learners.

INITIAL rESEARCH

To explore the common challenges and pain points of online learning platform users, I conducted a preliminary survey and user interviews to gain valuable insights and identify recurring trends.

Through the survey, I narrowed down the list of learning platform users then conducted qualitative interviews to find out their user journey and the existing problems.

⭐Primary Problems

The nature of online courses is mostly designed to be self-paced, self-disciplined and self-manage. Even with an instructor, online courses often are:

• Lack of engagement: Online learners may struggle to stay engaged and motivated without the social presence of instructor and peers.
• Limited interaction and feedback: Online courses often lack interaction and personalized feedback
• Inadequate for support systems: Online learning platforms may lack robust support systems, such as readily available assistance from instructors or support staff, which can hinder learners' ability to overcome challenges and seek help when needed.
• Self-discipline and time management: Learners must take responsibility for their own learning progress and stay on track.
• Difficult to navigate the right fit of courses: Different sources of courses lead to difficulty to decide the right courses

...and why doesn' they work?

As there are a plenty of online learning platform, we wanted to explore what hasn't their solution been helpful?

1) Discussion Forum: No Timely Response

learner is prompted to communicate and collaborate on the discussion forum

but...

In asynchronous settings, learners progress at different paces. Instructors may not provide individualized attention as intended. Screenshot shows unanswered or delayed important questions, causing frustration and disconnection.

2) Personalized feedback and mentorship: Not as Persoanlized

instructors reviewing and providing individualized feedback on assignments or offering one-on-one mentorship sessions.

but...

Instructors' commitment tends to decline after initial course months. Community blog mentors may lack specialization in learners' specific subjects, leading to limited support.

iDEATE

why don't we build Classes Around Community?

Based on the research, we discovered that the online learning community often lacks a strong sense of connection and collaboration. In light of this, a promising solution is to shift the focus towards building robust community and empowering learners by creating classes within and across the community.

By harnessing the potential of community-driven learning, we can create a more dynamic and inclusive online learning experience for all participants. With this idea, we started to build sitemap:

⚒️website Sitemap

All live classes & bootcamps are all created by communities and lectured by communities' member. If needed, cross communities' classes are also available; but no matter what, they are all community-based.

Stay in the Loop: Learn with Community

We have to patched the missing "interaction" and engagement back into the current online learning structure but still remains as the same type of learning in case of overwhelming new concepts.

⚒️Projected User Journey Map

Starting from the research and discovery phase, our aim is to streamline the user experience, minimizing browsing time and decision-making by directing users to their interested communities and courses for improved conversion rates.

Instead of enrolling in courses right away, users will first join communities based on their interests. These communities will be facilitated by experienced individuals who are readily accessible and willing to provide timely information.

Throughout the learning phase, courses will be community-based, with dedicated sections for asking questions and receiving live interactions during regular meetings within the community.

⚒️Wireframe (1st Edition)

I have placed a strong emphasis on the significance of interaction in achieving our design goal, which aims to encourage users to actively participate and connect with like-minded individuals who share their interests.
‍

• Messaging is the leftmost panel that allows user to quickly reach out for any possible questions.
• Within community, direct communication like video and audio is incorporated to ensure effective communication and interactions.
• Courses are listed directly in the landing page for the community to have quick glimpse on the course available in the community before joining.

• Messaging is the leftmost panel that allows user to quickly reach out for any possible questions.
• Within community, direct communication like video and audio is incorporated to ensure effective communication and interactions.
• Courses are listed directly in the landing page for the community to have quick glimpse on the course available in the community before joining.

How to ask Question (And Get Answer） Efficiently?

Having the high-level requirement and vision set up, I then dive down to the most urgent question that I have to solve: to ensure the interactivity within the learing experience. How to make sure they can ask questions （and get answer） efficiently and timely?

I noted down three key characteristics of an effective question-asking process, based on my research and insights:

• Easy to ask: The process should be user-friendly and intuitive, allowing users to ask their questions without any unnecessary complications or barriers.
• Maximum exposure: Questions should receive maximum visibility within the community, ensuring that they reach a wide audience and increase the chances of receiving helpful responses.
• Active involvement: Answerers should be actively engaged and encouraged to provide prompt and valuable answers, fostering a sense of participation and collaboration within the community.

By prioritizing these characteristics, I aim to design a question-asking process that simplifies user experience, facilitates knowledge sharing, and promotes active engagement among community members.

⚒️User Flow

click to check the detail

With the user flow chart, I drafted solutions to the three key charactestics above through wireframing.

• Easy to ask: Rather than relying on a less frequently visited comment area, I prioritized an "Ask Question" button to streamline the process. By doing so, I ensure that the question reaches a wider audience of active community members who are more likely to provide prompt and valuable responses.
• Maximum exposure: I implemented a centralized bulletin board area to increase visibility and ensure broad access to posts for maximum engagement.
• Active involvement: All assigned community moderators will receive notifications and checklists to promptly respond to questions, ensuring timely attention and engagement with the community.

Validation

Usability Testing

During the usability testing, I assigned 10 potential users to complete specific tasks, including 1) seeking help for bootcamp content and 2) locating question posts to view updates in another day.

⭐What went well?

• 8/10 successfully created questions post.
• 9/10 was able to locate their post within the channel in less than 15 seconds. (average)

👎What can be improved?

• 3/10 expected to add screenshot while adding details to question; 5/10 stops on deciding which channel to post on
• Though they can locate their post within channel, 4/10 users had difficulty locating the channel they posted.

Iteration

Keep Communication Organized

Based on the testing results, we identified the need for improved organization and communication within the platform. To address this, we implemented the following changes in the subsequent iteration:

Limit the Options to Centralize Questions

To improve communication, we introduced designated question channels controlled by administrators. This simplifies the process of finding and addressing questions, benefiting both users and moderators.

Communication Organization

We previously had separate text and video channels, but users found it more intuitive to locate channels based on their purpose. Therefore, we consolidated all video and text channels into accordions, categorizing them into general, bootcamp, and live class channels.