How to Design a Digital Learning Environment to Address Students’ Needs

Digital learning environments can support students in developing foundational knowledge of chemistry through self-regulated learning, with suitable scaffolding to provide support. This article presents the theory-informed design and development of a learning environment for students at the beginning of their chemistry studies at university. It addresses challenges in learning fundamental concepts by combining structured tasks, self-assessment opportunities, introductory explanations, educational games, and scaffolding. Developed with Genially, the environment covers the periodic table, chemical bonding, chemical formulas, and chemical reactions. Selected components were evaluated by students to examine usability and perceived support. Results show that tasks and games were rated as being particularly valuable for reviewing and applying chemical concepts. The article discusses implications for designing digital learning environments in chemistry education based on the development process and evaluation findings.