Math EdTech
for
ADHD
Project Overview
This is the final project of my master’s degree. I found the needs of ADHD users for EdTech. To spread awareness, a website was created to present the design guidelines for EdTech designers.
My Role
This is a one-person project, I managed every step. From choosing the topic to defining the problem, to researching and engaging with users, to developing solutions, to prototyping.
Challenge
Technology is developing at an exponentially faster phase, it involves in education so much that it has become indispensable. On the other hand, the number of people who are diagnosed with ADHD has been increasing throughout the years.
However, if we look into education technology, not enough attention has been put to students with ADHD, there is a possibility that they need something different than others when it comes to EdTech. How do we improve EdTech user experience for ADHD students?
Design Process
1. Discover
Desk Research
Field Research
2. Define
User Journey Mapping
Stakeholder Mapping
Opportunities
3. Develop & Deliver
Ideate
Concept
Prototype
Discover
Desk Research
To have a deep understanding of how users with ADHD feel about EdTech, I started by researching ADHD and education technology (EdTech). From these two main topics, I researched seven specific sections.
ADHD
1. What is ADHD
2. Education for ADHD
3. ADHD and math
4. Math education for ADHD
Education Technology
1. What is EdTech
2. Math EdTech
3. Existing EdTech for ADHD
ADHD
1. What is ADHD?
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders of childhood. Research shows that around 12% of school-age children have been diagnosed with ADHD.
People with ADHD have trouble with focusing which brings out many other side effects. However, ADHD symptoms vary by individual and affect each person to varying degrees.
Here are some common ADHD symptoms:
– Inattention
– Lack of focus
– Being easily distracted
– Poor time management
– Having difficulty with organization
– Struggling to follow through with instructions
– Making careless mistakes
– Being forgetful in daily activities
2. Education for ADHD
Special education professionals have suggested some strategies for teaching students with ADHD. The common ones are:
– Limit distractions
– Give frequent feedback
– Give rewards
– Divide big assignments into smaller ones
– Write down the instructions
– Let them move physically
– Take breaks
3. ADHD and Math
Mastering math is a complex process, it demands memory, attention, problem-solving, and organizing, which all of the above can be challenging for students with ADHD.
Here are a few struggles that students with ADHD often faced when learning math.
– Students with ADHD can skim over some details, such as signs and symbols, when reviewing the problem, which will end up with the wrong answer.
– Students with ADHD can find it challenging to solve wordy problems and to parse out phrases with multiple meanings.
– Students with ADHD tend to make more errors when shifting between types of math problems.
– Students with ADHD can face difficulty with problems using multiple math skills.
– Students with ADHD tend to have trouble staying focused to finish multi-step or complex problems.
4. Math Education for ADHD
There are some suggestions specifically for math teaching for students with ADHD. These help teachers to provide education that meets the needs of students with ADHD.
– Break instructions down into smaller parts.
– Provide written directions that allow students to refer back to them when needed.
– Take a break in the middle of a long math problem.
– Read the problem in small parts and draw a picture.
– Write down every step and highlight math signs and symbols.
Education Technology
1. What is EdTech?
– Education technology is the practice of introducing information and communication technology tools into the classroom to create more engaging, inclusive, and individualized learning experiences.
– Education technology helps students to learn proactively. It has created more interactive ways that are attention-grabbing, such as gamification, videos, etc.
– Education technology is able to give students a personalized learning experience, regarding their learning styles and learning paces.
– Education technology makes learning possible with no restriction on time and location.
– Education technology also benefits for teachers. It helps them to stay organized and create contents in an easier way.
– Teachers claimed that technology use in learning has improved the academic performance of students. It seems like technology in the classroom is here to stay.
2. Math EdTech
Students often have a real problem connecting the abstract nature of the discipline with real-world examples. Technology has given teachers the ability to make math visual. They can explain mathematical concepts via videos, animation, graphs, infographics, and digital freehand drawing.
On the other hand, math EdTech allows math learning to be fun, which has helped students perform better in grades and given them a positive attitude towards math.
Here are five common methods used in math EdTech :
– Problem-solving
– Gamification
– Video
– Virtual Manipulatives/Simulations
– Feedback Animations
3. Existing EdTech for ADHD
– There are technology tools (digital devices) that help ADHD students to learn more efficiently, such as digital smart pens, audio notetakers…
– There are learning apps and websites that make learning fun, which keep ADHD students interested.
It seems like there are education technologies that are specially designed for students with ADHD. But are all the other EdTech user-friendly to students with ADHD?
