The ENJOY Guidelines
A Joy of Learning Project
Eva de Lera, Open University of Catalonia (UOC)
ONLINE EDUCA BERLIN 2008

e-Learning at UOC - overview
• Fully online, fully asynchronous
• Undergraduate, Graduate and PhD programs
• 55.000 students
• Faculty as mentors
• Environment (includes computers, phones, electronic
books, PDAs, etc.)
• Content/Educational Resources (opening them,
collective, internal/external, on and offline)
• Community (participations and interactions)
• Institution (community at large: student services, library
services, etc.)

e-Learning at UOC - overview
About UOC’s students:
• learn and pass
• night study • a need to feel engaged
• stress • a need to belong
• family • a need to feel as if
• community they are taking good
• work care of themselves
• information overload • a need to feel as if
• change of contexts they’re “digital natives”
• personal preferences or on the innovative
• motivation trend
2 year research project

e-Learning at UOC - overview
Overall objectives:
• the student learns
• the student learns easily and fast
• the student is satisfied with the way he/she is learning (fun,
engaged)
• the student wishes to continue learning throughout his or
her life (long-life learning)
We want UOC’s students to say: “I love studying at UOC.”

e-Learning at UOC - overview
• Interdisciplinary team (faculty, pedagogues, technologists,
psychologists, designers, etc.)
• User-centered design methodologies (student at the center)
UOC’s Campus design process
Iterative evaluation and assessment throughout the design
process
• qualitative methods
• quantitative methods

our hypothesis
• We believe people will rather want the experience of
learning rather than the effectiveness, efficiency and
satisfaction of use of the learning environment.
• people buy brands more than they buy products
• they buy the brand experience more than other functional
aspects of a product

Let’s bring in the joy!

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we need to design the e-learning experience

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how are we doing it?

1. interoperable, accessible, flexible and customizable open source
online environment
M1 M2 M3 ... Mn
OKI Bus WebService
Moodle Gateway Sakai Gateway
Moodle Sakai
MM MM
MM MM
Moodle Modules Sakai Modules
The Campus Project

2. automatic content transformation for and by all
The MyWay project

3. integrating the affective and social dimension
contexts
needs
expectations
pleasure
feelings
physical
desires
social
intellectual
fun
aspirational interests
rational cognitive
aesthetics experience
The Joy of Learning project

4. designing tools
The 10 Emotion Heuristics
“Beyond what they tell us”
Gathering objective
satisfaction data to
supplement other
information.

4. designing tools to help “leak” into the institution
The Enjoy Guidelines
“A checklist for all”
Ensuring the affective
dimension is taken into account
in new designs and
developments.
Ensuring that the institution is
continuously updated about the
student’s needs.

The 12 Enjoy Guidelines (a Polaroid of current learners)
1. Personalization – want customize, adapt, participative, have the option
to be active, make their own learning experience

The 12 Enjoy Guidelines (a Polaroid of current learners)
2. Identity– need to relate with the institution’s values and beliefs

The 12 Enjoy Guidelines (a Polaroid of current learners)
3. Brand – they came for the brand experience, must deliver on promise

The 12 Enjoy Guidelines (a Polaroid of current learners)
4. Community – they are social, in and outside the classroom, must
embrace their community roles into the learning experience

The 12 Enjoy Guidelines (a Polaroid of current learners)
5. Surprise – they enjoy the unexpected, a change in routine

The 12 Enjoy Guidelines (a Polaroid of current learners)
6. Innovation – they need to feel as if their process is innovative and
highly valuable

The 12 Enjoy Guidelines (a Polaroid of current learners)
7. Zen – they enjoy “suave” rides, cannot afford more stress

The 12 Enjoy Guidelines (a Polaroid of current learners)
8. Search – they are about efficiency, and are impatient

The 12 Enjoy Guidelines (a Polaroid of current learners)
9. Clarity – they like clear paths, good visualizations

The 12 Enjoy Guidelines (a Polaroid of current learners)
10. Situation – they are the center, not the navigation menu

The 12 Enjoy Guidelines (a Polaroid of current learners)
11. Aesthetics – need to recognize their own style, and be consistent

The 12 Enjoy Guidelines (a Polaroid of current learners)
12. Recognition – need to feel confident, secure, avoiding learn ability

Going from here…

To here…
personalizing
(photos,
status, other)
integrating
external
elements
(gmail, news,
other)
customizing
environment

what is next?

what is next?
• continue to assess the affective dimension in the e-
learning environment (use of sensors, cerebral
activity, etc.)
• rethink the learning experience, as it goes beyond the
classroom and into their lives (Google as an online
university? The next generation of learning is already
here)
• continuously reassess the needs, expectations and
affect of the student population, current and future
(always staying current)
• develop instruments to help integrate the affective
and social dimension into the design process
• continue to assess the affective dimension
• develop actions and methodologies to help “leak” the
information into the institution
• evangelize the need for the Joy of Learning, return to
the pleasure and fun of learning in an institution

Thank you for your attention
Eva de Lera, edelera@uoc.edu
Office of Learning Technologies
Open University of Catalonia (UOC)