Designing an innovative EdTech mobile app
FlashHoops is an EdTech company on a mission to empower the next generation through Sport and STEM. FlashHoops's B2C product is a mobile app designed to combine physical activity–particularly basketball–with learning to help children improve their math proficiency while staying active.
Timeline
8 weeks
Industry
EdTech
Platform
iOS, Android
Year
2023
Stack
Scope
0-1, Product Design, Project Management, Strategy, Design System
Math proficiency and physical activity saw significant decline among U.S. students and was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic
According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), in 2022, only 26% of 8th grade students performed at or above the NAEP Proficient level on the mathematics assessment, which was 7 percentage points lower compared to 2019. At the same time, childhood obesity rates have tripled since the 1970s, with only 20% of children meeting basic activity level recommendations. Traditional educational apps often fail to engage students effectively, leading to low adoption and retention rates.
Problem
FlashHoops was developed to address the significant decline in math proficiency among U.S. students, as well as the rising rates of childhood obesity, by combining education with physical activity.
Kids and parents struggle to find a solution that provides a personalized learning experiences, adapts to individual skill levels, and maintains engagement.
Solution
At FlashHoops, we've developed a mobile app energized by machine learning, promoting numeracy and physical activity among children via sports.
We applied gamification and social interaction techniques by introducing achievements and challenges to increase user engagement and retention.
Based on our user base, both kids and parents simply want an engaging and effective way to learn and stay active.
Information Architecture
The content organization in FlashHoops was designed for an intuitive and engaging user experience, focusing on easy access to core features and personalized tracking. The homepage serves as a dynamic dashboard, displaying user rank, active sessions, and challenges, allowing users to stay updated and engaged. The bottom navigation provides quick links to the workout library, achievements, and coaches, while the top banner's profile section offers streamlined access to settings and personal progress, ensuring a clutter-free main interface. This IA approach enables smooth navigation, balancing learning with performance tracking through motivating, personalized content.
Features
Machine learning, incentives and competitions make the FlashHoops app stand out amongst competition by incorporating personalization, gamification and social engagement into one platform to encourage young learners to develop a healthy daily habit and challenge their skills. Research findings proved that connecting and competing with friends increases motivation and engagement.
Design System
The app's interface relied on a simple design system made of a couple dozen reusable components that are created to be reusable for FlashHoops' B2B For Schools platform for a consistent and cohesive UI.
Illustrations
As an EdTech platform aimed at K-12 aged children, the app needed to balance efficiency, effectiveness and usability with an engaging and vibrant gamified experience. This includes the set of badges that users can earn for completing sessions and challenges, and for ranking up and improving their math skills.
According to user research, users feel motivated when incentivized by rewards or achievements. The achievements feature allows users to collect a series of special badges based on the number of sessions they complete, their proficiency in each math type, and challenges they win against peers. Users can view their collection of badges in the Achievements tab and can see progress toward their other badges.
Increased user engagement and adoption
After releasing the redesign and applying the changes, we've seen an increase in user engagement an retention over the past 5 months (May – Sept 2024). Below is the latest iteration of the FlashHoops app.
Interact with Prototype
Takeaways and learnings
When I first began work with FlashHoops, the product strategy and direction was led by the founder with little to no user research. After emphasizing the importance of prioritizing research to inform design, I led both qualitative and quantitative user research initiatives resulting in a complete shift in the direction of the app.
The FlashHoops app represents a pioneering approach in the EdTech industry, combining the benefits of physical activity with academic learning in a way that is engaging, motivating, and effective. This project highlights the impact that thoughtful, user-centered design can have on creating products that not only meet business goals but also make a meaningful difference in users' lives.
This process reinforced how crucial user research is in creating impactful and thoughtful products. Even with considering the challenges that come with creating a new product and establishing a startup, it is highly important to center user needs at all fronts to ensure that we're solving user problems successfully, and for the longevity and success of the business.
