Absorb is introducing a modernized Learner Experience built for consistency across desktop, mobile web, and the Absorb Learning Mobile App. The new interface refreshes navigation, Dashboard Tiles and Ribbons, Course Cards, Course and Curriculum details, the Course Player, and the My Courses, Catalog, and Search Results pages.

This article outlines what is changing, what stays the same, and how to enable the new experience for your Portal.

Mobile Web vs Mobile App

Two distinct mobile contexts are referenced throughout this article, and the modernized Learner Experience behaves differently in each:

What Is Changing

The new Learner Experience is a UI and layout modernization. Existing business logic, enrollment rules, content models, and visibility settings are unchanged. Learners will see refreshed navigation, updated components, and a layout that adapts consistently across desktop, mobile web, and the mobile app.

The following areas have been redesigned:

• Global header and Navigation Menu
• Learner Dashboard, including Tiles and Ribbons
• Online Course Details modal
• Curriculum Details (now opens as a modal)
• My Courses, Catalog, and Search Results pages
• Course Player
• Absorb Learning Mobile App navigation and feature coverage
  • The Enable for Mobile toggle is no longer required for an Online Course to be accessible from the app.

Navigation and Dashboard

The Learner Navigation Menu now appears on the left side of the screen with updated icons, making it easier for Learners to find content across any device.

Dashboard Ribbons have a visible background and pagination controls, and Dashboard Tiles such as Inbox, FAQ, and What's Next have been refreshed with cleaner layouts and improved descriptions.

The Billboard tile now includes accessibility fixes, pagination, a pause-autoplay control, and video playback controls, and supports a minimum width of 600px.

For background on Tiles and Ribbons, see the Custom Tiles and Custom Ribbons on Learner Dashboards articles.

Course Cards

Course Cards have been redesigned for clarity and consistency. Course titles are always fully visible, statuses are clearly labeled rather than only color-coded, and action buttons reflect the next step for each Learner (Add to Cart, View, Enroll, Start, Resume). Pin, share, and view details actions are accessible from an overflow menu, Mandatory Courses have updated indicators, and an Instructor label has been added to Instructor-Led Courses (ILCs).

Course Card Image Sizing

Course Card images now follow a wider format at 661x372px, aligned with the 16:9 ratio used by the Course Player. It may also be valuable to test with an image aligned with a 2.08:1 ratio. Existing images that do not meet the new dimensions will auto-fill with a background to fill the image area, so no Learner-facing content will break. Admins may want to update thumbnails to take full advantage of the new format.

For thumbnail and poster sizing guidance, see Learner Experience: Design Assets and Image Specifications.

Course and Curriculum Details

The Online Course Details and Curriculum Details modals have been rebuilt for accessibility and responsiveness. Course and Curriculum titles now appear outside the poster image for consistent readability, icons have been updated, and components use the new design system for a modern, consistent look across devices.

Curriculum Details now opens as a modal rather than a separate page, providing consistency across all Course types, and Lessons display in an improved horizontal card or list view.

My Courses, Catalog, and Search Results

My Courses, Catalog, and Search Results share a new left-side filter panel that lets Learners browse by Status, Category, Tags, Language, and more. The experience is aligned with modern online retail patterns, and filter controls, including Language and Tag drop-downs, are easier to access on mobile devices. The Course Bundle filter has been removed from My Courses.

For deeper detail on these pages, see The New My Courses Page and New Catalog Page.

Course Player

The Course Player has been rebuilt with a collapsible sidebar, a full-screen mode that keeps navigation controls visible, and action buttons that update based on the Learner's position in the Course. Progress bars and navigation buttons now sit on top of the player, and call-to-action buttons change based on course state, for example, Start, Resume, Next Lesson, Review, and Completed.

New chips highlight the Course state, In Progress, Completed, Not Completed, Failed, and Not Started, and additional Lesson states have been added, including Currently Playing, Pending Approval, and Not Started. The previous view-options control has been removed, since the sidebar can now be expanded or collapsed directly. On mobile, a bottom-sheet view of lesson details remains scrollable, and the progress bar and action button stay visible in landscape mode.

Absorb Learning Mobile App

The Absorb Learning Mobile App now mirrors the modernized web experience for the majority of Learner screens, providing a consistent look and feel across devices. A new bottom navigation bar and refreshed menu improve discoverability, and the app now supports features previously available only on desktop. Native capabilities for offline access, push notifications, download management, and the offline course player are preserved.

For setup details, see Absorb Learning Mobile App.

Feature Availability in the Mobile App

The following table outlines which Learner features and experiences are supported in the Absorb Learning Mobile App as part of this functionality:

What Is Not Included

This release focuses on Learner-facing pages. The following areas are intentionally not affected:

• The Admin Experience is unchanged.
• The Profile and Transcript pages have not been redesigned in this release.
• Offline sync reliability and course content optimization for mobile are not part of this release.

Enabling the New Experience

A System Admin must enable the new Learner Experience from Client Settings. The new Learner Experience and the new Course Player use separate toggles, so they can be enabled together or independently.

The Modern Learner UI can be enabled in sandbox portals prior to enabling it in production environments, allowing Admins to validate workflows and branding before rollout.

To enable the new experience:

1. Access the Admin Experience.

2. Open Client Settings.

   
    

3. Select New learner UI.

   
    

4. Enable the Modern UI with the respective toggles.

   
    

5. Click Save to apply the change.

   
    

6. Switch to the Learner view or impersonate a Learner to confirm the new experience is active across the Dashboard, Course Details, My Courses, Catalog, Search Results, and the Course Player.

Access to specific Courses, Curricula, and content continues to be governed by existing enrollment and visibility rules.

For more on Client Settings, see The Client Settings Page.

For information on impersonation, see User Impersonation.

Communicating the Change to Learners

Once the toggle is enabled, an in-product guide appears for Learners introducing them to the new experience and highlighting key updates. Admins may also want to share an internal announcement so Learners know to update the Absorb Learning Mobile App from their app store to receive the modernized mobile experience.

Learner Heads-Up Email Template

This downloadable template provides a ready-to-send email you can use to notify your Learners ahead of enabling the Modern Learner UI. It introduces the new look in a friendly, reassuring tone and summarizes what to expect, including a cleaner homepage, simpler navigation, a refreshed Course catalog, and an updated Course Player. The template also includes an optional section for the Absorb mobile app, along with reassurances that all progress and training history will carry over, that sign-in stays the same, and that no action is required from the Learner. Replace the bracketed placeholders, such as the greeting, dates, and support contact, with your own details before sending.

Known Considerations

A few items are worth flagging before enabling the new experience: