Collabr8 2021
Engaging Students: Simplifying the Virtual Teaching Challenge for Teachers
Project brief & My role
Where did it all start?
The move towards hybrid and virtual learning models has presented several challenges for teachers and students, particularly when it comes to maintaining engagement and collaboration in virtual classrooms. As a result, there is a need for a platform that streamlines virtual meetings and enhances productivity, while also providing a user-friendly experience for both teachers and students.The objective is to develop a virtual meeting platform that promotes engagement and collaboration among students and teachers. The success of the project will be measured by metrics such as user engagement, session productivity, and user feedback.As a key team member in a team of 5 UX designers, my responsibilities included conducting research in the problem space, interviewing users to gain insights, facilitating ideation sessions and workshops, and designing and prototyping the final product.
Research
Defining the problem
An educational institution is frustrated by the complicated, bureaucratic processes that can result in a loss of potential students, our solution aims to simplify and streamline the onboarding process for prospective students, while improving the efficiency of collecting, managing, and verifying their relevant documentation.
research /  Competitor analysis
Understanding competitors
Competitors and their virtual education services, including collaborative learning tools like Slido, digital whiteboards such as Miro and Google Jamboard, and virtual meeting platforms like Canvas(LMS), Microsoft Teams, and Kahoot were analyzed for their features such as live polling, quizzes, gamified learning, and document sharing. Our market research identified opportunities for differentiation, including the ability to automatically group similar questions, duplicate Q&A or polls, provide breakout room options, type in answers, and collect attendance or participation reports.
RESEARCH / Users
Surveying and User interviews
Surveying and User interviews
The challenge was to design a checkout process that was tailored to the needs of three different user groups: existing users with active subscriptions, new users, and existing users without active subscriptions. We needed to make the process user-friendly for all three groups while also improving our conversion rates and reducing drop-off rates. Th goal is to provide an improved and more personalised checkout experience that caters to the needs of all users and drives business growth for Jane Plan.
User Interviews
The study involved interviewing 8 facilitators and 2 students, and they shared their thoughts on hybrid learning. One participant noted that remote learning allowed people from all over the country to participate, while another felt that it was disconnected and isolating. One facilitator joked that they needed more monitors in their house, and a student appreciated the ability to re-watch class recordings. However, the participants expressed concern that there was a lack of engagement, with most students preferring to type questions instead of speaking. Overall, the study highlights that engagement is the biggest challenge in hybrid learning and that replicating a real-life classroom experience can help to increase engagement. Participants also expressed a desire for an all-in-one platform.
Creating empathy
Key design artefacts
Affinity Mapping
Persona 1
Persona 2
Key insights
Interviewees found it challenging to switch between tools in real-time, and most used a combination of tools like email and drive. While breakout rooms were used by many, most users found them challenging to execute. Maintaining student accountability, motivation, and engagement in a hybrid setting was challenging for almost all users. Getting student feedback virtually was also identified as vital towards assessing students' understanding and building personal connections. A vast majority of users felt that an ideal learning experience could be created with an all-encompassing platform, and most felt that Slack is a better communication tool.
Focused problem statement
Facilitators want a platform that effectively engages students involved in a hybrid learning classroom without reducing their quality of learning
How might we statements
How might we:
Enable Educators to engage with Students in order to assess their understanding of concepts in a virtual/hybrid environment?
How might we:
How Can Teachers Foster and Promote Student Accountability, Motivation, and Engagement in a Hybrid Learning Environment?
How might we:
Enable Facilitators to effectively use their tools to provide quality learning experiences in a hybrid learning environment?
Userflow
Develop

Ideation

During the 'Develop' stage, our goal is to generate a broad range of ideas using divergent thinking. This process, known as ideation, helps us answer the 'How might we' questions that frame our design challenge. We held a 'crazy8s' ideation session, which generated nearly 80 potential design solutions. To identify the most promising ideas, we used dot voting to prioritise solutions based on their perceived value. Some of the ideas that emerged from the session included: creating an agenda, incorporating phone interactivity and live notifications, offering auto storage of favourite links, conducting polls and voting, collecting real-time verbal responses, enabling white board and screen sharing, allowing anonymous posting, and using emojis to enhance communication.
Develop

The minimal viable product (MVP)

After evaluating potential features using an MVP matrix, the team identified polling, feedback, and anonymous messaging as standout features for the first release of the product. Other promising features, such as AI assistance and interactive whiteboards, required further research and refinement. The team concluded that building an entire platform around one or two core features was not feasible and instead opted to design a back-end tool for managing agendas and activities to integrate these standout features into an existing platform like Zoom. This approach would meet users' needs for a streamlined and efficient solution while also providing the desired functionality.
Develop

Storyboard 1

Storyboarding the concepts from our MVP Matrix allowed us to create a visual representation of the user experience when interacting with the Collabor8 tool. This approach helped us better understand how users would engage with the platform and provided a tangible artifact for further design and development.
Develop

