Thoughts on Learning Experience (LX) Design

Straddling a background in design and an evolving career working in Education I’ve been aware of the the commonalties between the fields of user experience (UX) design and learning/instructional/educational design and the opportunity for cross fertilisation. So I’m really interested to see the emergence of an attempt to formalise the relationship between two. This post are some of my initial thoughts.

At this early stage I think it’s vitally important that Learning Experience (LX) doesn’t fall for some of the misconceptions that mystify and befuddle UX.

One of my personal bug bears is the inability for many people to actually define what the User Experience actually is. Take this image for example:

I fundamentally disagree with the way the image is labelled. What we have here are two alternate USER INTERFACES. The User Interface is the tool or process in which to achieve the intended goal, it’s central component but it is only part of the user experience. The experience relates to the journey to the destination. Of course the interface, or the way that we get there impacts on us but it’s not the user experience. It’s part of a greater whole.

Another way to look at UX design is to take a look at the factors that make it up:

Those interested in learning design can quite quickly see the commonalities between this model and say TPACK and how things tend to overlap and overlay rather than act in isolation. You can also see why the User Interface is so often confused with UX – it’s the central component that overlays each of the other disciplines, but the centre is not the whole.

For those interested in understanding a more nuanced approach to UX and how it impacts on LX I’d suggest engaging with the work of Whitney Hess. Whitney has been a guiding light for me in the domain of UX because she provides so much clarity in here writing an speaking. Let start with her 10 Most Common Misconceptions About User Experience Design and this summary side:

For LX to take off I think it needs something similar to explain what it is, and perhaps more importantly, it needs to articulate what it isn’t. (See MOOCs for what happens when these things don’t get articulated)

Whitney also put together these comparisons of interface and experience which might also be useful to clarify LX:

User Interface is a street light. User Experience is an evening stroll.
User Interface is a surfboard. User Experience is riding the tube.
User Interface is a camera. User Experience is a memory.
User Interface is a door knob. User Experience is keeping your conversation private.
User Interface is a book. User Experience is a land far, far away.
User Interface is a dimmer switch. User Experience is a romantic evening at home.

Why it matters?

Understanding UX and designing for it is almost the antithesis of business as usual because as human beings we don’t take the time or make the effort to see how things connect. In that sense its very much the same way we see Learning. We tend to think of learning as this linear storyline but that’s only how we picture it in hindsight. LX could provide a way for education to move beyond thinking in this linear way because it’s not how UX works and it’s not how learning works either. We have to start embracing the complexities of learning and design with that in mind, rather than seeking the simplicity of a single model, technology or mode.

I think LX is a concept that not only has legs, but it’s one that is vitally important as we attempt to make use of the affordances of our rich, connected and digital world.

User Experience is a big concept made up of tiny details, connections and relationships.

Learning Experience needs to ensure that it thinks of itself in the same way.

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*PS Thanks to Joyce and Jess for kickstarting this whole thing 🙂

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