Free Education Materials for K-12

Powermylearning.org helps teachers, students and parents find high quality free online learning resources. My role was Lead User Experience Designer, Information Architect and Art Director and I worked with the product, development and marketing teams to design and launch a completely redesigned site on a very tight timeline. This is an overview of the project. For a more detailed sample from this work, please contact me.

The redesigned PowerMyLearning site across a tablet, monitor and laptop.

The old site had growing pains, a confusing and dated interface and information architecture issues. Working with product managers and content team members and using research findings, analytics data and qualitative test results, I created mental models, concept maps, task models and user journey documents to clarify an acceptable minimum set of requirements for the new site.

A sixth grade maths teacher's task model across Plan, Teach, Assess and Act, with design opportunities.

A sitemap of page types and the signed-in views for teachers, students and parents.

Praise for the redesigned PowerMyLearning.org:

“Everything is well organized, and the design is both kid friendly and detailed enough for adults to navigate. Tutors, parents, and teachers working in a more individualized setting may find this site especially helpful.”
Graphite.org
“We use the site in our school computer lab, classroom technology center, and even as homework! It’s easy to find learning activities that are targeting exactly what I am working on in the classroom. Better yet- kids absolutely love it!”
Kate Peila, Purely Paperless
“The site is easy to use and versatile, and its promises about quality are true -- nearly everything here is from a trustworthy source, such as PBS. This site is a super-safe and smart choice as an afterschool learning resource.”
CommonSense Media
“PowerMyLearning went through a redesign and has even more to offer educators. With a new user interface, updated look, faster loading speeds, more games and activities, and Common Core aligned playlists, this tool makes my blended learning efforts MUCH easier!”
Technology Tailgate

The activities search, with keyword, grade and subject filters beside activity cards.

Working with an agile process, I lead the design team in rapidly creating the UX and visual design, producing napkin sketches, clickable mockups and fully dynamic prototypes depending on the specific review process required for the particular feature (this varied according to the funding model for that feature). The approach was content first, prioritizing a layout that would be responsive across tablets and desktop computers.

An annotated wireframe for a class usage report, with notes on sorting and defaults.

New features included the three user types, a complex search function, reporting features, an assessment engine, and the gamification of the student experience.

The activities search with an activity detail panel expanded.

A teacher's My Assignments view, with playlists assigned to class periods.

A student's assignments view, listing assignments by subject with due dates.