Writeboard app

The Challenge

In this increasingly digital environment, using a pencil and paper when learning is far from obsolete. Popular edtech apps have yet to bring handwriting and drawing into the live online classroom in an accessible way for students and educators alike.

So, how do we integrate drawn communication into the live online classroom in a way that adds value to students and educators?

Team

Nabila Hisbaron: UX designer; researcher

Responsibilities

UX research | Persona-building | HMW | Storyboarding | Click tests | Wireflows | Branding | UX Writing | Prototyping | Usability testing

Duration

2 weeks; May - June 2021

Listening in

There were two target users in mind: students and educators. Within my three-week scope, students were the main focus for this sprint while educators were considered until the ideation phase.

The overarching goal of this research was to see if and how drawn communication is valued in order to design a drawn communication experience in the virtual classroom.

The competitor analysis looked at edtech software, productivity and video conferencing tools with integrated drawing tools that are often used to host virtual classrooms. 

From the analysis, it became clear that creating an experience that is free and accessible to students and educators will be a competitive advantage. Handwriting digitally can become messy and cumbersome, so this issue should be considered during ideation.

User interviews

A total of six participants shared their experiences with drawn communication in the classroom, both in-person and online. They all have experience with transferring to remote learning and have come across and/or administered drawn communication during live online classes.

Students: two high school students and one university freshman were interviewed. 

Educators: one language teacher, one high school chemistry teacher, and one geography lecturer were interviewed

The interviews revealed that university students may experience better virtual handwriting due to more resources readily available to university faculty. This surprising insight steered my user focus to grade school students and educators, middle to high school students, who would greatly benefit from a free handwriting app. 

Generating ideas

Sharing hand-drawn work in a live online classroom

User research revealed that the classroom whiteboard was used both by teachers and students to work out problems in front of the class. This promoted classroom engagement. However, remote learning has reduced ‘virtual whiteboards’ to be used only by teachers. Two-way drawing in live online classrooms are very rare – and when it does happen, it is sloppy and cumbersome due to the lack of digital handwriting tools.

Keeping this friction in mind, the features in consideration include:

1. Utilizing familiar drawing methods and tools, like pencil to paper, as the “whiteboard” subject;

2. Using the mobile camera as “eyes” for students/teachers to see the work written on the “whiteboard”;

3. Making video filters available that can enhance the view of the “whiteboard”, such as contrast, brightness, and sharpness; and

4. Providing standard video calling features such as volume, mic, camera (and switch), and chat.

In order for teachers to ‘read the room’ during live online classes, teachers can make short polls in which they can gather quick student feedback. This is designed to assist teachers when they cannot see or hear how their students are responding to the lesson.

To address students’ need to write good notes, all classes will be recorded. This, along with documents shared during the live class, will be shared to the live class attendees. This setting can be turned off in the teacher’s account settings.

Validating the Appmap

A click test was created using wireframes in order to test the information architecture of the app. 10 participants responded to tasks regarding the flow and navigation. There was >80% success rate with all tasks. The click test helped inform the app map.

Prototyping

In this phase, the wireframes were elevated by implementing the brand elements - which included both visual components and microcopy.

What’s next

• Second usability testing of these design revisions would help me validate whether I have eased the friction in the flows.  

• In the following sprints, I would like to do more research that tasks students to physically demonstrate how they would set up their Writeboard space. These insights can generate a content strategy that supports students with tips on how to set up their Writeboard space at home.

• Furthermore, I would like to follow through on a sprint centered on the teachers’ goals and needs. The insights gathered from the students’ experience with the app can help inform the design decisions of the teacher-facing app.

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