Educators are the foundational leaders of knowledge in our country. Though they deserve to feel celebrated, many are feeling overwhelmed, unappreciated, and burnt out. On top of that, many educators don’t have access to mental health resources and support systems. After a flood of media coverage and personal conversations surrounding the challenges faced by today’s educators, our team felt compelled to help solve some of the issues.
Teachers are increasingly overwhelmed and burnt out due to numerous responsibilities, including counseling, mentoring, serving as subject matter experts and first responders, in addition to their regular duties. This extra workload takes a toll on teachers, who often struggle to find resources and support to cope.
We believe that a mobile application that facilitates community building among educators will provide a supportive atmosphere, reduce feelings of loneliness, and ultimately enhance their overall mental health and well-being.
In our pursuit of understanding the mental health experiences of educators and their current support systems, we created an online survey and distributed to individuals in the profession, received 67 responses.
To gain a more in-depth understanding of the experiences of educators, we conducted 9 user interviews. The findings revealed that many educators felt isolated and overwhelmed, with feelings of intense anxiety and a lack of time for self-care. These insights emphasized the importance of a sense of community among educators as a crucial factor in their support and well-being.
According to user research, educators reported feeling isolated and overwhelmed, and shared feelings of anxiety.
Having a support system of colleagues and peers in the field helps educators to manage their stress and feel supported in their role.
The full version of the Affinity Diagram can be accessed by clicking on the button on the side.
By creating an empathy map, a comprehensive overview of our users and their experiences was obtained. The pain points and challenges faced by educators were identified using this tool, which helped to inform the design process and ensured that their needs were effectively addressed by our solution.
The full version of the Empathy Map can be accessed by clicking on the button on the side.
The research on competitors proved to be more challenging than expected. We analyzed teacher-focused apps, mental wellness apps, and community-building apps.
Our findings indicated a market void as none of the competitors offered a buddy system aimed at enhancing mental health and community among educators.
Hence, we began to conceptualize ideas to address this gap.
The primary objective was to enhance the user experience, which we achieved by developing a sitemap that emphasized the most crucial features. This would enable users to easily navigate the platform and locate the mental health resources they needed.
The design process began with Low-Fidelity wireframes, where we placed a strong emphasis on building a user-friendly user experience that highlighted the platform's key functions. As we moved on to more refined designs, we continued to prioritize user experience and usability to create an interface that was both functional and intuitive.
In the mid-fidelity stage of our design process, we made significant adjustments to our wireframes based on user feedback and usability testing. Our primary objective was to create a user flow that was both intuitive and easy to use, with a focus on optimizing the platform's core features.
As part of our design process, we conducted usability testing on both low and mid-fidelity prototypes to understand how users were interacting with our designs.
Usability testings led to the identification of three main areas of concern:
Based on user input, three key areas for improvement were identified:
We took the feedback into consideration and used it to create a refined mock-up.
With our high-fidelity designs, we integrated feedback from our usability testing and added a pop of color to create an eye-catching interface that would draw users in and encourage engagement.
We initiated this project with the intention of addressing the pressing issue of educators struggling with their mental health due to their work. Our efforts have resulted in valuable lessons and insights that we believe are worth sharing.
We hope to improve the overall well-being of educators through our work. By sharing our findings and learnings, we aim to raise awareness and provide helpful resources for educators struggling with mental health issues. Our ultimate goal is to create a positive impact and help alleviate the stress and strain faced by those who dedicate their lives to shaping the future generation.