Gemini for students

User Experience Research

Enhanced AI usability for better, efficient student workflows.

when
duration, year
2 weeks, Summer 2024

Where

location, type
Petaluma, Independent Project

who

the team
S. Alexx Zaki

Which

skills, tools
Product Research, Typeform, Figma, Balsamiq

ROle

my responsibilities
Researcher, Designer

Methods

techniques used
Qualitative & Quantitative Research

Project Overview

The Problem

Some students (heavy AI users) often find it difficult to find and retrieve specific information from previous conversations with AI tools, making it difficult to track progress, revisit previous topics, and build upon past learning in a structured seamless manner.

A Solution

For this project, I chose to improve the user experience of Gemini for students by implementing advanced search functionality, and project-based organization. Users will be able to add specific parts of chats or entire conversations to designated projects, enabling efficient retrieval and integration of relevant information.

This solution will provide a seamless way for users to organize, access, and build on their past interactions, ensuring continuity and reducing the time spent searching for valuable content, ultimately enhancing productivity and creativity.

01

Background

This project is an exploration of how AI tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT, Anthropic's Claude, and Google's Gemini are used by students, aiming to enhance their educational experience.

02

Research Goals

  • Identify Key User Needs and Pain Points
  • Compare the Effectiveness of AI Tools in supporting students' academic needs
  • Develop actionable User-Centered Design Recommendations
  • Explore ways to improve the overall learning experience for students
  • Identify Key User Needs and Pain Points
  • Compare the Effectiveness of AI Tools in supporting students' academic needs
  • Develop actionable User-Centered Design Recommendations
  • Explore ways to improve the overall learning experience for students
  • Generative Research
  • Data Synthesis
  • Personas, Empathy Map, User Journey
  • Competitive Audit
  • Ideation and Design Proposals
  • User testing and Iteration
  • Final Recommendations

Methods

I created a short mixed survey (qualitative and quantitative) in order to discover students’ usage habits of AI tools. There were 18 participants in the study.

After collecting survey responses, I interviewed two students to get a deeper understanding of their perspective.

Data Synthesis

The following are some of my research findings:

Empathy Map

Personae

User Journey

Competitive Audit

The Big Question:

🧐How Might We...?

Wireframes

Changes made:

Gemini's homepage: Added Projects (icons), Recents -> Activity.

Activity page: Added search function and 'Gemini button' (for new chat or project).

Changes made:

Conversation page: Added in-chat search functionality.

On long press: Added first two (new) options to the menu.

Add to project: Users can add their notes to an existing project or create one.

Changes made:

Create new project: Added a page for creating projects and managing access (for collaborative work).

Project board/page: Added a cards-style layout for the page of each project, which can be modified.

      Included a search button and notifications for shared projects.

Other Design Explorations

These are designs that I felt didn't work or feel appropriate in this context. But I'd love to hear your take on this.

Heading 1

Heading 2

Heading 3

Heading 4

Heading 5
Heading 6

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.

Block quote

Ordered list

  1. Item 1
  2. Item 2
  3. Item 3

Unordered list

  • Item A
  • Item B
  • Item C

Text link

Bold text

Emphasis

Superscript

Subscript

03

Methodology

  • Generative Research
  • Data Synthesis
  • Personas, Empathy Map, User Journey
  • Competitive Audit
  • Ideation and Design Proposals
  • User testing and Iteration
  • Final Recommendations
04

Generative Research

Methods

I created a short mixed survey (qualitative and quantitative) in order to discover students’ usage habits of AI tools. There were 18 participants in the study.

After collecting survey responses, I interviewed two students to get a deeper understanding of their perspective.

Data Synthesis

The following are some of my research findings:

05

Empathy Map

Personae

User Journey

Competitive Audit

06

The Big Question:

🧐How Might We...?

Wireframes

Changes made:

Gemini's homepage: Added Projects (icons), Recents -> Activity.

Activity page: Added search function and 'Gemini button' (for new chat or project).

Changes made:

Conversation page: Added in-chat search functionality.

On long press: Added first two (new) options to the menu.

Add to project: Users can add their notes to an existing project or create one.

Changes made:

Create new project: Added a page for creating projects and managing access (for collaborative work).

Project board/page: Added a cards-style layout for the page of each project, which can be modified.

      Included a search button and notifications for shared projects.

Other Design Explorations

These are designs that I felt didn't work or feel appropriate in this context. But I'd love to hear your take on this.

07

Reflection

Learnings & accomplishments

  • User Insights: I learned the critical importance of understanding user needs through research and testing assumptions in any scenario, for better, more equitable results.
  • Feature Development: Implemented features such as tagging, filtering by advanced search, and the ability to add specific chat parts to projects, enhancing the AI tool's usability.
  • Improved User Experience: Created a more seamless and intuitive interface, supporting students in quickly accessing and building upon previous work.

Further improvements

  • Enhanced Context Retention: Hopefully we can improve the AI tool’s ability to retain context across different sessions.
  • Personalization: Develop features that are tailored to different user groups such as children, students or workers because everyone uses AI now.
More projects

this page is still in the works

Please check back again in a week.
Thank you :)
Animation by Artemiy on LottieFiles

Heading 1

Heading 2

Heading 3

Heading 4

Heading 5
Heading 6

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.

Block quote

Ordered list

  1. Item 1
  2. Item 2
  3. Item 3

Unordered list

  • Item A
  • Item B
  • Item C

Text link

Bold text

Emphasis

Superscript

Subscript

Heading 1

Heading 2

Heading 3

Heading 4

Heading 5
Heading 6

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.

Block quote

Ordered list

  1. Item 1
  2. Item 2
  3. Item 3

Unordered list

  • Item A
  • Item B
  • Item C

Text link

Bold text

Emphasis

Superscript

Subscript

Methods

I created a short mixed survey (qualitative and quantitative) in order to discover students’ usage habits of AI tools. There were 18 participants in the study.

After collecting survey responses, I interviewed two students to get a deeper understanding of their perspective.

Data Synthesis

The following are some of my research findings:

Empathy Map

Personae

User Journey

Competitive Audit

The Big Question:

🧐How Might We...?

Wireframes

Changes made:

Gemini's homepage: Added Projects (icons), Recents -> Activity.

Activity page: Added search function and 'Gemini button' (for new chat or project).

Changes made:

Conversation page: Added in-chat search functionality.

On long press: Added first two (new) options to the menu.

Add to project: Users can add their notes to an existing project or create one.

Changes made:

Create new project: Added a page for creating projects and managing access (for collaborative work).

Project board/page: Added a cards-style layout for the page of each project, which can be modified.

      Included a search button and notifications for shared projects.

Other Design Explorations

These are designs that I felt didn't work or feel appropriate in this context. But I'd love to hear your take on this.

Heading 1

Heading 2

Heading 3

Heading 4

Heading 5
Heading 6

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.

Block quote

Ordered list

  1. Item 1
  2. Item 2
  3. Item 3

Unordered list

  • Item A
  • Item B
  • Item C

Text link

Bold text

Emphasis

Superscript

Subscript