Phonics Friends

design for tablet

Final Screen of a learning activity within Phonics Friends.

An Enhanced Learning Experience for Children with Auditory Dyslexia.

Over seven weeks, I teamed up with three other product designers to address the lack of educational tools for young children with learning disabilities. My team and I developed a multi-modal learning system consisting of a book, interactive pen, and a digital app to improve phonemic awareness in 3-5 year-olds with auditory dyslexia.

see the prototype

project type

Academic Project

role

Product Designer — Responsible for conducting interviews, desktop research, prototyping screens, logo & branding, and shared final designs.

timeline

April 2024 - May 2024 (7 weeks)

team

Arthur Jensen (Me)
Michelle Cheng Celia Choi Ryn Rangel

problem

Young students with auditory dyslexia are facing challenges with learning sounds.
These challenges arise due to fast-paced curriculum and a lack of educational resources designed to meet the varied needs of students with auditory dyslexia.

solution

Our goal is to help children with auditory dyslexia improve their reading and auditory processing.
My team created a specialized book with lessons, an interactive pen that provides audio, and a digital tablet app for educational review.

impact

Our products were enthusiastically received and tested by four elementary school students.
These students validated the majority of our design decisions and had a strong interest in using the products in the future.

introduction

Addressing Challenges in Early Education

Designing for early childhood education presents unique challenges, particularly when addressing the diverse learning needs of young children.
My team tackled the inherent ambiguity in this context, researching the difficulties teachers face in supporting students with learning disabilities.
In this project, we seek to provide teachers tools and resources to better support their students.

interviews

Interviewing Four Teachers to Gain Insight on Challenges Children Face in the Classroom

Early in the project, I advocated for a focus on user research to create a foundation of strong insights rooted in experiences from our target audiences.
I interviewed four elementary school teachers to understand how digital tools are used in their curriculum. I identified three key insights.

"The curriculum moves too quickly not taking into consideration learning modalities...this means that the curriculum has to be broken down into parts."

First Grade Teacher

ILEAD Schools

Educational Content Needs to be Broken Down for Progress Tracking.

"There are many digital resources available, but very few give immediate feedback to correct student mistakes. This leads to students mindlessly clicking through an app."

Kindergarten Teacher

LAUSD Schools

Many Digital Educational Tools Do Not Provide Immediate Feedback.

“In general, I believe that digital tools can be valuable, but in moderation with other modalities of learning such as hands on learning, traditional paper and pencil assignments, etc.”

Kindergarten Teacher

LAUSD Schools

Using a Variety of Learning Modalities Bridges Learning Gaps.

problem statement

Students with Learning Disabilities need Additional Support to Effectively Learn

Research revealed the disproportionate challenges faced by students with learning disabilities, particularly those with auditory dyslexia.
This finding led us to focus our solution on supporting this demographic. The lack of resources for young students with auditory dyslexia led us to ask:

How might we help support children aged 3-5 with auditory dyslexia by helping them process and distinguish sounds?

desktop research

Desktop Research Informed Us on the Needs of Children with Auditory Dyslexia

Guided by our "How Might We" statement, we conducted desktop research to identify the needs of students with dyslexia.
This research identified multi-sensory learning and Structured Synthetic Phonics (SSP) as key elements for effective phonics instruction in students with dyslexia.

Icons depicting Visual, Auditory and Tactile Info.

Multi-Sensory Learning: Visual, Auditory, and Tactile Information

Research shows multi-sensory learning, which combines visual, auditory, and tactile information, is most effective for students with learning disabilities, as it enhances memory and comprehension.

Chart Breaking Down Structured Synthetic Phonics (SSP).

Structured Synthetic Phonics (SSP) Improves Phonemic Awareness

Structured Synthetic Phonics (SSP) accelerates phonics instruction, which progresses from basic letter-sound recognition to fluent reading, by systematically building phonemic awareness through six stages.

competitive analysis

We Analyzed Multiple Learning Tools to Inspire Our Design Features

Guided by our desktop research, I examined digital and hands-on learning tools for students with dyslexia, like flannel board stories.
Conducting a competitive analysis identified technologies and interactive elements that support student needs, helping my team pinpoint key features.

Flannel Board Stories with cut out characters

Flannel Board Stories
Flannel board stories use felt props to engage children with storytelling. Children with auditory dyslexia can benefit from repetition and sensory interaction with these materials.

LeapStart Learning
LeapStart Learning utilizes an interactive pen and book that uses microscopic page dots to pinpoint text and images, reading them aloud to students.

Duolingo Screens depicting individual lessons.

Duolingo
Duolingo breaks down educational content with progress tracking and motivates learners through gamified elements like daily goals, badges, and instant feedback.

synthesizing research

Reviewing Our Main Insights to Discuss Key Aspects to our Educational Tool

I led discussions that helped my team prioritize key features for our specialized learning experience based on four key insights.

1. Break down educational content into stages with progress tracking

2. Use elements of gamification and storytelling to make learning fun

3. Provide clear and immediate feedback on student's mistakes

4. Incorporate multi-modal and multi-sensory learning

ideation

Sketching our Ideas Helped us Agree on Key Aspects to Include in our Designs

Our team initially struggled to agree on the product's design. Sketching individual concepts clarified our differing visions, leading to three initial concepts.
Research revealed a need for multi-sensory and multi-modal learning for children with dyslexia. These insights shaped our initial design concepts:

A sketch of a versatile phonics toy box.

Sensory Phonics Toybox
A phonics toy box, inspired by flannel boards, combines storage with an engaging storytelling stage.

