Momentum
A widget-based progress tracking tool for high school students
In the course Learning Media Design, I had the opportunity to co-design Momentum, a learning management and progress tracking tool with City of Bridges High School.
Timeline
Roles
UX Designer
UX Researcher
Collaboration
Ankitha Vasudev
Andrea Chisholm
Heysu Oh
Client
City of Bridges HS
GET TO KNOW THE CLIENT
City of Bridges (CoB) is a progressive high school in Pittsburgh, PA. Our group focused on Personalized Learning Plan (PLP), a core part of CoB's curriculum, to motivate students to track their learning progress more responsibly.
Simplifying PLP management for students
Start of PLP block
Quick check-in form
Students fill out a widget form to inform teachers on how they will spend each PLP block.
During PLP block
Review meeting notes
Receive meeting notes generated by teachers to keep track.
After PLP block
Daily reflection prompts
After each PLP block, students are notified to fill out a reflection prompt curated by the instructor.
After project
PLP Portfolio
Once student completes a PLP, the app generates a portfolio including the grade, past entries, and student's emotion curve throughout the process. Students can utilize these portfolios to apply to internships and other academic programs.
Help teachers understand student needs
Momentum is not an alternative to the communication between students
and teachers. It is a tool to facilitate conversation more effectively.
Check-in Queue
Teachers get a clear overview of students that have filled out the form, and a queue of students that have signed up to meet
Teachers are able to see individual student progress and communicate with them daily to support the PLP process.
THE PROBLEM — FOCUS GROUP INSIGHTS
The free and flexible nature of PLPs presents challenges in students fostering self-regulation and management skills.
Learning Management
No prescribed standardized method for documenting PLP progress.
Lack of regulation
Students often give up a PLP when they hit obstacles without justification.
Past Efforts
CoBHS previously used ‘Headrush’ to learning progress, but students felt overwhelmed by its cumbersome nature.
Documentation Method
Teachers use physical documentation for student progress, but the lack of a uniform system poses a management challenge.
DESIGN OPPORTUNITY
How might we design a progress tracking tool for CoB students and teachers that effectively foster productive communication and self-accountability for students' learning?
CO-DESIGN APPROACH
CoB values personal interconnections among teachers and students, and teachers provide autonomy in students navigating their own learning, which were two main focal points that we decided to design around.
Student-Teacher Relationship
Students feel understood and respected by their teachers.
Technology Use
Digital tools should not be a replacement for human interaction.
School Culture
Students should not feel forced in their learning process.
CURRENT STUDENT PRACTICE–FOCUS GROUP INSIGHT
Students utilize their smartphones a lot, and each have their own favorite apps such as Google Calendar, iOS Notes, etc., to keep track of their tasks. The commonality between why students love these tools was that they are easy to use.
CURRENT TEACHER PRACTICE–FOCUS GROUP INSIGHT
Teachers currently use physical documentation to track student progress, but the lack of a uniform system poses a management challenge.
CoB Principal
I have a little brown notebook and go around to the students and write it down…the problem is that it is a singular physical object.
Focusing on the "during PLP" phase to induce positive outcome and prevent give-ups.
STORYBOARD & SPEED DATING INSIGHTS
Using a widget-based check-in app to pique student motivation
Student A
We love using widgets! It's fun to interact with, and I like the simplicity.
Student B
Temperature check-in form sounds good to me.
Student C
A widget check-in form is actually like the smartest thing ever, I love it.
Student D
I love widgets - It seems like a quick easy way to get it done
Teacher A
This could save a lot of time for me, it would be best if I could get to as many students as possible during PLP block.
STORYBOARD & SPEED DATING INSIGHTS
A progress tracking platform to aid teacher's guidance to student in the PLP journey.
Teacher A
Students learning to be accountable of their learning management is crucial. Developing problem solving skills to get from A to B is as important or more than the final goal.
Student A
I don't want this to be a mandatory thing, it would be nice if was an optional thing that you know you can use when it's needed.
Teacher B
I’m the advisor for the freshmen, so it would be nice to know what they’re doing for PLP and see what their progress is instead of ask.
USER FLOW DIAGRAM
Mapping out the flow of communication for teachers and students.
We focused on designing a tool both on the student and teacher's end.
WIREFRAMES
Designing the student interface focused on simplicity of use, and teacher interface on quick viewing experience.
Student Experience
Teacher Experience
Both the student and teacher experiences are built on "simplicity of use," to avoid overwhelming students and to help teachers organize mentorships more easily.
USER TESTING INSIGHTS
Students and teachers are on-board with the simplicity of a widget check-in tool, and had a couple suggestions to adhere the solution to CoB culture.
Students
Students wanted the freedom to add more than just photos, such as audio recordings, drawings, videos, etc, as some PLP progress is not visually documentable.
Teachers
Teachers would like to curate the daily PLP check-in prompt to reflect a current focus. For example, many students work on their Demonstrations of Learnings near the end of the semester.
FINAL PROTOTYPE
Logo design expired by Newton's cradle
FINAL PROTOTYPE
Overview of student experience
Home
Daily PLP (Filled out)
PLP Portfolio (Completed PLP)
FINAL PRTOTYPE
Teachers curate reflection prompts
DESIGN SYSTEM
Color-coding student activity type for easy recognition
To help teachers quickly recognize how students are spending PLP block, I used distinguished color palette
Student view
Teacher view
LAYOUT
Using cards for a modular layout and avoid cluttering information
From widgets to mobile to dashboard, each element is designed to translate naturally to aid perception.
Mobile widget
Teacher view
EVALUATION
Success Metrics
Although the scope of the project does not include development and launch, we established metrics to evaluate the success of this product if it were to be launched.