A tool to help teachers collaborate

Problem: Teachers learn a lot from each other through informal conversations about lessons and planning but teachers are busy.

Solution: A tool that builds on existing collaborations and creates a structured way to record and share feedback on lessons.

Research

I conducted site visits in six demographically different schools across the country. I shadowed principals, observed reading coaches, and recorded dozens of interviews. I enjoy talking with educators, observing their daily routines, and synthesizing the insights.

When doing research, I gather voice recordings, photographs, and video to share with my development team. My goal is to help the entire team understand the point of view of someone else, in this case, an educator.

One group of reading coaches at a school in Rhode Island showed me a google form they used to capture information about the efficacy of their lesson plans. Could we help them make it better?

Validation

Before writing any code, we wanted to find out if the need we'd discovered in Rhode Island would appeal to teachers elsewhere. I used lean methods to create flyers showing different versions of the product, and we saw which speculative offering elicited the most teacher interest.

Beta

Once we had validation, I led an intensive design studio for the entire team to generate ideas. Since we were a small team we moved directly from sketches to code, and and quickly built a minimal site.

User Testing

I include developers in usability testing from the start. This screen capture is from a test at an elementary in Rhode Island. The developers watched live via Skype from Durham, NC as teachers used our beta. Staying connected and doing great research is a a fun challenge.

After the beta was completed the app found a home within the professional services department of the company, who took ownership of future development.