kick back space
Improved interaction between instructor and participant in a virtual learning space
Project Type
Website Application
Team
Earnest Kim
Zora Sifontes
Ellie Tsuji
Role
UX Designer
Tools
Otter.ai, Notion, Figma, Google Meets, Loom
Time Frame
June 2024 - August 2024
*Note: confidential information has been removed to respect the client's privacy, please reach out for full version of this case study
The Challenge
Kick back space is a video conferencing platform looking to improve instructor-led training. The auditorium is lacking in the sense of allowing audience members to get a clear view of the presentation from their seats. Furthermore, instructors on stage can talk to the participants, but participants cannot respond or talk to the instructor.
The Solution
Improving the engagement between instructors and participants to create an interactive learning environment.
Understanding the research completed
Kick back space had conducted research with users prior and shared their findings with the team. From the research we had found the following:
Instructors:
1. Instructors need to go through their presentation efficiently
2. Instructors get overwhelmed when multi-tasking between presenting, technologies, and participant engagement
3. Instructors want to be able to create connections with participants
Participants:
1. Participants want an accessible platform
2. Participants want to be able to actively participate during a presentation
Going to the drawing board
Keeping the research points in mind, our team had to figure out how to improve the virtual learning experience without implementing too many features. Kick back space note they want to emulate the real-world learning experience in a virtual setting.
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Through the design workshop, we began pinpointing key issues we needed to address.
A sample of the ideation session conducted and identifying key points we want to address. Our team needed to look at the instructor and participant perspective.
Creating a comprehensive platform
Because kick back space is a new video conferencing platform, there were additional factors we needed to consider:
1. Lowering the learnability curve. We understood that there were certain elements to kick back space that users would have to learn, but making the entire platform confusing to use will increase frustration
2. Emulating a real life learning environment. Unlike other platforms, kick back space wants to emulate a learning environment as if everyone was in person. This also meant that we had to consider 3D elements that are not present in platforms like Zoom, Google Meets, etc.
Strategizing how to display content
While it was important for us to make the content easy to use, having too much content potentially create a cognitive overload to the user.
Using inspirations from video games like Valorant and Call of Duty, we wanted to make the information easy to find while still allowing users to fully comprehend what is going on.
Emulating real life learning experiences virtually
Our team recognized that there were 3 major instructor/participant flows that needed to be considered:
1. Hand raising
2. Group Discussions
3. Spawning into respective seats
Even though kick back space is a video conferencing platform, because they are emulating real life learning experiences, we needed to find a way to differentiate these interactions compared to the likes of Zoom, Google Meets, Microsoft Teams etc.
Hand raising (Instructor)
A sample of the wireframes for when an instructor allows participants to raise their hand. Based on the research, we had to consider instructors that were time sensitive and create a solution that allows them to customize their presentation.
Hand raising (Participant)
A sample of the wireframes for when participants are granted access to raise their hand.
For group discussions and spawning to respective seats, we utilized the same solution allowing facilitators to be able to find all respective actions in the same location.
Will users be able to utilize the new functions implemented?
Prior to conducting our usability tests, we wanted to find out the following information from our participants:
1. Participant's technology skill
2. Experience when utilizing video conferencing platforms
3. Video conferencing platforms they had used in the past
Because this platform is intended to be used by all groups of people, it was important to make sure that people from all different levels were able to understand.
Usability Testing
We conducted user testing via Google Meets to have our users walkthrough the proposed solution for kick back space's presentation experience.
Usability Testing Insights
Enjoyable Experience
"I love the interactive element"
"It was relatively easy to perform the tasks"
Innovative
"I see the intention behind giving it a realistic feel"
"It's very unique and I love the idea behind it"
Confusion
"I assumed all the functions would be done in one location"
"Why aren't all the icons put together in a tool bar?"
Addressing usability issues
From our initial usability tests, we made sure to address the main issues users experienced.
A sample of the updated wireframes. From our usability tests, users mentioned that they would live to have a tool bar where they can have access too all necessary functions
Updated Usability Testing
With the changes we made to our wireframes, we wanted to see if the change made improves the overall user experience.
Usability Testing Insights
Ease of use
"I love how easy it is use and everything is shown"
"There's less of a learning curve and it's very easy to understand"