Field Research
To get a better understanding of education technology and ADHD in real life, I did some in-depth interviews. Since there are many stakeholders, I chose to interview 3 types of people:
1. Students with ADHD
2. Teachers and professionals of education
3. EdTech designers
Students with ADHD
Interviewing 2 ADHD students, to gain more insights about the needs of ADHD in learning and how they interact with EdTech.
Insights
– A reminder would be nice to have.
– Scheduling things out with exact time frames helps to meet the deadlines.
– When using EdTech, having to open another tab to search something is very distracted.
– Rewards are nice to have, but they should be something that the users want.
– Lack of motivation is the main reason of not continuing.
Teachers and Professionals of Education
Interviewing 2 teachers and 2 professors of education, to gain more insights about how to teach students with ADHD, teacher’s experience and prospective of EdTech.
Insights
– Give ADHD students a chance to get off of the chair.
– Limit distractions from the environment.
– Give ADHD students praise and rewards.
– Using videos, graphics, and visualization helps to attract ADHD students
– It’s hard to find the best way to interact with students when using EdTech in class.
– It’s hard to control students learning progress with EdTech.
EdTech Designers
Interviewing 2 EdTech designers, to understand the EdTech designing industry.
Insights
– Visualization is commonly used in EdTech to make learning easier.
– EdTech designers don’t consider specific disabilities, only general accessibility.
– EdTech designers don’t have education backgrounds, they need to spend a lot more time on research.
– EdTech designers don’t have much knowledge about ADHD.
Define
User Journey Mapping
User journey map captured the experiences a user with ADHD has with a math learning app from their point of view. Which helped to understand and anticipate the cognitive patterns of the users, moreover to detect their pain points.
A focusing level was added since this is an important factor for students with ADHD.
Stakeholder Mapping
Due to the many stakeholders that EdTech has, there are many factors to be considered when designing an EdTech. Creating a stakeholder map of EdTech helped to understand the relationships between each stakeholder, and also to have a clear idea on designing EdTech.
Opportunities
With all the data from previous steps, I identified 4 opportunities, which gave me a clear mind for creating the solution. Two of them are about EdTech design, and two of them are about users with ADHD.
- Spread the awareness of ADHD users’ needs in EdTech.
- Inform EdTech designers about users with ADHD and how to put them into consideration.
- Improve the experience of users with ADHD in EdTech.
- Design an EdTech product or some features especially for ADHD users.
Develope & Deliver
Ideate
Spread the awareness of ADHD users needs in EdTech.
Design principles and suggested features based on the research.
A website.
Solution Concept
The website presents design guidelines of math EdTech for ADHD. There are 6 design principles and 3 suggested features. By following the guidelines, designers will be able to design an EdTech product that is user-friendly for children with ADHD.
Design Principles
With all the findings from desk research and field research, I concluded 6 design principles that designers should consider when designing math EdTech.
1. Simple As Possible
– Minimalist design style.
– Limiting options on the interface.
2. No Interruption
– Limiting visual stimuli and excessive sounds.
3. Visualization Is key
– Visualizing information, image is always better than text.
– Space for users to visualize information.
4. Keep It Short
– Lean amount of content at once.
– Clarity and chronological order of contents.
5. Be Informative
– Accessible information within the same interface.
Information such as definition of terms, formula of math methods, hint of the approach to problems, etc.
6. Give Feedback
– Comments or reward systems based on the age of the users.
– Frequent change of feedback to prevent boredom.
Suggested Features
With all the findings from desk research and field research, I came out with 3 suggested features that designers can add to their EdTech product, which will help users with ADHD.
1. Reminder
– It helps users to remember things that need to be done.
– Users can prioritize things by the importance levels.
– It’s easier for users to control their time.
2. Schedule
– It helps users to organize their time and learning plans.
– It’s easier to see users’ learning progress.
– Short time frames that fit ADHD children’s attention span.
3. Timer
– It reminds users to take a break every now and then.
– Customized duration of focusing time and break time.
– It helps users to get back on track on time.
Prototype
Home Page
Simple introduction of the website
- What is it?
- Who uses it?
- Why use it?
- How to use it?
Design principles & suggested features
- Title
- Icon
About
Information about ADHD
With this concise summary of ADHD research, designers can understand more about ADHD users' needs.
Design Principle
Short explanation
- Challenge faced by ADHD users
- Considerations for designers
Do's & Don'ts
- Examples in texts
- Examples in visual
Suggested Features
Short explanation
- Challenge faced by ADHD users
- Implications for designers
Examples
- Feature in visual
- Feature's advantages