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PITCH DECK

EDUC 761

Group: Fuqing Ye, Yingqi Wu, Xiaoyu Han, Hui Yang

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Founder & Content Specialist

Hui Yang

Hui contributed in the mini-course structure and two course contents, user testing questionnaire, user testing, and testing report drafting.

MEET THE TEAM

Founder & CEO

Fuqing Ye

Led the overall vision and execution of the Hello Carolina project. Designed the prototype’s framework and established the visual style guide. Created Ollie, the platform’s friendly mascot. Guided team collaboration and ensured the product was intuitive and user-centered.

Founder & Content Specialist

Xiaoyu(Hannah) Han

Hannah worked on the mini-course, which included introduction to North Carolina, to-do list, video recordings of actual scenarios and user tasting.

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Founder & CTO

Yingqi(Chloe) Wu

Chloe worked on the layout and prototype of the Hello Carolina app, and also participated in co-designing Ollie by exploring different visual styles and character concepts together with the team.

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PROBLEM

How might we help international students feel more confident navigating a new environment?

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    • Modular Mini-Courses
    • Task-Based Reminders
    • Updates & Feedback
    • Mascot - Ollie

SOLUTION

Hello Carolina

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SOLUTION: PROTOTYPE

Home Page Highlights

    • Search and Filter
    • Learning Progress
    • Category Navigation
    • Course Preview

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SOLUTION: MINI-COURSES

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1. Cognitive Load Theory (Sweller, 2020)

2. Segmenting Principle (Clark & Mayer, 2024, Chapter 13)

3. Multimedia Principle (Clark & Mayer, 2024, Chapter 4)

4. Adult Learning Theory: problem-solving oriented (Knowles et al., 2005, P67)

MINI-COURSE INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN PRINCIPLES

Overview

Clark, R. C., & Mayer, R. E. (2024). e-Learning and the science of instruction (5th ed.). Wiley.

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Sweller, J. (2020). Cognitive load theory and educational technology. Educational technology research and development, 68 (1), 1-16.

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Knowles, M. S., Holton, I. E. F., & Swanson, R. A. (2005). The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development. Taylor & Francis Group.

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MINI-COURSE INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN PRINCIPLES

1. Cognitivie Load Thoery

    • Breakdown the introduction into steps
    • We try to deliver information as concisely as possible.

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    • We divided the key topics into mini-courses and distributed them across each week based on their learning priority.

MINI-COURSE INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN PRINCIPLES

2. Segmenting Principle

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    • Instead of presenting information use text only, we incorporated photos, videos, and real-time video recordings.

MINI-COURSE INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN PRINCIPLES

3. Multimedia Principle

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    • According to Knowles et al. (2005), adults are problem-centered in their approach to learning. They are motivated to learn when they find the learning materials can help to solve their real-life problems.
    • Guided by this theory, we selected the learning topics based on our own lived experiences as well as through discussions with peers, ensuring that the topics we selected are aligned closely with our learners’ daily challenges, and thus to support them solving their real-life problems.

MINI-COURSE INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN PRINCIPLES

4. Adult Learning Theory

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WHY THESE SELECTED TOPICS

1. We first conducted empathy interviews with international students to better understand the challenges they commonly face.

2. After gathering the data, we held an internal team discussion to synthesize and categorize the recurring themes. Through this process, we identified four major categories: wellness, transportation, dining, and shopping.

wellness

transportation

dining

shopping

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WHY THESE SELECTED TOPICS

3. Notably, within the transportation category, "how to take public transportation" and "how to get a driver's license" were mentioned most frequently. As a result, we selected these two topics as example modules to develop further.

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SOLUTION: PROTOTYPE

Tasks & Reminders

    • Turn Courses into Actionable Tasks
    • Timely Task Reminders
    • Step-by-Step Task Cards

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SOLUTION: PROTOTYPE

Tasks & Reminders

    • Turn Courses into Actionable Tasks
    • Timely Task Reminders
    • Step-by-Step Task Cards
    • Flexible Task Management

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SOLUTION: PROTOTYPE

Updates

    • Real-Time Information Updates
    • Community Contributions

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LEAN BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS

Cost Structure

Fix Costs

Variable Costs

1. App Development & Maintenance

2. Software Tools and Licenses

3. Salaries / Core Team

1. Cloud Hosting & Data Storage

2. Push Notification Services

3. Marketing & Outreach

4. Licensing

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LEAN BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS

Revenues

Local Business Sponsorships

Workshops & Events

Merchandise

University Licensing

Freemium Model

Institutional Subscription Fees

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USER TESTING RESULTS

10

Gender

Age

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USER TESTING RESULTS

A/B Testing and Qualitative Test

8

10

would recommend to friends

6

10

found supportive

6

10

found interface intuitive

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USER TESTING RESULTS

A/B Testing: Button Placement

Test A

Test B

Avg. Completion Time: 10.2s

Avg. Completion Time: 14.8s

User Satisfaction:

4.8/5.0

User Satisfaction:

4.2/5.0

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USER TESTING RESULTS

A/B Testing: Button Placement

Test A

Test B

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NEXT STEPS

1. Adopt Version A button placement.

2. Amplify our course content.

3. Develop the “Profile” page and building the reward system.

4. Add a multilingual support feature.

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From unfamiliar to unstoppable — guiding international students every step of the way.

OUR VISION

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Thank you!