A Platform for Learning all Educational Subjects through Music
Extending the Educational Reach and Benefits of Music
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Rock Hall) had an online learning program which was struggling to gain popularity. Their goal was to reimagine the program as an online resource for teachers to integrate music into other educational subjects like History or STEM-focused areas.
Understanding the End User
To kick off the project, Caxy first implemented a discovery process in order to better understand who uses the online learning program and to find opportunities for improvement. A competitive analysis was conducted to better understand the space and learn how the Rock Hall’s online education tool could have the biggest impact. The existing catalogue of educational content was also audited, to help develop a taxonomy structure.
User-centered design was a major goal for this project, and in order to deliver a strong user experience, Caxy interviewed employees and end users to develop a better understanding of the site users’ wants and needs. These interviews provided the basis for creating user personas and user journeys.
Incorporating Brand and Compliance Standards
Maintaining Rock Hall’s look and feel throughout their online presence was also key to this development project. Caxy worked closely with them, meeting regularly at every step of the process to ensure the site was built to their exact needs.
In addition to brand standards, the site required adhering to various compliance standards in order to make certain all end users were kept safe and had complete access to the online content. The site was built to be fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) standards.
The Technical Details
The main Rock Hall website is built in Drupal, so in order to maintain consistency and make seamless integrations as needed, Caxy built their educational site in Drupal 8, as well.
The site’s existing library of educational content was expansive, with new content being added regularly. Caxy worked with the Rock Hall team to tag and categorize content and media so that a SOLR Search interface could easily comb through the content to present results.
A clear sign-up process was built for creating user accounts for teachers. Special features reserved specifically for registered users were implemented, such as access to copyrighted material, creating custom collections of materials pulled from the content library, and the ability to share materials with others through temporary authorization links.
Engage, Teach, and Inspire
The finished Rock Hall Edu site provides a natural transition from the main website for users. The easy-to-understand faceted search delivers a smooth user experience where users can find what they need more quickly. Their educational site helps the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame achieve its mission to engage, teach, and inspire through the power of rock and roll.
