An AI workspace that absorbs the 70% of admin work teachers shouldn’t

be doing — so they can focus on the 30%

that actually matters.

We ask teachers to be "inspirers," but we force them to be administrators. Research shows that modern educators spend roughly 70% of their time on administrative friction—planning, documentation, and formatting—leaving only 30% for actual creative teaching. This inefficiency is feeding a systemic burnout crisis.

The Competence-Capacity Gap

The issue isn't a lack of skill; it's a lack of bandwidth. My research revealed that 86% of teachers have high design confidence, yet 76% still default to static PowerPoints because they lack the time to use better tools. This "Admin Load" creates a barrier where teachers abandon creative ideas at the execution stage due to sheer decision fatigue.

The Design Goal

To build a system that automates the rigid 70% so teachers can reclaim their creative 30%. The design goal was to shift the interaction model from "Creation" (doing it yourself) to "Curation" (reviewing AI suggestions), thereby bridging the gap between a teacher's high potential and their limited time.

The Action Funnel: Where Intentions Fail

I analyzed the existing teacher workflow using the CREATE Action Funnel to pinpoint exactly where intentions were failing. The analysis revealed a critical drop-off at the "Execution" stage. Teachers had the 'Cue' (Lesson Idea) and 'Reaction' (Desire), but the 'Evaluation' (Effort required) caused them to abandon the task.

The Root Cause: Time Pressure & Siloed Teaching

We started by asking why teachers don't just "use better tools." By mapping the root causes, we discovered a web of interdependent blockers. Burnout isn't just about "too much work"—it's fed by rigid systems, lack of resources, and emotional fatigue. This meant Aurika couldn't just be a tool; it had to be an intervention.

This system feeds itself. Time Pressure fuels Burnout, which leads to Poor Utilization of Tools, resulting in Siloed Teaching. Aurika serves as the intervention point: by automating the "Time Pressure," we break the cycle before it reaches "Burnout."

Numbers tell one story; voices tell another. I grouped interview insights into thematic clusters to understand the emotional toll behind the data. Three dominant patterns emerged around time pressure, innovation barriers, and lack of institutional support.

"Teacher" is not a monolith. By mapping users on axes of Focus (Student vs. Personal) and Approach (Traditional vs. Progressive), I identified four distinct mindsets that require different UX strategies.

Before jumping into features, I distilled the research into three design principles that would govern every decision going forward.

Before jumping into design, I mapped every potential feature against two axes: user/business impact and engineering effort. This framework ensured we weren't just building what was exciting — we were building what would move the needle fastest.

The MVP Scope

From the Impact-Effort analysis, I carved the MVP into three tiers: The Foundation (core lesson tools), The Differentiators (what makes Aurika unique), and The Hygiene (minimum expectations). Everything else was scoped into the V2.0 roadmap.

Research finding: Teachers overwhelmingly wanted tools to create faster, not tools to connect with peers. The survey data explicitly deprioritized "Social Features" (only 32% interest) in favor of Creation Tools.
Design response: We cut the planned "Community Feed" feature entirely to focus on the Simulation Engine and One-Click Presentation Generator.

Research finding: Teachers feel guilty assigning "busywork" (copying from the board) just to fill time, but they lack the resources to create engaging materials quickly.
Design response: Aurika's Automated Visual Aids shift the paradigm from "Dictation" to "Creation" — auto-converting text into visual worksheets, mind maps, and diagrams that fulfill learning outcomes without the boredom.

Leveraging Familiar Mental Models

Teachers don't need better design tools; they need faster ones. While tools like Canva and ChatGPT are powerful, they fail in the classroom context because they demand high Creative Bandwidth (Prompting, Layout, Design). Aurika bridges this gap by shifting the interaction model from "Creation" (Doing it yourself) to "Curation" (Reviewing AI suggestions).

1. The Foundation (The Entry Point)

First, I ensured the 'Entry Experience' felt familiar by adopting Canva's dashboard logic — teachers already know how to navigate this ecosystem.

