Edacy
Designing Edacy’s web digital learning platform.
About Edacy
Edacy is an educational technology startup dedicated to establishing equal opportunities for all through education. They do this by developing innovative learning methods. They create platforms and programs that allow learners from different organisations acquire neccessary digital skills to advance their professional careers.
My Role
User Flow
Research & Analysis
Wireframes
Prototyping
Design
Usability Testing
Problem
Edacy’s web platform for e-learning started off as a means for their learners in their various programs to learn online but they have since expanded their operation and started designing learning experiences for wider audiences they needed a redesign of their website to reflect this.
Research and Analysis
Interviewing present users of the web platform
We interviewed current users of the web platform and had them identify their challenge learning with the old platform and ways we could improve the learning experience
Key Insights
We identified three different types of customers with different needs.
One type of learner wanted to be able to carry their classes and work on their assignments everywhere.
Another type of learner did not feel motivated to continue earning after a period of time and would sometimes drop off.
Other users also expressed the need to be able to communicate within the app with other learners in their group or cohort.
Based on our interview we arrived at these three user stories:
We identified three different types of customers with different needs.
One type of learner wanted to be able to carry their classes and work on their assignments everywhere.
Another type of learner did not feel motivated to continue earning after a period of time and would sometimes drop off.
Other users also expressed the need to be able to communicate within the app with other learners in their group or cohort.
“I am an Edacy learner and I need to have a motivation to continue learning such as awards and learning goals.”
“I am a new Edacy learner and I would like to be introduced to the platform and shown how best to utilize it.”
“I am a new Edacy learner and I would like to sign up quickly and immediately start learning”
Working with an e-learning specialist we used current users of the platform and stakeholders to create a journey map to record their feelings and pain points along the process of using the platform. We identified issues users had signing up and submitting assignments and quizzes.
Journey mapping
User Personas
The personas were based mainly on user research and stakeholders’ knowledge. The personas affected the design a lot as we had learners of differing age groups and thus differing technological skills so there had to be a balance in usability for both the tech-savvy and the novices.
A young professional who already has a career within their current profession but would like to learn skills for personal development or to advance their career. Very tech savvy.
A young individual recently graduated from university or any other higher learning institution who is seeking to acquire skills and practical knowledge that will get them hired.
An older professional who has been working for a number of years and is seeking to learn digital skills to improve themselves. They are not so tech savvy.
Design
Based on the brief document and the user research we carried out our main objectives were to;
Create a streamlined onboarding process.
Create an immersive classroom experience with discussions and the ability for learners to ask questions.
Create a dashboard that lets the learners track their metrics and overall performance.
User Flow diagrams
First, we worked on the user flow diagram. The flow was designed to allow the user multiple ways of signing up for the platform and starting a program. We also took into consideration that the user may be signed up to multiple programs and may need to switch between them.
Designs
In order to properly ease the learner into the learning environment we set up a step-by-step onboarding process that shows new users a video guide and guides them along to explore through tooltips and pop-ups. This was essential due to the varying types of learners from the younger tech-knowledgeable user to the older, less knowledgeable user.
The platform was also designed in such a way that the learner could switch between the multiple programs they were enrolled in. All information on the website was tied to the program the user was learning. The user would have to select another program in order to view information relating to the new program.
Dividing the program structure like this, at the top of the tree, enabled users to not be confused about what program they were viewing. If all information for multiple programs was displayed in one place it could easily overwhelm the user.
A shorter sign-up process that takes only the most important information required to set up your account. The user will then be prompted to complete their profile at a later time before they can proceed with other aspects of learning.
The video classroom was designed with lesson modules locked until you complete them. Learners could not simply skip ahead to other lessons without completing the lesson up to a certain point. Also, certain video lessons had embedded quiz points within the video timeline, and without completing these quizzes the learner would not be able to proceed. This was to encourage learners to complete programs and not to skip ahead.
Learners could also ask questions within the video classroom environment. The question button enabled the learner to type in a question that would then be pinned to the point of the video lesson that the question pertained to. The question would later be responded to by the program coordinator. This gave the learner an experience similar to an in-classroom learning experience
Learners had a dashboard where they could keep track of all their statistics and insights as well as their lesson performance. They could view how they were performing in comparison to their cohorts. The web platform also had an email notification system to keep the learner on track with learning. This involved notifications of deadlines, and a monthly report with the learner’s performance statistics was also sent.
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