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Spanish S.W.A.G.

About The Product

Spanish S.W.A.G. is a learning platform for K-8 students that teaches both Spanish and ASL together, providing fun and interactive lessons that complement in-person classroom instruction.

Problems

K-8 students using Spanish S.W.A.G. face difficulties navigating the platform, completing tasks, and staying engaged during lessons, especially for K-2 students.
This led to teachers struggling to assist individual students with logging in, navigation, and camera permissions, limiting the effectiveness of classroom integration.

Site Mapping

I took screenshots of the entire website and created a flow chart linking the flow of someone using the product.

Heuristic Evaluation

First I worked with other UX Researchers to review Nielsen Norman heuristics list. Then, in a spreadsheet, we noted down different areas of the site and where there were any issues according to the heuristics list.

Competitor Analysis

We identified different competitors, including Direct, Indirect, Analogous, Parallel, and Partial competitors. We reviewed a total of 5 competitor platforms for usability, pricing, learning content, accessibility and engagement insights.

The Result

This helped get an initial understanding of the usability issues of the site before we did any interviews or usability tests. I presented this to the client so they have an overview understanding of the state of the site.

Interviews with 3 Stakeholders, 1h Each

Conducted 3 stakeholder interviews with the founder and CEO of Spanish S.W.A.G., and 2 school directors who decide what type of programs their school offers. These were done virtually over Zoom, and lasted one hour long per interview.

Understanding the Product's Context

The stakeholder interviews were conducted to get a better understanding of the product as a whole, the current market, and current buyers, and how the product brings value to a school. The interview with the client helped align research goals to client needs.

Spanish S.W.A.G.'s Value

We learned that the biggest marketing point for Spanish S.W.A.G. was how engaging it was to kids, and that the client herself was really good at teaching the kids, and brought 15 years of teaching experience into the program.

5 Interviews with Instructors

Conducted 5 user interviews with instructors in the after-school Spanish S.W.A.G. program. Each interview was an hour long and done virtually over Zoom.

Spanish S.W.A.G In Action

User interviews with instructors were conducted to get a close look at what the product is like in action. Instructors were one of the main personas, and we wanted to understand their needs, motivations, and pain points while instructing the class, and how the Spanish S.W.A.G. platform fits in with their classes.

Usability Issues in Navigation and Browser Permissions

We learned that the younger kids, especially in K-1 (ages 5-7) were struggling with navigating through the Learning Management System platform. This platform was designed for adults, similar to Coursera or Udemy.
Since this platform is browser-based, it also requested permission for microphone and camera access to do the speaking activities, which the younger kids did not know how to navigate. They constantly needed an adult’s help with this, which was a lot of effort for the instructor for a class of 15.

As a result from our research, Spanish S.W.A.G has changed their platform to not use a Learning Management System, but to be direcly on the website and on YouTube. This is much easier for younger kids to use confidently.

I am currently continuing to work with Spanish S.W.A.G. on doing Diary Studies, Interviews, and Ethnographic research for the homeschool market. This is really exciting, so please ask me about it!