Gimkit Case Study

A game-changer in the EdTech space

Example Home Page Design

Inspiration

• Adapt the design as the user needs change. The world, including the world of education and online learning, is being transformed by the current pandemic. What may have been the best solution merely a few months ago might now need some reevaluation. The product-market fit is shifting.
• As a teacher, I have seen how this game ignites learning and truly does match the mission statement of creating memorable learning experiences.
• As a teacher of remote learning during COVID, I also have seen how this game facilitates social connection to support learning.
• As a UX designer, I am increasingly aware of the opportunities that this game has to serve as a learning tool to support users in their educational goals.
• I am in a unique spot because I am deeply acquainted with the users (students, teachers, parents/families), their context, this tool, and the ultimate goal of dynamic learning experiences. All the while, I understand the UX design process and believe that it facilitates change that truly helps other people.
• Especially during these remote learning times, I desire to help eliminate pain points and hurdles for users attempting to onboard and use this tool. I have seen the “magic,” worked under the remote constraints, and adore this game. I would love to help and assist others to have an even better experience in our changing world.

This represents my design methodology. More info found here. Credit: M. Schmidt [https://uxdesign.cc/the-illusion-of-different-design-processes-dc5bed14a7e7]

Research Lite

To kick off the research process, I did the following:

• Reviewed my own teacher/student email and comments feedback from the remote-learning school year to reflect on pain points from teacher, student, and parent perspectives when we used onboarded to Gimkit and played it multiple times over several learning units.
• Reviewed all @Gimkit tweets from April to July 2020
• Reviewed the official suggestion list page
• Audited similar products with students (Quizizz, Kahoot, EdPuzzle onboarding)
• Consider existing mental models for what the users typically expect in multiple choice digital game settings

This research process is not as complete as I would prefer. If I had the opportunity, I would also want to:

• Survey as many users as possible (Ts, Ss, Ps).
• Gather quantitative data that I assume is available to the company (help tickets, user instances, types of features used most and least frequently, etc.)
• Conduct representative user interviews.
• Clarify business goals with the company; interview stakeholders and the developer to make sure design direction is not only desirable for users but also feasible for development and viable for business. Possibly present low-fidelity sketches and mockups; fidelity increases as the requirements and constraints mature.

Problems/Opportunities Defined:

Normally, I would focus on one feature in more depth but I want to present examples of my analysis in hopes that it could lead to more in-depth problem solving in the future.

1. Google Classroom Integration: Currently, teachers have to create classes and onboard students by period, repeating a procedure that is often required for any new digital product.
2. Student view of assignments: Currently, the website view does not allow for students to see their kit assignments or classes when they login.
3. Teacher Dashboard: Currently, the teacher cannot track the progress of individual students during gameplay.
4. Lo-fi Communication Embedded: Currently, there are not built-in communication channels for students and teachers during games. Teachers must facilitate their own methods.

Processes for each feature

Ideation & Prototype:

• Map user flow
• Identify friction and pain points
• Ideate (ideally collaboratively with team)
• Low/high fidelity wireframe

Test and Validate Prototype:

• Ideally, the user base could be mobilized to test the prototype of a new feature before being fully released. Perhaps, an incentive like two months of free premium access would gather many participants.

Iterate & Ship:

• As feedback is gathered and analyzed, improvements would be determined. The refined user interface appearance would be applied according to Gimkit’s design system. (Is a design system with standards put in place? If not, that would be a long term project to start ASAP for the health and longevity of the company and game.)
• Ideally, additional tests would be administered to validate an updated prototype.
• Design details would be clarified and handed off to the developer.

1. Google Classroom Integration

Problem: Currently, teachers have to create classes and onboard students by period, repeating a procedure that is often required for any new digital product.

Userflow & Friction:

• A student must create their own account (and remember to use Google school account when doing this).
• Next, a student has to navigate to wherever the teacher has given them the Join Link to join the class.
• A recent update allows them to be admitted to the class automatically instead of waiting for approval.
• After joining, a student can go to gimkit.com/play to join any live games currently running for the class. They cannot see their assigned kits inside Gimkit but would need the link from an external source (like Google Classroom).
• In teacher view, students are ordered alphabetically by first name and are not sortable in other ways.
• A teacher could create a second type of class that has “ALL STUDENTS” if they wanted all class periods to play together, but it becomes increasingly difficult to find data on students when they are listed by first name. It also creates difficulty in transferring any type of participation score to the teacher’s gradebook.

