Ek-step mobile app
This project aimed to improve educational engagement and content accessibility for students in government school classrooms. As the lead product designer, my role included field studies, user research, prototyping, and usability testing within a collaborative team involving educators and volunteers. Our goal was to create a flexible and engaging digital learning experience suitable for diverse classroom environments.
Ekstep Foundation
10 months
Key research questions
Key Research Questions
What is the current state of the Beta application?
What challenges do children face while using the app?
What value does the app provide?
What are the goals and challenges of educators?
How do educators currently assess literacy?
What are their biggest pain points?
Process
Field Study: Student Perspective
Observed government school classrooms to understand real-world usage.
Conducted usability studies in live classroom settings to benchmark engagement levels.
Educator & Volunteer Interviews
Conducted in-depth interviews with 8 educators to understand their journey, needs, and challenges.
Key findings and opportunity areas
We synthesized our research using affinity mapping and user journey mapping, leading to key opportunity areas:
How might we reduce student dependency on volunteers and promote independent content engagement?
How might we present content in a more compelling way to sustain student interest?
How might we provide flexibility in content consumption without creating unnecessary restrictions?
Prototyping
Using Axure RP, I developed low-fidelity prototypes to address key research insights and conducted usability testing with volunteers.
Testing
During testing sessions, we gathered volunteer and stakeholder feedback, refining the prototype for final implementation.
Design decisions
Anonymous User Flow: Since many students do not know their age or birthdate, an anonymous user flow was introduced to ensure accessibility.
Group Learning Mode: To tackle low device availability, we introduced group sessions, allowing volunteers to facilitate collaborative learning.
Kid-Friendly UI: Bright colors and playful visuals were incorporated to sustain student engagement.
Visual design
Designed specifically for Android mobile and tablets, with a visually engaging, kid-friendly aesthetic.
24%
Increased session time
UX Design Award Nominee
UX Design Awards, Berlin 2016
