New Gallery View
Online classes have been important when it comes to virtual learning environments. Nowadays due to the unexpected COVID-19 lock down, the need to have a powerful platform became one of the most important elements to complete the virtual learning experience for instructors, institutions, and students.
Challenge
Enhance the current video gallery to allow instructors to watch and monitor the video of all the students in the virtual classroom. As well, students need to see their peers for better online engagement.
Discovery
Base on previous users' feedback from current institutions enrolled on Blackboard,
we explored several ideas to find the best approach to the primary needs.
Prototypes
Prototypes were built to present users with four main tasks to perform during user testing.
Research
We ran usability tests with instructors and students around the world to understand the impact of all the new features we are proposing on our product.
1. Pinpoint usability issues within the interface
2. Identify what expectations users have about the product
3. Identify problematic patterns within the enhancements
2. Identify what expectations users have about the product
3. Identify problematic patterns within the enhancements
Main results
Overall feedback about the new improvements
Usability Successes
Overall, users were able to explore and easily identify every new feature on screen and find out hot w to use it.
Areas of Confusion
- It took users few seconds to identify what the behavior was for the zoom feature
- Users expected more feedback on screen when trigger an specific action
- Users expected more feedback on screen when trigger an specific action
Main insights
1. Users needs quick onboarding about the new features released.
3. Users get used to common digital patterns after the first time using it.
4. Instructors and students find in layouts an important social element regarding not only to be able to track attention and participation, but make the sessions more friendly.
3. Users get used to common digital patterns after the first time using it.
4. Instructors and students find in layouts an important social element regarding not only to be able to track attention and participation, but make the sessions more friendly.
Conclusion
Overall, we have pretty positive feedback about the improvements in Collaborate as a learning tool. Initial expectations from users, particularly of the gallery view layout are met with these improvements.
Also, we have different layout preferences depending on the principal use/need during live sessions, and we can handle a way to meet every need without creating plenty of layouts.
And last but not least, we have to keep in track of additional needs that users expressed which can be powerful enhancements in a future.
Also, we have different layout preferences depending on the principal use/need during live sessions, and we can handle a way to meet every need without creating plenty of layouts.
And last but not least, we have to keep in track of additional needs that users expressed which can be powerful enhancements in a future.