The Interaction Model: Shifting from Creation to Curation

2. The Interaction Model (The Brain)

Next, I solved the "Blank Page" paralysis by replacing open chatbots with Scoped Defaults — inspired by Khanmigo's structured template approach.

Feature Audit (Khanmigo)

3. The Workspace (The Editor)

For the writing interface, I adopted Notion's distraction-free editor to keep cognitive load low, while following Google NotebookLM's layout to promote multi-level task management.

Feature Audit (Google NotebookLM & Notion)

4. The Visual Engine (The "Architect" Feature)

To support visual learners, I built a "Universal Visualizer" leveraging Mapify's summarization logic and FigJam's toolbar IA for automated node creation.

Feature Audit (FigJam, Whimsical & Mapify)

Feature Audit (FigJam & Mapify)

5. The Narrative Engine (The Output)

Finally, to automate the daily grind, I utilized Snapdeck's flow to auto-generate narrative-driven slides directly from lesson summaries.

Automating the narrative flow: From summary to slides

Visualizing the decision trees and data pipelines that power the personalized experience.

User Flow: Calibration Wizard — From persona inputs to personalized UI

User Flow: End-to-end presentation generation pipeline

Research finding: The User Archetypes study revealed four distinct teaching mindsets, each requiring a different UX approach.
Design response: Instead of a one-size-fits-all interface, Aurika starts by interviewing the teacher to tailor the experience — capturing teaching style, subject preferences, and classroom persona to prevent "blank page syndrome" before it starts.

Based on user inputs, Aurika re-ranks the toolbar. For an "Architect" type teacher, the Simulation Engine and Immersive Storyteller are promoted to the dashboard, while text-heavy tools are deprioritized.

Research finding: Teachers abandon creative ideas at the execution stage because the "blank canvas" demands too many decisions upfront — leading to "Decision Fatigue" where logistics, creativity, and discipline compete for the same mental bandwidth.
Design response: Instead of starting from zero, Aurika removes the "Blank Page" entirely. The "Quick Aids" row pre-populates context-aware tools based on the teacher's active projects and persona, while structured templates (Lesson Plans, Exit Tickets) require only minimal input to execute — eliminating decision fatigue before work begins.

Start Creating Screen

Adaptive Tool Weighting

Research finding: Teachers with strong visual or architectural instincts are forced through the same generic toolbar as everyone else—burying the simulation and storyboard tools they actually need under layers of text-centric defaults.
Design response: Recognizing the user's 'Architect' persona, the system prioritizes high-fidelity Simulation and Storyboard tools over standard text editors. Additionally, Smart Caching analyzes recent activity to proactively suggest relevant aids for current topics.

Adaptive Prompt Suggestions

Research finding: Science is often taught as abstract theory because concepts like "Types of Forces" are delivered as static text—when they would be far better understood through activities, diagrams, and visual mind maps. But creating those materials manually takes too much logistic effort for an overworked teacher—the setup cost outweighs the benefit.
Design response: Aurika's editor actively monitors lesson content and, when it detects text that could be better represented as a diagram, mind map, or interactive activity, it suggests and generates the visual automatically. Teachers don't have to leave the writing flow—the system surfaces a "Generate Mind Map" or "Create Activity" prompt inline, turning static notes into rich visual aids with a single click.

Aurika detects lesson content and auto-generates visual aids like mind maps directly in the editor

Class Persona: From Roster to Roadmap

Research finding: Standard LMS tools treat every class as a generic list of names—ignoring the behavioral dynamics that determine whether a lesson plan will land or fall flat.
Design response: Aurika introduces a calibration step, allowing teachers to input behavioral data (like energy levels and social dynamics) to generate a unique "Psychological Profile" for every section.

Qualitative Input to Pedagogical Strategy

Research finding: Traditional tools track grades and attendance—hard metrics that say nothing about why a lesson failed to connect. The soft signals (energy, independence, social dynamics) that actually predict engagement go entirely uncaptured.
Design response: Aurika captures soft metrics like 'Independence Scale' and 'Social Dynamics' and analyzes them to generate a 'Winning Strategy.' For example, warning a teacher that a 'High Energy' class will likely disengage with long lectures, suggesting interactive video modules instead.