‍A sketch of a tablet carrying case featuring integrated storage compartments.

Carrying Case With Storage
‍A tablet carrying case featuring storage compartments for tactile items depicting phonic sounds.

Sketch of die cut cards containing textured animals, objects etc. that connect to a tablet via scanning.

Die-Cut Cards With Textures
Die cut cards containing textured animals and objects that connect to a digital tablet via scanning.

design process

Creating Our Multimodal Approach to Help Students improve their Phonemic Awareness

Our initial concept sketches helped us explore different project directions.
We decided to focus on strengthening individual learning experiences to better address the specific needs of students with dyslexia.
To do this, we created an interactive book that pairs with a digital tablet app and interactive pen, ensuring a strong connection between physical and digital learning.

BOOK

The phonics book uses tactile elements and interactive pen read-aloud features to improve sound processing, identification, and pronunciation.

interactive pen

The interactive pen allows children to hear and repeat phonics sounds in the book and digital app. The pen also allows children to tap and draw on their tablet.

digital app

Children can use the tablet app for phonics practice and review, engaging in games and exercises that reinforce the lessons covered in the book.

Image depicting the tactile, visual and auditory components of our proposed designs.

prototyping

Creating Mid-Fidelity Prototypes to Test Our Physical and Digital Learning Experience

Once the team agreed on an understanding of our learning experience, we created prototypes of the actual products.
We looked at materials, methods and designed each product.
We discussed how features could look like.

Orthographic sketches, informational sketches and physical prototypes of book.

Book

Learn Phonics through Storytelling and Tactile Textures

The book is the core learning tool, using engaging stories, interactive audio, tactile elements, and a calming color palette to enhance phonics learning.

Orthographic sketches, informational sketches and physical prototypes of pen.

interactive pen

Provide Audio Support and Digital Interaction

The interactive pen is essential to the learning experience, providing audio support and enabling interaction with both the book and app.

Low and mid-fidelity screens of the digital application.

digital app

Review Lessons Through Gamified Learning

The digital app uses gamified activities and immediate feedback to provide a fun and engaging way for students to review and reinforce learned phonics sounds from the book.

Heuristic evaluation

Gathering Feedback on Our Prototypes from a Cognitive Psychologist and Design Peers

Feedback from a cognitive psychologist led us to refine our mid-fidelity prototype.
We learned that it's important to be mindful of the content presented to children and to provide clear instructions.
We removed distracting background music, improved the storyline, clarified language, and added a movement-based learning section.

Results from our heuristic evaluation on language clarity.

Improving Questions and Adding Audio Support

Our evaluation highlighted the importance of clear and consistent language. We reworded instructions to improve clarity, removed distracting background music, and incorporated audio of phonics to test comprehension.

Results from our heuristic evaluation on storyline details and background music.

Changing Storyline Details and Removing Distractions

Based on our heuristic evaluation, we revised the narrative to be more engaging and age-appropriate and removed distracting background music to enhance focus.

testing with students

We tested with four students to gain better feedback on our design

User testing with four students aged 4-6 revealed a strong preference for the textured elements in our products.
However, we also observed frequent biting of the interactive pen, prompting us to consider using a softer material.

Reviewing our User Test Insights to Make Changes that WIll Strenghten our Digital Experience

User testing highlighted the need for age-appropriate content, clear instructions, and a distraction-free environment.
These insights led us to refine the storyline, simplify language, and remove background music.
Additionally, we incorporated movement-based activities and explored softer materials for the interactive pen to enhance the overall learning experience.

High-fidelity

Phonics Friends: Digital App

The digital app enhances phonics learning through gamified activities, progress tracking, and multi-sensory engagement, fostering a fun environment for students to review and reinforce phonics sounds.

see it live

storytelling & Themes

Engaging Learning Through Themed Stages and Storytelling

The digital app uses themed stages and a mascot named Huey to create an engaging learning environment. For example, the farm-themed first stage features unique characters and objects, enhancing the storytelling and learning experience.

GAMIFICATION

Gamified Structured Synthetic Phonics (SSP)

The digital app utilizes a Structured Synthetic Phonics (SSP) framework, dividing phonics into manageable stages and lessons. Each lesson is presented as a level within a gamified story quest, allowing students to track their progress while reinforcing their phonics skills.

repetition

Reinforcing Concepts Through Repetition and Movement

To enhance learning, the app provides an overview of book content, reinforcing key concepts through repetition. Additionally, incorporating insights from cognitive psychology, we've integrated a movement-based section to further strengthen learning.

Audio & feedback

Providing Audio Support and Immediate Feedback

The app's audio feature enhances auditory learning by allowing children to review and test their pronunciation, providing immediate feedback that encourages them to keep trying even when they make mistakes.

reflection

Getting more comfortable with Ambiguity

Moving forward, I'm committed to refining our solution through user testing with children with auditory dyslexia, ensuring it effectively addresses their unique learning needs. A key challenge lies in making the product financially accessible to teachers with limited budgets. To overcome this, I'd explore avenues like grant funding, partnerships with educational organizations, or a tiered pricing model. By gathering insights from educators and students, I aim to create a scalable and impactful learning tool that seamlessly integrates into existing classroom environments, ultimately empowering teachers and improving outcomes for young learners with auditory dyslexia. This project has been a valuable learning experience, pushing me to embrace ambiguity and navigate the complexities of designing for a diverse and often overlooked user group.

Let’s make something great together!

Let’s make something great together!