Educational App
Case Study
(2022) This case study is for a digital educational tool to help teach children with learning disabilities how to recognize emotions and develop empathy. This case study was one of three projects for the Google UX Design Professional Certification completed in August 2022.
Problem
Children with learning disabilities can struggle identifying emotions and developing empathy which impacts their relationships with friends, family, and peers.
Project Goal
Create a product that will help children with learning disabilities develop their emotional intelligence and learn empathy through interactive content.
Designer's Role
As this was a portfolio project for the Google UX Design Professional Certification course, I served in all roles to complete the app mock up from start to finish. For this project, I was responsible for user research, paper and digital wire-framing, low and high-fidelity prototyping, accounting for accessibility, and iterating on designs.
Research
User Research
I created empathy maps to understand the users and identified a primary user group through research which are teachers needing to teach emotional intelligence to students with learning disabilities.
This user group confirmed initial assumptions about who might use this app, but further research revealed other user groups who might benefit from the app like students or guardians wanting to check on learning progress. Other user problems included mobility and cognitive considerations to make the app most accessible to the intended user group.
Key Challenges and Constraints
1
Budget
Main features need to be free and accessible to all user accounts.
2
Accessibility
All features need to be designed for a variety a users with varying educational and mobility needs.
3
Educational Standards
Teachers must meet IEP, state, and federal educational goals which will impact educational content.
Personas and User Journey Map
Target Audience: Teachers who teach special education classes and students in special education classes
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Design
App Wireframes
This ideation exercise was focused on developing ideas and addressing the gaps found in the competitive audit. The focus was specifically on student dashboard ideas and teacher portals.
App Low-Fidelity Mock Up
The low-fidelity prototype connected the primary user flow of launching and navigating a game, allowing the prototype to be used in a usability study.
Usability Testing
Usability testing participants were all educators currently teaching special education classes. The participant demographics were: two male, two female, and one nonbinary identifying individuals, between the ages of 20 and 65. The research goal was to figure out if users are able to navigate the app and play the Ride the Wave game.
Research Questions
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How long does it take for a user to get to the game home page?
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How long does it take for a user to launch and navigate through the game pages?
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What parts of the app were most important and least important to launching the game?
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Are there any parts where users are getting stuck?
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What can we learn from the steps users take to launch the game?
Major Findings
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Users want a smoother task flow to loop back from game to user home.
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Users want easier way to find favorite games.
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Users want easier way to find favorite/frequently used games.
App Mock Ups
​Based on feedback from the usability studies, a “favorites” feature and was added to the user home page and a bottom tool bar was added to move all content above the fold and assist with navigation.
Before Usability Test
After Usability Test
App High-Fidelity Prototype
The hi-fi prototype followed a similar user flow as the lo-fi prototype with edits made to the game button layout to organize content alphabetically and created a favorites section.
Sitemap
Strategic decisions were made to create a better structure within the website. User flow was a concern during the usability studies, which was a major focus while designing the website architecture.
Responsive designs
Designs were optimized to fit specific user needs of each device and screen size. The responsive designs include a mobile website, a tablet, and desktop designs.
Conclusions
“This is so cute and fun–
I know my students would have a blast playing games like this!”
- Usability study participant
The app makes users feel like there is a real-world application for an app to teach emotional intelligence to students with learning disabilities. Because of the target audience of the app, usability was a major focus from vocabulary to button placement. Working with special education teachers informed most design choices and was a great lesson in how to work with the community and put the user first.
Next Steps
During user research, other potential features were identified but not pursued because they did not address the concerns outlined in the main user flow. With more time and resources, additional features could include:
1
Teacher/Guardian Portal
Teachers and guardians would like a way to monitor student progress and have a dashboard to see successes and areas for improvement.
2
Customization
Allowing for users to insert their own photos was identified in the competitive audit. Seeing expressions modeled by friends and family can help some learners better identify the emotions.
3
More Accessibility
Given the diversity of needs within the community, more accessibility features like audio recordings would help some learners perform better in lessons and games.