UX classes: Differences between online and in-person courses
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UX classes: Differences between online and in-person courses

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by Jennifer Smith
UX classes: Differences between online and in-person courses

Whether you are a designer or developer looking to improve your understanding of user experience, you will find both online and in-person UX courses available. Here we address questions about the differences between online and in-person UX classes, and provide some guidance regarding which options may be best for you.

The difference between an online and in-person UX training

The first difference is how the UX course is presented. With in-person UX training, the lecture topics are mixed with both individual and group hands-on projects. In-person user experience classes provide an opportunity for feedback and dialog between participants and group work. The lectures, projects, and group feedback also provide for in-person networking opportunities.

Online UX workshops at American Graphics Institute are presented with a live instructor, and cover the same concepts and principles, using the same lecture materials. Due to the format and distance, the group projects are not incorporated into the online courses. Individual projects and instructor feedback are provided in the online format. The online courses do provide an opportunity to review your work and projects with the instructor. You can share your screen and camera with the instructor and other participants, and talk with them live as part of the course. The online course is similar to an online web conference, which can be useful if it isn’t practical to travel to one of the workshops in Boston, New York City, and Philadelphia.

Is one type of UX training better than the other?

The ability to work on group projects, network in-person with others in a similar profession, and receive immediate feedback from the instructor cause us to favor our live, in-person UX workshops over those that we offer on-line.

If we believe the in-person, live UX courses are better, then why do we offer an online version our courses? We believe the online versions are valuable, and provide important foundational information about user experience design. As part of the online courses, we also provide projects that can be worked on independently, outside of each class. Additionally, we realize that not everyone can travel to attend the public UX courses that we offer.

Both the online and in-person courses help you gain valuable foundational skills covering the fundamentals of user experience. If you are able to attend an in-person course, we recommend this option. If distance or time make this prohibitive, then an on-line version of the course is still quite beneficial.

About recorded UX training videos

Recorded UX training videos eliminate the human interaction that is an integral part of any user experience project. User experience is one set of skills you do not want to attempt to develop in a vacuum, without feedback from others. Without the ability to get immediate feedback and prompt answers to your questions from a qualified professional, recorded UX courses are of limited value.

User experience is an integral part of all websites and applications. Regardless of your role in creating websites or apps, gaining a better understanding of UX helps you to create better products, adding more value to both you and your organization.

About the author

 is a user experience designer, educator and author based in Boston. She has worked in the field of user experience design for more than 15 years. She has designed websites, ecommerce sites, apps, and embedded systems. Jennifer designs solutions for mobile, desktop, and iOT devices. Jennifer holds a Master of Science (MS) degree in Human Factors in Information Design, a Bachelors degree with a concentration in Commercial Art. When not teaching at American Graphics Institute, Jennifer Smith is an adjunct professor at Boston University.

Jennifer delivers UX training and UX consulting for large Fortune 100 companies, small start-ups, and independent software vendors.She has served as a Designer in Residence at Microsoft, assisting third-party app developers to improve their design solutions and create successful user experiences. She has been hired by Adobe and Microsoft to deliver training workshops to their staff, and has traveled to Asia, Europe, India, the Middle East, and across the U.S. to deliver courses and assist on UX design projects. She has extensive knowledge of modern UX Design, and worked closely with major tech companies to create educational material and deliver UX workshops to key partners globally. Jennifer works with a wide range of prototyping tools including XD, Sketch, Balsamiq, Fireworks, Photoshop, Illustrator, and Blend for Visual Studio. She also works extensively in the fields of presentation design and visual design.

Jennifer is also an expert on Photoshop, digital image editing, and photo manipulation. Having written 10 books on Photoshop, and having consulted and provided training to major media companies and businesses around the globe.

Jennifer is the author of more than 20 books on design tools and processes, including Adobe Creative Cloud for Dummies, Adobe Creative Cloud Digital Classroom, and Photoshop Digital Classroom. She has been awarded a Microsoft MVP three times for her work with user experience design in creating apps for touch, desktop, and mobile devices. Jennifer holds the CPUX-F certification from the User Experience Qualification Board and assists others in attaining this designation in leading a UX certification course at American Graphics Institute.