AI for efficient teaching in special education

For
Project Context:
Lessi.ai is an AI platform designed to support special education teachers in creating personalized learning materials.

Platform’s goal is to reduce teachers' workload, allowing them to spend more time on direct instruction and interacting with students.

Research

To understand the main pain points of teachers, we conducted research by offering a free subscription to the platform in the future in exchange for participating in a survey. (We gathered the contact information of interested teachers during the "2024 East Spring Special Education Congress.")

The research results became the foundation for designing the interface.

Key design decisions

Learning Capsule is a system of interconnected documents.


The main advantage of Lessi.ai over competitors is the ability to work with multiple documents simultaneously and create new documents based on existing ones.
For example, a teacher can create a Lesson Plan and then automatically generate Student Activities or Assessments based on it. To make this possible, I proposed the concept of Learning Capsule – a system where all related documents form a unified structure but can also exist separately.

Navigation and ease of working with documents

Mobile design

Designed the mobile UX focusing on real mobile needs:  Clean layout with only key actions — fits small screens – Large tap areas for easy touch use – Optimized for slow internet and older phones – Fast, simple flows for busy users – Responsive design for all screen sizes (iOS & Android)

The result is a fast, intuitive experience made for teachers on the go.

Notification system for Lessi.ai

Designed the mobile notification system for Lessi.ai, focusing on clarity, timing, and user value.
– Notifications are relevant and helpful — never spammy – Clear priorities: reminders, tips, and urgent updates – Optimized for both iOS and Android behavior – In-app fallback if push is turned off – Smart timing or user-chosen delivery – Short, friendly copy aligned with the brand voice

The result: Lessi.ai notifications feel useful and respectful — guiding, not interrupting.

Product Development, Testing, and Improvement

UX Analysis & Information Architectur

Before designing the interface, I conducted a UX analysis to define how users interact with different document types in Lessi.ai

Key Challenges:
Determining how Learning Capsules should function
Defining the types of documents and their relationships

Approach:
Mapped out all possible document types and categorized them based on user needs and frequency of use.
Analyzed potential user interactions, including creation, editing, uploading, and long-term storage.
Explored iconography and UI structure to maintain clarity in different document states.

Testing after development

presenting a test to developers
After the feature was implemented in the DEV environment, I conducted manual testing to ensure that:
Everything works correctly.
The UI matches the design.
The user flow is intuitive.
In case of errors, I created detailed bug reports, specifying the issue description, steps to reproduce, and possible solutions.

Use of Analytics and A/B Testing

For analyzing user behavior, I used the PostHog platform, which allowed tracking metrics and testing hypotheses.

Example of an A/B test:
Goal: Determine where the placement of the subscription notification would be most effective.
Hypothesis: Different placements of the CTA could impact conversion rates.

Variants:
1 – Banner at the top of the page
2 – Banner inside the workspace
3 – Banner in the navigation menu

Results: Variant 2 was almost completely ignored by users. Variants 1 and 3 had a similar click-through rate. It was decided to keep both successful variants, providing users with two convenient subscription options.

This test helped us increase subscription conversions while maintaining user-friendly interaction without overloading the design.

Accessibility

For testing, I used the WAVE (Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool) platform, and the results are presented in the screenshot.
The focus on accessibility made the product user-friendly for all categories of users.

Collaboration with the Developer

My responsibilities included not only solving existing problems but also preventing new ones by implementing thoughtful design and carefully planning user scenarios.

Work Process
I developed interactive prototypes in Figma, including user flow logic, different interface states, and interaction options. This helped the developer quickly understand how each feature should work.
I proactively allocated space in the design for easy integration of new features in the future. This allowed us to avoid a complete redesign at later stages.
Regular synchronization during stand-ups

UX Analytics

I was not only responsible for the main design of Lessi.ai but also regularly tracked metrics, which helped me gain a deeper understanding of user behavior, identify pain points, and significantly improve engagement, increasing retention from 2.5% to 63.5%.

The improvements included:
Onboarding and tooltips on the homepage – Simplified navigation and provided users with a better understanding of the platform’s capabilities.
Prompt input suggestions – Instead of a single text field, I added multiple fields with guiding questions, which helped users formulate queries and receive higher-quality results.

Interface Testing Results

To test the usability of the interface, I conducted usability testing with teachers working in the field of Special Education in the U.S. (respondents were found on UpWork).
12
/ 12
Completed the main target action without difficulties.

The primary testing scenario was: Generate a Lesson Plan -> Create an Assessment based on the Lesson Plan -> Switch between documents.
9
/ 12
Preferred working with Lessi.ai over alternative methods (such as Google search or GPT), noting, "It’s very much student-focused."
It really hit a lot of the details that I need… not like the old college lesson plans that were 15 pages, but an actual real-life teaching lesson plan.
If you were charging $10/month, I would absolutely pay that. Thinking about how much I already pay on Teachers Pay Teachers… this is worth it.
10
/ 12
Highlighted the ease of working with documents and switching between files, as well as the high relevance of AI-generated responses.
7
/ 12
Returned to the platform at least 3 times within 2 weeks after testing (according to data from PostHog.com).
“I am amazed at this product! I am loving the features that lessi ai has and how much easier it would have made my life as a special education teacher. Thank you for the opportunity to see the product in action. I really wanted to let you know that I think this is a fantastic project..”
For special education teachers, this makes it so much easier to understand IEP goals and generate writing prompts.
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