Overview
“Empowering teachers, engaging students”
The uLesson Classboard App is a flagship educational tool designed for uLesson's custom-built smartboard hardware. It delivers an immersive, teacher-centered classroom experience by blending intuitive interaction, rich multimedia content, and thoughtful design systems that reflect real teaching workflows.
Role, team, timeline
I worked as the solo Product Designer on Classboard over 8 months, from February to October, partnering with a Product Manager, four Android engineers, one backend engineer, and two QA engineers to take the product from concept through design and delivery.
The problem we want to solve
Classroom instruction in many African schools suffers from a lack of engaging, interactive content that can bring subjects to life. Teachers often rely on chalkboards and static textbooks, which limit their ability to explain complex topics visually or dynamically. Additionally, lesson preparation is time-consuming, with educators manually organizing materials for each class—often with little support or access to curated, curriculum-aligned resources.
Existing digital tools are either not localized to national curricula, too complex for real-time teaching, or dependent on consistent internet access—making them unsuitable for most classrooms.
There is a clear need for a simple, offline-first teaching tool that helps teachers deliver visually engaging lessons with minimal prep time, aligned with local curricula and adaptable to the realities of African classrooms.
How can we solve this problem?
If we build a teacher-first, low-friction interface designed for offline classroom environments, teachers will adopt the Classboard App as their daily teaching tool—and students will benefit from richer, more engaging lessons.By augmenting the interactive, multi-format learning content with integrated lesson planning tools and teaching resources, we can help teachers save time and enhance lesson quality. Together, these solutions will improve student understanding, boost participation, and drive better overall learning outcomes.
Research & Insights
We held 20 user interviews with teachers and students across 3 primary and secondary schools in Nigeria. We also observed classrooms sessions to understand how teaching and learning happen in real classrooms. During the interviews we asked the teachers about how they go about lesson planning, the tools they use, and the challenges that they face. We asked the students about their learning preference and their experiences during lessons. This gave us firsthand insight into lesson flow, student participation, and resource use and helped us identify what works well and where there’s room for improvement.
Key findings
1
Teachers face difficulties keeping students actively involved throughout lessons, especially when dealing with large class sizes and varying student abilities.
2
Teachers receive little ongoing training on new teaching methods or technologies, limiting their ability to innovate or improve lesson delivery.
3
Students prefer more interactive and hands-on learning experiences, such as group activities, visual aids, and multimedia content, rather than passive listening or note-taking.
4
Teachers primarily rely on traditional methods like chalkboards or whiteboards and textbooks for lesson planning and delivery.
5
Technology use in classrooms is minimal due to infrastructure gaps and limited training for teachers
6
Class periods are short; teachers want tools that support fast retrieval and seamless switching between lessons.
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I also carried out research on the use of Smartboards in the classroom and its efficiency compared to traditional methods. These are the key findings:
Studies across countries like Botswana and Iraq show that Smartboards significantly boost engagement. Students find lessons more interactive, easier to follow, and more enjoyable—leading to increased participation and motivation.
Teachers report smoother lesson flow, better clarity, and improved organisation. Features like real-time annotation and replayable lessons support diverse learning needs.
Finally, one important fact to note was that the most significant impact was observed in improved student engagement and lesson clarity—rather than just academic performance alone.
Design goals
The core goal is to augment—not replace—the teacher, and to minimise classroom friction by creating an app that feels intuitive from first tap. I focused on:
Maximising content discoverability
Providing ready-to-use, curriculum-aligned resources.
Offer offline access to content, overcoming internet connectivity challenges.
Ensure the device is intuitive for teachers with varying levels of tech proficiency.
Make educational content easily accessible and navigable
Enable real-time teaching with annotation, split screen, fullscreen media playback
Key Features & Design Solutions
The app needed to be designed for clarity and ease of use in the classroom. I used large, legible fonts ensure that content is visible from anywhere in the classroom. Each subject is color-tagged—for example, green for Biology — to make it easy to scan and identify materials. I also incorporated subtle animations to provide feedback on taps and transitions, using motion to guide attention and maintain a smooth flow.
Simple UI, Login & Setup
Setup and Login needed to be simple and fast, so teachers can get started right away. The authentication process guides users through connecting the Smartboard, signing in with just a few steps, and instantly accessing preloaded content.
Smart Content Discovery
My goal was to help teachers quickly find and use the right materials, so I prioritized a subject-first dashboard that keeps everything organized, with a touch-friendly design that’s easy to navigate. The dashboard uses color-coded subjects to boost visibility and recall, and includes a simple sticky sidebar for fast access to key areas. I also added a “Continue Watching” section to make it easy to jump back into recent lessons. The clear layout and consistent navigation help teachers stay focused and in control.
Structured Content
For each subject, I presented the content by topic and then by lesson to align the structure with local curricula. This makes it easier for teachers to quickly find and deliver the right material, while also reducing prep time. Grouping the lessons this way also makes it easier to review related content and supports better reinforcement.
Annotation + Whiteboarding
We pre-installed annotation and whiteboarding tools, letting teachers write, draw, and highlight directly on videos or quizzes to make lessons more interactive.My focus for the app was to make sure it fully supported split-screen multitasking. This way, teachers can show a video on one side and a chart or whiteboard on the other. I also made sure everything works smoothly with 65″ IR touchscreens, whether they're using fingers or passive pens.
Lesson View
I designed Classboard’s lesson view to make teaching more interactive and straightforward. Teachers can play videos, highlight key points, or draw directly on the screen to explain concepts more clearly. Quiz panels can be opened at any point to check student understanding in real time. I also included built-in resources—like diagrams, examples, and extra videos—for each lesson, to help make tough topics easier to teach and keep students engaged.
Preloaded & Downloadable Content
Each Classboard comes with rich, curriculum-aligned content preloaded on the device, so teachers can start teaching right out of the box—no internet required. I wanted to make sure teachers also had flexibility, so they can download additional lessons when needed. I included built-in storage management tools that let them control what’s saved or removed, making it easy to manage space and keep the most relevant content available offline
Outcomes & Impact
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Challenges & Solutions
Many teachers were unfamiliar with digital tools, which made adoption challenging. So, we created a simple, intuitive interface with a quick setup to reduce training time and help teachers get started faster. We also preloaded and configured the Smartboards before delivery and offered free installation to make setup easier.
Final Thoughts
Designing the uLesson Classboard App was a chance to solve real-world problems for real-world users, but educators working in high-stakes, resource-limited environments. Through direct user contact, fast iteration, and rigorous simplification, we built something teachers actually wanted to use.
