User-interface supporting learners’ motivation and emotion: A case for innovation in learning management systems

Abstract

Lately, elearning has been making a comeback not only in business education of global corporations but in academia as well. Offer of classes for masses of population, regardless of time, place or social status, has become a norm in great world centers of learning. One of the most respected MOOC portals, Coursera, joins 138 partners from over 28 countries in its portfolio. Majority of universities offer a comprehensive portfolio of open or paid courses of wide range of specialization, from technical fields to humanities. Rising popularity of this type of education is well documented by the number of students, which reaches 17.5 million [1]. This way, even those whose life circumstances do not allow them to become full-time students can take part in classes. This form of education also enables suitable social conditions for inclusion, which is a welcomed bonus in current situation of population exodus. In the Czech Republic, MOOC projects are among top priorities of the Ministry of Education for 2016 [2]. Design of education systems and applications has undergone distinctive changes lately. Modern technologies, such as mobile and wearable technologies, cloud services and global expansion of the Internet make education accessible for almost anybody and make it largely available. Structure of users and their learning activities expand, which logically brings about a call for better personalization of learning environment. This paper examines what role the user interface plays in the learning process and what requirements on management system the education process reflects.