MACAS - Mobile Assisted Classroom Activity System
Enhancing classroom engagement with mobile-powered learning activities.
Project
MACAS
Timeline
August 2018 - May 2019
Target User
Students and instructors in e-Learning
Location
Macao
Industry
Education
Overview
Excellent teaching can occur everywhere, but online education requires different skills, strategies and tools than in a conventional face-to-face classroom. In a traditional classroom setting, engaging students in whole-class activities such as polling, Q&A, group discussions are difficult and time-consuming, particularly for large classes.
To facilitate teaching and active learning, Mobile Assisted Classroom Activity System (MACAS) is aimed to support popular class activities in classroom lectures at the universities. The system provides a single convenient platform for both teachers and students – for the teacher to prepare class activities, to conduct them, and to archive the feedbacks; and for the student to learn from and interact with teacher and peers with the help of a mobile device.
My Role
UX Researcher, UX/UI Designer, Interaction Designer, Usability Tester
Skills
HTML, CSS, MySQL, Laravel, Node.js, UX/UI Design, Color Psychology, PHP
Tools
40%
Increase in Student Engagement
30%
Improved Real-Time Feedback
75%
Reduction in Task Completion Time
Problem
Online classrooms often struggle with keeping students engaged, especially in large groups. There is also the challenge of providing instructors with accurate, real-time data about student participation, making it difficult to track engagement and improve the learning experience
Goal
To design and develop a platform that enables instructors to engage students through interactive activities in real time. The platform was aimed at improving student participation, offering immediate feedback, and creating a more dynamic, interactive learning environment for e-learning.
Key Challenges
Student Engagement: Keeping students actively involved and motivated in an online learning environment, especially in large classrooms.
Real-Time Feedback: Providing instructors with accurate, up-to-date data on student participation and performance to ensure they could adjust their teaching in real time.
Solution
MACAS was designed with simple, intuitive interfaces, ensuring that both students and instructors could easily navigate the platform. Special attention was paid to the use of color psychology to maintain engagement and optimize user experience. Key features such as real-time quizzes, progress tracking, and anonymized live chat were incorporated to encourage participation and ensure effective feedback collection.
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Design Process
User Research: Conducted research to identify pain points in remote learning environments, focusing on issues like large group interaction and lack of real-time feedback.
UI Design: Focused on creating a user-friendly, responsive interface that worked seamlessly across devices. The design also leveraged color psychology to help improve user engagement and attention.
Features: Designed interactive features like live chat, quizzes, and visual progress tracking tools (e.g., pie charts and progress bars) to keep both students and instructors engaged in the learning process.
Testing: The system underwent testing with both students and instructors to gather real-world feedback on usability, ease of navigation, and overall engagement.
Conclusion
MACAS successfully addressed key challenges in remote learning environments by providing a platform that increased interaction, engagement, and real-time tracking of student progress. The project not only contributed to enhancing the learning experience but also provided valuable insights into designing for e-learning platforms and user engagement.
Key Features
Real-Time Chat: Anonymized chat functionality allows students to ask questions without fear of judgment, promoting active participation.
Progress Tracking: Visual tools like pie charts and progress bars allow instructors to track student responses and participation in real time.
Responsive Design: The platform is fully responsive, ensuring it works across desktop, tablet, and mobile devices, providing flexibility for both students and instructors.
Usability & Testing:
User Satisfaction: 85% of students reported that the system was easy to use and that it helped them feel more engaged in the learning process.
Instructor Feedback: Teachers appreciated the real-time progress tracking features, which helped them adjust their teaching strategies accordingly.
Areas for Improvement: Users recommended adding more interactive elements, such as gamification features and customizable quiz settings, to further enhance engagement and personalization.
Results & Outcome:
The system significantly improved student participation and the collection of real-time feedback in online courses. MACAS was successfully implemented across several e-learning platforms, leading to increased student engagement, more efficient feedback collection, and improved performance tracking.
