How to Build an Online Learning Center
4 Essentials to Extend Your Student Services
On-campus learning centers are carefully designed as welcoming, encouraging spaces to reach students. A place to build relationships, engage, and learn. From the location, to the furniture, to which materials are on-hand — plenty of ongoing decisions go toward the ideal learning center. So, how does that translate to an online environment?
Especially for online, distance, and non-traditional students, bringing the same level of accommodation and connection online is essential. They have the most to gain from (and will be particularly strong users of) a well-designed online space. Even for traditional students, who still have access to the on-campus center, extending your student services bolsters engagement.
So, what should an online learning center look and feel like? What should definitely be included? Look for these essentials in your future platform:
Login integration
The login portal is the face of your online learning center. It’s the first thing students and faculty see, so it’s vital. Remove any confusion and encourage users to login immediately!
- Ensure the platform is accessible through your website as well as other platforms in use like Blackboard, Canvas, or Moodle.
- An easy-to-remember URL that includes the name of your school will let users know they are in the right place.
- Students and faculty should be able to login using their school credentials (email and password.)
- The portal should be designed with your school’s colors and logos.
All of these functions can be organized through a short conversation with your IT department.
Bring on-campus tutors online
Students typically form strong relationships with their preferred tutors and return to them frequently. Tutors enjoy this relationship, too, because they can tailor their methods to the individual and celebrate long-term achievements together. Online, distance, and non-traditional students appreciate forming bonds with peers from the same school. (For these populations, having a friend on campus can make a big difference!) Traditional students will appreciate the flexibility to meet with their preferred tutors both in-person and online.
Additionally, when on-campus tutors aren’t leading an in-person session, they can be meeting with students online! Increase productivity by encouraging existing on-campus tutors to take online sessions during downtimes.
Vet professionals
Most platforms come with the option of bringing your existing tutors online and/or growing your tutoring force with professionals provided by the platform. With the power of technology, you’re no longer limited by geography or time. This means that tutors can hail from all around the country and world, and are available 24/7/365. On a single platform, students can receive instant support from representatives at leading institutions like Columbia, Duke, Vanderbilt, Harvard, New York University, UC — Berkeley, and UNC — Chapel Hill.
- Understand when your on-campus tutors will be online and plan to fill any gaps with additional tutors provided by the platform. This ensures that student can login for support any time, any place.
- Review the vetting process and ensure its rigor — only the most qualified, passionate, and diverse candidates should be hired. Ask to speak with the platform’s hiring team for more information.
Demo user experience
The final and most important step in the process. Much of the technology in the education space has gotten stale. The mission: Find a modern platform that students will actually want to use!
Navigate the platform yourself, paying special attention to logic and intuition. Ideally, this would be during or after a guided demo. REMEMBER: Put the student experience first! While the platform may have a dashboard specifically for admins, navigate the pathway that a student would take and adopt their point-of-view. Search for and start a session — see what happens when you can see the faces, hear the voices, and even use the whiteboard.
Questions to ask during a demo:
- Was this tested with students?
- How often is the platform updated?
- Is this platform compliant for people with disabilities?
- Can you send me video demos to share with my colleagues?
Want to learn more? Schedule a demo with Upswing and we’ll walk you through the entire process step-by-step.
