UX of 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

Karen Shapiro, a Senior UX Researcher with 16 years of teaching experience, and Jonah Goldsaito, Principal Product Designer at Khan Academy, dive into the creation of Khanmigo, an AI tool designed to enhance educational experiences. They share the journey of developing Khanmigo in partnership with OpenAI, discussing challenges they've faced along the way. The conversation balances the excitement of AI advancements with a cautious approach. They also highlight future plans for Khanmigo, focusing on inclusivity and innovative features to support diverse learners.

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