The Future of Education

As online learning becomes increasingly common, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic, understanding what makes students satisfied with digital platforms is more important than ever. This study explores key factors driving student satisfaction on two widely used Vietnamese e-learning platforms: OLM.vn and Hoc24.vn. Drawing from established theories like TAM (Davis, 1989), UTAUT (Venkatesh et al., 2003), and the Community of Inquiry framework (Garrison et al., 1999), the research combines three major factors, including, User Experience (UX), User Interface (UI), and Content quality, into an integrated model. Using data from over 11,000 K–12 learners and analyzing it through Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), the study found that all three factors significantly influence satisfaction. Notably, User Interface quality had the strongest impact, followed by User Experience and then Content quality. The model explains nearly 58% of the variation in student satisfaction, suggesting that a well-designed and easy-to-use platform plays a more crucial role than content alone. These findings highlight the need for balanced development of both educational content and platform usability, offering clear recommendations for platform developers, educators, and policymakers seeking to improve online learning in Vietnam and similar educational environments.