MOSAIC
An education platform case study to help support students with learning disabilities.
Not everyone learns the same. For those with learning disabilities, this can be an obstacle to their success. How can we, as artists and designers, help transform these obstacles into opportunities for self-growth and potential?
Project Timeline:
Sept - Nov 2023 (12 weeks)
Roles:
Karina Zhou: Content and Strategy
Colin Chan: Design and Strategy
Haley Mae Caranto: Research
Tools
Figma
It begins with a conversation...
In our Creative Entrepreneurship Class taught by Jess Wen, my peers and I were discussing the struggles we face in college. A friend shared her experience going through school with a learning disability, how fragmented support was for her and her peers.
We began to wonder:
Why?
Why aren’t existing solutions providing adequate support to those who need it the most?
So we did some research & talked to people
What we learned is that WHILE the education and tech market is flourishing with rapid growth ( recent analysis projecting the industry to increase 4x its current size) , ONE thing is often overlooked:
Everyone learns differently
As humans, we live, breathe and interact with the world in dramatically different ways.
As we talked to users, we realized how these differences tremendously impact individuals with learning disabilities, often leading them to believe they can’t succeed.
In just the U.S, over 14 million students
Reported having a form of a learning disability. That’s 1/5 of the entire US student population!
Nearly half
Don’t receive the quality support or accommodations that are promised to them by institutions.
“Solutions” today are not easy to access
We talked to more people and researched deeper into the market. Two key problems rose to the surface:
01
Solutions are Overly Displaced
Widespread and general, services often don't cater to specific learning disability needs
02
High Barriers to Entry
Often, there are costly fees for entry or require a long allocation of time
It started to piece together...
A Mosaic of stories and perspectives.
Using a constant feedback cycle of listening and creating, we designed for a more multi-comprehensive space for educational experiences:
Unlock your learning potential in one place.
This is MOSAIC
An integrated platform centered on discovering people’s learning strengths through personalized methods and resources that benefit their individual and community growth.
Rather than focusing on delivering content for what people learn, MOSAIC is committed to leveraging self-advocacy so that individuals are empowered with how they learn best for their unique circumstances.
Understanding the Self
The concept of Learning Styles is not novel.
Mosaic provides a curation of professional expertise and ongoing research to help users understand knowledge in a concise manner.
Valuing Diverse Frameworks
With over 50 learning style models out there, MOSAIC centralizes these various models so that users can easily learn and navigate how they can benefit from them.
In-App Questionnaires
Reduce the time it takes to scavenge the internet or pay costly services through in-house questionnaires formatted to optimize each user’s objectives and goals.
Learn with Courage
Using personalized user and questionnaire results, MOSAIC can tailor resources that highlight key takeaways, best practices and other relevant media so that learning is entertaining and accessible.
Empowering the Community
Interconnected Community
Lived experiences are the most authentic form of learning. MOSAIC also offers a safe space for users to express their voices and share their stories with one another.
A Conversation that is celebrated
We offer community channels for users to actively engage in discussions, ask questions and share their own tips/advice.
Find your Interest
Offering channels for topic areas allows for our users to hone in on their interests and curate relevant content.
From One Platform,
To A Web of Change.
MOSAIC has a mission to revolutionize the learning experience.
In early stages, the business growth strategy is to focus on close customer (B2C) relationships, fostering quality curations of reliable, impactful personal recommendations.
As the product scales, the next milestone aims to build an in-house library of insight (leveraging user-generated content). Once MOSAIC gains support and traction as a professional body, we will focus on strategizing with industry partners or institutions (B2B) to enable more expansive learning modules.
Imagine a future where learning differences become less of a question and more of a conversation. MOSAIC helps people discover their unique strengths and provides them with support to unlock their dreams and aspirations.
Reflections
Coming from an animation and storytelling background, I felt myself shifting gears to apply my skills in a new, unfamiliar context. I had to step into grounds with a open, curious mindset. What I learned:
1. Search for the unknown.
There were little to no effective solutions out there for the specific problem we wanted to tackle. We started to doubt if we were designing for the right cause. Soon, it became apparent that we had to be the ones to take that step and pave the path. Our user tests then confirmed that our idea was headed in the right direction, making the unknown feel just a tad less daunting.
2. Learn from competitors.
Not just their UI/UX or design, but their strategy. How are they creating a connection with their audience? What are they showcasing effectively in their products? Learn from others and ask many questions.
3. Story at the core.
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Although I had experience telling stories in various mediums, I thought my skills couldn’t play into the world of business and design. Wrong! Telling authentic, real stories is powerful in launching our business and gaining us a successful pitch presentation.