Ideate:

• To ease the onboarding process, a teacher can create a class and automatically sync (“import”) their class periods from Google Classroom.
• Their classes in Gimkit easily mirror their existing class organization structures.
• Students do not have to worry about onboarding. They simply click the play link or assignment link posted on Google Classroom to begin (unless they need to complete parent approval procedures).

Wireframe:

Simply sync up the classes you already have assembled in Google Classroom.

2. Student View of Assignments

Problem: Currently, the website view does not allow for students to see their kit assignments or classes when they log in.

Userflow & Friction:

• Students logging into their account can either create a kit, join a game, see Gimkit news, or participate in a KitCollab.
• Students cannot see if they are members of classes and what their assigned kits are for the class.
• If multiple subjects use Gimkit, they cannot see the different classes or differentiate between assigned kits.
• Students must rely on the external LMS (or wherever teachers distribute information) to gain access to assigned kits.

Ideate:

• Create a student dashboard to manage classes and assignments.
• Assist students in their organization especially with remote-learning constraints and the possibility of more subjects per student using Gimkit as a feature in their class.

Wireframe:

Students can keep track of what Kits they need to complete for all of their Gimkit-using classes.

3. Teacher Dashboard

Problem: Currently, the teacher cannot track the progress of individual students during gameplay.

• How can teachers have access to better checks for understanding along the learning journey?

Userflow & Friction:

• Teachers have to wait until the game is over to see data on how many questions a student answered and their accuracy.
• Teachers cannot see how the other Shop features were used by the student.
• When the game is over, the teacher would need time to review the data and respond accordingly, delaying the immediate feedback loop opportunity for individuals. (A teacher may be able to quickly note most missed answers for the entire group.)

Ideate:

• Create a real-time dashboard where teachers can monitor student progress during a live-game or an assigned kit game.
• Teachers can see accuracy, the number of questions answered, and the amount of shop features used.
• Additionally, teachers can see if a student “flagged” a question because they do not understand WHY the correct answer is correct, or if there is another problem with the question.
• Teachers can quickly identify students who are not participating, struggling, excelling, etc. and respond accordingly, even remotely!

Wireframe:

Notice that the teacher can see how the class is doing by question, student, or overall.

4. Lo-fi Communication Embedded

Problem: Currently, there are no built-in communication channels for students and teachers during games. Teachers must facilitate their own methods.

Userflow & Friction:

• Similar to the friction of the dashboard, teachers and students are not giving feedback to one another during the game when done remotely.
• In the physical classroom settings, teachers are much more able to survey and oversee how students are using the game. Students are able to interact with one another verbally and with body language.
• In terms of accessibility, some students may respond well to lower volume environments as they are thinking and processing.
• In a remote game situation, not all students have access to the same wi-fi power. If a teacher runs a live video session alongside a game, some students may not be able to participate in the video portion due to bandwidth issues. Students may type to each other or teachers via other apps, causing them to manage multiple apps and/or devices during the game. Some may be much more capable of this than others.

Ideate:

• Provide a text chat option during game play.
• Allow for the chat to be monitored and controlled by the teacher. The teacher can mute individual students, teams, or the entire chat if necessary. The teacher can make prominent announcements.
• Additionally, adding an audio feature built into Gimkit can allow students to talk while playing or for the teacher to make announcements (with the same level of muting control).
• Avoid the need to switch tabs, devices, or share screens with other communication apps.
• [Future addition could be an embedded video feature.]

Wireframe:

Notice left-side chat box.

Gimkit is a wonderful learning tool already. As I mentioned in my “inspiration” section above, I would love to work on an application like this because I saw firsthand how it can enhance learning. As a designer and now former middle school teacher, I want to help address the extreme challenges that the 2020–2021 school year presents this year during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Want to connect?

• Twitter/IG: @ux_edtech
• Podcast: “UX of EdTech”
• LinkedIn: Alicia Quan

Interested in working together? Contact me.

Thank you for reading and I would love to hear your insights and feedback.

Illustration Background: Free Pik Vectors