The User Experience Design for Learning (UXDL) Framework: The Undergraduate Student Perspective

Abstract

The User Experience Design for Learning (UXDL) Honeycomb is an online learning design framework aimed at creating valuable online learning experiences, which some post-secondary institutions have started to use to guide the design of their online courses. While each of the principles are supported by psychological research, this framework has not been directly validated or corroborated by the student experience. The present study aims to address whether the UXDL framework aligns with students’ preferences, beliefs, and behaviours in online learning in a post-secondary context. This research adds to the growing literature on students’ preferences, beliefs, and experiences in online learning, focusing specifically on second-year Canadian undergraduate students at a mid-sized, research-intensive university. Using a three-pronged methodological approach, we explore not only students’ implicit beliefs (via open-ended surveys, N = 805), but also their experiences (in-depth interviews, N = 36), and impressions and behaviours while working in an online course (two user experience sessions, N = 36). Our qualitative analyses of these data reveal 4 prominent themes in online design that students find particularly valuable: (a) Accessible: flexible; (b) Useful: modes of design and delivery, (c) Intuitive: usable and findable, and (d) Desirable: affective design and humanizing learning.