Making EdTech accessories inclusive

Building accessible EdTech accessories for Logitech with students with adaptive needs

Partner(s)
Logitech

My Role
Design Researcher

Location:
NY/SF, Summer ‘21

Type
Professional Project

Time:
Summer 2021

Duration:
12 weeks

Challenge

Almost 100% of teachers have taught students with some form of a disability. Despite these statistics, few educational-support products exist that serve both neurotypical and neurodivergent students. Inclusive design can be used as a strategy for business growth as it broadens a single product’s target’s user base. However, this concept had yet to be sold into Logitech’s leadership team.

The ask from Logitech’s Insights and Innovation team was to gain a better understanding of the needs of neurodivergent students from their perspective, their parents’, teachers’, and superintendents. They would use the research to inform product development and design, specifically their SEEN product, and to consult Sales team on tactics for different buyers. The informal ask was to convince Logitech’s leadership team of the social importance and financial potential of inclusive design.

Logitech wanted to know how to make their products serve neurodivergent students.

Process

Discover
- Secondary Research: understood landscape of adaptive needs using desk research and Logitech’s existing studies
- Exploratory Surveys: wrote and fielded four surveys (to students, parents, teachers, and superintendents) to identify the needs and pain points of neurodivergent students at different ages
Define
- identified frictions and opportunities for Logitech in the learning experiences of neurodivergent students from the perspectives of different key actors
- tested existing wireframe product concepts with 4 neurodivergent students to validate frictions and opportunity areas
Develop
- designed low-fidelity personas of teachers, parents, and superintendents and profiles of the common challenges of different adaptive needs
- created a framework outlining the benefits and drawbacks of EdTech accessories for neurodivergent students
Deliver
- Five design principles for product designers and engineers to consider when developing EdTech peripheral products to include the needs of neurodivergent students
- Four business recommendations for Logitech pursue the inclusive learning space

Multi-Methods Research: I wrote surveys, conducted all interviews with students, and performed desk research on the adaptive needs landscape

Analysis & Synthesis: I qualitatively coded and analyzed the surveys, validated and challenged insights across interview and survey datasets, and led brainstorms with teammates to map out personas, profiles, and principles

Storytelling & Presenting: I designed the personas, profiles, and the final slides; I presented to Logitech Insights, Sales, and Product Design teams.

My Role

Outcome

The team I led proposed five design principles to consider when making neurodiverse-inclusive EdTech products and four business recommendations for owning the inclusive EdTech space. These deliverables were supported by insights from low-fidelity personas of students with different adaptive needs and profiles from teachers’, parents’, and superintendents’ perspectives on students’ adaptive needs challenges.

Both the the design principles and business recommendations had substantial impact. The design principles were used to inform the development of Logitech’s first EdTech product created for neurodiverse students called the Seen Pad. Our business recommendations influenced Logitech’s leadership team to make Inclusive Design a 2021/2022 strategic priority.