AI Course Creator
Goal
Utilizing Generative AI to streamline course content generation, allowing course builders to focus on enhancing learner engagement and achieving desired learning outcomes.
Users
Targeting course builders who design online training programs for corporate environments and adult learning initiatives.
My Role
As a UX/UI designer, I conducted user interviews to identify needs, performed competitive analysis, and engaged in interaction design. My responsibilities included visual styling, creating UI mockups, and implementing motion design using CSS and HTML components.
Impact
This project positions NovoEd’s AI assistant as a pivotal offering for clients, reinforcing its status as a leader in AI-driven educational solutions. The achievement we are looking for includes:
Reduced content creation time.
Enhanced creators’ satisfaction scores.
Project duration
6 months
Research
Understanding Creators’ Working Flow: The Course Creation Journey
Step 1: Gather Insights
Conduct interviews with course builders to uncover their methodologies, workflows, and challenges.
The initial interviews provided valuable insights, allowing us to visualize the course creation process effectively. Based on feedback from a select group of users, we refined our understanding into three major phases:
Course Preparation:
Identifying learning objectives
Researching content and resources
Outlining the course structure
Course Building:
Developing course materials (videos, quizzes, etc.)
Implementing interactive elements
Testing and iterating on content
Stakeholder Review:
Gathering feedback from stakeholders
Making necessary adjustments
Finalizing the course for launch
Step 2: Confirm Processes
Validate our findings with additional clients to ensure an accurate representation of their workflows.
In a comprehensive meeting with our advisory group, we presented the proposed user flow and solicited feedback. This session allowed us to identify both commonalities and variations in their workflows.
About the Advisory Group
In the Zoom meeting, we have 27 participants divided into 3 breakout rooms.
Common Steps: About 21 users indicated that the steps they follow when creating a new course from scratch are generally consistent.
AI Experimentation: Only 11 users are actively experimenting with AI to create content independently.
Recreation of Existing Courses: The majority of users reported that their primary use case involves recreating (cloning) existing courses as a starting point, after which they make adjustments and improvements for new cohorts.
Component Identification: Almost all users emphasized the importance of identifying which NovoEd components to utilize at this stage, as opposed to selecting them in Phase 2—Course Building.
Course Styling: Approximately 21 users reported that setting up branding colors is challenging, yet they consider it essential for effective course presentation.
Manual Updates: When a typo or error is found in the source material, it must be manually updated for each cohort. This is particularly cumbersome due to their cloning process, which involves cloning all courses at the beginning of the year.
Template Setup: They utilize templates with defined colors and styles for various sections (e.g., welcome section, part 1).
Difficulty in Reuse: Copying these templates into new courses is too manual and labor-intensive, making it difficult to reuse them efficiently.
All users indicate that the review process occurs during the initial stage of course preparation. At this point, they focus on evaluating the written content provided, ensuring clarity, accuracy, and alignment with course objectives before proceeding to further development. This early review is crucial for maintaining the quality and effectiveness of the course material.
Step 3: Idea Sharing And Validation 💡
Before the advisory group meeting, we generated several ideas that we believe could be valuable for course builders, considering their workflow. During the meeting, we shared these ideas and gathered their feedback. Our goal was to validate our assumptions and identify what works and what doesn’t.
Create A Course With Content From File(S)
User Vote Rankings
Create a Lesson Page with a Single File
User Vote Rankings
Creates Course Activities Based on Existing Course Content
Style Based On Aesthetics Used In An Existing Course
User Vote Rankings
Style Based On Your Color & Visual Component Preferences
User Vote Rankings
NovoAI To Add Images From Online Libraries Based On Your Content
User Vote Rankings
NovoAI To Generate Images Based On Your Written Prompt
User Vote Rankings
User Vote Rankings
Stakeholders Can Leave Revision Comments on Lessons
Export Text Content in a File
User Vote Rankings
Automated Sanity Check
User Vote Rankings
User Vote Rankings
Step 4: Iterate User Flow
Based on user feedback, we discovered that many users prefer to bypass the stakeholder review process. Consequently, they are more inclined to review the learning materials and confirm the course content before they begin building their courses in NovoEd.
Sept 5: Prioritization Ideas 🧐
We conducted a SWOT analysis based on user feedback to evaluate needs and align them with our product focus, leading to the finalization of the MVP list.
Our primary focus is to develop an AI tool that assists users in generating course content. The concept of "Create A Course With Content From File(s)" will address the needs of both new and existing users. To ensure we maintain a rapid pace in enhancing this feature, our initial step will be to generate course content, with course activities to follow. The subsequent ideas, such as "NovoAI Creates Activities Based on Your Uploaded File" and "NovoAI Creates Activities Based on Existing Course Content," will be considered post-MVP.
Additionally, during client interviews, we learned that course builders may be hesitant to utilize the AI-generated course feature if they are required to style the course from scratch, without the ability to apply their existing branding. Therefore, we must prioritize a solution that integrates seamlessly with their established styles.
Ideation with Wireframe
Flow 1: Displays the full-screen view.
Flow 2: Utilizes a popover that incorporates existing platform components.
👉 Proceed with Flow 1, as the competitive analysis indicates that the full-screen view significantly enhances user engagement.
👉 Refine the Flow with more details
👀 Develop detailed component-level ideations to effectively illustrate the user flow.
Visual Iteration
1️⃣ Ideation with a focus on visual styles to engage users from the outset as course builders begin developing their courses. 👇
2️⃣ Gather feedback from the product and design teams to refine the concept, focusing on the AI flow while ensuring that no changes are made to the default screen. 👇
3️⃣ Final step to visualize all steps on the left panel with the entire user flow 👇
4️⃣ Incorporate all guidelines and develop solutions for all edge user cases 👇
Prototype
Prototype the user flow and present it to both internal and external users.
Demo1 - Course Creation
Demo2 - Course Review and Edit
Outcome
The project is currently a work in progress. Although it hasn't launched yet, we've received substantial positive feedback from internal users. I have shared the demo for feedback collection.
Next Step
1️⃣ Conduct user interviews and participate in regular client meetings with the Customer Success team. Engage with the users we have spoken to in order to gather their overall feedback.
2️⃣ Design will begin incorporating the feedback we receive and will start iterating on the AI course creation process. Simultaneously, another follow-up feature, "AI Activity Creation," will be ready immediately after the launch of AI Course Creation.