User Experience

Overview

This document captures how users interact with the LBH Educate app and what actions they can perform.

LBH Educate is a collaborative journal and development tracking tool designed for home-educating parents, teachers, and pupils. It proves the educational value of everyday life experiences through photo-first journaling and AI-powered skill tracking.

Core Philosophy

• Quick and easy: The app must be extremely fast to use or it won't be adopted
• Photo-first: Primary interaction is taking a photo of a moment
• Celebrate, don't just measure: Focus on the child's story and progression
• Individualized: Track progression against the child themselves, not standardized benchmarks
• Collaborative: Parents/teachers create entries; over time children can take ownership
• Universal: Works regardless of curriculum approach (unschooling, worldschool, online, tutoring)

User Roles & Perspectives

Primary Users (Phase 1 Focus)

• Parents/Home Educators: Creating journal entries, tracking progress, receiving activity suggestions
• Children/Pupils: Viewing their progress, taking ownership as they mature

Future Users

• Teachers in traditional school settings
• Employers or educational institutions (viewing "Live CV" outputs)

Key User Interactions

1. Authentication & Sign-In

Users can sign in using one of three OAuth providers:

• Google account
• Apple account
• Microsoft account

The sign-in flow is the first interaction users have with the app.

2. Child Profile Management

After authentication, users can:

• Create child profiles (name, date of birth, photo, interests)
• Manage multiple children under one account
• View each child's individual progress dashboard
• Transfer ownership/access to the child as they mature

3. Journal Mode (Reactive - Primary Workflow)

Purpose: Log everyday moments to demonstrate educational value

Core Workflow:

1. Capture Photo: User takes or selects a photo of a moment
   • Examples: child building sandcastle, feeding a cat, cooking, playing
2. Add Context (Optional): Freeform text entry for nuanced observations
   • Parent can add details about the event, what happened, conversations
3. AI Template Suggestion: System analyzes photo and context, suggests relevant templates
   • Template shows pre-selected skills/behaviors likely demonstrated
   • User can quickly accept, modify, or reject suggestions
4. Skill/Behavior Tagging: User confirms which skills/behaviors were demonstrated
   • Quick tap interface for speed
   • Option to add custom tags if needed
5. Save Entry: Journal entry is saved with photo, date, notes, and tagged skills

Key Principle: The system does the heavy lifting to identify "wins" - the parent doesn't need deep thinking time to realize educational value.

4. Ideas Mode (Proactive - Activity Suggestions)

Purpose: Help parents discover new activities to develop specific skills

Core Workflow:

1. Gap Identification: System analyzes child's journal entries and identifies "dead zones" (under-developed skills)
2. Browse Suggestions: User can view personalized activity suggestions
   • Activities are tailored to child's age, interests, and current progress
   • Wide range of real-life, home-ed friendly activities
3. Filter & Explore: User can filter suggestions by:
   • Target skill/behavior
   • Time investment required
   • Location (indoor/outdoor)
   • Materials needed
   • Child's interests
4. Bookmark or Plan: User can save activities to try later
5. Create Entry from Activity: When activity is completed, user can create journal entry directly from the suggestion

Key Principle: The app recognizes gaps and offers highly personalized recommendations leveraging AI and curated datasets.

5. Progress Viewing & "Live CV"

Users can view:

• Timeline View: Chronological journal entries with photos
• Skill Progress Dashboard: Visual representation of skill development over time
• Live CV Output: Exportable summary of child's development and achievements
  • Starts as tool for parents to validate home education approach
  • Evolves into tool for child to take responsibility for their own progress
  • Eventually becomes useful for employers, further education, or self-directed life planning

Key Principle: Progression shown against the child themselves, not standardized benchmarks. A 5-year-old's problem-solving looks different from an 18-year-old's.

6. Search & Filter Journal

Users can:

• Search entries by date, child, keywords, or skills/behaviors
• Filter by specific skills to see all instances of development in that area
• View entries tagged with specific activities or interests

7. Export & Sharing

Users can:

• Export "Live CV" reports as PDF
• Share progress summaries with local education authorities (for accountability)
• Generate visual progress reports for specific time periods

User Flows

Initial Sign-In Flow

1. User opens app for the first time
2. User is presented with authentication options (Google, Apple, Microsoft)
3. User selects preferred provider
4. User completes OAuth flow with chosen provider
5. User is authenticated and enters the main app
6. User is prompted to create first child profile

Create Journal Entry Flow (Primary Use Case)

1. User taps "New Entry" button
2. Camera opens or user selects existing photo
3. User takes photo (or selects from library)
4. User optionally adds freeform notes about the moment
5. AI analyzes photo and notes, presents suggested template with pre-tagged skills
6. User reviews and confirms/modifies skill tags
7. User saves entry
8. Entry appears in timeline and contributes to progress tracking

Browse Activity Suggestions Flow

1. User enters Ideas Mode
2. System displays identified skill gaps with context
3. User browses personalized activity suggestions
4. User filters by preferences (time, location, materials, etc.)
5. User bookmarks activities of interest
6. When activity is completed, user creates journal entry from bookmark

View Progress Flow

1. User selects a child from home screen
2. User views progress dashboard showing skill development over time
3. User can drill into specific skill to see all related journal entries
4. User can export "Live CV" for sharing or personal records

Design Principles

• Speed over perfection: Must be faster than "Day One" style journaling apps
• AI does the thinking: Parent shouldn't need expertise to recognize educational moments
• Balance structure and freedom: Limited skill taxonomy for analysis, but freeform entry for nuance
• Celebrate growth mindset: Focus on personal development, not external standards
• Build accountability without surveillance: Satisfy both parent ideals and governmental requirements

Notes

• This is a living document that will be updated after each brainstorming prompt
• Focus on WHAT users can do, not HOW it's implemented technically