Student Achievement Webapp
The Student Achievement Web App is a user-centric platform designed to streamline achievement tracking and management for students, teachers, and recruiters. It offers a personalized and secure environment for students to showcase their academic and extracurricular accomplishments, empowers teachers with efficient monitoring tools, and assists recruiters in identifying promising candidates. This innovative web app aims to simplify the process of managing student achievements and enhance educational and career opportunities for all stakeholders.
Project Overview
This project focuses on developing a comprehensive Student Achievement Web App with distinct logins for students, teachers, and recruiters, providing a centralized platform for tracking and showcasing student achievements.
The Product
The web app offers students the ability to manage their academic and extracurricular achievements, teachers can efficiently monitor student progress, and recruiters can easily discover and engage with potential candidates, ultimately simplifying the achievement management process.
Project Duration
3 months
The Problem
Prior to this solution, students lacked a centralized platform to track and present their achievements, teachers faced challenges in manual tracking, and recruiters struggled with scattered candidate searches.
The Goal
The primary goal is to enhance user experience by offering an intuitive and secure platform that improves student engagement, streamlines teacher workflows, and simplifies recruiter candidate searches, ultimately fostering student success and career opportunities.
User research: summary
Key Takeaways:
Student Need for Showcase: Students are eager to have a platform where they can effectively showcase their academic and extracurricular achievements, highlighting the importance of a user-friendly student dashboard.
Teacher Efficiency: Teachers are seeking streamlined tools for tracking and monitoring student progress, emphasising the need for an efficient teacher dashboard with reporting capabilities.
Recruiter Ease: Recruiters value simplicity in candidate discovery and communication, indicating the importance of an accessible recruiter dashboard with search and engagement features.
User research: pain points
User Personas
User Journey Maps
High Level App Flow
Database Schema
Login/Sign Up(mySQL)
Fields:
-User ID (Primary Key)
-Username
-Password
-Email
-User Type (Student, Teacher, Recruiter)
Main Database(MongoDb)
Users Collection (for All User Types):
-User ID (Unique identifier)
-Username
-Password (hashed and salted)
-Email
-User Type (Student, Teacher, Recruiter)
Achievements Collection (for Student and Teacher):
-Achievement ID (Unique identifier)
-User ID (Reference to the User who earned the achievement)
-Title
-Description
-Date Earned
-Type (Academic, Extracurricular, etc.)
-Document/Link (to certificates or proof)
Technologies Used
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React JS:
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User Interface Development: React JS is used for building the user interface (UI) of the application. It provides a modular, component-based approach to UI development, making it easier to create interactive and visually appealing frontends.
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Real-Time Data Display: React's ability to handle real-time updates and dynamic content makes it ideal for displaying data collected from sensors. Users can view live data and analytics through the web interface.
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MongoDB:
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Database Management: MongoDB, a NoSQL database, is chosen for efficient data storage and retrieval. It accommodates large volumes of unstructured or semi-structured data, which is essential for storing environmental data from various sensors.
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Scalability and Flexibility: MongoDB's flexible schema allows for easy adaptation as new sensor types or data points are introduced to the system. This scalability is crucial for accommodating future expansion and enhancements.
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Paper wireframes
Digital Wireframes
Usability study: findings
Dashboard Navigation: Users generally navigated the student, teacher, and recruiter dashboards easily. However, a few participants mentioned that the process of switching between roles could be more seamless, with a more prominent role-switching option.
Achievement Entry: Users appreciated the ability to add achievements easily. Still, some expressed a desire for a feature that would allow them to import or sync data from other platforms (e.g., LinkedIn or academic transcripts) to reduce manual entry.
Search and Filter Functionality: Recruiters emphasised the importance of robust search and filter options to find the most suitable candidates more efficiently. They requested additional filter criteria based on qualifications and achievements.
High-fidelity mockups
High-fidelity prototype
HiFi
Accessibility Considerations
Color Contrast: Ensured sufficient color contrast between text and background to meet WCAG standards, making content readable for users with visual impairments.
Keyboard Navigation: Implemented keyboard-friendly interactions, ensuring that all features and controls are accessible and operable using only the keyboard.
Consistent Navigation: Maintained a consistent and logical navigation structure throughout the app for ease of use.
Takeaways
User-Centered Approach: Prioritizing the needs and experiences of users, including students, teachers, and recruiters, is essential for creating a successful and impactful educational platform.
Diverse User Needs: Different user groups have distinct needs and objectives, such as tracking achievements, managing student progress, or identifying suitable candidates. Tailoring features to address these needs is crucial.
Multi-Platform Integration: Combining MongoDB for achievement data and MySQL for user authentication demonstrates flexibility in selecting appropriate technologies for different aspects of the application.