The Birth of the InfoBoard
InfoBoard:
An information board that can deliver class info and course knowledge or share school life in classroom.
Project Brief
Each year, Optoma strives to incorporate a unique feature into its new Interactive Flat Panels (IFPs). Our design team is dedicated to exploring new possibilities, and through our research, we have created the innovative concept of InfoBoard.
Challenge
As this is an entirely new application, we need to conduct thorough research and validation to strengthen our concept and convince our boss and regional sales team to approve it.
My Role
Lead 2 design team members to create proposals
Secondary study, Research plan and execute(Questionnaire, Interview), Prototyping, UXUI design
Timeline
May- Oct 2022
Outcome
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Leading the team in brainstorming.
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The proposal was highly recognized by regional team.
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The launch of a new product line.
Proposal Video
Design Process
Research＆ Initiation
Insights from Secondary
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Important factors of learning
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Enhance the diversity in class will improve students’ motivation.
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Positive environment will boost students' sense of school belonging.
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IFP strength and weakness
Strength
Enhance the diversity in classroom
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Teach easily with photo, video or camera to engage students.
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Interact with students through online course materials.
Weakness
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IFP is just a display, IFP should strengthen the bond with teachers and students in the future.
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IFP always stays in standby mode before/after class.
Define Problem
Except from teaching, how to strengthen communication between teachers and students through IFP when the class is over?
Brainstorm with New idea
I led a team of 2 designers, 1 PM, and 2 RDs in a two-round divergent and convergent brainstorming process using the Double Diamond method.
New idea: Digital bulletin board (InfoBoard)
It can be used more during break time, before or after class to provide information, class related knowledge or classroom personality to build up bridge with student.
Idea to prototyping
Validation & Iterate
Questionnaire and Interview
To gain insights from school scenario in Taiwan and validate InfoBoard design concept, we conducted a questionnaire survey with 60 teachers and in-depth interviews with 5 teachers.
Questionnaire Goal
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Understand Taiwan’s school situation.
1. Teachers' usage habits, frequency, and expectations of interactive displays in the classroom.
2. Themes and frequency of classroom decoration.
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Recruit interview participants.
Interview Goal
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Validate InfoBoard design concept.
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Conduct usability test to gain insights and enhance user experience.
Usability test with Figma prototype + Google Meet.
Findings
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Younger generation of teachers around 21 to 30 use IFP for teaching everyday, they expect technology can enhance classroom participation and discussion.
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In-depth interviews, 2 of 5 teachers use PowerPoint to announce information right now, they would love to have tools to deliver information to students in an easier way.
Based on our research results, we have refined the specific details of InfoBoard below.
Scenario :
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Break time & Study Session
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Tests & Quizzes
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Celebration & Activities
Editing platform :
Personal devices
Laptops, tablets, mobiles are more suitable for real-time editing and publishing.
Editing frequency and duration :
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Once a month
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10 minutes each time
Widget :
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Weather/ Date/ Time
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Announcement/ To do list
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Media
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Material (e-book...)
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Others (score board...)
Final Proposal
Connect personal device to IFP
Step1
Teachers should pair their personal device to IFP at the first time.
Edit on personal device
Step2
Customize IFP with various of widget and theme, teachers can edit InfoBoard on personal device anytime, anywhere.
Publish to IFP
Step3
Teachers can publish information to IFP directly without enter classroom.
What's Next
This is just a baby step in InfoBoard project. Our next challenge is to design and develop the editing platform and create a wide variety of widgets and templates. This will be a significant undertaking.
Takeaway
By building this product from the idea to execution, I learned three most important things in the process:
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Brainstorming, although time-consuming, is a valuable tool for stimulating creativity and thinking outside the box.
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By conducting user interviews, we can gain a deeper understanding of user behaviors and expectations, allowing us to define the product's scenarios more accurately.
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Prototyping is invaluable for quickly validating our design assumptions.
