Connecting People for Learning

CONNECt PEOPLE TO PEOPLE

Blackboard Collaborate is the leading synchronous educational technology in the world. My team delivered a world-class design using the latest technology after acquiring two major industry players with dated user experiences. Millions of students and teachers need a way to connect virtually to learn. Teaching and learning moments that are not in person are challenging -- how do you know if the learners are "getting it?" How do you really keep them engaged? How do learners make a clear interruption and ask for help without feeling the anxiety of the spotlight?

Before

After

DESIGN CHALLENGE: MAKE THE TECHNOLOGY DISAPPEAR

Create a valuable teaching and learning experience where the unique value of an online experience is realized, and the challenges of using technology to communicate are removed. Oh, also, retain the $45M customer base while attracting new customers.

Solution

My team redesigned the experience entirely, from a Java-based client experience with hundreds of powerful features to a web-RTC based experience entirely in the web-browser, where people enjoyed the experience of connecting, and had the education-specific functionality at their fingertips. The team worked with students and teachers to understand what gave them anxiety, what gave them richness, what gave them delight, and what was most important to modernize versus remove from the product experience. The lead designer studied their behaviors and even took the opportunity to begin adding sound design into the experience to aid in the multi-tasking experience.

RESULTS

The release of this UX was the first proof-point to the industry of our new design language that would soon engulf all active Blackboard products. I presented this new UX to 3000+ customers live with thousands streaming online, using full functional, live product before launching.
The cross-functional development team was held up as a model of how to effectively collaborate across design, engineering and product management, iterating and creating rapidly, continuously improving the customer experience.