Rocky the Edutar
eSpark Learning
Research, UX, UI
May - August 2015
Tablet
Brief
Student progress should be acknowledged with affirmation and delight. Create in-app celebration for achievement, as well as a gentle thanks for effort.
Context and problem
Previously, the end of each quest (lesson) was denoted with a door to the next set of activities. The door gave the same visual outcome at the end of quests regardless of effort exerted or successes.
This became deflating for students, who felt as if the doors never ended, and they had no idea if they were doing well or poorly.
Process
eSpark's experience needed some personality and a face that could embody some of the values we were hoping to instill: a love of exploration and finding some joy in the learning process.
Students often gave feedback that they wanted to design their own avatars for their eSpark experience. This, sadly, was not feasible at the time, so as an MVP, we could introduce a singular character as a low risk way to test the impact.
What makes a beloved character?
I looked into what qualities made characters within educations and games loveable or motivating. Themes of providing guidance, evolving with the user, and showing determination in the face of frustration emerged through the character studies.
It was important to determine the right personality for our students, as their age group spanned from as young as 4, to as old as 13.
I sketched a few little gremlins that could appeal to as wide an audience as possible. Testing with students proved that something that was friendly, not "too cute," and additionally not too specific in shape (blobby or potato-like in nature) brought delight without feelings of childishness.
We needed to start off small in introducing the "Edutar" (educational avatar) to students before building out their role more deeply. With a low-fidelity interactive Keynote prototype, we were able to gauge student reactions and excitement to prioritize what to refine and roll out first.
Celebrating Students
The edutar's first role for students was to act as a celebration, and replace the deflating, endless door. Regardless of the outcome of activities and quizzes, each student was given a smile and friendly interaction after putting time into the quest.
-
At the end of passed quests, students receive a high five to congratulate them for their achievement.
-
Students who did not master the skill are still thanked for their efforts with a hearty hand shake
In their first school year, the edutar gave 625,000 high fives!
Beyond the eSpark App
I advocated that students should get to name the edutar, since the character was designed for them. In partnership with the marketing team, we organized a contest that was held via Twitter.
Tweets pertaining to the edutar spurred the most engagement from followers with creative name suggestions and voting.
After over 200 votes, a 2nd grade classroom in California won the contest with the name Rocky. We flew out to classrooms to hand deliver special prizes, as well as to ask these students to participate in co-creating the next version!
The effect of Rocky has been significant amongst eSpark partners, as well as internally. Rocky has become a beloved squeeze toy gift, a model for practicing 3D modeling, as well as a Halloween costume for all ages!