Storyboard 2

Storyboarding the concepts from our MVP Matrix allowed us to create a visual representation of the user experience when interacting with the Collabor8 tool. This approach helped us better understand how users would engage with the platform and provided a tangible artifact for further design and development.
RESEARCH / Users
Surveying and User interviews
The challenge was to design a checkout process that was tailored to the needs of three different user groups: existing users with active subscriptions, new users, and existing users without active subscriptions. We needed to make the process user-friendly for all three groups while also improving our conversion rates and reducing drop-off rates. Th goal is to provide an improved and more personalised checkout experience that caters to the needs of all users and drives business growth for Jane Plan.
Deliver
Sketching
Similar to the crazy8s ideation session, sketching out individual wireframes based on features and stages of the user flow delivered 10 versions of lo-fi design solutions, using dot voting the solutions or features most suited to achieving the MVP were consolidated.Leading to a collection of  "Screens we build" to guide our first iteration of wireframes developed within Figma.
Deliver
Mid-Fidelity screens delivery
To streamline the process of agenda creation, we developed a user-friendly dashboard as the backbone of our back-end platform. This dashboard provided easy access to activities and agendas, with additional analytics and reporting features set to be added in later phases of development.One of the key features of this dashboard was the detailed agenda screen, which allowed facilitators to assign multiple agenda items, speaker notes, activities, and documents. Meanwhile, the detailed activity screen enabled customisable activity creation and assignment to existing agendas.Our Zoom integration design was optimised for seamless loading and execution of agendas and activities. This allowed facilitators to create activities quickly during a session. Finally, we incorporated a live audience assessment feature that allowed facilitators to gauge collective understanding through emoji feedback and comments. By incorporating these key features into the back-end platform, we were able to enhance the overall Collabor8 experience and make it more efficient and effective for both facilitators and students.
results
What do users think?
During user testing, the platform received positive feedback for its ability to simplify the learning process for both teachers and students. Users also appreciated the platform's agenda creation and sharing features. However, suggestions for improvement were also provided, including the addition of a feature to test student engagement and gather feedback from the audience. The feedback has been taken into consideration for future platform updates.
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Portfolio
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Testimonials

Don't take my word for it

Jack Morgan's testimonial

“Malak and I worked in the same team over two client projects at Academy Xi. In both projects she was extremely organised, kept both the projects running smoothly and worked brilliantly with everyone in the team. She worked efficiently, and contributed so much creatively, she has great ideas and a fantastic understanding of the UX process. She was excellent to work with both times, and would be a fantastic addition to any UX team..”

UX Designer @ Zurich Insurance Company
Jack Morgan's testimonial

“I collaborated with Malak for a couple of years at Shoreditch Design Studio. Throughout our time together, she consistently demonstrated a fantastic eye for design, complemented by strong UX/UI skills. In addition, Malak proved to be an invaluable asset to the team, showcasing excellent communication skills in direct interactions with clients.”

Creative Director @ Shoreditch Design Studio
Aidan Street's testimonial

"I worked with Malak on a UX team project for Collabor8 Thinkspace. From the outset I was impressed by her pragmatic approach to understanding and solving the problem space, always putting the user at the centre of any design thinking. She provided the team with in depth research and valuable insights early on in the project before taking a leading role in developing, designing and testing user focused solutions within design software. She communicates her thoughts clearly and always has something of value to say, this makes working with Malak really enjoyable and I would look forward to working with her again. She was a valuable member of the team and would be an asset to any UX team in the future."

UX team coordinator at Momentumgroup
Aidan Street's testimonial

"Malak, has a sound understanding of design principles and can take a project from concept to delivery with ease. She is not afraid to question and always looks for improvements to the customer experience."

Partner Sales Manager @
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Kenneth D'souza's testimonial

“Malak is highly organised and insightful in the UX process, she thinks out of the box and has a keen eye for detail. She has a strong work ethic and is highly motivated individual. She is also a strong communicator with good design skills and a passion for UX..”

Senior UX Designer @ Symplicit
Pia Uch testimonial

“I worked with Malak on the Collabor8 Thinkspace project. She’s a driven, ambitious individual with a strong enthusiasm for the project. A skilled UX and UI designer that can turn a concept into reality upon client requests. Malak was dedicated to delivering high-quality works. She’s truly a user experience professional, knowing and working with Malak is a very pleasurable experience. Malak has an impressive work ethic that I would recommend her to any team!”

Product Designer at Frod
Billy Humble testimonial

“Malak is spectacular to work with, she works through the problem with the group and helps point out details that were overlooked, she is highly motivated and excellent communication skills. She adds great value to any Ui/Ux Team and I would highly recommend her”

UX Designer @ Defence Australia
Priya Venugopal's testimonial

“I worked with Malak on couple of projects. She has an excellent leadership skills when it comes to managing a project and team. She consistently demonstrated her solid work ethic and problem solving skills throughout the project. She is a great asset to any UX team!.”

UI Designer @ Contal Services
Adele Brizzi's testimonial

"I worked with Malak on a team project, she was a great team member and proposed a number of valuable ideas throughout the project. She took responsibility for decisions and develop a hi -quality prototype to deliver to the client. Would love to work with her again"

UX/UI Designer