Beekee Live

Initial situation

In the user-centered design and usability course, the emphasis is on putting students to work through practical exercises and role-playing. Students are asked to write short reports and produce concept maps and posters, both on computer and on paper. At the end of each activity, feedback is given verbally by the teacher to the whole class. Until now, the students’ productions during these exercises were not used fully, as the time available only allowed one or two groups to present their work.

Project implementation

The teachers’ wish is to value the students’ production by allowing them to share their work and to use it as a support for discussions. For this, a simple tool was needed that could be used by all students without wasting time. The teachers decided to use Beekee Live, a kind of mini social network controlled by the teacher, which allows to create an online collaborative space, to share photos, files or text with a smartphone or a computer. By transmitting the access code of the space, each student can connect to it without having to create an account or install an application.

This tool is used at the end of each activity to share the students’ productions throughout the year. Students are encouraged to share their productions and to consult those of their colleagues, adding comments if they wish. The teacher also goes through the productions to evaluate the students’ understanding and to come back to the interesting or misunderstood elements.

Thoughts and advice on implementing a similar project

Making each student’s work visible encourages their involvement and motivates them to participate. Students are willing and interested in the work of their colleagues. The ease of use of the platform for the teacher and students allows them to focus on the content rather than the technical aspect.

It is necessary to plan to create categories in advance to classify students’ publications (e.g., “Exercise 1”). Do not hesitate to ask students to use their smartphones to photograph and share paper-and-pencil exercises. When working on a computer, students can be asked to share a screenshot of their work.

Student feedback

“During one of the exercises, we had to share on Beekee Live, images representing two versions of prototypes of a site we were creating. The practical side of Beekee Live is that access is very fast. You just need to have the link and access it. No registration is required which is a real time saver. In addition, having the ability to publish and insert in our publications different types of files, such as images, PDF or Word files is also an asset. Secondly, the fact that we have to share our work in public, in full view of all the students and teachers, makes us more committed and forces us to provide quality work. Not to mention that everyone who has access to this platform can comment on the publications and provide immediate feedback. This gives a more interactive feel to the course and allows us to have a record of this feedback, which can be useful for teachers and students.”