This isn’t just about attention span. It’s about expectations.
Today’s learners — Gen Z and soon Gen Alpha — are digital natives. They’ve been raised in interactive, responsive, curated environments. They expect engagement, personalization, and visual clarity in every interaction — including their education.
And yet, most universities are still delivering learning content like it’s 2005.
Here’s the truth: Static slides, passive video lectures, and text-heavy discussion prompts don’t cut it anymore.
If your institution wants to attract, engage, and retain today’s learners, it’s time to rethink course design from the ground up — and that starts with design thinking.
What Design Thinking Actually Means in Higher Ed
Design thinking isn’t a buzzword — it’s a methodology. It puts the user (in this case, the student) at the center of the experience. It’s iterative, flexible, and rooted in real-time feedback.
When applied to instructional design, design thinking can:
- Anticipate student needs and learning styles
- Replace one-size-fits-all content with modular, personalized learning paths
- Build interactivity into assessments and media
- Create courses that look and feel modern, even in asynchronous formats
- Use feedback loops to improve course quality every term
At Babb Education, we apply this mindset to every course we build. We work closely with faculty and institutions to design experiences — not just materials — that reflect how students actually learn today.
Why Gen Z Has Zero Patience for Mediocre Design
Students today are constantly comparing your course to the other digital content in their lives.
They’re used to:
- Clean, minimal interfaces (think: Apple, Notion)
- Short-form, visual-first content (TikTok, YouTube Shorts)
- Fast access to information and responsive navigation
- Gamified or personalized journeys (Duolingo, Spotify)
When they log into your LMS and see a 10-bullet PowerPoint or a PDF syllabus buried three clicks deep, the reaction is immediate: checked out.
This isn’t about “catering” to a generation. It’s about understanding user behavior and evolving with it — the same way your institution evolves its research, pedagogy, and mission.
Design Thinking Isn’t Just for Startups. It’s for Survival.
The universities that win the next decade will be the ones that stop treating course design as a checkbox and start treating it as a strategic priority.
In fact, we believe good instructional design is a competitive advantage. When your courses feel intuitive, modern, and made for students — not just uploaded for compliance — learners notice. They stay. They succeed. And they recommend your program to others.
It’s that simple.
Need Help Modernizing Your Online Learning?
Babb Education specializes in helping colleges and universities design future-ready learning experiences. Whether you need a course refresh, a full program build, or support retraining faculty to think like designers — we’re your partner in next-gen learning.
Let’s make your content as smart as your students.