Persona Reveal Wizard

Dynamic Visual Archetypes

Research finding: Teachers walk into classrooms blind to the behavioural makeup of the group—there is no quick way to recall whether this section needs movement, debate, or quiet focus.
Design response: To reduce cognitive load, the system assigns a visual mascot to each class profile based on their dominant traits. A quick glance tells the teacher if they are walking into a room of 'Kinetic Movers' (who need activity) or 'Social Connectors' (who need debate), helping them mentally prepare before the bell rings.

Research finding: Teachers bounce between a chat window, a document editor, and a visual canvas—each context switch costs cognitive momentum that never comes back. The silos between planning, drafting, and visualizing force redundant work at every hand-off.
Design response: Aurika breaks the silos between Chat, Document, and Canvas. A single workflow allows a teacher to plan, draft, and visualize without ever changing contexts.

Persona-Led Structure

Research finding: Presentation tools offer the same generic structure templates to every teacher—ignoring that a visual-first 'Architect' teaching a kinetic class needs a fundamentally different narrative arc than a lecture-driven instructor.
Design response: Based on the 'Architect' calibration and the class's 'Visual' tag, Aurika bypasses the standard 'Lecture' template and prioritizes the 'Visual Discovery' arc. It also proactively suggests injecting a Simulation Slide to handle the complex topic.

Musical Classes Showcase

Topic-Specific Theming

Research finding: Teachers waste time hunting for visually relevant presentation themes—generic 'Business Blue' templates feel disconnected from Biology or History content, adding formatting fatigue on top of content creation.
Design response: The system generates topic-specific visual themes (e.g., Organic/Nature for Biology, Archive/Sepia for History) that match the lesson content—eliminating the formatting decision entirely.

Presentation Iteration Selector

Research finding: 76% of teachers default to static PowerPoints — not because they lack creativity, but because interactive formats require too much setup time. Meanwhile, teachers know that "Stories" stick better than "Facts," but finding a relevant real-world analogy for every topic is impossible in a 40-minute prep window.
Design response: Aurika doesn't just change the content; it changes the format. The system detects the subject nature — practical vs. theoretical — and automatically swaps the module engine to match. Science gets interactive simulations; history gets narrative-driven storytelling. A built-in "Real-Life Context" generator instantly finds metaphors, historical events, or news stories related to the syllabus topic to act as Lesson Hooks.

Subject Specific Learning Engines

Universal Deployment

Research finding: Every new interactive format introduces a new interface—teachers who master a simulation tool still have to relearn controls for storytelling modules, multiplying cognitive overhead.
Design response: Regardless of the engine (Simulation or Story), the "Launch Live Mode" interaction remains consistent. This lowers the learning curve, allowing teachers to switch between complex Physics experiments and History roleplays without learning a new UI.

Simulation Hosting Screen

Research finding: Teachers constantly switch between disconnected tools—a chat window, a document editor, a visual canvas—losing context and momentum at every transition. The cognitive cost of tool-switching erodes the creative energy they need for lesson design.
Design response: Aurika reduces friction through context-aware interfaces. Whether drafting via shortcuts or directing visuals via chat, the UI morphs to fit the task—keeping teachers in a single flow.

The Text Refiner & The Visual Editor

Research finding: Editing text and editing visuals are treated as entirely separate workflows—teachers draft in one tool, then re-import and reformat in another, duplicating effort and losing fidelity.
Design response: The Chat Assistant surfaces both a Text Refiner and a Visual Editor as contextual modes within the same interface. Teachers refine copy or direct visual changes without ever leaving the conversation.

The Logic Map

Research finding: As AI-powered features multiply, the relationship between user intent and system action becomes opaque—teachers cannot predict what the tool will do, eroding trust.
Design response: A transparent architecture map connects every user intent to its executable action across the Teaching Aids ecosystem—making the system legible to both designers and educators.

Base (Chat Assistant)

Key Learnings

Future Scope

The current design addresses the core creation workflow. Here's what's next: