March 28, 2013

How schools can enhance engagement and accessibility by designing for the end user, the student

Mar. 28, 2013 at 09:00 AM | By Marlysa Connolly | Comment Count

Whether at Hobsons University or Naviance Summer Institute, time and time again our clients have praised the passion, responsiveness, and dedication of Hobsons staff.

Human Factors Specialist, Geoff Robertson, joined People Behind Hobsons last week to discuss his work and why responsive web design is top of mind for many school districts in the nation. Here’s what was covered.

Hobsons: Geoff, what exactly is a Human Factors Specialist?

Geoff: Human Factors and Ergonomics is a hybrid field of Engineering and Cognitive Psychology. In layman’s terms, it studies how humans interact with technology within a specific environment (e.g. home, work, recreational, etc.). When this traditionally academic, research-driven field is applied to product development in the business world, it typically falls under the larger umbrella of User Experience (UX).

My job as a Human Factors Specialist on the Hobsons K-12 UX Team is to ensure our products match client expectations via ethnographic and usability research. In other words, by studying our end users in their work environment and assessing their needs, goals, and behavior, I am able to help tailor our products, like a suite, to their expectations.

Hobsons: How is human factors relevant to helping schools engage with students?

Geoff: Human factors is especially relevant to helping schools engage with students when the engagement is through a form of technology. From a human factors perspective, it is very important to thoroughly understand your end-user in terms of their needs, goals, behavior, and cognitive abilities before implementing or improving said technology. Research to obtain this information can be easily accomplished via several techniques.

One might observe six to eight end-users, individually, while they interact with a current form or like technology. Here, it is important to have the end-user execute think-aloud protocol, a technique that requires the end-user to verbalize his or her thoughts and actions while interacting with the technology. One could also use focus groups where six to eight end-users discuss their needs and goals in regards to a particular topic the technology aims to address.

In the case of websites, both schools and businesses alike are paying close attention to designs that are more engaging and easily accessible. Schools can ensure success in enhancing user experience by keeping a few questions in mind:

Why are students visiting the website? To get information on important deadlines and events? To register for classes or to schedule appointments? To contact school staff?
How are students accessing our website? Mobile vs. desktop? According to the Pew Research Center, 55% of all cellphone users now access the Internet via their phone.
Is website content organized and simple to navigate? Can students easily find what they are looking for in three clicks or less?
Does the site “fit” different device resolutions (this is called responsive web design)?

By taking time to thoroughly understand the end-user and by using best practice design principles, schools can implement technology that meets end-user needs and expectations while maximizing accessibility and provoking engagement.

Hobsons: Can you provide a few pointers for schools interested in revamping their websites to enhance student experience?

Geoff: There are five steps schools can use to drive web design for user experience. The first step is research. Schools need to complete comprehensive research on why students are visiting their site, how they are accessing their site, and how their current site can be tweaked to streamline navigation.

Schools then need to decide what message/information they are trying to deliver with their website. Remember, conventional ways of delivering information do not always work, especially when the average high school student is spending more than three hours a day surfing the Web for everything else except information about your school. If the current method of getting your message across is not working, brainstorm ways that could work better and then test them out. It is helpful to identify student pain points, such as slow load time or not enough visuals, when browsing the Internet. Schools should look for ways to resolve these pain points on their site.

Next, schools should always design for mobile first by giving them everything they need, but only what they need. Nowadays, with 78% of teens owning cellphones, this is a good rule of thumb. When scaling for cellphones and tablets, think reductionism. Ensure your mobile site is equipped with the most pertinent content that can be gathered quickly. Your initial research will help with this final step. Provide information that is cohesive, actionable, and helps students accomplish tasks (the reason/s for why they visited your site in the first place).

One last thing . . . once you’ve researched your target end-user (ethnographically), take that data and design, test, and iterate in cycles.

Let’s say you research your target end-user of students and parents and find they use your website primarily to learn about available courses at your school. Based on your findings, synthesize your data into a design direction (this could be a simple wireframe, paper or digital prototype, etc.). Next, take that design direction and put it in front of your end-users for feedback and/or usability testing. Based on the data collected from this stage, schools can then iterate on the design direction and test again. It’s important to note, schools will have to execute this process over and over until they get a design solution that is awesome and well received by students. It’s that simple.