Introduction

• Brief: Design and test ePortfolio models for EU classrooms to support innovative, ICT-driven learning.

• Challenge: Make ePortfolios easy and engaging for students and teachers across Europe.

• Goals: Drive adoption, make reflection and sharing simple, and support multilingual, multi-curriculum needs.

Discovery Phase

• Stakeholder interviews: EU project leads, teachers, and IT coordinators.

• Business requirements: Must support multiple languages, be easy to update, and fit into existing school workflows.

• User needs: Clear steps for students, simple admin for teachers, and a way to showcase learning.

Problem Framing

• Problem: Most ePortfolio tools are clunky, hard to use, or too generic for real classroom needs.

• Success: Students and teachers use the platform regularly and can easily track progress and share work.

• Constraints: EU-wide rollout, lots of languages, and varied tech skills.

User Research

• User interviews: Teachers and students in pilot schools across several countries.

• Competitive analysis: Reviewed top ePortfolio and LMS tools for K-12.

• Market findings: Simpler, more visual tools drive better student engagement.

Synthesis

• Personas: “The Busy Teacher,” “The Reluctant Student,” “The School IT Lead.”

• Journey mapping: From first login to creating and sharing a portfolio entry.

• Key insights: Step-by-step flows, visual cues, and easy sharing are non-negotiable.

Solution Development

• Info architecture: Dashboard for quick access, clear sections for learning evidence, feedback, and sharing.

• Wireframes & prototypes: Iterated on layouts to minimize clicks and confusion.

• Visual design: Bright, friendly, and easy to localize—icons, color cues, and big buttons.

Testing

• Usability testing: Ran pilots in multiple countries—flagged language issues and unclear steps.

• User feedback: Tweaked button labels, improved onboarding, and streamlined navigation.

• Design iterations: Added visual progress indicators and simplified upload flows.

Implementation

• Handoff: Delivered annotated designs and localization guides to dev team.

• Dev collab: Weekly syncs to ensure smooth integration and bug fixes.

• Go-to-market: Rolled out in pilot schools, with teacher training and support materials.

Results & Impact

• Metrics: Higher student engagement, more frequent portfolio entries, and positive teacher feedback.

• User adoption: Strong uptake in pilot schools, especially where onboarding was hands-on.

• Business impact: Helped shape EU policy on digital portfolios for learning.

• Lessons learned: Keep flows simple, visuals clear, and support local needs for real classroom adoption.