User Experience in Online Teaching and Learning
Online learning can be so dull. Enter Design for Learning. Whether you’re a novice or experienced online instructional designer, you’ll learn how to apply industry best practices, how-to examples, powerful templates, and compelling activities to craft compelling instructional content—whether text, audio, or video. Read, enjoy, and create online learning experiences that will never be called “dull”!
Dr. Jenae Cohn writes and speaks about online teaching and learning for international audiences. She currently works as the Executive Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at University of California, Berkeley, and has held prior roles at California State University, Sacramento, Stanford University, and University of California, Davis. She has designed resources for teachers, facilitators, and coaches on ways to improve learner engagement online and is a frequent contributor to The Chronicle of Higher Education, Faculty Focus, and other trade publications dedicated to teaching and learning. She is the author of the book, Skim, Dive, Surface: Teaching Digital Reading (West Virginia University Press, 2021). Learn more about Jenae at jenaecohn.net, on Twitter, or LinkedIn.
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Michael Greer is an independent writer and editor based in Boulder, Colorado. Michael has taught online courses in writing, editing, and multimedia and served as founding editor of the journal Research in Online Literacy Education. Michael is co-author of the celebrated The Little, Brown Handbook and co-author of the forthcoming Multimedia with a Purpose (Stylus Press). He writes about user-centered design, interactive media, and digital publishing.
Design for Learning is a compelling read that not only demystifies teaching and learning practices, but also reimagines the way we think about the connective power of digital learning spaces in our changed world. I found myself nodding, grinning, and cheering as I poured through the chapters, as Cohn and Greer’s personalities sparkled within the prose, bringing their humanity and heart to our broad work in education. Design for Learning offers a comprehensive picture of learning experience design as a way for educators to understand the salient theory and praxis that drive engaging and equitable digital learning environments that center care. Through clear and actionable practices, you’ll be able to immediately improve your teaching and learning, situating this engaging and endearing read as a prized work in your collection of trusted resources.
—Angela Gunder, Chief Academic Officer, Online Learning Consortium
Many people have written about how to design online courses. Jenae Cohn and Michael Greer have woven together expert argument and insight in this wonderful book about how to design for learners and learning. Using rich examples and relatable explanations, they surface the many ways that learning happens beyond a classroom while connecting the dots between a learning designer’s intentions and the actual learning experience. If you design or facilitate digital learning experiences of any kind, then you need to read this book.
—Lorna Gonzalez, Director of Digital Learning at California State University Channel Islands
This is a thorough and thoughtful guide for designing good learning experiences. Jenae and Michael have so much practical and concrete experience that they share in this book.
I particularly appreciate how thoughtful Jenae and Michael are about considering the experience from the learner’s point of view and the emphasis they put on learner agency. Increasingly, learning experiences are going to be online, so having a good guide to creating digital resources is very important for learning design.
—Julie Dirksen, Author, Design for How People Learn
Good learning experiences combine content and context, and Design for Learning masterfully navigates readers on the journey of making better learning experiences. The authors provide context with just enough theoretical backing to provide you with a solid foundation for action, regardless of your background of the topic.
—Cara North, Owner of The Learning Camel, an Instructional Design Agency
Cohn and Greer’s accessible text offers practical processes and heuristics for designing interactive online learning environments, with particular attention to video production and webinar facilitation. Their emphasis on building a full learning experience, not just generating content, will benefit both novice and experienced online instructors and instructional designers. This is a must-read for those who are committed to creating engaging, human-centered online experiences that facilitate deep and transferable learning!
—Mary Stewart, Associate Professor of Literature and Writing Studies, CSU San Marcos
Chapter 1: Learning Is an Experience
Chapter 2: Learning About Your Learners
Chapter 3: Setting the Foundation
Chapter 4: Building a Space for Online Learning
Chapter 5: Designing Texts
Chapter 6: Planning Videos
Chapter 7: Producing Videos
Chapter 8: Facilitating Live Webinar Presentations
Chapter 9: Building Connections Between Learners
Chapter 10: Giving Your Learners Feedback
Chapter 11: Reviewing Your Learning Experience
