UWI-MONA STUDENT APPLICATION

Project Context

The University of the West Indies, Mona campus spans 653 acres. Students routinely struggled to stay connected to academic deadlines, campus services, grades, communications, and faculty information across a fragmented digital landscape. No unified mobile platform existed for student engagement.

The Opportunity: design the first student application to consolidate the campus experience and integrate with existing learning infrastructure.

Theoretical Foundation: The application was grounded in:

• Constructivist Learning Theory (Piaget, Vygotsky) — learners construct knowledge through real-world, interactive experiences

• Mobile Learning Theory (Sharples) — learning across contexts through personal and portable technology

• Blended Learning (Garrison & Vaughan) — intentional integration of digital and physical learning experiences

• User-Centered Design (Norman) — design based on learner behavior, need, and usability testing

• Situated Cognition — learning is bound to the context in which it occurs

My Role: Lead Documentation Specialist and Lead Consultant for LMS Integration. Responsible for:

• Survey design and focus group facilitation

• Preliminary needs analysis and user research

• Feedback analysis and translation into UX recommendations

• LMS integration architecture to ensure seamless access

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Risks Identified Early:

• Student disengagement: Apps without clear immediate value get deleted within a week. Mitigated by grounding features in surveyed student needs — grades, food, notifications.

• LMS integration failure: Inconsistent LMS access would fragment the student experience and erode trust.

• Mitigated by prioritizing seamless integration as a launch requirement. Accessibility gaps: A campus-wide app must serve students with varying abilities, devices, and data plans. Mitigated by accessibility-first UX decisions.

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Approach & Execution:

• Conducted surveys and focus group interviews to identify real student needs

• Disseminated findings to the development team with clear, prioritized feedback

• Ensured consistent LMS access, instructor notifications, and peer/instructor communication

• Maintained focus on usability and accessibility throughout

Impact:

• Enhanced student engagement through a unified campus experience

• Improved usability and accessibility for diverse student populations

• Seamless LMS integration reducing friction between academic and campus tasks

• High student satisfaction and strong adoption from launch

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Leadership Takeaway: The best technology decisions aren't made in product meetings. They're made by listening to the people who'll actually use the product every day.