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Development

User storyboard | Hi-fi prototypes

In this section, we have developed a user storyboard as we called which includes a scenario and the user flow of navigating through our design. Based off that, we have developed our first hi-fi prototype that provides a brand new design of the existing ECT website with contents re-organized and designed. 
Introduction
Our activities are designed to create stepping stones for students to feel more confident in deciding what choices will be the most appropriate for them in their academic career within ECT. Due to the time constraints, we decide to prototype and implement some of the activities that we mentioned in the Final Design Page: 
ECT new student page

After students accept their offer to begin studying with ECT, they receive an email via their personal and NYU emails with a link to the ECT New Student website with information and resources categorized in a less linear but organized way. 

 
ECT new student checklist

Students will be given a timeline and checklist of ECT logistical and communal tasks that they need to complete before classes begin, with the resources and additional links attached. 

 
Video tour guide

Students will navigate and complete mandatory videos on course requirements and the registration process on the new Student page on ECT student website. 

 
ECT Slack community interaction 

  • Students will sign up for ECT slack community, as well as explore and join specific channels for their cohorts.

  • Students will respond to prompts and reminders from the Slackbot (Donut)  within each channel (i.e. create a bio, icebreaker, answer polls, complete the task, etc).

Mid-fi Prototype
This is a mid-fi prototype we created in Canva as a way of showing the user flow, content organization and categorization, as well as some personalization and customization features that we think would be useful for the students. It is beyond a traditional mid-fi prototype with user flow, scenarios and the content layout altogether in one piece. 
Features of this design: 
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  • This is styled like an LMS that tracks students' process and allows the students to pick up anytime on any section 

  • Knowledge check serves as a learner self-assessment for the students to see if they have gone through all the important sections and resources 

  • Videos as a way to visualize instructions, process and explanations than wordy long text 

  • Embed with multiple media platforms such as videos, Google Sheet, Google form, etc

  • Non-linear process that provides students with the flexibility to finish and digest what's on the website at their own pace, based on their own situations and needs.  

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Analysis
By giving out comments and feedback, and meeting with our stakeholder Maaike, our team had a short critique session on the feasibility of our mid-fi prototype, taking the technology and media perspective into consideration. 
Potential problems and concerns:
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  • Feasibility of implementing and maintaining the experience on a LMS other than Google Site (as the program has at the moment) 

    • Budget

    • Sustainability 

    • Maintenance and troubleshoot

    • The learning curve for students and staff

  • The level of "schoolness" the entire experience should be​. Student are less likely to engage if it feels like schoolwork already.  

  • Linearity of the process v. flexibility of choosing which section to go first 

  • The best tool that serves as the substitution of the process tracker 

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Hi-fi
Prototype
For each activity we are aiming for developing at this stage, we have different prototypes to present the user flow and its usage in practice. However, all these activities are integrated into the entire orientation experiences, aiming for providing the students with a smooth start to get into understanding the basic ECT knowledge as well as connecting to the ECT community. 
donut.png
Introducing "Orientation buddy" Donut
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Donut is a powerful Slackbot that helps to introduce teammates for different purposes via direct message right in Slack. And it also helps with setting up reminders for the tasks, giving out tasks and assignments, and many other things. We are hiring Donut to help with: ​

  • Remind students what needs to be done for the orientation week 

  • Usage of Watercooler - connect students with another cohort peer(s) or building connections!

  • Send out RSVPs and reminders for program orientations and events beyond

  • Giving out donuts!🍩

  • ...many others!

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On the other side of Donut, it provides a tracking system that shows the admin the completion rate and related data for each reminder it sends out, which can also be seen as a mini LMS and evaluation tool for the entire experience. The admins can use Donut to: 

  • Track students' processes of completing or dismissing the assigned tasks

  • Provide RSVPs and keep track of the participation rate versus the attendance for synchronous orientation activities such as Student Mixer or Live orientation session 

  • Send out reminders of important deadlines of academic logistics to the new students (or the entire student population) to help to guide them through when the program just starts 

  • Create opportunities for students to connect with each other informally by using Watercooler function and push them to start socializing. 

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ECT new students website revamping 
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In our new student website redesign, we included a landing page welcoming new students, the exploratory page where students are able to click into different topic areas essential to the new student experience (i.e. get connected, academic support, skills and other important information) and finally, we showcase videos and relevant resources that students are able to explore. Within the exploratory page, students have the option to click into the new student interactive checklist which helps learners monitor their preparation progress prior to joining graduate school.

 

The purpose of the new student website re-design is to provide a more centralized area for all important information necessary for new students. The checklist and videos are aiming for helping new students complete the logistical and educational tasks that will help them succeed in planning for their first year. The website will include videos that show students how to connect with their peers through different tools like Slack. Through these videos, which are created by students and faculty, new students are also able to feel part of the community before their first day.

 

Instead of a step-by-step guide, through our design, new students are able to explore the necessities of their first year in a fun and engaging way based off their personal needs.

Five important learning design decisions
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The layout of video content pages 

  • We applied Mayer’s coherence principle, taking out extraneous words from the website design to make it easier to follow. We developed a hierarchy structure with the videos landing page to signal to new students which video is the most important to watch first. 

 

The layout of landing page

  • Instead of sending new students straight to the content, we developed a user flow of an introduction from Maaike to the video of specific content with relevant links for further exploration. 

  • We decided against formatting the content of the website design as a step-by-step guide to encourage exploration and make it easier for students to come back to. In our design we broke key areas into four categories: 

    • Get connected

    • Important skills

    • Academic Support 

    • Other Ways to Prepare

 

Mindful of technology ECT is already using (i.e. Google sites) 

  • In our design, we had to make adjustments based on the software our stakeholders use. Initially, we created a carousel option for the videos but given the limited nature of Google sites we decided against it and laid out the videos. 

 

Embedding checklist

  • Location on the web page: Flexibility of checking the tasks anytime during the orientation experience

  • The design of the checklist: Proving the guidances of the priority levels for each task so students can better manage the asynchronous orientation experience according to their schedule and pace

  • Media and technology (shareable Google Sheet): 

    • Leave a record and customized resource page for the students’ future use

    • Self-assessing the orientation experiences 

 

User Flow (i.e. “go back to the previous page”)

  • Follow the iterative flow of “exploring the contents → watch the video → check off the task”

  • By providing the option to go back to the home page, students have the freedom to choose where to start and how to proceed the experience based on their personal preferences and needs 

  • Following the hierarchy of video and a short paragraph of introduction text aside, we follow Mayer's Spatial Contiguity that people learn better when corresponding words and pictures are presented near that students watch the video and get some additional resources or information from the written text. 

ECT new students checklist 

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This checklist will be a part of the orientation process to keep the students keep track on tasks and assignments that can help them to get started as first-year graduate students in ECT program. The checklist is built in Google Sheet that students can make a copy for themselves and keep on track of the tasks. 

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One of the features is that we have categorized the tasks by priority and this can be changed from time to time, so students would have clear ideas of what tasks are more timely important, and what tasks can be scheduled throughout the time before the semester starts. 

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