CGA Classroom

The product was launched out of the general order. The first task was to create the video conferencing experience and then create the world around it. Students would continue receiving Zoom links via class slots in their calendars. We created a new platform from the ground up, allowing us to capture vital data that would enable us to provide a rich learning solution that is missing in current times.

We set out to create an experience that our users wanted the most, one that they got familiar with so well that they could almost do it blindly. The challenge here was to make it familiar, yet leave room for in-class participation features that were yet to come. We also had to show information that was crucial to the user to know they were in the right class and what to do if they needed assistance with their class or connection.

Simultaneously while working on refining the classroom experience, we also wanted our users to be better informed about their connection and devices prior to class. Our users are worldwide, and hence, troubleshooting with them in person wasn’t an option. The preview screen allows users to check if they have a working camera, microphone, and sufficient network connectivity for a smooth experience.

Creating breakout rooms (or as we call it "team rooms") has been a feature in most major video conferencing applications, but none that allowed teachers to have an overview of the class like they would in person. For this reason, I worked on ideas that gave the teacher audio channels from all breakout rooms with the control of isolating any room on demand.

Teachers found this useful from a monitoring perspective, as it allowed them to know activity levels across the classroom. Voices from the overall sound weren't going to be clearly audible, but it gave enough clarity to know discussions were taking places.