Pumping Up the Citizen Muscle Bootcamp: Improving User Experience in Online Learning

This paper introduces and presents preliminary findings from the Citizen Muscle Bootcamp (CMB), an online learning program designed by The Story of Stuff Project for environmental activism. We first introduce the program and its potential to leverage online learning for citizenship training. Next, we report findings from two pilot studies in which we identify strengths and weaknesses of the current user experience. Finally, we present a revised course design that integrates insights from the fields of HCI, psychology, and requirements engineering to improve participant engagement and retention. Suggestions focus on variables related to recruitment, topic, process, and completion to identify key leverage points for improving user experience. It is our hope that this partnership represents the potential of research to inform practice to support best practices in HCI for sustainability.