Background
A lack of focus on logic skills in US public education is contributing to the population’s susceptibility to biased information and fake news. In this UX Design course project, I wanted to explore a solution for bringing thorough logic and reasoning education to classrooms.
Methods
User Interviews
Paper Prototyping
Usability Testing
High Fidelity Prototyping
User Interviews
Listening to Educators for Design Considerations
Before I began ideating on a solution for improving logic education, I needed to learn more about the landscape and the challenges US public school educators face. I conducted a series of user interviews with educators to discover the barriers that exist to bringing new subject and more extensive curriculum to classrooms.
“If they don’t want to do it, they won’t learn how to do it.”
“Teachers won’t use anything that isn’t in line with their curriculum.”
“I see them every other day and how long will it take to grade it.”
Hypothesis
Game-Based Learning for Higher Class Engagement
I believed that by developing an application that introduces logic-related topics relevant to Core Curriculum standards in a game-based format, teachers would be able to provide students with an engaging method of extending their education on logic that does not distract from current educational goals.
Target Audience
User Personas for Educators & Students
I defined the target audience as US public school teachers and their students beginning in 6th grade and covering the subjects of Language Arts, Mathematics, Science & Technology, and Social Studies. In order to give a voice to this population in the design process, I generated user personas that captured their personality, unique concerns, and individual motivations.
Caroline is a middle school Language Arts teacher looking to improve test scores and make time for herself.
Daniel is a high school technology teacher that wants to keep students engaged without spending extra time at school.
Joseph is a middle school student that wants to finish school work quickly so he can play games with his friends.
Primary User Goals
Similar Across personas
Students and teachers alike wish to decrease time spent on assignments, increase the level of class engagement with curriculum, and increase scores on standardized tests. These common goals grounded the remainder of the design process and served as benchmarks by which to evaluate the application’s success.
Competitive Analysis
Comparison Matrix & Feature Analysis to Uncover Design Patterns
To understand common product features in educational technology, methods of engaging users with learning, and the competitive landscape for logic education resources I analyzed the classroom and individual offerings of Duolingo, Brilliant, Lumosity, Khan Academy, and Codecademy.
The following appeared as core features and design elements that needed to be included in my game-based learning platform:
Mult. Info Formats
High Interactivity
Class Creation
Lesson Assignment
Analytics Dashboard
Lesson Search by Subject
Rewards and Badges
User Flow: Teacher Account
Lesson Search, Class Management & Grading Dashboard
The teacher account flows through the dashboard to access a single class. Within that class, multiple navigation routes lead to Students, Gradebook, Lessons or Notifications. Both Students and Gradebook are paths to access analytics on performance with varying degrees of granularity. Through Lessons, teachers can access all assigned material or search for additional lessons to assign.
Search Ontology
Map of Lessons by Applied Logic Principles & Core Curriculum Standards
I created the above ontology to illustrate how every lesson in the solution would be mapped to a specific curriculum standard, subject, and logic type. This is the key distinguishing factor that adds value to teachers, as it allows them to find lessons that support their existing educational priorities. In turn, this supports their financial motivators to achieve high standardized test scores for students.
User Flow: Student Account
Personal Dashboard of Lessons, Lesson/Game Play & Leaderboards
The student flow is far simpler than the teacher’s. It is entirely focused on lesson completion and gameplay. Through their dashboard, they can access either Assigned Lessons or Unlocked Games (those from previously completed lessons). To complete a lesson, they watch the video, go through the example questions, and play the lesson game.
Sitemap
Comprehensive View of Both Account Types
The sitemap illustrates varied complexity between teacher and student. Though each account has elements of lessons and gameplay, administration, and analytics, the teacher account goes into far greater depth across each category.
Paper Prototyping
Rapid Early-Phase Learnings for Iterative Design
I created low fidelity paper-prototypes to demonstrate the flows of a teacher searching for and assigning a lesson and of a student opening that lesson and completing it. In usability tests, I discovered that the initial lesson screens were too cluttered and I needed to implement more progressive disclosure to improve the user’s ability to intuit how to move through the lesson.
Wireframes
Testable, Interactive & Feature-Complete Iteration
Based on the user testing results, I redesigned paper prototype screens into low fidelity wireframes. I completed a second round of user tests and discovered a need to increase speed to interactivity and depth of interactivity. Users following the student assignment completion workflow wanted to engage with the lesson information faster and practice what they learned before playing the lesson game.
High Fidelity Design
Final Iteration of Complete Teacher & Student Flows
I developed final high-fidelity screens using feedback from multiple rounds of user tests. Users were able to more quickly accomplish the goals of completing and assigning a lesson due to reduced content on screens in the lesson search and completion screens. Users were also able to engage with the content faster due to the evolution of the examples and diagrams from simple explanation to a multiple choice question set with immediate user feedback.
Learnings & Next Steps
User Test Early & Often, Integrate with Existing Systems
If I could repeat the process of designing PopLogic, I would begin user testing immediately. Although I was able to conduct multiple rounds, nothing provided more valuable feedback against my assumptions.
The next steps for PopLogic center around the teacher’s ease of use and the student’s gamification experience. Features that I would like to add include a CSV export for teacher grade books, lesson reviews in search, and an ongoing points accumulation for students.
Ultimately, PopLogic met the initial goals presented during user interviews and persona development. With any luck, it may represent a first step toward improving the way we teach the incredibly important topic of logic in the United States.