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1. Design Rationales
1. Design Rationales
To narrow down the above ideas, I carefully selected a few functions based on the below rationales:
(a) User-Centered Design Theory
(a) User-Centered Design Theory
User-centered design is an iterative design process that designers focus on the users and their needs in each phase of the design process (IDEO, 2015). By prioritizing student needs and preferences, my solution aims to provide intuitive navigation and personalized features that cater to students’ needs.
(b) Self-Determination Theory
(b) Self-Determination Theory
Self-determination theory suggests that individuals are motivated by three basic psychological needs that underlie growth and development, which are autonomy, competence, and relatedness, (Reeve, 2012).
First, regarding autonomy, providing personalized recommendations in the app allows students to customize their dashboard and select the types of resources they receive, thus empowering them to take control of their own support journey.
Second, for competence, the app provides academic progress tracking and immediate feedback on assignments, allowing students to track their progress in various areas, therefore building a sense of accomplishment and competence.
Third, for relatedness, the app connects students with peers through study groups, as well as academic advisors and career counselors, reinforcing the support network around them. This also addresses one of the concerns around AI about the over-reliance on RSs and automated feedback by providing additional human interaction in addition to computer-automated feedback.
(c) Cognitive Load Theory
(c) Cognitive Load Theory
Cognitive load theory suggests that overloading the working memory can hinder learning, explaining why excessive support resources overwhelm and confuse students (Sweller, 1994). As a result, this app simplifies the interface and minimizes irrelevant information to help students process information more efficiently and reduce cognitive overload.
2. Logic Model
2. Logic Model
The diagram below illustrates the logic model of the app, comprising the problems, activities (i.e. functions/activities of the app), outputs, outcomes, and impact.
3. Functions/Activities
3. Functions/Activities
This section further explains the activities section in the logic model. Aligning my ideas with the design rationales, I narrowed down the focuses of the app to a few functions/activities, with each of them corresponding to the knowledge gaps identified earlier.
In addition to the above specific functions, this app aims to provide a wide range of personalization and customization functions (e.g. customizing their dashboard) to ensure a sufficient amount of autonomy for users.
Combining all the functions of the app above, I summarize three uniqueness of the app that stand out from other similar apps in the market. They are all developed from the design rationales.
4. Wireframe
4. Wireframe
Low-fidelity wireframes are created to test out the preliminary design of the app. Below is an example of the academic dashboard and course exploration function. The red boxes and arrows indicate the logic and interactions between different elements.
5. Prototype
5. Prototype
Low-fi Prototypes
Low-fi Prototypes
Below are the low-fi prototypes of the Academic dashboard, Career dashboard, and Mental health dashboard of the app. They consist of sample texts and diagrams to illustrate the layout and functionality of each section.
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