Minerva, founded in 2013, set out to provide a world-class liberal arts and sciences education using learning techniques grounded in cognitive science. A fully accredited university, it graduated its first class in 2019 and has been called “The Future of College.” As the fifth member of the founding team, I was tasked with designing software to enhance the learning experience for top students.
Minerva’s live, online seminars prioritized engagement over traditional exams. The virtual classroom had to support up to 20 video feeds, ensure full student participation, and provide faculty with dynamic teaching tools—all while making the technology seamless and unobtrusive.
My Role
I led the product research, ideation, and design of the classroom, supported by our insanely talented engineering team, Chief Product Officer, and our Chief Learning Scientist. I also worked closely with our Founding Dean to better understand the needs of faculty teaching on the platform.
Purpose
To redefine higher education by creating an accessible, science-based learning platform that empowers top students to excel academically and professionally. The goal was to overcome traditional barriers and establish a new standard for interactive, online education.
Outcome
The Forum classroom launched successfully but evolved through iterations to improve teaching ease and student engagement. Now scalable to hundreds of students, it supports hundreds of classes weekly at Minerva and partner institutions worldwide.
Initial Research
The process began with foundational research, focusing on engineering limitations and must-have features for effective teaching from day one. Key requirements included video representation for every student, adaptable classroom layouts, systems to measure class events, and fostering a tight-knit seminar atmosphere. User interviews with college students revealed common pain points like disconnection, difficulty speaking up, and boredom. Faculty input emphasized consistent educational quality and tools for rich, flexible teaching.
Designing and Testing Assumptions
Building on research insights, the team conducted design sprints to ideate solutions. Key questions addressed included enhancing the virtual classroom experience, enabling layout modifications, and facilitating dynamic discussions. Storyboarded ideas were transformed into low-fidelity prototypes and tested with students, either synchronously or via remote platforms. Feedback from these sessions informed actionable design directions.
Lessons Learned and Moving into Production
User testing of prototypes revealed essential functionalities for the classroom, guiding engineers in developing an MVP. Team members alternated between teaching and attending mock classes, refining features and layouts for efficiency. The involvement of the Founding Dean further enriched the platform’s capabilities, pushing the boundaries of what the software could achieve. Key decisions during this stage included optimizing video and resource layouts for engagement and flexibility.
Key Features and Enhancements
Several innovative features were developed based on testing and user feedback to enhance the seminar experience. Student videos were positioned in a single row at the top to encourage natural eye contact, while a flexible “stage” system allowed dynamic arrangement of resources and video feeds using keyboard shortcuts. Enhanced poll functionalities supported long-form responses and comparative analysis, enriching discussions, and improved breakout features enabled seamless reintegration of both resources and students into the main classroom.
Enhancing Student Expression in Virtual Classrooms
Muted microphones minimized background noise but unintentionally suppressed non-verbal cues like laughter and subtle reactions, which are vital for dynamic interaction. Recognizing the limitations of webcams and chat tools for conveying emotions, students identified six key expressions—smile, frown, laugh, agree, disagree, and confusion—as essential for engagement.
In response, a system of emotion overlays was developed. Accessible through shortcuts or menus, these vibrant symbols briefly appear on video feeds, adding warmth and interactivity to virtual classrooms. This solution effectively restores a sense of shared experience and spontaneity, enriching the online learning environment.
Streamlining with Timelines
To reduce faculty cognitive load, a timeline feature was introduced, automating classroom layout adjustments based on lesson plans. This sidebar tool also incorporated time-tracking features, ensuring lesson completion and reducing pressure on faculty to manage layouts manually. This enhancement allowed professors to focus on teaching rather than logistics.
