Speaker 1: Hey there folks, Tim Slade here from the eLearning Designers Academy. Now in addition to being an eLearning designer, an instructional designer, and all-around course creator, I'm also a Thinkific user and expert. And so in this video we're going to explore the topic of learning experience design, what it is, why you need to know about it, and how you can implement the principles into your online courses. Now if you haven't done so already make sure to like and comment on this video and of course subscribe if you'd like to see more videos just like this one. So let's get started. You know when you're creating an online course it's so easy to get tunnel vision and focus solely on your content. And after all the content of your online course is the most important thing to your audience, right? Well maybe. However for those folks who decide to invest in your online course, they're looking for more than raw content. They're looking for a transformative learning experience. One that will help them get from where they are right now to where they want to be in the future. Now while the content of your online course is the foundation of what you're providing, it's the experience you build around your content that will make it engaging and effective. And this is where the principles of learning experience design, or LXD for short, can help. So first let's answer this question. What is learning experience design? Well in the world of learning and development, which is what I focus on every day, the concepts of learning experience design are actually relatively new. However more recently there's been a shift towards designing for the total user or learner experience rather than just content alone. And so to put it simply, learning experience design is the combination of instructional design, which is the practice of creating learning content that drives behavior change, and user experience design, which is about creating a consistent and intuitive user experience. All right so now that we know at a high level what learning experience design is, the next question we need to answer is how can you apply learning experience design to your online courses? Well the truth is much of it depends on the desired learning outcomes of your online course, and the nature of your audience, and and a whole lot of other things. And to be honest that's kind of the point. How learning experience design is applied will be unique from one online course to the next. But the good news is is I have some practical tips you can follow regardless of what type of online course you are creating. So my first tip is to create a user centric learning experience. Now when designing your online course remember it's your learners who are the heroes, not you, not your content. The goal isn't for your learners to simply absorb your content, but rather transform as a result of it. And so you can create a user-centric experience by empathizing with your learners needs, challenges, and pain points. And once you understand that you can incorporate that language into everything from your course landing page, your marketing emails, and of course your course content itself. You also want to create an inclusive learning experience that recognizes that each of your learners are unique and come with their own experiences. With every design decision you make consider your learners diversity including their age, race, gender, ability, language, culture, and everything else. All right so my second tip for incorporating learning experience design into your online courses is to create a multimedia rich learning experience. You know the truth is your online course is an opportunity to incorporate multiple forms of multimedia which can help your learners better engage and connect with the concepts you're trying to teach. And you can do this by showing your learners what you're trying to say. Incorporate meaningful images, graphics, and explainer videos that illustrate the concepts you're trying to explain. Also try striving for a blended learning experience where you deliver your content in multiple formats. Include downloadable job aids, templates, discussion questions, practice files, and and even stories that can help build context. All right so my third and final tip for incorporating learning experience design into your online course is to create a hands-on learning experience. You know the goal of any learning experience should be about helping your learners do something differently in their lives or with their careers. And the truth is if walking away with some extra knowledge is all your learners do after completing your course then really it won't be that effective. Instead you want to create a a transformative experience where your learners walk away with a new skill that they can immediately apply to their lives. And you can do this by designing activities that put skills into practice. Incorporate hands-on tutorials, challenges, and practice assignments into the design of your online course. For every concept you're trying to teach think about how you can create opportunities for your learners to apply those concepts. You can also do this by putting skills into the context of the real world by including case studies and scenarios. This will help your learners better understand how they can apply their newly acquired skills into their own lives. All right so that's an overview of what learning experience design is along with my top three tips for incorporating it into your online courses. You know incorporating the principles of learning experience design doesn't mean you need to be an expert in instructional design, adult learning theory, or anything like that. It's simply a matter of taking a learner-centric approach to how you design your course experience. One that hopefully helps move your learners from where they are today to where they want to be tomorrow. All right I certainly hope you enjoyed this video and found some of the tips helpful. Make sure to check out more videos on this channel to learn more about creating a successful online business. My name is Tim Slade and until next time, I'll see you around.