User Research
Olabs is an education technology platform offering free virtual lab experiments and interactive learning experiences to students lacking access to costly laboratory equipment.
We created a quick survey to identify pain points within
Background
I was tasked with improving the interactive learning experiences of Olabs across all subjects. I received a detailed spreadsheet containing user feedback and recorded data from previously conducted usability tests. This information served as the foundation for my initiatives aimed at enhancing the interactive learning experiences for Olabs. But something was not right.
Challenge 1
Despite the positive feedback from most students, many faced difficulties with various interactions during the moderated usability test when performing virtual lab experiments.
Sensing unspoken apprehension, I believed that there was another side to the story that was missed out. I examined this issue and it quickly became clear.
Turns out…
Students' initial hesitancy to share information stemmed from their deep-rooted discomfort and unfamiliarity with using technology, a sentiment inbuilt in their lived experiences and lack of exposure to technology in their everyday lives.
Recognizing the importance of addressing this underlying discomfort, I interacted with students from different grades.
A major finding revealed student's reliance on textbooks as their primary source of knowledge. I leveraged the familiarity of textbooks as cues for a redesigned virtual lab experience.
Distinct meanings were associated with specific layouts, graphics, and methods of presenting information in textbooks, and these were carefully considered.
The acquired insights from these interactions were instrumental in shaping the development of design principles and guidelines, serving as the foundation for all future interactive labs.
Implementing these principles and guidelines during the initial testing of the redesigned labs improved learnability by 20%, as the new interface was rooted in students' existing ways of comprehending information.
Challenge 2
Students spent a lot of time familiarizing themselves with the interface in each new 'Lab.'
Despite slight variations among textbooks for each subject and grade, they predominantly adhered to a similar structure. In contrast, the design of lab interfaces exhibited inconsistencies not only between different subjects but also within subjects across different grades.
Instructions
Navigation
Title
Q&A
Main Content
Configuration of Lab Interfaces
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Solution
I was able to demonstrate how different configurations could be adopted within a single dynamic design template, thus establishing UX consistency.
Impact
The easy to use format of the design template enabled engineers to rapidly design and ship new labs, resulting in a 50% reduction in the time spent on designing new lab interfaces.
Challenge 3
Students, when unsure, often resorted to random answers based on guesswork to progress through the lab.
If they stumbled upon the correct answer by accident, the lack of understanding behind it led to a dearth of meaningful learning outcomes.
Solution
I incorporated system responses that offered feedback to users inputs, providing additional contextual information irrespective of whether students answered a question correctly or incorrectly.
Additionally, I designed customized onboarding processes for labs and pictorial representations for specific instructions, ensuring the interface serves as a catalyst to grasp complex procedures.
The aforementioned solution improved memory retention and minimized the likelihood of students repeating the same mistakes.
This was achieved through system responses that included relevant reasoning for incorrect answers and additional information to solidify knowledge when answers were correct.
Students expressed satisfaction that they could now identify areas for improvement independently, and address them accordingly, rather than solely relying on mentor critiques.
This shift from exclusive reliance on mentor feedback to self-driven progress gives students the agency to independently affect meaningful change in their work.
Looking to chat?
Get in touch with me on keenan11@uw.edu