Orientation, Functions, Navigation, and Experiences: User Interface Designs and Wireframes

Introduction

This chapter explores design approaches to designing user interfaces and navigation in digital learning resources. It explores the following:

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  In designing user interfaces to various learning objects, how should learners be informed about their “location” in the space, their options for next steps, their potential sequences / paths / options (and wayfinding), their decision points and available functions and choices, and other orienteering?

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    How can learners be empowered in this user interface design?

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    How can learners be empowered in wireframing (user navigation and enablements)?

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    How can the user interface designs (UIDs) be as accessible as possible?

Figure 1.

­ A Word Cloud of Chapter 4

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  When a learner comes to a slideshow, his/her experience is an opening slide, then maybe a table of contents, the core informational contents, and a basic conclusion (perhaps with contact information). The user interface is fairly simple—with the slide and tools to navigate forwards or backwards, to jump to a particular slide, to scrub through the slides as miniature thumbnails, and so on. In more complex slideshows, there may be built-in quizzes for the testing of knowledge (including the recording of performance for some slides). There may be outlinks to resources external to the slideshow. There may be built-in videos and simulations that may be experienced. There may be interactive multiple-choice questions. The learner may repeat the process. There is an overlay of branding throughout.

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  When a learner comes to a digital learning object (DLO), the individual may read the title to understand what the contents are. He/she may go through the learning sequentially or selectively. He/she may explore some ideas in further depth, through visuals, through data tables, through games, through simulations, and other artifacts. He/she may go help-seeking to find word definitions. He/she may engage outlinks to learn more. He/she may repeat the process.

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  In an automated training, a learner may arrive at a landing page no designed sequences but just some basic topics. The topics may be explored in whatever order desired, and the system will keep track of what was already learned and how performance tasks or assessments were achieved. The users may engage various “dropdowns” with additional information to better understand an issue. They may repeat any portion at any time. They may choose a cumulative assessment at the end. When they are done, their achievement is recorded in their human resources account, and they are sent a digital badge or certificate.

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  In a content management system, the user interface is a basic web page with a banner at the top, a navigation menu to the left, main contents in the center, and sometimes a right menu with a social media feed or a calendar feed. As the learner scrolls down the system, there are square image-button links to various contents to explore further. Users may navigate to various parts of the site and off-site, without even noticing.

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  In a learning management system, after the log-in, the main courses show up as rectangular visuals on a dashboard. To the left is a menu bar with access to other parts of the system—the dedicated account, the email system, the calendar, the help, and other features. More timely information appears at the top right. To access other parts of the system, a person has to be within the “admin” function or within a particular “course.” Their respective roles enable them to have differing levels of access.