Learning Management System Redesign

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The Project

With the shift to online learning following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, an increased burden was placed on online learning management systems. A partner and I performed user research to uncover problems and create solutions for the learning management system used by the college we attend.

Initial User Interviews

User interviews were conducted on six participants. All were students at Gustavus Adolphus College who had used Moodle for at least one semester. They used the desktop application to check their grades, find upcoming assignments, and view class information.

The protocol primarily discussed their use of Moodle for schoolwork. We asked about how the users felt about the organization and customizability options of the platform. We wanted to find any shortcomings of the platform and discover whether the users were using the site to its full potential.

The Findings

0/6 users were willing to recommend Moodle to an educational institution looking for a new learning management system.

Many users complained about the organization, stating that it was simply “difficult to find things.” One participant spoke of feeling like they were going in circles when they were trying to find information needed for their classes.

Other students also found the amount of information can be overwhelming, making it difficult to locate simple things, like assignment due dates or grades. The grading system specifically was mentioned as an issue–it seldom is indicative of the students’ actual grades, oftentimes not even including a percentage, just arbitrary numbers.

A New Solution

We created a wireframe from scratch based on user needs. Tabs were created in categories that users reported using most often–Dashboard, Class View, Assignments, Grades, and Resources. Each page was created according to user suggestions.

A Usability Study

User interviews were conducted with five participants, three of whom had used Moodle previously, and two who had used other learning management systems.

The protocol was primarily focused on the user’s ability to easily navigate the interface. In order to measure this, we also included questions about the amount of information on the page. In Moodle’s previous state, the users felt that oftentimes there was simply too much information to sort through. Our questions evaluated whether users felt overwhelmed by the amount of information on the page, as well as their grasp of where they were within the system and their ability to easily find information.

Usability Conclusions

In a stark contrast to the previous set of user interviews, 5/5 users said they would recommend this system to a school or university looking for a new learning management system.

Even those participants who had not used Moodle previously were able to navigate the system easily.