Indigo Design Awards 2021
two gold, five silver, three bronze
The only classroom you need.
The pandemic has changed the playing field for elementary education leaving parents, teachers, and students without a plan. GamePlan is an online learning environment that places the entire classroom experience in one place and streamlines communication through contextual messaging between parents, teachers, and students. It engages students through gamified lessons and collaborative learning which encourages social interaction and fun.
GamePlan
Context
Information Architecture
IACT 370
Fall 2020
Timeline
10 Weeks
SEP 2020 - NOV 2020
Team
Jasmine Attanasio
Leo Caballero
Kelly Pobgee
Max Poliseno
Maik Reiffenstahl
My Roles
Ideation Lead
Concepting
Research
Game Design
Writer
Deliverables
UX Problem
Current online classrooms lack a focus on education all-in-one place, and as a result, are arduous to use and lead to a confusing experience.
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Due to the pandemic, parents have unexpectedly had to take on the role of a teacher for their students at home and struggle to balance this new role with their busy lifestyle.
The Solution
Gameplan is an online learning experience that places the entire classroom experience in one place and streamlines communication through contextual messaging between parents, teachers, and students.
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It engages students through gamified lessons and collaborative learning which encourages social interaction and fun.
Gamified Learning Experience
The student game world offers fun lessons and collaborative educational games for students. They are rewarded for their work on assignments with visual customization options to show their progression.
Universal Platform
A universal online classroom creates a smooth and easy learning platform for teachers, students, and parents alike.
Contextual Messaging
Contextual messaging offers a direct way for all parties to communicate during lessons and throughout assignments.
Features
Value
1.1 billion children are out of school due to COVID-19 closures
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27 million children grades PreK-5th will be missing out on essential educational, social, and developmental benefits
Research
Our team conducted a plethora of secondary and primary research using online searches, scholarly journals, surveys, and interviews. We gathered interview data from teachers, parents, and students alike in order to form important insights that would guide the rest of our design process.
Target Users
Primary Demographic
PreK - 5th grade teachers and students
Secondary Demographic
PreK - 5th grade parents
Teacher
- Grade
- Take attendance
- Communicate
- Instruct
Parent
- Track student progress
- See lessons
- Motivate students
- Assist with technology and lessons
Roles of Teachers, Parents, and Students
Student
- Learn concepts
- Communicate
3
Expert Interviews
11
Demographic
Interviews
14
Interviews
Research Insights
- Parents don't want to replace teachers
- Parents want to better understand what their kids are doing
- Kids need correct tools to support self-sufficiency
- Efficiency for teacher = efficiency for parent and student
- Parents & teachers use multiple platforms to communicate
Personas
Miss Katie, 32
Teacher
Goals
- Better communicate
- Give each student more individual attention
- Make her online classroom more engaging
Jodi, Parker, 34
Parent
Goals
- Balance work and her child's education
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- Streamline communication with teacher
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- Decrease screen time
Faith Parker, 9
Student
Goals
- Have fun learning
- Make more friends
- Learn new subjects
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Parents must be able to bridge between what the teacher wants and what the student is doing.
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Design Criteria
From our research, we were able to define our users' pain points and needs and how we would design our experience to create a unified, and fun classroom
How might we?
... improve upon the social development and structure of the in-person education experience through online learning?
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... create a system to balance the busy lifestyle of parents and the educational needs of their children?
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... better facilitate more connection between parents and teachers?
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... maintain a flexible and open educational environment that is easily adaptable?
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... create a single, streamlined communication platform?
Design Process
Much of the design process on this project placed emphasis on the information architecture of GamePlan, as such our team focused on the structure, navigation, and design of the desktop application. we constructed prototype blueprints, task flows, and wireframes before doing several rounds of user testing to refine GamePlan into its final layout and design.
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As ideation lead, I helped to create of many of the features and utilities of GamPlan, and I lead the ideation and design of the learning games and game world.
To view the entire design process check out the full process book!
Teacher Preliminary Blueprint
Teacher Final
Blueprint
Final Product
GamePlan
Teacher Interfaces
Grade
Track grades for individual students
Adjust marks to percentages, letters, completion, and more
Grade student work right in platform
View class performance on a single assignment
Take Attendance
View student attendance by week or month
Instruct
Create an agenda accessible by parents and students
Create assignments that students can complete together
Toggle between several classrooms
Incorporate Zoom links into schedule
Communicate
Easily message from within the platform
Parent Interfaces
View Lessons
Toggle between each student's profile
View assignment names and details
Access teacher comments on graded work
Access summary sheets of lesson
Track Student Progress
View progress
by subject
Share progress reports with spouses, teachers, etc.
Communicate
Students can summon parents to view their screen when questions arise
Communicate with teacher or student while viewing problem at hand
Student Interfaces
Get help with the click of a button
Within the game world, students can complete activities to learn concepts for the day.
Enter doors in the Level Room to complete daily tasks. This may include watching videos, completing graded assignments, playing review games, and more.
Students earn XP and coins in games to customize their hut and show off progress to classmates.
After completing all assignments, students can access educational games in the Portal Room to continue practicing concepts while earning XP and coins for character and hut customizations.
Game reviews allow students to work collaboratively. Gamification improves communication skills and overall understanding.
Access the daily schedule created by teacher
Visually track lesson progress
Customize outfits
Earn XP and coins for more upgrades