UX of EdTech

This might be our most giggly conversation yet. Alicia Quan and Sarah Mondestin interview Annabel Blake (they/them), Principal AI Design Researcher at Canva.The three discuss connections throughout Annabel’s career and life, touching on various topics like research, kids, play, AI, ethics, toys, authorship, and advice for designers and researchers working the spaces of education and AI. So much gold in this one!About AnnabelAnnabel works on conversational interfaces, generative experiences for education and on early R&D. Annabel’s work lives at the intersection of research, design, and play and includes studying how young people experiment with AI recreationally and how they use it for fun, comfort, and creativity. Annabel also writes “strange little books for children, like a book you wear on your head or a story about a robot goat… that comes with a chatbot goat (called Sardine!).”Annabel’s Links⁠Playful Futures⁠⁠annabelblake.com⁠⁠bookandbot.com⁠ ⁠Center for Humane Technology⁠ Chapters00:00 - Annabel's Squiggly Career Path03:14 - Olympic Journey and Injury04:42 - Reflections on Career Squiggles06:07 - Intersection of Research, Design, and Play08:38 - Kids and AI: Restoration and Exploration12:46 - Children's Books and Technology17:39 - Young People and AI: Surprising Uses21:39 - Designing for AI vs. Traditional UX28:17 - Co-Design and Early Access Testing32:48 - Educators and AI Tools36:22 - Innovative Teachers and Their Challenges39:24 - The Importance of Playfulness in Education46:11 - AI in Education: Balancing Innovation and EthicsFollow us👋The UX of EdTech Studio teams up to support companies with product design, UX research, and UX writing.UX of EdTech is an engine for broader impact through its growing community, podcast, and newsletter dedicated to advancing design in education. Follow to find talent and opportunities.LinkedInCommunity PublicationNewsletter

Alicia Quan and Sarah Mondestin hang out with Michelle Lee, Partner and Managing Director of IDEO’s Play Lab. This convo is so delightful and fun! So much inspiration to go around. Listeners will be enriched.Michelle discusses her unconventional career journey from mechanical engineering to toy design, and eventually to leading kid-focused projects. She emphasizes the importance of play in learning and its application beyond childhood, highlighting her work with companies like VTech, IDEO, and Sesame Workshop. Michelle shares insights into designing engaging and meaningful digital experiences, such as Elmo Calls and the Space Explorer Bus project. She also explores the application of playful design in unexpected areas like smoking cessation and robo-investing. Michelle provides valuable advice for designers and researchers in the EdTech space, encouraging them to observe, learn, and engage with the target audience, particularly children. The conversation also touches on balancing digital and real-life learning experiences and includes personal stories of learning new skills and bonding through play.Chapters00:00 Introduction; from Aerospace to Toy Design06:25 Balancing Digital and Real-Life Learning14:21 Designing for Preschoolers21:11 Incorporating Play in Unexpected Places24:49 The Role of Play in Learning27:26 Balancing Seriousness and Play29:41 Advice for Designers and Researchers34:36 Curiosity and InspoFollow us👋The UX of EdTech Studio teams up to support companies with product design, UX research, and UX writing.UX of EdTech is an engine for broader impact through its growing community, podcast, and newsletter dedicated to advancing design in education. Follow to find talent and opportunities.LinkedInPodcastCommunity PublicationNewsletter

Alicia Quan and Sarah Mondestin interview two key figures in the development of Google's Learn LM. Julia Wilkowski is the Pedagogy and Learning Sciences Team Lead, ensuring Google products adhere to learning science principles and best practices and have a demonstrable effect on learning.Hayes Raffle is a Principal Designer on Google's LearnX team, where he makes Google Search, YouTube and Gemini more helpful for learning.Both guests share insights on their paths in learning design, the challenges of integrating rigorous learning science into fast-paced tech development, and the role of user research and testing in creating effective educational tools. They highlight recent advancements announced at the Google I/O conference, emphasizing the importance of multimodal learning and the potential of AI in personalizing education and making learning more interactive and engaging.Chapters04:42 - Formative Moments in Learning Design09:14 - Designing for Diverse Audiences: Sixth Graders to Astronauts12:53 - Impact of Tangible Media on Digital Learning15:40 - Challenges in Measuring Learning Outcomes20:01 - Integrating Learning Science into Product Development26:05 - Recent Google I/O Developments and Announcements29:26 - The Unique Approach of Learn LM31:02 - Exciting Developments in Google Glass32:10 - Real-Life Applications of AI in Education37:23 - The Role of Designers in AI-Driven Learning44:12 - Future Trends in Learning and UX48:33 - Lightning Round and Closing ThoughtsLearnLM Prompt GuideFollow us👋The UX of EdTech Studio teams up to support companies with product design, UX research, and UX writing.Beyond client work, UX of EdTech is an engine for broader impact through its growing community, podcast, and newsletter dedicated to advancing design in education. Follow to find talent and opportunities.LinkedInPodcastCommunity PublicationNewsletter

