Shen, Yue (2021) What Universities Can Learn from YouTube, from the Perspective of User Experience (UX). PhD thesis, Victoria University.

Abstract

Although YouTube, the world’s second most popular website, is mainlyan entertainment provider, it is also the most frequently used educational resource provider in many areas of university study. Since YouTube videos in general are not considered very reliable for university education, this thesis argues that it is YouTube’ User Experience (UX) that largely accounts for its popularity among university students and educators. The aim of this study is to find out what educational platforms such as LMS (Learning Management System) and MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) can learn from YouTube on the UX level. This project’s data collection includes observation of five participants’ use of YouTube, LMS and MOOCs and semi-structured interviews with the participants. This is a low-risk human research project whose ethics has been cleared by the University Human Research Ethics Committee. The ethics approval number is HRE18-179. It is argued that in order to improve UX, universities should integrate in their design of LMS and MOOCs a Recommender System (RS) and a user-friendly Search Engine (SE), elements that can be borrowed from the design of YouTube. The design follows three principles: interactive, motivating and standard. The research outcome is presented by an exegesis and a creative demonstration of LMS/MOOCs interface design through flowcharts and wireframes (See Illustration 1- 6, Page 129- 135). As this is a PhD by creative project, the exegesis accounts for 70% of the project and the creative piece weighs 30%. This project has brought the study of UX into educational technology, an area where researchers have called for more adoption of UX. This thesis provides guiding principles and practical suggestions for university learning designers and educational platform designers. Such suggestions can improve the digital experience for university students.

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