Designing an Effortless Video Creation Experience for Teachers
Background
Interactive Micro-Lesson is a video recording and editing tool specifically designed for K-12
teachers. Evolving from an initial online course recording tool, it now focuses on providing
teachers with efficient recording and editing capabilities along with a wealth of interactive online
classroom features for over 1.8 million + users.
Timeline
Sep 2021 - Jun 2022
Team
2 Product Manager
1 UX Designer (me)
12 Developer
Core responsibility
Interaction Design
Visual Design
User Testing
Process
MVP
3~4 months
Version 0.1 - 0.6
Iteration
4~5 months
Version 0.1 - 0.6
Hand off
Business opportunity
Building a video creation platform for K–12 teachers unlocks new growth and retention
A video creation platform for enhancing brand reach and driving teacher loyalty
After class
Smart whiteboard
During class
Before class
Slides tool
Mature product line
New opportunity
Early insight
Creating videos takes too much effort for teachers
Over 80% of teachers
spent 5+ hours
to create a 5-minute learning video
using complex tools
Teachers problems
High learning
curve
Low efficiency
Lack of learning
feedback
High level goal
help teachers make an online lesson
with effortless creation
and provide unique value
design principles
Easy
Engagement
Final Solutions
For teachers to create interactive micro-lessons
Effortless Video
Recording for Educators
In user testing, we found that users often struggled to
find functions or experienced misclicks. So we aim to
improve usability and enhance efficiency during
recording.
To address this, we will streamline the layout, use clear
labels, and create intuitive navigation, reducing errors
and helping teachers easily access essential tools.
00:00
Record
Seamless Transition from
Recording to Editing
To eliminate the need for users to jump between different
platforms for recording and editing, we are combining both
functions into one.
The design challenge is to ensure use consistency and
ease when switching between recording and editing. To
achieve this, we will focus on maintaining uniform controls
and a seamless experience throughout the entire process.
Interactive Tools for
Enhanced Video
Engagement
To increase classroom engagement by adding quizzes
and games to videos, we want to make it easy for teachers
to create interactive resources.
To help teachers achieve this, we will provide pre-built
templates and user-friendly customization options,
allowing them to quickly incorporate engaging elements
without overcomplicating the process.
Insert Game
Insert Quiz
...
Results
Substantial data and feedback have been obtained
How did I get there?
Research
Digging into the problem
Why we want to develop a new product?
Despite a long period without maintenance, it still has active users
There is a significant demand for post-class online teaching scenarios
In the beginning phase, we performed primary researches and data tracking to collect more data, trying to gain a deep understanding of user’s needs and pain point. Next, we hoped to identify the differences in educational recording software.
Secondary research
· Competitor analysis
· Changes in education policies
Primary research
5X Interviews
Understand user‘s need and pain point, to find opportunity
Data analysis
Identify user pathways and reasons for user attrition
Insights
High learning
curve
-Professional tools
-Jumping between
different platform
Low efficiency
-Complex navigation
-Complex process
Lack of learning
feedback
-Difficulty tracking each
student progress
-No real-time feedback
So, As a teacher you will...
Jump in
Recording
Editing
Distribution
Analytics
Create a new one
Or Edit
The story focus on recording & Editing part
How to build a effortless recording tool for educator?
Challenge 1
Challenge 2
Challenge 3
How to jump from recording to editing
How to edit interactive video
Challenge 1 - Recording
How to Design an intuitive and efficient Video Recording Tool
for Educators?
#Define problems
What the usage problems at the MVP version during user testing?
Teachers are struggling with a (During the MVP testing phase), we conducted user testing with a group of angel users, primarily K-12 teachers.
Teachers reported difficulty in navigating the cluttered interface, often encountering confusion when trying to locate essential functions. Additionally,
frequent misclicks were noted due to the poor organization of the tools, which caused frustration and disrupted their workflow. high learning curve
when using video recording tools due to a cluttered interface and frequent misclicks.
#1
Limited and Fixed Recording Area
#2
Users often accidentally tap the editing
button while trying to pause recording,
leading to costly interruptions and errors
that are difficult to undo
#3
“Re-recording and Publish” Option is Easy
to Miss
#Solution 1
Expand Workspace: Flexible Views for a Focused Recording Experience
Survey
The findings showed that most teachers use lower-
resolution 13-15 inch laptops, and 82.4% frequently
utilize internal annotation tools.
Iteration
To address the limited recording area, we designed flexible view modes that allow
sidebars to be collapsible, giving users a larger workspace for recording. This offers
teachers more space to focus on their content while still having access to essential tools.
In the future, we aim to add more recording modes to better suit teachers' needs.
Navigator
Side only
#Solution 2 & 3
Regroup Navigation: Intuitive Navigation for a Smoother Recording Experience
High
Low
Level 1
System Functions
Level 2
Recording Functions
Level 3
In-Recording Tools
Manu
Feedback
Publish
Editing
The main principle behind this design is to prioritize clarity and increase usability by organizing functions based on their relevance and frequency
during recording. This ensures that teachers can easily access the most important tools without confusion.
#2#3 - Location
Ensure Consistency: Aligning Function Placement with User Habit
After evaluating two layout options, I selected Option 2, which integrates in-recording tools at the bottom and recording functions at the top
alongside the system toolbar. This design saves space, aligns with user habits from other seewo products, and reduces friction for teachers
transitioning from those platforms. Despite the need for slight user adaptation, the consistency across products ensures a smoother experience
Pros
- Placing core functions at the bottom feels intuitive and
simplifies operation
Cons
- In-recording tools on the right side are inconvenient for left-
handed users, who represent a portion of the teacher base.
Pros
- In-recording tools at the bottom saves space and maintains
consistency with other Seewo products, helping users transition
with less friction
Cons
- Users must adjust to recording functions being at the top, but
color differentiation aids visibility
Challenge 2
How Can We Ensure a Smooth and Consistent Transition from
Recording to Editing?
Learnings
1. Prototyping without permission
This is a value that is practiced highly within Intuit. Through adopting it, I learned
to be proactive about prototyping in order to ideas or kickstart conversations
2. Collaborating cross-functionally
Working with different disciplines including PM, content design, user research,
data science, and engineering helped me practice how to communicate better
and align on goals
3. Solving for business AND delight
As my first design internship at a large company, I learned not just the design
process and skills, but also product strategy and how design fits into larger
business goals