SquarEd

Problem

Traditional online courses don’t adapt to personal schedules, making it hard for busy learners to stay consistent

As a college student balancing a busy schedule, I found it difficult to keep up with an online course because its structured plan didn’t take into account the other responsibilities in my life. This sparks the question: can we make online courses more flexible to fit our daily schedules?

The Solution

A personalized learning platform that adapts to individual schedules, making skill-building more flexible and effective.

Personalized Learning Paths

The average online course completion rate is approximately 12.6%*

A schedule that adapts to a user’s lifestyle can boost productivity by creating balance

The SquarEd chatbot tailors course task durations by incorporating each user’s current schedule

*according to researchgate.net

Motivation & Accountability

There's little penalty or incentive tied to non-completion. No curriculum rigidity or consequences discourage persistence*

A homepage showing progress encourages continued learning and course completion

Earn badges to highlight the lessons you’ve completed and boost motivation

*according to elearningindustry.com

Chat for Changes

Request the specific topics you’d like to explore further

Ask for a lesson, and SquarEd will build it around your request

Enable SquarEd to update your schedule or handle plan changes.

White Paper Research

Online learners have a challenge with engagement and completion

As my team and I explored research articles to better understand online course completion, I discovered from learnstream.io a shocking statistic that:

“...80–90% of learners never finish their course.”

Competitive Analysis

Competitors don’t adapt to individual schedules

In researching popular online learning platforms, I found that most don’t adapt to real-life constraints such as work schedules, family responsibilities, or unpredictable daily tasks. Instead, they typically provide a fixed course outline with some motivational features, rather than flexible, tailored plans for each learner’s unique lifestyle. This disconnect soon revealed the opportunity for me to develop a solution that adapts learning to the realities of everyday life.

User Interviews

My interviewees felt burnt out from their online courses or were unwilling to dedicate additional time to learning something new.

As part of our research, my team and I interviewed six students who had tried online courses such as Khan Academy and Skillshare. We asked them these questions to understand their experiences and whether they were able to complete the courses:

Research Questions:

1. When was the last time you tried to follow an online course while managing your personal schedule?
2. What was the most challenging part of fitting that course plan into your daily routine, especially while balancing other responsibilities like work, school, or personal commitments?
3. How did the difficulty of adapting the course structure to your schedule affect your overall experience like staying motivated, enjoy learning, or successfully complete the skill or educational program?

The Main Insight

The interviewees didn't complete their course because they were unable to fit it into their schedule

The Infinity Map highlights that students struggle with lack of motivation, time constraints, and burnout.

Major Insights

Student Persona

Design

Setbacks + Direction

At first, my team and I struggled to decide whether to design the landing page for mobile or web. After considering how most people approach online courses, we concluded that web made more sense, since learning on a mobile device often leads to more distractions.

Testing and Improvements

2 Major Improvement in our Design

Color Selection

User feedback indicated that a brighter color palette is more visually appealing and engaging

Stronger contrast was also recommended to create a more productive and polished aesthetic.

Modify the layout

Our initial layout included a calendar and an individual avatar, but we decided it would be more useful for users to view their daily schedule instead

We later added earned badges to the homepage to create a more motivating and engaging user experience

Design System

Conclusions + Lessons Learned

What I'd do differently next time

Having attended my third hackathon, I really enjoyed connecting with other ambitious creatives who brought forward great ideas. I’m truly grateful for the experience, the constructive feedback, and the mentorship I received during this event, where my team and I earned first place in the Design with No Code category! From this experience, I:

Gained experience collaborating effectively with my team in a fully remote environment. Working remotely required clear communication, regular check-ins, and strong organization. I learned how to delegate tasks, stay aligned through digital tools, and adapt to challenges without being physically together. This experience helped me strengthen my teamwork and problem-solving skills in a virtual setting.

Learned to design user interfaces with intention, focusing on innovation and originality. Instead of just creating something functional, I discovered how to approach design with purpose—making choices that not only solved user needs but also introduced creative, unique elements. This pushed me to think beyond templates and aim for interfaces that feel both usable and distinct.

Discovered the importance of enjoying the creative process and having fun along the way! I realized that the best work often comes when the process feels engaging and enjoyable. By experimenting, sharing ideas openly, and keeping a positive mindset, my team and I stayed motivated. This made the project less stressful and more rewarding, allowing creativity to flow naturally.