Bridging the gap between traditional teachers and technology
The annotation tracking feature successfully addressed teachers' engagement concerns, with all 5 testing participants confirmed they would be more likely to adopt the digital library with this addition.
Context
Teachers at a Mandarin immersion program had access to Level Learning's digital library but weren't using it. Through my role as the bridge between the educational team and the company, I discovered the core issue: teachers couldn't see the value of the digital library to their real classroom needs.
Process
Through user research, I discovered that Mandarin teachers needed better ways to see how students were actually engaging with and understanding digital texts. I then designed and tested an annotation tracking solution that gives teachers a way to collect, track, and view student annotations within the digital library so they can monitor comprehension and adjust their teaching accordingly.
The challenge
Addressing low teacher engagement with the existing digital library
The business aimed to increase usage but lacked insight into what prevented teachers from using it.
🙁
Teacher engagement with the existing digital library was significantly lower than expected.
🔎
In order to boost engagement, we need to find out teachers' motivation to use the library.
The discovery
Understanding teacher interactions with digital library
Current users have difficulties tracking student progress with books from the digital library
Mandarin Teachers
📚 ❓
don’t see the value in digital library
❤️ 📖
prefer physical books
🙅♂️ 💻
less open to incorporating technology
Experts emphasized the importance of annotation in literacy instruction
English teacher
👩🏫 📝
teach students to annotate when reading
What do Mandarin teachers do?
Mandarin teachers who teach academic subjects entirely in Mandarin, to help students gain fluency in both the language and the subject matter.
What do English teachers do?
English teachers annotate texts by marking key phrases and jotting notes in the margins to show their thinking and deepen understanding.
The current state of the digital library
Missing deeper insights into student thinking process
Teachers can only see the end results of student work, but it doesn't provide deeper insights.
The quizzes students do at the end of each book from the digital library can't solve teachers' primary need to understand student thinking
Hypothesis
Annotation collection > annotation capability
Annotation helps literacy, but without collecting it, teachers can't track student progress → the library still goes unused
💬
Teachers expressed the importance of annotation tracking in user interviews.
*Quotes translated from Mandarin to English. original interviews conducted in Mandarin.
K. Liu
5th grade Mandarin teacher
“
Being able to annotate is good, but I won't be able to see what they highlight…it would only be helpful if I am able to see what they annotate.”
S. Dalton
3rd grade Mandarin teacher
“
The annotations needs to be checked by teachers, otherwise it just becomes a drawing tool, then it wouldn't be as helpful.”
⚙️
My thought process forming the hypothesis:
Data
Annotation is essential for effective literacy instruction.
➡️
Current State
Teachers have no way to collect or review student annotations, making it difficult to track progress.
➡️
Hypothesis
If annotation collection is enabled, teachers will be more likely to adopt the digital library—because it's more critical than the tool itself."
User-Centered Design Decisions
Inclusive Annotation Input
Text and voice input options
Having text and voice options helps teachers collect and understand student thinking, no matter the format.
Typed annotation
Voice annotation
Reducing user friction
Seamless integration with existing teacher workflows
New feature with current UI and flow.
Exploring other options
Redesigned table with newly added pages to decrease user mental load for access to assignments.
Testing & Feedback
All 5 testing participants confirmed increased likelihood to adopt the digital library
Annotation tracking helps teachers better understand student learning progress
💬
Users from testing sessions expressed what they like about the annotation tracking feature.
*Quotes translated from Mandarin to English. original interviews conducted in Mandarin.
A. Yao
Kindergarten Mandarin teacher
“
I like the option of voice and written memo. This will help my lower students who can't write in Chinese yet."
S. Zhang
2nd grade Mandarin teacher
“
Having the annotation feature can help me understand what the students are thinking, and is easy for me to use it to show learning progress."
User testing revealed high task completion with areas for improvement
While all participants completed tasks with minimal errors, copy improvements are needed for clarity
Despite successful task completion, participants expressed confusion about specific instructions and interface copy. These insights are being incorporated into upcoming design revisions.
The Design
Teachers are more likely to adopt digital library with annotation tracking
Feature allows monitoring student understanding and progress tracking
jch3 design
cj.chang06@gmail.com