Over 7 years, ZhiKe's student tablet had split into 9 versions, all built for a teacher-led classroom. With my mentor, I was one of two UX designers who spent 6 months redesigning it around self-study, without making it feel like a game to the teachers and parents who decide whether students get to use it.
Schools were moving toward self-directed learning, but the pad still assumed the teacher drove every task. Our research showed the bigger obstacle wasn't the students. About 80% of teachers were skeptical of the pads, and some locked them in cabinets. About 60% of parents worried that screen time was replacing study.
So we built motivation that adults could trust: the home screen is a to-do list instead of app icons, points come from finishing tasks rather than time on the device, and rewards are cosmetic only. Underneath, one flexible grid replaced the 9 separate homepage versions.
The Challenge
The pad was built for teacher-led lessons. Schools had moved on; the product hadn't.
Seven years of layered code made every update slow, and students on different versions saw different apps.
Teaching had shifted toward students directing their own study, but the pad still assumed the teacher assigned everything.
Students needed a reason to study on their own, but most EdTech gamification borrows from games designed to be hard to put down.
What We Discovered
2,000+ student survey responses, 10+ interviews, 5 classroom observations, and backend usage data, which we turned into personas.
students lack self-motivation outside the structured curriculum
of teachers were skeptical of the pads; some locked them in cabinets
of parents worried about screen time versus educational value
Students responded to cosmetic rewards and friendly competition
I know I should be studying, but when there's no assignment due, I just don't know where to start or what to focus on.9th Grade Student, Hefei
Personas
Excel with minimal platform use
Use the pad a lot, and it shows
Need motivation and support
High engagement, need guidance
The Solution
The home screen opens on today's tasks, both teacher assignments and goals students set themselves, so the first thing a student sees is work to do.
Badges reward class participation and finished work, and leaderboards track study habits rather than grades.
Avatars and themes are cosmetic only, and they expire, so they motivate without becoming something to grind for.
Each gets a view of study habits and goals, while student privacy is kept.
One interface across devices and subscription tiers, so no student gets a lesser version.
Key Features
Design Strategy
Four rules we checked every reward against.
The interface centers on goals, not apps
Points come from finishing tasks
Badges and encouragement instead of grade leaderboards
Clear places to stop
Students set personal learning goals alongside teacher assignments
Charts that show growth without a countdown
To-do lists replace app icons on the home screen
Rewards for finishing tasks, not time spent on the device
Levels unlock study perks at a controlled pace
Avatar themes expire, so there's always a reason to earn the next one
Recognition for taking part in class and for finished work
Ranked on study habits and improvement, not grades
Classmates can send each other gifts and encouragement
Finishing a task is a natural moment to put the pad down
Avatars and themes never change what the pad can do
Looks unlike commercial apps, so parents can tell study from play
Under the Hood
We replaced 9 separate homepage versions with one grid framework, working closely with developers to fit it onto legacy code.
Usage figures come from backend data; satisfaction comes from a survey of students and teachers.
Every reward we designed came with a limit: points for finished tasks rather than time, cosmetic rewards that expire, and natural places to stop.
Students and teachers knew the old layouts, so modernising 7-year-old code meant changing the structure without breaking what people already relied on.
Parents and teachers decide whether a student gets to use the pad at all, so their concerns shaped the interface as much as the students' needs did.