Parents can have peace of mind as kids explore Outschool's new Learner Space

Outschool is excited to announce Learner Space, where kids can attend Outschool classes and favorite upcoming classes they want to take.

Learner Space encourages confidence by giving learners a voice to independently discover what they want to explore next (all with parents’ final approval, of course).

In Learner Space, kids can:

• Favorite classes they'd like to take in the future (but never buy them!)
• Directly email teachers (parents can get copies of the messages if they want)
• Keep track of assigned coursework and upcoming classes
• View their schedule and participate in class

It’s important to note that learners cannot purchase classes or view messages between their parents and their teachers once they are switched into Learner Space.

Kids are expected to use Learner Space because Parents' Space is not designed for kids under 13.

To protect kids, we've put in place controls to prevent them from accessing Parent Space. We encourage parents to play around with Learner Space to understand how it works.

New features further Outschool’s mission

At Outschool, we believe learning should be fun, social and self-directed.

According to User Research Lead Megan Schemenskie, “research showed that parents, not learners, were the ones searching for classes and making enrollment decisions.”

These findings led to the realization that learners needed their own space on Outschool.

Megan worked with Outschool designers to create the first learner space in August and then handed the project over to Product Manager Brett van Zuiden.

According to Brett, these initial features offer a foundation that Outschool can build on. It will also further Outschool’s mission of helping all kids to love learning.

“Outschool helps kids love learning by making learning social and making it self-directed. Now, learners will be able to communicate more easily through the product with their classmates and their teachers,” Brett said.

The same safe experience that Outschool has created for live online classes applies to these new features, too. In order to exit the learner’s space and enter the parent log-in, a password is required. This ensures families have a say about the access their kids get on Outschool.

A growing community of learners

As Outschool develops its Learner Community, and sees other examples of learners connecting with each other and building friendships, Brett believes this new dedicated space for learners will make those kinds of happy serendipities even more likely.

Before, learners had to interact through their parents’ accounts, which could feel awkward, especially for older learners.

“We hope it’ll be easier and more natural for learners to say, ‘I'm going to engage in this classroom or community conversation because it's my account, and it feels like my space,” Brett said.

Brett, Megan and the Outschool team are excited for this new space and for the future of the learner experience on Outschool, as Learner Space becomes a place where learners can discover new topics and classes that they are passionate about, and connect with other kids who share their interests.

For more information about Learner Space, see Outschool’s support article here.