Hummingbird Mobile App
Crafting simple, personalized communication experiences focused on the needs of today's teachers
PROBLEM
In our modern educational landscape, teachers are grappling with insurmountable task loads and responsibilities with little to no support, leaving less time for quality communication with parents. This often leads to disconnected classroom communities and decreases positive learning outcomes for students.
SOLUTION
Hummingbird is an intuitive communication mobile app designed to meet the needs of today's teachers by streamlining complicated task flows. Teachers can instantly access key student data through inherently learnable features enabling effortless communication.
In a matter of minutes, teachers can set up a 30+ digital classroom, invite 60+ caregivers, and capture key learning moments reaching more parents in less time.
MY ROLE
I partnered with local educators to research and design an edtech tool that addresses the real needs of today’s teachers in demanding classrooms. Drawing from my experiences as a K-12 educator, I gained a deep understanding of teachers' challenges, allowing me to swiftly develop tailored end-to-end product design solutions that simplify communication and streamline task flows.
TIMELINE: 4 Weeks
TOOLS: Figma, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Otter AI, Zoom, Paper and Ink
Articulating Core Problems
GENERATIVE RESEARCH
I conducted semi structured 1:1 interviews with 5 parents and 5 teachers as well as issued several surveys to gain deep insights into the key issues impacting school communication experiences.
I sat down with parents at a local coffee shop and learned almost immediately that the biggest pain point among parents is lack of communication consistency from teachers.
I performed contextual inquiries within local elementary schools and learned that the biggest pain point impacting teachers is lack of time.
DIGGING DEEPER
I met with local principal, Mrs. Peters, to gain deeper insights into the issues impacting teachers' time.
I learned that teachers are facing a 'firehose' of responsibilities; from brand new curriculum to demanding student behavior, to overly complicated digital tools, teachers are struggling in their classrooms every single day.
EDTECH PRODUCT UTILITY
I performed a competitive analysis to understand the popular features, tool constraints, and use cases within common edtech tools employed by educators. My discoveries enables me to make strategic design decisions when solving for teachers' pain points and needs within today's classrooms.
Common themes:
Teachers receive little to no tech support which leads to under utilization.
Teachers do not have time to manage complicated user interfaces.
Many teachers prefer simple, familiar tools such as email, text messaging, and sticky notes, yet these options are often inadequate for conversing with 60+ parents.
Capturing Teachers' Needs
PERSONA DEVELOPMENT
I developed a teacher archetype so that I might deeply understand the needs of today's teachers. Kayla Lacey faces immense constraints within her teaching practice she needs a simple, inherently learnable communication tool to help her manage complex task flows and organize student data so she can build community relationships in less time.
How might we build a simple and supportive mobile app that enables effortless communication experiences while also easing demanding work loads for educators?
Gathering Design Inspiration
MOOD BOARDING / DESIGN RESEARCH
I conducted design research to reflect the overall mood for a visually pleasing mobile app design. This collection of ideas centers on the Hummingbird, showcasing a light, quick, and creative design aesthetic.
Discovering the Easiest Pathway
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE / USER FLOW
I translated design features into information architecture to solidify app structure. I then mapped out teacher and parent flows through classroom set up and core app tasks to ensure a frictionless user experience.
Exploring Design Solutions
SKETCHING / WIREFRAME ITERATIONS
I explored multiple ideas and solutions through sketches and wireframes aligned to research insights that I then shared with educators for feedback.
Group name, copy box pattern- Teachers can simply copy full class lists and parent names for an easier classroom set up and onboarding process.
Create task balance- Parents can connect to their child's name and provide student profile data, helping to streamline a complex onboarding process for teachers.
Highly learnable user interface- Contextual modeling, progress indication (gamification), icons, and clear language will aid and motivate teachers who do not have access to tech training.
Close proximity of data- Enables the instant access to critical data like learning preferences, pronouns, and parent phone numbers.
Intuitive classroom sharing- Teachers can utilize file attachment, video and image capture, and templates for convenient classroom updates.
Private text messaging- Provide seamless, secure parent messaging.
Initiatal explorations
Wireframes (Sketches and Digital)
Seeking User Feedback
USABILITY TESTING
I performed formative assessment through multiple rounds of remote, moderated usability testing, iterating wireframe design in between each round of testing. Key performance metrics were task completion rate and user experience satisfaction.
All participants were able to easily utilize Hummingbird across all functions, but there were a few issues that needed clarification:
Teachers and parents needed transparency surrounding roles and tasks on the app.
I incorporated clarified language such as the word "follow" to succinctly communicate that parents would verify their name and then "follow" their child on Hummingbird.
Teachers requested more clarity and control surrounding public and private sharing.
I implemented clear messaging and constraints to allow educators to turn on or off parent comments and to edit public posts before sharing. I incorporated key student data into private messages to aid teachers in personalized parent interactions.
Parents needed to know their child's information is safe
I implemented safety messaging, icons, and thoughtful constraints across all areas of Hummingbird to provide consistent security assurance.
Establishing a Visual Language
CORE DESIGN SYSTEM
I utilized Human Interface Guidelines to develop a design system and component library featuring a primary color scheme, expressive typography, and UI components in line with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
Protoyping Design Solutions
Full Fidelity Prototypes
I implemented user feedback and interactive design into full fidelity prototypes showcasing the following solutions:
Intuitive classroom set up- Teachers can instantly build an entire classroom through parent task balance and group name copy and paste option.
Easy data management- Teachers will save time by having the student and parent information they need the most within close proximity.
Intuitive communication streams- Teachers can share vital classroom announcements, capture and document learning moments, and securely message parents within a few swipes, effectively reducing teacher task burden and enabling instant parent connections.
Key Screens (Teacher flow)
Full Teacher Flow (Click to start)
Final Thoughts
As a former teacher, this was a gratifying project for me. I enjoyed getting to partner with local educators through both research and design to create a digital application that could truly meet the needs of local educators.
Although this project is still in development, we were able to gain invaluable insights from local educators leading to an in depth understanding of the constraints experienced by diverse teachers working within demanding classrooms. Teachers receive no training for technology and must contend with large class sizes with little planning time. Designing for these constraints meant crafting an extremely simple tool directly aligned to the deep, contextual needs of today's educators.