Connected learning in a blended world: Time to redefine your student learning experience

From schools, to universities to businesses, all have accelerated their online learning programmes to cater to rising demand, but the learning experiences on offer vary greatly. Institutions need to work harder to emulate the in-person experience and utilise the latest digital technology and design thinking to overcome the challenges associated with assistive low-tech and blended learning.

In this fast-changing world, the education landscape must continuously adapt to cater to changing consumer needs, particularly evident with the increase in on-the-go learning and the shift to mobile learning to accommodate on-demand and micro-moments. All are key considerations for institutions when designing their education offering and looking to stay ahead of the competition.

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During Covid, SANS needed to take these events online and called upon Spinning Fox to help improve their online presence in line with changing consumer behaviour and rapid digital adoption. Based on user complaints, frustrations and analytics, it became clear that their experience was subpar. We created a fully tested, user-focused vision and brand update to the entire student experience. The design focused on offering a personalised and optimised experience that promoted increased conversion.

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We built out a design system for the client that followed principles and guidelines that are scalable across their full suite of products to create a cohesive and consistent student experience. Following the launch, the client student support teams reported a 54% drop in support tickets reflecting a significant improvement in the overall student portal user experience.

Here are 3 key learnings on enhancing the user learning experience:

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1) The power of personalisation to boost learner engagement.

Personalisation is imperative not only in helping schools and universities customise learning to individual needs but also in helping companies tailor their training programmes to bridge the skills gap. A personalised learning experience guides employees to up-skill for the future of work, boosting employee satisfaction in the process. It’s important to manage, and utilise data effectively through edtech to improve the learning experience.

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2) Turbocharge learning on the go.

Creating a course delivery platform for an immersive and accessible training experience that enables learners to access content on the go is vital, not only in catering to different types of learners but also in offering the flexibility required to suit this new digital age and changing consumer habits.

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Would you like to hear how we went about designing a user focused mobile and tablet app for one of our client’s that increased on-the-go student engagement by 89%? Read the case study HERE.

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3) Deliver a frictionless and accessible user experience.

Users have high expectations around frictionless learning experiences — favouring the experiences that enable easy onboarding, material access, learning, and test-taking — that doesn’t depend on their environment or equipment.

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We developed a system that allows students to access Linux virtual machines directly from the web browser. A system that provides students with a Command Line Interface, and a Code Editor so they can use Python or C to write computer programs, which are then run on the remote Linux virtual machine.

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This experience is delivered on both Mobile and Desktop and doesn’t require a student to have or own a laptop or computer; only a device with a web browser. An industry-first solution that has made technical training accessible to a far broader audience base. Out of 1,226 surveyed, 98% of the students who used the platform rated the user experience as good or excellent.

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