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Todd Diemer
Todd Diemer is the User Research Lead at Khan Academy, the non-profit educational organization created in 2006 to provide free, world-class education for students nationally and internationally. He is a user researcher rooted in qualitative methods, which has rooted his career in mission-driven organizations, including the Peace Corps, Fitbit, and Khan Academy.
Todd's work focuses on user research efforts to help build empathy with and design for the students, teachers, district leaders, and parents who use Khan Academy. He is passionate about education through new media, a part-time photographer, and a full-time Christmas enthusiast.
In the inaugural episode of the second series of the Optimistic Design podcast, I talk to Todd about how he has taken the overarching vision of Khan Academy into account when leveraging his skills as a leader of user research. We discuss what differentiates Khan Academy as an education technology company, why Todd’s work itself is at the intersection of both education and technology, and his background in both spaces.
Todd shares the advice that he would give to other researchers that are interested in working at the intersection of education, design, and technology. He discusses what he feels is most important to consider when designing for this unique space. We also dive into how Todd’s experience of being part of the Peace Corps in West Africa and why their user-centered design approach still has such an impact on Todd today.
“A lot of my personal joy comes from helping us focus in, and get a better sense of where we can really have the most impact” - Todd Diemer.
“It's really important for anyone who's interested in education, design, and technology and research to get to know teachers and students and classrooms today.” - Todd Diemer.
In this Episode
01:44 How Todd became interested in user research and why his time in The Gambia compounded his fascination with how people use technology.
02:59 Who influenced and inspired how Todd approaches his work today.
07:11 The role of the researcher and the responsibility they have to contribute to and collaborate with product teams when working on projects.
12:46 Khan Academy is an organization that aims to support students nationally and globally, and how Todd thinks about designing for education technology on that scale.
21:25 What equity-centered design means to Todd as a researcher.
23:54 How the design research field is evolving, and Todd’s thoughts on the direction it should take.
27:42 Skill sets that are most important for aspiring new user researchers.
29:41 The best research advice that anyone gave Todd.
Resources and Social
Todd Diemer on LinkedIn
Khan Academy website
Khan Academy on Facebook
Khan Academy on Instagram
Khan Academy on YouTube
Connect with Substantial - Optimistic Design:
Podcast
Website
View all episodes
By Optimistic DesignTodd Diemer is the User Research Lead at Khan Academy, the non-profit educational organization created in 2006 to provide free, world-class education for students nationally and internationally. He is a user researcher rooted in qualitative methods, which has rooted his career in mission-driven organizations, including the Peace Corps, Fitbit, and Khan Academy.
Todd's work focuses on user research efforts to help build empathy with and design for the students, teachers, district leaders, and parents who use Khan Academy. He is passionate about education through new media, a part-time photographer, and a full-time Christmas enthusiast.
In the inaugural episode of the second series of the Optimistic Design podcast, I talk to Todd about how he has taken the overarching vision of Khan Academy into account when leveraging his skills as a leader of user research. We discuss what differentiates Khan Academy as an education technology company, why Todd’s work itself is at the intersection of both education and technology, and his background in both spaces.
Todd shares the advice that he would give to other researchers that are interested in working at the intersection of education, design, and technology. He discusses what he feels is most important to consider when designing for this unique space. We also dive into how Todd’s experience of being part of the Peace Corps in West Africa and why their user-centered design approach still has such an impact on Todd today.
“A lot of my personal joy comes from helping us focus in, and get a better sense of where we can really have the most impact” - Todd Diemer.
“It's really important for anyone who's interested in education, design, and technology and research to get to know teachers and students and classrooms today.” - Todd Diemer.
In this Episode
01:44 How Todd became interested in user research and why his time in The Gambia compounded his fascination with how people use technology.
02:59 Who influenced and inspired how Todd approaches his work today.
07:11 The role of the researcher and the responsibility they have to contribute to and collaborate with product teams when working on projects.
12:46 Khan Academy is an organization that aims to support students nationally and globally, and how Todd thinks about designing for education technology on that scale.
21:25 What equity-centered design means to Todd as a researcher.
23:54 How the design research field is evolving, and Todd’s thoughts on the direction it should take.
27:42 Skill sets that are most important for aspiring new user researchers.
29:41 The best research advice that anyone gave Todd.
Resources and Social
Todd Diemer on LinkedIn
Khan Academy website
Khan Academy on Facebook
Khan Academy on Instagram
Khan Academy on YouTube
Connect with Substantial - Optimistic Design:
Podcast
Website