Empowering Educators Through Digital platform
Salam is a pretty big educational institution, offering various grade levels and programs. When they reached out to me, they had a clear but ambitious idea: set up one simple, easy-to-use platform that would bring all their teacher training programs under the same roof, more like a friendly educational environment than just a random list of courses. Even though each school had their own programs, Salam wanted to keep the professional development programs consistent. They hoped that by sticking to one unified learning platform, they could spark real motivation and excitement in their teachers.
My role
I got involved in the whole design process—from user research, flow mapping, and wireframing to prototyping and usability tests—and oversaw the third-party build phase to ensure the final product matched our initial vision.
Results
94% Confidence rate
97% Direct success
6% Misclick rate
The Process
me as the UX Designer, an UI Designer, a Project Leader, and a third-party development company.
6 weeks, 2019
Tools
Getting to Know the users, their needs, and the platforms they were using before
To ground the design decisions, I employed a concise research process:
• Learning about the needs and challenges of teachers.
Conducted user interviews
• Gathering the professianal teachers' insights and discuss about experiences and expectations.
Held focus groups
• Understanding current solutions (Theoretical Background):
Compatitive analyses and drew on Social Cognitive Theory to emphasize learning through community and clear feedback.
Challenges
This process helped me clearly see the challenges teachers were facing:
• Unclear Learning Path: Courses felt disconnected; teachers didn’t know what to tackle after “Classroom Management,” causing confusion in planning their growth.
• Lack of Motivation Triggers: Their programs didn’t include features that spark teachers’ own drive to learn, leaving many feeling unmotivated.
• Lack of Sense of Belonging: There was no space for teachers to record insights, reflect on lessons, or share best practices with their peers, leaving them feeling isolated throughout the entire process.
• No Real-Time Feedback: Teachers couldn’t get instant input and were unsure where to focus.
Comparative Analysis
What I can learn from competitors?
Key features
• Intuitive and Simplified Navigation: Effortless user flow and minimal cognitive load.
• Highly Personalized User Journeys: Tailored experiences addressing individual teacher needs.
• Enhanced Collaboration: Interactive community-building features.
• Engaging, Visually Clear Interface: Attractive visuals promoting user engagement.
User Journey Map
What do users think and feel?
Persona Development
Based on the research, I created key user personas to represent our diverse audience. Meet Bianca, one of the personas:
Brainstorming & Sketching Ideas
Armed with these insights, I consulted with plant experts to brainstorm ways to make the experience as nurturing as a well-tended garden. I zeroed in on a few key ideas:
Drawing on Social Cognitive Theory, I incorporated elements such as engaging multimedia, community discussion spaces, clear feedback loops, and fun interactive features to make the learning process not only effective but also enjoyable.
• Personalized Dashboards: Teachers access a tailored view showing their active courses, progress indicators, and upcoming sessions—all at a glance.
• Streamlined Enrollment: A step-by-step, guided registration process that makes signing up for courses hassle-free.
• Robust Course Catalog & Resource Hub: Courses are organized by grade level, subject, and skill area, with clear summaries and immediate access to supplementary materials.
• Instant Feedback: After wrapping up each phase, teachers get prompt, friendly feedback that highlights their achievements and energizes them to tackle the next steps.
• Reflection & Sharing Tools: forums and profile sections enable educators to reflect on their practices and share best teaching strategies with peers, active community discussion areas, and clear, friendly feedback loops.
• Integrated Assessments: Built-in pre-tests and both formative and summative assessments help track progress and measure learning outcomes.
Key Design Artifacts
To ensure the design met our teachers' needs and project goals, I developed several essential design artifacts:
• User Flow: Detailed diagrams mapping the journey from discovery to purchase and plant care, ensuring a logical, user-friendly process.
• Categorise information in group related filed
Used card sorting to organize content meaningfully.
• Assessing design effectiveness
Ran usability testing to refine interactions and ensure a smooth user experience.
To validate initial design solution, insuring the design meets users' needs, a mid-fidelity prototype was made. Then the wireframes were iterated.
To design high-fidelity prototype, insights gained from usability testing and design critiques were used. The following sections highlight key improvements that were made.
