![MacBook Pro II [Packback]3.png](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2f5b96_2f93f20da8e64e30a8771673ba441ac5~mv2.png/v1/crop/x_0,y_151,w_2900,h_709/fill/w_978,h_239,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/MacBook%20Pro%20II%20%5BPackback%5D3.png)
Summary
I worked to create transparent, actionable & useful experience for instructors using the Packback platform in higher education learning. My goal was to create an opportunity for instructors to easily identify when they’re creating healthy discussions as well as an alert system that helps them recognize when they need to take an action or intervene.
​
Everyone appreciates good feedback. For instructors, an indicator that they’re doing a good job lies in students asking good, relevant questions. This helps the instructor restructure a lecture the right way focusing on the exact needs of their students. The initial outcome was to help instructors be able to see at a glance how their class is doing visually using data visualization.
​
On the other hand, instructors want to be able to get alerts when something goes wrong, especially when it requires immediate action. A new system was implemented to help instructors solve this problem & also reach out to students quickly, when needed.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Case Study
Client: Jessica Tenuta
Company: Packback
​
My Role
Working with Packback & the wonderful co-founder Jessica Tenuta, I worked to create transparent, actionable & useful experience for instructors using the Packback platform in higher education learning. My goal was to create an opportunity for instructors to easily identify when they’re creating healthy discussions as well as an alert system that helps them recognize when they need to take an action or intervene.
​
Tasks included UX research, ideation, wireframes, user experience design, visual design, prototyping
Project Date: September 2nd, 2020
Tools: Pen, Paper, Sketch App, InVision
The Challenge
Design a single page dashboard that helps instructors see the trends in their course community on Packback, using statistics that are already captured by the Packback platform.
the Solution
Research
Upon receiving this project & realizing the time constraints, I did my best to seek out friends & family members who might have any knowledge or access to the platform or something similar. I was able to speak with a one-week old college student, and a recent college graduate. I soon after realized the new college student wasn’t too familiar with her school’s platform yet (Blackboard), and the recent graduate didn’t have any access. I was fortunate enough to get an account information that allowed me to see what Blackboard looks like at the moment & see where it’s lacking. The college graduate helped me navigate & give better understanding of the platform as well.
​
I proceeded in my research by creating a professor account, proceeded to create a demo community & my understanding of the product became much clearer, especially after seeing how Blackboard works. I decided to look deeper into the professor’s experience & this proved to be harder than I expected. I do not know any college professors nor was I able to get access to anyone but during research I came across a few experiences and one stood out to me. The Packback case study with Dr. Kaston Anderson-Carpenter, a psychology professor at Michigan State University. This case study (& a few others) helped me get a better understanding of the instructors plight. Going from having to put in “Oscar-worthy performances” in order to help students get a grasp of his lectures to using a platform that helps his students ask relevant questions that normally would come from him encourages him, knowing that his students are more engaged in his lecture. This understanding of the platform allowed me to empathize & put myself in the professor’s shoes.
​
One last piece of research helped in formulating my design. I came across a case study by Katie Stakland, a former employee at PackBack, about Upgrading the PackBack Gradebook. Her research also helped put things in perspective & helped solidify the direction I was going. One of her research findings was a survey result showing most professors spend less than 30 minutes in grading Packback assignments, with the majority (~64%) spending less than 1hr grading on the platform. Part of my design was to make sure that I don’t increase the time spent on the platform too much & keep the time reasonable still. After ideation I started creating wireframes, formulating & ideating as I went along until my solutions became more concrete.
Results
In order to figure out the viability of my solution, I developed a story in mind. Dave (the professor) would need to successfully look through his insights, having an opportunity to compare with previous weeks (or days/months/semester). Being able to see the progression in his students’ performances at a glance will reduce the time he spends in the platform. Afterall, as a professor, he has other things to do, like prepping for lectures, grading, doing things that actually require time. We do not want him having one extra thing to spend so much time on. He’s also able to look through his alerts to see who needs attention, who doesn’t or if he’s free to take the day off. With tools at his disposal to perform quick actions, send a quick message, give a badge or shout out, etc.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Insights & Alerts
Designing a single page that has all the information & insights the professor needs to make decisions and plan their day/week is a task for efficiency. Using the color index I later found in Katie’s case study I was able to use colors & themes that are currently being used at Packback. The use of tabs allows for multiple information to be added on the page with the user never having to leave the screen and was able to effectively add as much information as needed on the page. Though the task was for weekly changes, I decided to add daily, monthly & semester long views so as to get a better understanding about how the design can be implemented. I was able to successfully visualize each information that will be relevant to the professor.
The Alerts design had two similar but equally important solutions. Creating a quick alerts menu allows the professor to see when there is a new alert and allow for actions to be made without leaving the page. The second iteration is a full Alerts page. This is a full size version of the quick alerts. All alerts allow the professor to send a quick response, create a message for the community or add a badge for encouragement.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If I had more time I would...
-
Incorporate Icons into my design
-
Create a realistic data sample for reference
-
Add a search box for the alerts page.
-
Even though there are filters in the form of tabs, the professor might want to narrow it down more. For example, searching Wendy Scott, will show only alerts specific to Wendy.
-
-
Allow visualizations to be more interactive.
-
Create more ways to see break down of certain information on a pie chart for example
-
Use more complex forms of data visualization
-
-
Create a Name Card that shows students’ current Curiosity Score
-
Use color to identify Good, Average & Bad information or alerts
-
This allows the professor to quickly notice certain information. Example: Light Green = Good, Yellow = Average, Red = Bad
-
Conclusion
Working on this project made me realize what a great platform this is. From learning about the story & the growth of the company from its humble beginnings to Shark Tank & then being able to reach the levels it is at the moment, the sky's the limit indeed. The vision of the company & their goal to help student curiosity improve will help elevate student/teacher relationships and ultimately make it easier for students to get the education they pay so much money for. Creating a more efficient platform for the professor will give them more time to do the things they need to do, even outside of school & in turn we will make school (& the world) a better place. TRUST ME!