Learner Experiences with Educational Technology

Abstract

In Chap. 5, the essential points of user experience were introduced. Learner experience is a notion derived from user experience in software engineering and is a kind of general experience. The subject of a learning experience is the learner, just as the subject of a user experience is the user. Learner experience is important to instructional design and the development and refinement of learning environments just as user experience is important for software design, development, and refinement (Dutton, 2017). Effective learner experiences result in engaging and memorable educational experiences. In fact, learner experience is a key factor in keeping instructional design relevant. There is now a great variety of learning technologies as well as many different learning environments, learning spaces, and learning situations available to designers and developers. While many people are involved in designing, developing, and deploying these technologies, in this chapter, the focus is primarily on learners’ experiences with these technologies, as those experiences have implications for design, development, and deployment.