🦆 Interaction Nerds by UXA | S24.07
The Design for Learning Issue: XHACKS 2024 Designing for the Children of Tomorrow, Learning Media Design, METALS Research Projects, Branding and Designing Educational Tools, and more!
👋 Announcements — XHACKS 2025: Designing for the Children of Tomorrow!
Three days left until XHacks: Design for the Children of Tomorrow! 🌅 With only the sky as the limit, how will you design for joy, education, and innovation for the next generation? 👶
XHacks is Carnegie Mellon University’s annual design hackathon. In past years, we’ve brought over 200 students from all academic disciplines at CMU for a weekend-long event to challenge themselves to design innovative and exciting products. Register below to enter! 👀
🍎 Campus Compass — 05-291/05-691 Learning Media Design
Written & edited by: 🚐 Sherry Chen
Are you interested in designing technology enhanced learning experiences? Look no further, Learning Media Design is a studio course that allows students to apply learning science concepts to real world educational clients such as high schools, museums, maker spaces and more.
🤔 What is 05-291/05-691 Learning Media Design?
Learning Media Design is a HCI course focusing on the design aspects and process of creating effective and engaging technology-enhanced learning experiences for all learners.
🧐 What do you do in 05-291/05-691 Learning Media Design?
Last semester, the course went beyond CMU and worked with a local high school to collectively tackle the challenge of integrating competency-based learning more deeply into their schooling community. Students in the course went onsite to City of Bridges High School in Highland Park.
🤔 Who should take 05-291/05-691 Learning Media Design?
This course is offered in the Fall for the IDeATE Design for Learning undergraduate minor and METALS students. However, any undergraduate can pick up an IDeATE Design for Learning minor so don’t let that stop you! Additionally, you can always email Professor Marti Louw about registering for the course.
Check out the course Canvas, Medium stories of past students, as well as the syllabus and modules for the class.
🧑💻 Interview — Lessons from METALS Students
Yvette Wang (left) and Monica Chen (right) are both METALS (Masters of Educational Technology and Applied Learning Sciences) students at CMU. Read below about their experiences with the METALS Capstone Project and how they design for education!
💓 Editor’s Pick — Designing for Education: A Playful Guide
Written & edited by: 🧸 Ahana Banerjee 🥸 Kaitlyn Ng
💡 Educational Technology, or EdTech, isn't just another buzzword; it's the dynamic fusion of technology and education, reshaping the learning landscape as we know it. From interactive learning platforms to virtual classrooms, EdTech is the modern-day hero transforming traditional education into an exciting digital adventure.
🌟 Follow our guide below to optimize your EdTech designs! 🌟
🚀 Essential User Flows:
Define key onboarding flows tailored to different user roles (product training or concept training) for clear distinction and enhanced learning comprehension.
Streamline the digital classroom experience for educators and students, ensuring intuitive navigation from onboarding to data dashboards.
🎨 Optimizing UX/UI for Learning:
Strike a balance between complexity and engagement to ensure interfaces and content are intellectually stimulating and accessible.
Incorporate playful interfaces and adaptive content to cater to diverse learner needs and foster effective learning experiences.
🧠 Applying Learning Science:
Harness cognitive science principles tailored for EdTech to create immersive and impactful learning experiences.
Dive into the depths of learning psychology, crafting educational journeys that resonate with learners and maximize retention.
❤️ Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Features:
Integrate features designed to nurture empathy, resilience, and healthy relationships within the digital classroom environment.
Enhance the educational journey by incorporating SEL elements, fostering holistic growth and emotional intelligence.
🌟 Refer Examples of Stellar EdTech UX:
Draw inspiration from industry pioneers like Duolingo and Mathspace, exploring their innovative approaches to user-centric design.
Analyze gamification strategies and personalized learning paths implemented by these pioneers, unlocking insights to elevate your own UX design endeavors.
Designing for education isn't just about pretty interfaces; it's about crafting experiences that empower learners and educators alike. Dive into the world of edTech UX design, where every click brings us one step closer to smarter, happier learners!
🎭 Resource — Exploring the Branding and Design systems of Learning Apps and Websites
Written & edited by: 🍳 Evelyn Lui
There is no doubt that technology is becoming more and more vital to the educational journeys of our future generations. Let’s take a look at the designs and branding strategies of some of the most popular learning apps and websites out there!
🦉 Duolingo’s Brand Design and Blog
Duolingo’s brilliant brand design strategy has played a crucial role in it becoming the #1 language learning platform. Take a look at Duolingo’s design transformation over the years and the valuable lessons they share on their blog!
🍎 Khan Academy’s Design Systems
This article reveals the behind-the-scenes work that took place to finally establish a standardized design system for Khan Academy and all of its creation, whether it be video content or tools for educators.
📝 Kahoot’s Branding Guidelines
This gamified learning platform that help turns quizzes into fun classroom activities is iconic for its bright pops of color and fun music. Learn about Kahoot’s values and design guidelines here!
🎁 Fun — Re-defining Educational Spaces Inspired by Children’s Museums
Written & edited by: 🕺 Arin Pantja
In collaboration with the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, CannonDesign — an architecture firm based in Pittsburgh — and Seneca Valley School District modeled a new K-6 schooled after a children’s museum. 🤝
From artwork to photography, objects that allow for tactile play, different learning modes are put together beyond just classrooms! 🏃
🤔 Who’s behind the scenes?
The editors behind this week’s issue are 🥸 Kaitlyn Ng, 🧸 Ahana Banerjee, 🕺 Arin Pantja, 🍳 Evelyn Lui, 🚐 Sherry Chen, and 🦝 Caleb Sun.
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