{"id":6070,"date":"2026-01-08T10:57:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T10:57:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/LTAcademy\/?p=6070"},"modified":"2026-01-08T10:57:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T10:57:18","slug":"building-confidence-through-collaboration-creating-a-student-walkthrough-for-learning-central","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/LTAcademy\/building-confidence-through-collaboration-creating-a-student-walkthrough-for-learning-central\/","title":{"rendered":"Building Confidence Through Collaboration: Creating a Student Walkthrough for Learning Central"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by Gemma Hackman, Learning Technologist in the Digital Education Team<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Starting university is exciting,\u00a0but it can also feel overwhelming. For many first-year students, navigating\u00a0a new virtual learning environment\u00a0is just one more challenge on\u00a0a long list. This year, our Digital Education team asked a simple question:\u00a0<\/span>How can we make that experience easier?<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The answer came from an unexpected place:\u00a0<\/span>Eesysoft, the tool our IT colleagues use to create\u00a0targeted\u00a0pop-up messages in Learning Central (Cardiff University\u2019s Blackboard Ultra platform). At first, we just wanted to understand how it worked. But as we explored its\u00a0potential, we realised something bigger,\u00a0a chance to create a\u00a0<\/span>guided walkthrough\u00a0that would help students feel confident from day one.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Co-Creation at Its Core<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Rather than designing this in isolation, we brought in the voices that matter most: our Student Champions. Their insight was invaluable. They told us what features students\u00a0<\/span>actually use<\/span>, what gets overlooked, and what feels confusing. Together, we debated the details<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0for example<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>how many steps were too many? Should we include advanced features or stick to the essentials?\u00a0<\/span>How can we make this relevant for everyone, especially when our community is so varied?\u00a0<\/span>Every decision was shaped by their perspective<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>and every<\/span>\u00a0step was designed\u00a0<\/span>with inclusiveness in mind.\u00a0<\/span>We wanted to ensure that the provided\u00a0<\/span>on-screen\u00a0<\/span>support addressed real student needs and\u00a0<\/span>yet remained useful.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>One surprising discovery<\/span>\u00a0from our latest\u00a0<\/span>digital insights survey<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>was t<\/span>he\u00a0<\/span><\/span>search function<\/span><\/span>;<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>a simple\u00a0<\/span><\/span>functionality<\/span><\/span>\u00a0that can save time and frustration<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>was often missed by\u00a0<\/span>new users<\/span>. Including tips like this became a priority.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Designing for Clarity<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

We knew the walkthrough had to be short, visual, and easy to follow. After all, no one wants to read a manual during their first week at university. The result? A streamlined guide combining\u00a0<\/span>clear text\u00a0with\u00a0GIFs\u00a0that show each step in action, in both English and Welsh.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0practical, accessible, and designed to reduce the cognitive load for students who are already juggling so much.<\/p>\n

Why It Matters<\/h3>\n

This project\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0just about technology,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0about\u00a0transition. Moving to university is a big leap, and digital confidence plays a huge role in how supported students feel. By creating this walkthrough,\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0helping students spend less time figuring out systems and more time focusing on what really matters: learning.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Looking Ahead<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

For us, this was more than a technical exercise. It was a collaboration that blended staff\u00a0expertise\u00a0with student insight,\u00a0a reminder that the best solutions come when we design\u00a0<\/span>with<\/span><\/i>\u00a0students, not just\u00a0<\/span>for<\/span><\/i>\u00a0them.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you have ideas for making the student experience even better, we\u2019d love to hear them, just get in touch! \u202f<\/span>ltacademy@cardiff.ac.uk<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Written by Gemma Hackman, Learning Technologist in the Digital Education Team Starting university is exciting,\u00a0but it can also feel overwhelming. For many first-year students, navigating\u00a0a new virtual learning environment\u00a0is just […]","protected":false},"author":7167,"featured_media":6071,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[371],"tags":[],"custom_author":[1059],"class_list":["post-6070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-digital-education","custom_author-gemma-hackman"],"lang":"en","translations":{"en":6070,"cy":6074},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4KqgK-1zU","meta_box":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/LTAcademy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/286\/2026\/01\/Gemini_Generated_Image_iegfaviegfaviegf.png","pll_sync_post":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/LTAcademy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6070","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/LTAcademy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/LTAcademy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/LTAcademy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7167"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/LTAcademy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6070"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/LTAcademy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6070\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6072,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/LTAcademy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6070\/revisions\/6072"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/LTAcademy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/LTAcademy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/LTAcademy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/LTAcademy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6070"},{"taxonomy":"custom_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/LTAcademy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/custom_author?post=6070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}