UX of EdTech

Alicia chats with Justin Chando, the Director of Design and Vision at Flipgrid, Microsoft. This conversation is packed with insight as we dive into this powerhouse of a tool for the classroom. Topics include: The origin story of Flipgrid (founded by an educator) Justin’s journey and background in entrepreneurship Portfolio and resume tips for designers seeking EdTech positions Encouragement for educators as designers and future founders The role of teacher and student voice in product design What’s on the horizon for Flipgrid 👉 Email Series: Exploring UX and Education HERE Connect with Justin Chando: - Twitter - Flipgrid Connect with Alicia & the Podcast: - LinkedIn - Twitter - YouTube - Instagram - Medium Music: Scott Buckley

Alicia chats with Finlay Thorburn, a product designer at Wakelet, about designing for teachers and students and why he has gravitated towards working with the education community. The team effort required to design for the education community Tips and advice for product designers in the EdTech space What is on the horizon for Wakelet and the design team 👉 Email Series: Exploring UX and Education HERE Connect with Finlay Thorburn: - LinkedIn - Twitter - Wakelet Connect with Alicia & the Podcast: - LinkedIn - Twitter - YouTube - Instagram - Medium Music: Scott Buckley

Alicia chats with Colin Gray, PhD, who headed up one of the first UX undergraduate programs at Purdue University. They chat about: Building one of the first UX design undergraduate programs Advice in building a UX education program How does LX stand out from UX and ID How do academic research and actual practice interact and influence one another Recommendations for UX students of all sorts and stages Finding meaning in your work 👉 Email Series: Exploring UX and Education HERE Connect with Colin Gray: - LinkedIn - Twitter - LX Book Chapter - UXP2 Lab Connect with Alicia & the Podcast: - LinkedIn - Twitter - YouTube - Instagram - Medium Music: Scott Buckley

Alicia chats with Lauren Schaefer, the Director of UX/UI at Nearpod. Listen to get a look at the design approach behind Nearpod as they discuss a variety of topics for designers and educators: The role teachers and students play in the design work Advice for product designers working in EdTech Portfolio tips for UX designers The role of Director of UX What’s on the horizon for Nearpod fans 👉 Email Series on EdTech Product Design HERE Connect with Lauren: - Nearpod - South Florida UX Meetup - LinkedIn - Twitter Connect with Alicia & the Podcast: - LinkedIn - Twitter - YouTube - Instagram - Medium Music: Scott Buckley and Teknoaxe

Alicia chats with Kim Ducharme, the Director of Educational User Experience Design at CAST. She works at the intersection of user experience design, instructional design, and the learning sciences. Kim leads the creative process from brainstorming through prototyping to product launch. She is committed to harnessing the power of design to tackle the educational challenges of our time. Our discussion includes defining edUX and where this domain is headed in the future. 👉 Email Series exploring UX and Education  HERE LinkedIn Discussion Post Connect with Kim Ducharme: - LinkedIn - Twitter - CAST - Blog on edUX - edUX Meetup Connect with Alicia & the Podcast: - LinkedIn - Twitter - YouTube - Instagram - Medium Music: Scott Buckley and Schematist

Alicia talks with Alison Park Douglas, a UX Manager in EdTech currently at SMART Technologies. We discuss several topics: Taking the bootcamp route and transitioning careers EdTech product design considerations Doing user research with teachers Limits in EdTech for students Portfolio/resume advice and red flags 👉 Email Series on EdTech Product Design HERE Connect with Alison: - UX Career Change Article - LinkedIn Connect with Alicia & the Podcast: - LinkedIn - Twitter - YouTube - Instagram - Medium Music: Scott Buckley and Teknoaxe

Alicia talks with Elyse Klaidman, former Director of Pixar University and a founding leader for Pixar in a Box and Imagineering in a Box supported by the Walt Disney Company. Beyond Pixar and Disneyland, Klaidman and the “X in a Box” team are working with other companies to package their resources for students across the globe. They are committed to working towards an equitable education system that provides opportunity for all. - What it is like to work at Pixar - How companies can grow their education initiatives - Advice for designers and educators - Unpacking the Media Bias Project based on “When They See Us” (co-written and directed by Ava Duverney) Explore UX and the EdTech space: https://sendfox.com/ux.edtech Connect with Elyse Klaidman and X in a Box: - X in a Box Website  - Twitter - Adobe MAX Talk - Pixar in a Box (Lesson Plans) Connect with Alicia & the Podcast: - LinkedIn - Twitter - YouTube - Instagram - Medium Music: Scott Buckley and Teknoaxe

Alicia talks with Yannick Dupont, a concept designer for LEGO Education. He reflects on his journey as a middle school science teacher, a freelancer specializing in LEGO Robotics and instructional design, and his eventual move to Billund, Denmark to work at LEGO. What’s it like to work at LEGO Education? We get a glimpse here and inspiration for any design work in the education realm. Explore UX and the EdTech space: https://sendfox.com/ux.edtech Connect with Yannick: LinkedIn LEGO Education Learning through play Connect with Alicia & the Podcast: - LinkedIn - Twitter - YouTube - Instagram - Medium Music: Scott Buckley

Alicia talks with the founder and co-founder of Gimkit, Josh Feinsilber and Jeff Osborn. Gimkit is a live quiz learning game that positively ignites classroom engagement and rivals the type of excitement produced in a Kahoot! set. Listen in on several topics: - How to make an EdTech product that is successful in the classroom - How the team understands the pain points teachers and students experience - The role of social media in their product design - New game mode proposals and how to get your ideas actually built and published - Advice to student game creators UX / EdTech Goodies Connect with Gimkit: - Gimkit - Gimkit Twitter - Josh Feinsilber  - Jeff Osborn Connect with Alicia & the Podcast: - LinkedIn - Twitter - YouTube - Instagram - Medium Music: Scott Buckley and Teknoaxe

Alicia talks with Maurice Woods, Founder and Executive Director of Inneract Project and Principal Designer at Microsoft. Inneract Project (IP) serves primarily middle and high school youth who identify as Black, Latinx and/or of low-income backgrounds. IP offers a pathway of free design classes and initiatives, in order to introduce youth to the field of design and help channel their creativity into viable career paths. Maurice offers insights on a variety of topics, including: The intersection of sports and design The importance of pouring into underrepresented youth Figma as an accessible design tool Overcoming challenges growing up and later in the design industry Advice for young designers who are underrepresented UX / EdTech Goodies Connect with Maurice Woods: - Inneract Project - LinkedIn - Twitter (Maurice) - Twitter (IP) - Blog: How Inneract Project Empowers the Next Generation of Black and Brown Designers - Adobe Max Talk: Designing a System for Social Change Connect with Alicia & the Podcast: - LinkedIn - Twitter - YouTube - Instagram Music: Scott Buckley