E-learning is the unifying term to describe the fields of online learning, web-based training, and technology-delivered instruction.

The effectiveness of an elearners experience is greatly enhanced through student-centered (usability) design. For example, students remember more information from a text book that is well organized, with extensive visuals, reflection/interaction points, clear headings, etc. The same concepts exist for online courses—learners learn better through use of clear headings, limited distracters, visuals, screen-friendly fonts, appropriate white space, web safe colors, etc. Basically, usability is the process of testing (through observation) how students behave with a course—what works, what doesn't, what confuses."