This week I took the user journey map and I made it digital. I was considering adding drawings to the map, however, most of what the student is doing is on the screen and she would be sitting at a desk the entire time. So I just created a cleaner version on the computer. I think I will also make a teacher user map to go with the student version.
I also worked on my names and logos. I thought a lot about more name options but was coming up blank. I decided to revisit some of the ideas from last week. I chose to explore Octoconnect/ Octolink. I like the idea of a company mascot. I also like the idea of creating something fun that interacts on the learning platform. While I do not want to make it too childish, I think it should still be fun. I chose an octopus because they are intelligent and with their many arms, can multitask. I want to continue to work on drawings and digital renditions. What I have this week is very rough.

For the User Journey Map, I decided to start with my primary user: the middle school student. This is a student who is accessing the learning platform from home and interacting with teachers, peers, and the classroom. I was initially going to map out an entire school day but decided to narrow it down to one class interaction. I wanted her to have a streamlined experience that didn't leave her with surprises, stress, or worry. The platform needs to be well organized and easy to access. Thinking about it from her perspective allowed me to visualize a desktop that would have all the tools she needs at her fingertips. I also was able to walk, step by step through her experience and have a better understanding of what she might look for or expect. I actually came up with some design ideas and insights as I was writing out her steps and what I thought she might need or expect. It was eye-opening because I always seem to look at it through a teacher lens. So while I will also be designing the teacher side, I think the student perspective needs to come first, because 1st and foremost I want to design an experience that makes virtual learning more accessible and understandable for middle school learners.

Describe how you came up with the keywords and how they connect to the topic, goal, and audience for your thesis.

• When I began brainstorming keywords for my project, I started with the sentence “I want to design something that feels…” and I tried to think of adjectives that a middle school student might think of. I also tried to think of words that described how I would want the learning platform to look and feel. I want to design a product that is fresh and fun, yet structured and organized. I want students to want to use the platform because it reflects them as students and because it is streamlined and easy to navigate.

Make a case for why the three keywords you chose are the best ones. 

• The three keywords I chose are connected, structured and playful. I chose the word connected because many virtual students feel disconnected from one another and the teacher. I want to express the idea of connectedness throughout this project. I want there to be a strong social aspect to learning between the students and the teachers. I chose the word structured because I think that in order for the platform to be clean, streamlined, and easy to navigate, it needs to have a solid structure. Having things neatly organized and in their place will allow for more freedom in other areas to explore, learn and create. Lastly, I chose the word playful because I want this to be an inviting space that does not feel too rigid. I want the students to feel connected to the space and for it to be inviting.

Describe anything new or interesting you learned in this process.

• I realized that as I was searching for pulls for my top keywords (I originally had 6) there was a lot of similarities between ideas and concepts. I ended up combining keywords and narrowing my list down to 3. Even among the final 3, I think I would like to find a way to use all 3 concepts to develop one visual system.