an educational kit to teach sustainability through ioT
Client
Arduino
Duration
6 months – 2022
Challenge
Despite high expectations, the Explore IoT Kit wasn’t gaining traction in educational settings. Schools found it unclear, dense, and difficult to implement. My task was to uncover why, and design a new user experience that would make it the go-to solution for IoT and sustainability education.
SOLUTION
The research uncovered over 25 pain points, with 20% rated highly critical. My recommendations spanned hardware, software, onboarding, and content design. These shaped the new Explore IoT Kit Rev2, which went on to win two BETT Awards for Innovation and Collaboration with Schools.
Phases
phase one
Goal
Define the scope of research and formulate the key questions
Actions
Gathered existing internal knowledge
Tested the kit myself to identify pain points
Highlighted major gaps in experience and understanding
Established a research plan to guide the next phases
Research Focus Areas
I began by testing the kit myself, gathering all existing knowledge, and speaking with internal stakeholders. This revealed gaps in onboarding, unclear classroom fit, and recurring technical issues. I then set a structured research plan with three focus areas:
Educational context → where the kit could realistically fit into curricula
Users → teachers’ and students’ roles, skills, and constraints
Interaction → how they navigated hardware, software, and content
Outreach & User Recruitment
With no existing contact base, I launched a user recruitment campaign to reach educators directly and prepare for in-field research. This effort was the first step in creating the Arduino Educators' Community with over 200 teachers.
phase Two
Research: understanding the users
Goal
Understand the context, needs, and challenges of real users to uncover pain points and define opportunities.
Research Activities
4 in-depth interviews with teachers
2 interviews with students
2 detailed written educator reviews
Synthesised insights using opportunity mapping
Categorised feedback into: technical, content, onboarding, and communication issues
Created summary personas/templates for each user (see figure 1
Key Findings
Market fit was niche (best suited to sustainability-focused technical courses).
Onboarding was overwhelming and discouraged first use.
Connectivity issues with school networks made setup a blocker.
Content was dense, text-heavy, and not engaging.
Skill levels varied widely, requiring adaptable complexity.
phase three
Ideation & prototyping
Goal
Design a more accessible, engaging, and modular learning experience by simplifying onboarding and restructuring content.
Onboarding Redesign
To address early frustrations and lower the barrier to entry, the onboarding experience was reimagined with simplicity and curiosity at its core:
Immediate feedback: kit shipped with a pre-loaded sketch so students saw results instantly.
Quick-start steps printed on the box to reduce reliance on manuals.
Reframed tone from intimidating to playful, encouraging curiosity and starting with hands-on activities instead of dense theory.
Content Restructuring
A full content overhaul was initiated to address complexity, reduce friction, and improve engagement.
Key Improvements:
Modular Content Architecture:
Introduced an optional foundational knowledge section to support users at different skill levels
Enabled projects to stand alone while still referencing deeper learning when needed
Reduced Cognitive Load:
Streamlined project instructions to remove unnecessary length
Preserved depth for users who seek it, without overwhelming beginners
Efficiency in Maintenance:
Modular design cuts down significantly on localisation and content updates
Easier for international educators to adapt material without rewriting the entire course
Project-Based Learning Model:
Each new project was tied to real-world challenges and UN sustainability goals, making them more relevant, inspiring, and curriculum-friendly.
Each project now:
Introduces a real-world problem for students to explore
Provides a scientific and collaborative framework (design thinking & the scientific method)
Encourages hands-on experimentation and creativity
Supports teachers with guided worksheets and clearly structured learning phases
Engages students using video tutorials and minimal text, catering to various learning styles
phase Four
Usability testing
Location
Liceo Scientifico “Fermi-Monticelli”, Brindisi, Italy
Participants
2 Teachers, 50 High School Students
Duration
1 week
Role
Led the testing, facilitated classroom activities, collected feedback, and ensured pedagogical alignment throughout
Testing Goals
Assess the redesigned onboarding
Observe students' engagement and teachers' role using the new modular content
Identify technical bugs and usability blockers in hardware/software integration
Methods
Field observations during classroom sessions
Teacher and student interviews
Video recordings of key interactions
Task-based walkthroughs focused on the onboarding and project phases
Feedback Prioritisation System
User feedback was categorised using a 5-point criticality scale to prioritise issues for resolution:
4 – Critical: Must be resolved immediately
3 – Serious: Affects usability; should be addressed soon
2 – Moderate: Occasionally disruptive but not blocking
1 – Minor: Cosmetic or low-impact
0 – No Issue: Suggestions or non-urgent enhancements
Over 25 issues were documented and evaluated using this scale. Each was assigned to the appropriate team.
Content Engagement Analytics
User behaviour data was collected and analysed, revealing important trends:
Onboarding & Real-World Activity Pages:
Average student time on these pages was ~11 minutes (lower than the intended 20–30 minutes)
However, high revisit rate (3–4 times per user) suggests students were using them actively to access instructions, install software, or troubleshoot
Sensor Modules:
Engagement was lower due to time constraints and reliance on code-templates during testing
Indicates a need to improve scaffolding for time-limited environments
Teacher Interaction Patterns:
Teachers rarely accessed the content outside classroom sessions
This pointed to a need for integrated teacher support embedded within the student-facing content, rather than a separate teacher guide
phase Five
The first classroom pilot confirmed we were on the right track, but it also revealed critical blockers. I immediately rolled out quick fixes: onboarding was simplified, content was restructured with clearer media, and student/teacher feedback shaped the tone of the materials.
To validate these changes, I sent a new prototype to three additional schools. Through surveys and interviews, I gathered fresh perspectives across different contexts.
The results were clear
Teachers found the redesigned structure easy to integrate into lessons.
Students responded enthusiastically to the modular, real-world projects.
One challenge persisted
Connecting to Arduino Cloud was still difficult in many school networks. Rather than patch it locally, I worked with cross-functional teams to design a long-term solution:
clearer error handling
improved documentation
plans for an offline mode in future releases.
phase six
outcomes & impact
Impact at a Glance
35% of findings were classified as critical, driving substantial changes to:
The onboarding experience
Content modularity and accessibility
Messaging tone and instructional flow
Insights shaped the development of Explore IoT Kit – Revision 2, now used globally.
The new modular content format and onboarding strategy are being reused across other Arduino Education products, scaling the impact beyond a single kit.
Recognition
The project was awarded two BETT Awards in 2024:
Innovation in EdTech
Best Collaboration with Schools
