Case Study: Making Learning You
The Challenge
In most K-12 learning experiences, the voice was written for a “universal learner.” It felt safe, but the generic student does not exist. Some students are silly. Some are serious. Some are snappy. Yet everyone was getting the same generic text.
Project: Personality-Based Lesson Helpers
Year: 2022
Audience: Middle school students
Role: Co-Lead Learning Designer (concept and content development, research with students, implementation)
Tools: CSS, OLI Torus, Google Slides
Team: Melanie Narish & Chris Andert (UI/UX) as leads; ETX Learning Design team; student focus groups
The Solution
I co-led the design of buddies that help the learner through the lesson. They match the learner’s preferred style and add personality to the experience. Students choose a sassy platypus, a silly axolotl, a shy armadillo, or no helper at all. The buddies give guidance written in that personality. If a student chooses none, they still receive guidance but in a neutral voice.
We tested concepts with focus groups to select the buddy types and art styles. Then they were added to the lessons with CSS to swap expressions and states.
Outcome
A reusable buddy system that could be applied to any Torus lesson using CSS, allowing it to scale by swapping scripts and artwork
During testing…
Learners talk about “my armadillo” or “my axolotl,” signaling ownership and delight
Classrooms quickly figured out that not every learner’s lesson was the same, and learners started talking about the content to share what they saw in their lesson
Next Steps
Add more personalities
Create different buddy types and styles to make sets for different age groups and contexts
Track lightweight analytics to compare buddy choices with completion and performance
Watch It!
See the buddies from a learner’s perspective.