From overwhelmed to engaged: Improving UX in large‑scale online courses at ALTC
By Vicky Devaney, UCL
How do you take a complex, content‑heavy online course built for thousands of learners and transform it into something intuitive, accessible, and genuinely supportive?
During our ALTC revisited presentation, we’ll be sharing how we redesigned a teacher CPD programme to create a smoother, more engaging learning experience- without major technical overhauls.
Our programme had been described by users as “easy to navigate… once you get used to it”, signalling deeper issues around consistency, structure, and cognitive load. Our session explores what happens when usability, accessibility, and user‑centred design become the foundation for course development. Through a combination of UX research, accessibility auditing, and iterative prototyping, we systematically addressed these challenges.
What we did
Working within institutional Moodle constraints, we developed a simpler, more predictable structure: a streamlined contents page, one‑section‑per‑page layout, clearer sequencing, and consistent visual patterns across all modules. We also introduced a thematic design for the course homepage and minimised unnecessary text to reduce cognitive strain.
A key part of this process was usability testing built into the design cycle. We ran remote sessions with a diverse panel of participants, guided by a UX researcher using tasks aligned to UK Government Digital Service Standards and Nielsen’s usability heuristics. Observing users navigate the site in real time identified issues that were not immediately visible initially. Some of the issues were dense content, unclear instructions, inconsistent cues, and accessibility problems in the Moodle quiz.
What changed
Using tester feedback, we introduced evidence‑based improvements:
- clearer navigation pathways
- reduced text load and refined instructions
- improved visual hierarchy and space dividers
- an accessible, redesigned quiz interface
- and a creative personalisation feature that required no custom development.
After implementation, users reported a more logical structure, clearer guidance, and a smoother journey through the course.
Why you should join us
This session will be valuable for anyone designing online learning at scale, particularly within VLE constraints. We’ll share:
- before‑and‑after examples from the redesign
- practical strategies for embedding usability testing
- methods for tackling accessibility issues early
If you want to improve clarity, reduce learner overwhelm, or strengthen your user‑centred design approach, this session will give you the tools to do it.
Discover ALTC25 Revisited: Reignite your curiosity, catch up on what you missed, and help shape what comes next.
Join us as we bring back key speakers, thought-provoking sessions, and the big ideas that shaped the overarching theme of ‘Stronger Foundations, Broader Horizons’. You’ll hear fresh reflections from presenters and participants, explore emerging themes, and take part in new discussions about the future of learning and technology.