This is the story of a print-first EdTech product and it's packed with nuggets about UX Research with teachers.—Ethan Pierce, founder of Adaptive Reader, shares his personal journey from struggling with literacy in his early school years to founding a company dedicated to enhancing reading accessibility for students of varying developmental and linguistic backgrounds. He discusses the iterative process behind Adaptive Reader, focusing on extensive user research that led to a print-first approach due to educator preference and practical in-classroom usage. Alicia Quan and Sarah Mondestin also explore Ethan’s thoughts on the role of technology in education, the importance of user research, and his vision for making literature accessible worldwide through adaptive texts.Chapters00:00 - Introduction and Personal Story01:20 - Founding Adaptive Reader02:01 - Journey into Startups03:30 - Creativity and Career Paths06:00 - Challenges in Literacy and Education07:10 - Designing Adaptive Reader11:56 - User Research and Insights18:42 - Balancing Print and Digital in Education29:27 - Future of Adaptive Reader35:45 - Closing Thoughts and Contact InformationFollow us👋 UX of EdTech is a design studio helping EdTech and education companies with their product design and UX research. We also facilitate a community of product designers, UX researchers, UX writers, learning designers, and educators.Find talent and opportunities in design and research through our job postings, Podcast, Community Publication, and Newsletter.

Designing for K12 EdTech? Take a moment to linger in the world of this teacher.Alicia Quan and Sarah Mondestin listen to second-grade teacher Danielle Rivera, as she shares her perspective on growing through EdTech’s various iterations. She also gives her personal perspective on this question: What do veteran teachers want from AI?Chapters00:00 - The Joys and Challenges of Teaching06:08 - Transitioning Back to Teaching08:42 - Leveraging EdTech and AI22:04 - Future Aspirations and ReflectionsFollow usDannielle on InstagramFind or share job openingsPublicationNewsletterUX of EdTech is a design studio and talent finder—tailored for EdTech.

Alicia Quan introduces our new podcast co-host, Sarah Mondestin! Ever wondered how to collaborate with UX of EdTech? This episode should point you in the right direction. The hosts discuss Sarah's diverse career journey from educator to UX content designer and her involvement in various UX of EdTech initiatives. The conversation covers the structure and goals of the UX of EdTech Community and Studio, highlighting their focus on networking, showcasing work, and supporting EdTech companies with specialized UX teams. Don’t miss the end where they highlight what is inspiring them lately. Chapters01:26 - Sarah's career journey06:50 - The Community 15:54 - The Studio20:53 - This week’s curiosity and inspirationsWorth Noting Sarah Mondestin is a former educator and principal. She’s a UX Content Designer and Strategist who helps companies consider their overall UX content strategies. Sarah has served as the Editorial Lead and Content Design and Research Advisor to support UX practitioners in our industry. She’s now the Director of Design Operations and Partnerships for UX of EdTech. Follow Sarah on LinkedIn or visit her website for more ways you can collaborate.  Sarah’s previous podcast episode: EdTech UX Writing and Content Design: A Journey Sarah’s article series: UX Writing in EdTechFollow us Find or share job openings Publication Newsletter (Respond to this episode here)The Community application is available on our website.UX of EdTech is a design studio that cultivates learning, creativity, and play.

How can UX practitioners upskill in game design for a learning context? And why is this important in EdTech? ⁠Alicia Quan⁠ chats The Sims, cheat codes, and moving past the “Big 5” of gamification (points, badges, leader boards, levels, progress bars) towards something more with: ⁠Chris Bennett, Game designer, Stanford invited lecturer, and EdTech advisor Worth Noting:⁠ Chris’ Stanford Game Design Thinking Blog  Nine Dimensions of Deep Flow  Browning’s MDAO framework  Core Engagement Loop Follow UX of EdTech The Latest in UX of EdTech ⁠UX Job Openings⁠ in EdTech

What is the current state of inclusive EdTech products and what are some resources to grow in this area? Alicia Quan chats with: Louisa Rosenheck, Director Learning Design at Kahoot! Sean Oakes, Creative Director at Backpack Interactive Worth Noting: The Kahoot! For All project, funded by the LEGO Foundation Follow for more goodies The Latest at UX of EdTech UX Job Openings in EdTech

