Video Pro Learning
Defining EdTech Startup Designs
Role: Contract UX Designer; Solo
Tools: Figma, Google Suite
Collaborators: Worked closely with startup founder and content designer
The Story: Video Pro Learning was in it's nascent startup stage. The founder, Clement Townsend, had an idea for an EdTech startup that would help bring Video Editing literacy to grades 6-12 in classes like English, Math, Science, and Social Studies. Building off of the UX research that had already been done, I worked with him to define the product, build comprehensive site maps and user flows, rebuild the intitial prototype, conduct usability tests, identify value, and redesign the prototype to handoff to a developer for the launch of the Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
Metrics & ROI:
Prior to bringing me onboard, the product was loosely defined and the designs did not match the founder's vision. After I was completed the founder felt ready to move forwards with launch.
Through usability testing we found that my designs had:
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Increased user understanding, engagement, and satisfaction.
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Set a clear path for MVP development that decreased development costs.
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Improved usability from teachers
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Reduced the risk of building the wrong product
Previous Designs didn't match the Founder's vision
Video Pro Learning's founder came to me needing help redesigning his initial product. The founder wanted to build a site that helped teachers create curriculum in their classroom that allowed them to express themselves through video and video editing. His background as a News Broadcaster and an after school Media Club coach had him interested in the power that expression through video could bring to students in regular classrooms across the country.
Previous designers had left him with an interesting product, but not necessarily the one he wanted to build. Previous miscommunication had lead to designs that had teachers creating videos, not students. Additionally, the founder began to realize that other video editing platforms might hold more value for potential customers. What teachers really needed was the lesson plans and help implementing these assignments in their classrooms. Teachers across subjects were interested in adding more media assignments into their curriculum, but they didn't have the time nor resources to do so.
To help clarify and define VPL's vision I created a unique visual sitemap that we used for product definition discussions
By taking the founder's ideas and putting them into a visual organizer, I was able to create a model of the site that we could have a conversation around. Below see a sitemap with a combination of previous figma designs, sketches, and a number based page system to help us discuss different sections of the product more precisely.
Overall this system resulted in us discovering exactly where the miscommunication with previous designers had occurred and helped us determine that he wanted his MVP to focus on a lesson sharing site for teachers. (See starred frames).
To help solve Product Definition challenges, I studied popular Edtech Tools
Additionally, I stepped back and looked to other Edtech sites to see how they were solving different product challenges to inform us of where we needed to position VPL in the market and how we could solve our own product challenges.
Some of the insights that I gained from this Competitive and Comparative Analysis included:
- Teachers want to see curriculum with premade handouts more than they care about step by step lesson plans, therefor our lesson sharing site should feature premium handouts and student example videos. (Teachers Pay Teachers)
- Teachers are used to systems that organize assignments by topic, grade level, subject, and standard, therefor our lesson marketplace should be able to sort/filter for these items. (Google Classroom, Kahoot, Nearpod, Brainpop)
- Districts are pressuring teachers to increase Tech Literacy and alternative forms of assessment, therefore we should position our lessons as helping students become Tech Literate and provide rubrics that utilize modern grading schemas such as 4 point scales and standards based grading. (District websites such as San Francisco Unified School District, Chicago Public Schools, etc.)
Video Pro Learning is a marketplace that helps teachers find media arts lessons that increase their students' Tech Literacy, Expression, and Engagement in core classes such as English, Math, Science, and Social Studies.
Once we had this MVP product defined, it was time to build a prototype in Figma to test with users.
Building off of past design work, I organized the design and utilized professional Figma tools
The previous prototype only worked a fraction of the time. Once I opened up the components in Figma, I could see why. I figured out what the previous designer had done wrong and rebuilt all of the components so that the prototype was functional again.
Checkout the Figma components before and after I reorganized them, added autolayout, and nested components so that they worked more effectively in the prototype. (Content blurred for NDA purposes).
I utilized my
experience in Education to build a teacher friendly lesson plan page
As a former educator and curriculum designer myself, I knew what the standard practices were for my district and also understood what the current trends are in education. I know how hard it is to teach on a daily basis and had personally gone through multiple redesigns of my curriculum where I was trying to find very specific types of lessons. With this in mind, I decided to organize the lesson plan pages to include the basic information at a glance, with all attachments in a familiar, easy to find location. (Similar to Google Classroom, one of the most popular Edtech tools that nearly all American teachers are familiar with.)
**Note my final designs for this case study are in grayscale/mid fidelity due to limitations to my work contract.
Global Navigation allows teachers to find new lessons and save ones they like for the future
Author is separated to allow post MVP user generated lesson plans
Teaching standard is tagged, so other lessons with this standard can be found
Lesson purpose is given a separate section so that teachers know exactly where to look when quickly scanning through lessons
All attachements are easily accessible in one location (Similar to Google Classroom)
Student work video is front and center, allowing teachers to immediately see the product of the lesson
Lesson plan is setup step by step with concise actions to ease scannability
Teachers are prompted at the top and bottom to share lesson (drive new customers) and save lesson (drive up user valuation of service)
Teachers liked the product design, but other business areas needed to be improved.
I wrote a usability test with a set of assumptions and questions that we wanted to validate. Then we set out to see how teachers interacted with the product. Teachers seemed interested in the product and had specific feedback for us to implement in the final MVP:
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The lesson plan structure needed to be revised. Future meetings with curriculum writers would address these issues.
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They were excited about the way that these lessons could improve their classroom's Tech Literacy. Post MVP we should explore expanding to other technology categories.
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Some teachers were concerned that they wouldn't be able to use this service due to pricing or district regulations. The founder knew that launch needed to happen at a district or school wide level, so his marketing approach should start with principles.
Based on Usability Testing success, the founder moved forward to development with my designs
Given that this round of feedback generated business questions and the product was a successful design, the founder decided to move forwards to development.
[The final prototype is not available for my case study due to NDA.]
Through usability testing we found that my designs had:
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Increased user understanding, engagement, and satisfaction.
-
Set a clear path for MVP development that decreased development costs.
-
Improved usability from teachers
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Reduced the risk of building the wrong product
What did the founder have to say?
"Emily picked up where the previous team members left off and did a fantastic job. She clearly understood the project details and did outstanding work in Figma. She created several new screens for our prototype and was very detail oriented with her work. Emily was a great communicator and brought fresh ideas to the table that added value to the business. She was also open to completing other tasks that came up in addition to the design work. Emily was flexible when meeting times changed and always had a positive attitude. I would highly recommend her and hope to bring her back for future projects."