Background & Overview
Developed by Instructure Inc. in 2009, Canvas is a learning management system (LMS) that supports online learning and teaching. It’s used by learning institutions, educators, and students to access and manage online course materials and allows professors to post grades, information, and assignments.
As of 2021, Canvas was used by ~4,000 universities, school districts, and institutions worldwide, including 11 of 14 Big 10 schools and all Ivy League schools.* However, despite the numerous opportunities Canvas provides, it currently lacks collaboration tools for students to connect within the platform.
This is where our product, Canvas Connect comes in. It allows students to message, call, and create study groups with each other within the existing Canvas website instead of seeking other collaboration platforms.
Problem
The process for college students to connect and collaborate online is complex and inconvenient
As college students ourselves, my team and I noticed that collaborating with our peers online can be difficult. Group assignments are very common, yet in order to connect with other students, we often need to jump through hoops to create group chats or online meetings. Identifying a common messaging platform (e.g. social media, Microsoft Teams, Google Hangouts, etc.) used by group members is often difficult. How can we help college students connect and collaborate online in a way that is convenient and organized?
Solution
Introduce a new feature to Canvas that will allow students to easily collaborate within the platform
1) Work within current platform
New opportunities to connect and collaborate within the platform already being used- no need to seek additional products to meet communication goals
2) Message & call
Send direct messages, create group chats, and make video/audio calls with peers
Google Hangouts
Strengths:
In sync with Google apps
Supports widgets
Weaknesses:
Little customization
Timeline:
September - November 2022 (8 weeks)
Role:
Associate Product Manager, UX/UI Designer
Tool:
Figma
Team:
3 other members of Product Management at Illinois, a student organization at UIUC
3) Schedule meetings
Organize meetings by utilizing the existing calendar feature in Canvas
Our Goal
Improve students’ experience with online collaboration platforms
My team and I were tasked with creating a digital product for the education space/industry. These instructions were very broad so we narrowed our focus to looking at how we can help students in a digital space. When considering the fact that studying is a student’s main responsibility, we decided to design a product that would improve their experience studying with peers.
Competitive Analysis
Analyzing popular collaboration platforms among students
Microsoft Teams
Strengths:
In sync with Office 365
Many customization options
Weaknesses:
Lack of notifications
Zoom
Strengths:
Great for individual and group calls
Screen sharing/ virtual whiteboard
Weaknesses:
Hard to keep track of previous chats
User Interviews
We completed a total of six 30-minute interviews and asked college students (undergraduate and graduate) about their experiences working with their peers and challenges they face.
Main Insight
Students don’t need any more platforms
Major insights:
Consistency and organization
Students frequently move back and forth between platforms to get work done
They would prefer to access and execute everything in one place
Convenience over professionalism
Students would rather communicate with their peers through social media, text, or in person than use a “proper” collaboration platform (e.g. Microsoft Teams, Google Hangouts, etc.)
For simple tasks and interactions they prioritize ease of use
Accessibility
Deciding where to create group chats can be tricky because not everyone has access to or experience with the same platforms
Ideating Solutions
Initial ideas & a new direction
We spent the first 3 weeks of the project considering how we might create a new platform dedicated to student collaboration. However, we ultimately decided to change direction to create a product within an existing platform.
Why? Many students already use online learning platforms like Canvas. Based on our interviewees' goals and pain points, my team and I realized it might serve students better to introduce new features to the platform they already use than to create an entirely new one.
Design
Wireframes
Color and Font
Since we were designing within an existing product, we selected colors, type, and shape to match its brand identity. Canvas’s color scheme differs by each institution’s customization, but for the sake of our prototype, we decided to match the visual design of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s system. Canvas uses Roboto as its primary typeface, so this is the font we used for our prototype.
Final Screens
The final product
Success Metrics
Key performance indicators (KPIs)
While our project wasn’t launched, my team and I determined key success metrics we would look at and pay attention to in order to measure our design’s impact and value. We would use students’ grades, academic performance, and feedback to gauge whether our product is valuable to Canvas.
Grades
We would analyze the relationship between students’ use of the new Connect feature and their academic performance because if our product helps improve students’ grades, then we could argue that it holds value in the business.
User Feedback
We would utilize testing and survey results, with metrics like net promoter score (NPS), to gauge user experience and effectiveness of our product because if it’s an asset to their education, then it’s an asset to Canvas.
Reflection
What I learned
Sometimes the best solution is a simple one. While I entered this project with the intention to keep an open mind, I also subconsciously had preconceived ideas about what the solution would look like. I learned that you don’t always need to reinvent the wheel and the answer you’re looking for may be simpler than you think.
If I had more time
I would squeeze in at least one more round of interviews and conduct usability testing for our prototype. I wasn’t able to iterate as much as I would have liked due to time constraints (team members’ availability and deadlines), but I had a lot of fun with this project so I would consider continuing it.
I would do more research to improve the accessibility and inclusivity of the product design (e.g. better fit Web Content Accessibility Guidelines)