Alicia Quan chats with two members from the Khanmigo team at Khan Academy: Karen Shapiro, Sr. UX Researcher, former teacher of 16 years Jonah Goldsaito, Principal Product Designer They discuss: The story of how Khanmigo was developed and their early partnership with OpenAI on its GPT4 LLM launch The most challenging parts of the journey so far Balancing excitement and optimism with caution and foresight when it comes to AI developments What’s next for Khanmigo ——  🔸 Resources: UX of EdTech Newsletter UX Job Openings in EdTech ——  🔸 Show Mentions: Khanmigo ——  Music by Sleep Still

Alicia Quan chats with several members from the team at ETS AI Labs: Lisa Ferrara, Sr. Director, Product Development  Narmeen Makhani, Executive Director of Technology  Erin Scully, Sr. Director of Learning Science and Design  They discuss: 1. Cross-functional approaches to product development  2. The role of LX Design 3. Educational contexts and use cases for AI 4. Designing with explainable AI in mind ——  🔸 Resources: UX of EdTech Newsletter UX Job Openings in EdTech ——  🔸 Show Mentions: ETS AI Labs ——  Music by Sleep Still

Alicia Quan chats with Dr. Rachel Schechter, who founded Learning Experience Design (LXD) Research at Charles River Media Group, acting as Principal Investigator and Chief Research Advisor to companies large and small. Rachel helps guide the use of data and evaluation to support product improvements, build evidence of efficacy, and strengthen customer implementations. They discuss: Ensuring educator-leaders choose literacy programs that work LXD Research Research certifications of products and why is it important The relationship between UX research and these certifications Advice for education/EdTech researchers of all kinds ——  🔸 Connect:  Dr. Rachel Schechter Alicia Quan 🔸 Resources: UX of EdTech Newsletter LinkedIn & UX Job Opportunities 🔸 Show Mentions: LXD Research ——  Music by Sleep Still

Alicia Quan chats with two members from Duolingo about their work as an early launch partner with OpenAI’s GPT-4 model: Edwin Bodge, Principal Product Manager Megan Bednarczyk, Senior Product Designer  They discuss how they launched Duolingo Max, including: The story of how Duolingo Max came to be Biggest challenges of that journey and process Balancing optimism with caution when it comes to recent developments in AI Advice for teams currently exploring and building with GPT4 and generative AI ——  🔸 Connect:  Edwin Bodge Megan Bednarczyk Alicia Quan ——  🔸 Resources: UX of EdTech Newsletter Job postings and resources in UX and EdTech ——  🔸 Show Mentions: Duolingo Max ——  Music by Sleep Still

Alicia Quan chats with Yuan Wang, the Head of Design at Maven, aka the university of the future. She is also a leadership coach (CPC) and an adjunct professor at California College of the Arts. She previously led design at Airbnb, Twitter, and Mozilla. They discuss: Maven’s mission How the Founding Product Designer role influenced the business Best timing for hiring design support at a startup What’s next for leading design at Maven Maven is currently hiring a product designer Advice for those working in UX and also education Learning communities  ——  🔸 Connect:  Yuan Wang Alicia Quan ——  🔸 Resources: UX of EdTech Newsletter Support for those hiring and job seeking in UX and EdTech on LinkedIn ——  🔸 Show Mentions: Maven ——  Music by Sleep Still

Alicia Quan chats with a few members of the team who worked on Quizlet’s Q-Chat, the world’s first AI tutor built with OpenAI’s ChatGPT. It is modeled on research demonstrating that the most effective form of learning is one-on-one tutoring. Eli Kariv, Sr. Product Manager, Pranavi Javangula, Product Designer, Ling Cheng, Director of Machine Learning They discuss: What problem is Q-Chat solving for? What user outcomes were you working towards? A common question being asked is whether ChatGPT is a threat to education. What is your take on the topic? What were some of the concerns you worked through as a team? What feedback have you received since the release from educators and students? What have you observed? It’s March, 2023. Will we still be talking about ChatGPT next year? Thoughts on the anticipated release of GPT-4? Advice for product designers, UX professionals, and product teams currently exploring and building with GPT and other generative large language AI models? —— 🔸 Connect: Eli Kariv Pranavi Javangula Ling Cheng Alicia Quan  —— 🔸 Resources: UX of EdTech Newsletter LinkedIn Page + UX Job Opportunities —— 🔸 Show Mentions: Q-Chat in Beta  —— Music by Sleep Still: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0wEV3QCeKk62F3w2x3zo5I

