With my unique combination of training, consulting, design and tech, I wanted to create a ‘learning by doing’ online experience from the Design Thinking and Innovation program at SMU. Last week, I took my students to design a tin foil hat prototype. Rather than explaining in abstract terms, I want to encourage them to act, create tangible ideas, & build to think. In school, we are taught to plan before we execute. Prototyping allows us to develop ideas in a different way by thinking with our hands. We may not have an idea completely developed, but the act of building it pushes our thinking forward. While there were some initial reservations amongst my students, they were dispelled after I took the lead to create my own. By story-telling & creating a culture of play & risk-taking through the creation of a low-fidelity prototype, our ideas came alive. Today, there is a strong need to redesign & optimize user experiences to overcome adversities. I was challenged to be creative while navigating through 3 screens to engage my students during online training to not compromise their experience. Special thanks to our guest speaker, Bhavna Luthra Taneja, a mobile transformation leader at Google, who shared with us the importance of UX and some tips to design a great online experience.