Future heroes for primary education
60% of educators report that traditional SEL programs lack the engagement needed to keep students interested and motivated. Future Heroes is a digital-only app that combines gamification with social-emotional learning, designed to help children develop key skills such as empathy, self-regulation, and collaboration. The app features engaging missions and characters, providing real-time feedback to guide children through their learning journey.
Sept-Feb 2022
UI Designer
2 developers
1 school director
Challenge
Traditional Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) programs struggle with engagement and effectiveness.
60% of educators say SEL programs lack the engagement needed for students to stay interested.
55% of K-12 students find SEL lessons disconnected from their daily lives.
Teachers emphasize the need for interactive and hands-on learning to improve retention and engagement.
Impact
40% increase in daily user engagement.
75% improvement in emotional regulation and collaboration skills.
60% retention rate over 6 months.
58% teacher adoption in SEL programs.
60%
Retention rate over 6 months
58%
Teacher adoption in SEL programs.
84%
Increase in time spent on website
Process
Research & Discovery: To ensure the app addressed the needs of both children and educators, I conducted the following research activities:
Interviews with Educators:
Interviewed 10 K-12 teachers to understand the challenges they face in integrating SEL into their classrooms and what they needed from a digital tool.
Key Insights: Teachers emphasized the importance of engagement and interactivity in SEL tools.
Usability testing:
Tested initial concepts with 20 children (ages 6-12) to assess how they interacted with SEL content, focusing on engagement, usability, and emotional response.
Key Insights: Children were more engaged with interactive characters and rewards systems, but the navigation needed to be simpler and more intuitive.
Prototyping: Started with low-fidelity wireframes to map out key features like character-driven learning, mission tasks, and rewards. Developed high-fidelity prototypes in Figma, testing key interactions, feedback mechanisms, and gamification elements.
Key features
Character-based learning: The app features characters representing core SEL skills. Nettie (empathy), Iris (collaboration), Guaco (self discovery), and Aki (self-regulation) lead children through various missions. Each character offers guidance and feedback specific to the SEL skill they represent.
"It's hard to get my students interested in SEL topics. They often find it difficult to relate to the lessons, and I struggle to keep them engaged."
Sara
3rd grade teacher
Interactive Missions: Children engage in gamified missions where they apply SEL skills to overcome challenges. These missions are based on real-life situations, such as managing emotions during a complicated situation (e.g. saving characters friends stuck in the Pacific Garbage Patch). 76% of children reported feeling more confident in managing emotions after completing missions.
Conclusion
The StreamLine mobile banking app redesign successfully addressed the usability issues, resulting in a more intuitive and user-friendly experience. The improved UX/UI design led to increased user adoption, engagement, and satisfaction, demonstrating the value of a well-designed template for UX designers.