Team
Xueyun Tang (UX designer)
Siming (UX Designer )
Lora (UX Researcher)
Subash (Developer Leader)
Micheal (Founder)
Company
Learnhall
(Our product is WritingBA: an online English learning platform)
Time
Feb 2023 - Apr 2023
(3 months: end-to-end design)
ROle
UX designer
UX researcher
Introduction
Learnhall is an educational technology startup focused on expanding access to quality English learning for students in developing countries including Bangladesh, Nigeria, and China.
My role
As the first UX Designer at Learnhall, a startup, I led the end-to-end design of our landing page and student dashboard homepage over 3 months. Working cross-functionally with the developer lead and founder, I managed timelines and prioritized feature for the UX team.
01. Explore Problem
Over the past few months, we've noticed that while the number of pre-recorded English courses online continues to grow, student engagement remains low for live English courses. To better understand this issue, we conducted user interviews. We emailed approximately 80 students who are members of our service, and received replies from 9 students. Based on their feedback, there are two main reasons for the low attendance rate in live courses:
1. Lack of awareness or frequently forget
The live courses do not appear on their dashboard, so students may not even know the live sessions exist. Even when students are initially aware of the live courses, they commonly forget about them over time and do not remember to attend.
2. Different time zone
Another major factor is the time zone difference between students and instructors. This misalignment frequently results in live courses being scheduled during late night hours for students.
I created a persona named Rahim to help align our team on design goals for improving the WritingBA platform experience. Rahim represents a typical student using WritingBA in developing countries.
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02. Goals
1. Enable users to easily view their course schedule with one click from their dashboard, providing real-time information to increase their situation awareness.
2. Optimize live course scheduling across time zones to ensure class times fit most students' availability.
03. Design Principle
Based on insights gained about users like Rahim and their challenges with WritingBA, as well as understanding WritingBA's business goals and mission, I propose the following design principles to guide our solution:
04. Competitive Analysis
I researched some competitors’ dashboards to find inspiration. What I took away were
1. Using modular blocks to present pieces of information on the homepage can best utilize the space
2. Having a left menu helps with navigating through different information
05. Ideation
I spent a lot of time looking for a most efficient way to display information on the dashboard, the first page users see after logging in. To determine the most important information that should be displayed on this page, I collaborated with the team and solicited user research and their input on users’ priorities.
# Paint point 1 :
Frequently forget
Solution:
Revise information architecture and add live course session on first screen for users reminders.
In the old system, students often missed live courses and assignment deadlines because those info were buried in secondary pages within each course. Now, the homepage of new student dashboard prominently displays live session schedules and assignment due date, ensuring easy access to this crucial information. Additionally, we have introduced a new calendar feature that allows students to effectively organize their daily schedules.
# Paint point 2 :
Different time zone
Solution A :
Update the course calendar to personalized calendars for each individual.
Previously, we used to establish a single calendar for each course. However, considering that our students reside in different time zones, it has become challenging for them to determine their own schedules accurately. To address this issue, we have implemented a new system where each student is provided with an individualized calendar. Consequently, they can easily access and comprehend their personal time schedules.
Solution B :Add a new "time coordination poll" feature that enables students to vote for their availability.
To cater to global students, we added a new feature to determine the best timing for live courses. Instructors are required provide three available time slots before the course starts. Then, students will vote for their preferred time. The live course is then scheduled based on the time slot with the most votes, ensuring convenient participation for the majority of students across different time zones.
09. Other Marketing Design
I created the initial design system for WritingBA landing page, prioritizing accessibility as the key aspect.
I tested several different color palette under WCAG contrast’s. Eventually, I discovered this color palette and typography combination that enhances visual appeal to the maximum extent.
Landing page design
09. Evaluation
Our project has not been launched before the end of my internship, so it is not certain how much the specific user attendance rate has increased. However, initial testing indicates we are on the right track to increase user attendance and engagement. In the testing, student satisfaction surveys have shown a significant improvement in the user experience. Although the full impact on attendance rates is still to be measured, these early results suggest we will achieve our aim of increased participation when we fully launch to users.