Alicia Quan chats with the team at Backpack Interactive. Backpack is a strategy, UX and design company focused on the EdTech space. On this episode, we hear from: - Principal and Creative Director, Sean Oakes - Director of Creative Operations, Milagros Montalvo They discuss the benefits of when companies design to outsource their UX design work and also the flip side when there would be factors that could make this route challenging. ——  🔸 Connect:  Backpack Interactive  Alicia Quan  ——  🔸 Resources:  UX of EdTech Newsletter  LinkedIn Page + UX Job Opportunities  ——  🔸 Show Mentions:  Article: Outsourcing your EdTech UX Design: Everything you need to know   ——  Music by Sleep Still

Alicia Quan chats with Nicole Gallardo, Founder and UX/UI Director of the program, Founders Who UX. They discuss why UX work is important and valuable for EdTech and education companies. They talk about the biggest barriers startups face in hiring UX support, the options they have, and what their next steps should be. They also touch on what’s next for UX of EdTech this year. —— 🔸 Connect: Nicole Gallardo Alicia Quan —— 🔸 Resources: UX of EdTech Newsletter LinkedIn Page + UX Job Opportunities —— 🔸 Show Mentions: Founders Who UX Nicole on Medium and Twitter  —— Music by Sleep Still

Alicia Quan chats with Jessica Millstone, a venture capitalist, angel investor, and co-founder and managing director of Copper Wire Ventures, an early-stage fund focused on investing in women-led technology companies, primarily in the education space. Prior to the investing world, Jessica’s career spans deep and wide in EdTech and UX. She now brings her growing UX mindset to her current work with startups in the future of learning and work. They cover several topics, including: Why UX work is important for EdTech and education startups (including success stories) The biggest barriers to startups hiring UX support How to win investors with a UX mindset Advice for founders and UX practitioners working together If you are interested in hiring fractional and part-time UX support for your EdTech or education company, please reach out to Alicia Quan to get connected. —— 🔸 Connect: Jessica Millstone Alicia Quan —— 🔸 Resources: UX of EdTech Newsletter LinkedIn Page + UX Job Opportunities —— 🔸 Show Mention: Copper Wire Ventures —— Music by Sleep Still

Alicia Quan chats with a former educator and principal, and now UX Writer at BrainPOP, Sarah Mondestin. Sarah has served as the Editorial lead at UX of EdTech and has helped build an amazing mound of written resources to support UX practitioners in our industry. Be sure to check out the publication that she has been leading. They talk about going from the classroom to an EdTech role and the transferrable skills and circumstances Sarah has leaned on. They also discuss the tricky question of differences between UX Writing and Content Design. Sarah digs into her 3-Part blog series on UX Writing in EdTech and why this role is so crucial to the success of businesses. —— 🔸 Connect: Sarah Mondestin Alicia Quan 🔸 Resources: UX of EdTech Newsletter LinkedIn Page facilitating UX Job Opportunities 🔸 Show Mention: UX Writing in EdTech (3-Part Series)  —— Music by Sleep Still

Alicia Quan chats with a Senior Product Design Manager at Coursera, Justin Morken. They discuss how to approach moving the needle from design as a service to design as a thought partner. Justin explains in very practical ways how to shift people’s perception of what a designer does for the organization and the people it serves. This is Part 7 and the final episode of the Design Maturity Series (2022). How do leaders build design maturity in their teams and across their EdTech company? What are the challenges and what benefits are in store? Be sure to check out our previous episodes. —— 🔸 Connect: Justin Morken Alicia Quan —— 🔸 Resources: Email Series: Exploring EdTech Product Design, UX careers, and Education UX Job Opportunities in EdTech UX of EdTech Blog Publication Slack Community: DM Alicia Quan on LinkedIn to receive an application. —— Music by Sleep Still

Alicia Quan chats with the Chief of User Experience at EdPlus (Arizona State University), Amanda Gulley. EdPlus is a central enterprise unit within Arizona State University focused on the design and scalable delivery of digital teaching and learning models to increase student success and reduce barriers to achievement in higher education. Students are deeply embedded throughout their design processes and team. They truly invest in students and emerging talent. This conversation is PACKED with depth and insight. Be ready to take some notes as Amanda dives deeply into how their organization works. This is Part 6 of the Design Maturity Series. How do leaders build design maturity in their teams and across their EdTech company? What are the challenges and what benefits are in store? Stay tuned for our final interview. —— 🔸 Connect: Amanda Gulley  EdPlus at ASU  Alicia Quan  —— 🔸 Resources: Email Series: Exploring EdTech Product Design, UX careers, and Education UX Job Opportunities in EdTech UX of EdTech Blog Publication Slack Community: DM Alicia Quan on LinkedIn to receive an application. —— Music by Sleep Still