The Time Is Gone: How to Keep Learners When Every Minute Counts
What many education companies have yet to realize is how little time people have left for online learning. Social media, short videos, and AI chatbots now consume an enormous share of people’s daily time.
René Kizilcec and Sherif Halawa analyzed more than 67,000 learners across 20 MOOCs. Their main finding was clear: “The primary obstacle for most learners was finding time for the course.”
A survey of 1,602 MOOC learners confirmed the scale of the problem. Unexpected personal commitments were the most frequently cited factor that could cause them to drop a course, at 77.2%. The platform itself also mattered, though: poor instructional design was cited by 54.4%, poor audiovisual quality by 47.7%, and difficult navigation by 45.5%.
Learners have little time to spare. An online learning platform cannot afford to waste it.
Technical problems affecting learning
Technical problems can do more than frustrate learners. Traci Sitzmann and her colleagues studied 530 adults in a four-hour online training program and deliberately inserted error messages into some modules.
The experiment showed that these interruptions reduced learning: test scores were lower in modules where participants encountered them. The negative effect was stronger among those who eventually dropped out.
In a real LMS, such problems can include error messages, broken links, failed quiz submissions, videos that do not load, buttons that do not respond, lost progress, login or session errors, pages that freeze, and unnecessary full page reloads.
Each interruption forces learners to stop, wait, repeat an action, or figure out what went wrong — wasting time they could have spent learning.
EdTech quality standards
International standards already define technology as an essential part of quality online education. ISO/IEC 40180 establishes a quality framework specifically for technology-enhanced learning, while the Quality Matters Higher Education Rubric dedicates two of its eight core areas to Course Technology and Accessibility and Usability.
Course Technology covers:
- Technologies that support learning objectives.
- Tools that promote learner engagement and active learning.
- Appropriate and current technologies.
- Protection of learner privacy and data.
- Access to technical support.
Accessibility and Usability covers:
- Clear and consistent navigation.
- Readable and usable course design.
- Accessible course content.
- Accessible multimedia.
- Accessible technologies and interactive elements.
For learners already short on time, these standards point to a practical requirement: technology should make learning easier, not consume more of the time available for it.
How uMOVA addresses these challenges
In response, uMOVA began developing a series of WordPress and LearnPress plugins designed to remove unnecessary barriers. For platform owners, they help retain users and protect revenue; for learners, they eliminate interruptions such as unnecessary full page reloads, helping them stay focused and enjoy learning.
Our first plugin is uMOVA Smooth Lessons. It removes full page reloads while preserving LearnPress functionality and course structure. The Free version provides smooth lesson-to-lesson navigation and lesson completion confirmation. The free plugin is available directly from the WordPress Plugin Directory. Smooth Lessons Pro (zero distractions from unnecessary page reloads) adds instant lesson-to-quiz, quiz-to-quiz, quiz-to-lesson, and quiz-retake transitions. You can download the Pro version → here.
For user profiles to work faster and easier to navigate, we developped uMOVA Instant Profile. It eliminates full-page reloads when switching between the tabs, including Lessons, Quizzes, Settings, and more.
Sources
- ISO/IEC 40180:2017 — Information technology — Quality for learning, education and training — Fundamentals and reference framework.
- Quality Matters — Higher Education Course Design Rubric, Seventh Edition
