CUROSPHERE
NCAT Spring’ 23 Hackathon
"Learn through play, master through repetition."
A mobile application designed to be inclusive and accessible, encouraging individuals who may struggle with understanding STEM concepts to learn in a fun and gamified way. By addressing their weaknesses, our product aims to foster their confidence and empower them to pursue a career in STEM, ultimately helping to close the knowledge gap.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
In today’s workplace, there is a huge amount of missing talent due to either layoffs or natural attrition creating a major knowledge gap. Though the workforce decreases, the workloads and knowledge needed by organizations to effectively run stays the same. Having the ability to quickly close the knowledge gap while providing engaging training (particularly for science, technology, engineering, and math) is key.
HONEYWELL’S CHALLENGE
Create a game-based app that can train the knowledge gap for STEM concepts. As students (or potential candidates), think about how you would like to learn science, engineering, and math concepts to quickly come up to speed utilizing a game-based app.
OUR TASK
Target Audience
Primary: Laid-off STEM Professionals
Secondary: College & High School Students
Goal
Our aim is to bridge the knowledge gap within the STEM industry by designing a fun and effective educational platform that improves understanding of specific concepts.
CONDUCTING OUR RESEARCH
(Internet Research)
According to the National Science Foundation's 2019 report, in the United States, underrepresented minorities make up about 9% of the STEM workforce. More specifically, African Americans make up about 5% of the STEM workforce, Hispanics/Latinos make up about 7%, and Native Americans make up less than 1%
According to a survey conducted by the Computing Technology Industry Association, 56% of employers reported having difficulty filling tech positions due to a lack of qualified candidates
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment rates for computer and mathematical occupations were higher than the national average during the pandemic which suggests that there may have been a disconnect between the knowledge and skills that employers were seeking and the skills possessed by those who lost their jobs
A study by the National Science Foundation found that women and other minorities are underrepresented in STEM fields, which contributes to a lack of diversity
In a survey of 1,000 adults conducted by the Pew Research Center, 44% of respondents cited a lack of interest as the primary reason for not pursuing a career in STEM.
Finally, a study conducted by the American Psychological Association found that fear of failure can be a significant barrier to learning in STEM fields, particularly among students who have had negative experiences with math and science in the past.
Our Findings
STATISTICS
82% of execs reported shortage of qualified tech candidates (2019 survey)
Derived Pain Points
To positively impact the lives of these two individuals - a laid off professional and a college student who could most benefit from an engaging and stimulating learning experience - we aimed to design a product that would meet their needs. In order to gain insights on their pain points and potential gains, we connected with them and conducted research to identify workable design solutions.
USER PERSONAS
OUR THOUGHT PROCESS
Based on the derived pain points and our ideas, we developed solutions that can assist users in their journey to mastering STEM concepts.
Idenitifed Paint Points & Their Solutions
Leveraging our solutions, we have identified several key features that are certain to motivate and aid students in their learning journey, while also ensuring accessibility and inclusivity for all.
Key Features
After brainstorming, we proceeded to draw out wireframes to obtain a clear visualization of our intended design.
STARTING THE DESIGN
Digital Wireframes for Course Screens
Done by Jennifer
Digital Wireframes for Community Screens
Done by Vanessa
Digital Wireframes for Game Screens
Done by NeZiah
Digital Wireframes for Dashboard Screens
Done by Chyenne
FINISHING THE DESIGN
To assess the feasibility of our design, we created high fidelity mockups from our digital wireframes before commencing the prototyping phase.
Introduction Screen
Opening
This is what will display when users first open the app.
Login/Continue
Next, users will be prompted to either log in or sign up by entering their school or personal email. They also have the option to proceed without logging in and browse through the contents of the app so as to decide if it meets their needs.
Questions
Following that, there will be a series of questions asking users about their STEM struggles. Essentially, this is meant to help the app recommend courses and games that can help the user improve.
Courses Screen - Available Courses
Available Courses
This page displays all the courses available on the app. There are a total of three sections where users are recommend courses to do and shown popular courses that other people have done. Additionally, from this screen, users are allowed to check their ‘In Progress‘ and ‘Completed‘ courses from the ‘My Courses‘ section. Other features include: A ‘categories’ section for other STEM concepts, a search bar, a filter component and an accessibility feature.
More on Courses
Clicking on a course under a specific section will direct the user to a page where they can view the course's ratings, the number of available lessons and games, save the course, start the course, and see their progress if they have already started the course.
Courses Screen - Demo + Description of Course
Upon selecting a course, users will be presented with the name of the course, instructor's name and photo, and a detailed course description.
Lectures
In this section, users can view the number of lectures and games available in their selected course, as well as the name of each lecture. They even have the option to download each lecture for offline access.
Offline
This section will display all the videos that the user has recently downloaded from their selected course. If no videos have been downloaded, the message above will be displayed.
View More
Here, users can access a range of options related to their selected course. They can recommend and share the course with others, seek clarification from the instructor by asking questions, enable course notifications, report any issues, and more
Course Scoreboard
When users complete the in-course games such as quizzes, tests, reviews, etc., their scores along with their username will be displayed and ranked among other users taking the course. This will foster healthy competition among players while promoting learning.
Community Screen
Leaderboard
Users can view the general scoreboard and add new friends in this section, which includes the results of all general games played within the app.
Notifications
In this section, users can give/receive motivational messages from their friends and get general notifications. Additionally, they can share their progress by uploading pictures, request study challenges, and participate in study sessions.
Messages
Here, learners can exchange messages with other users, view their friends list, and accept or decline friend requests from other users within the app.
Game Screen
Arcade
This section will contain the general games available for users to play in our product. There will be a diverse range of games for users to choose from, which are either single-player and multiplayer options.
Example Game
If a user is struggling to understand chemistry concepts, they can try playing this game which is similar to the popular game ‘2048’. However, instead of combining numbers, users will combine elements to learn about compounds and their characteristics.
Add Players
If a user wants to play a multiplayer game with their friends, this screen will allow them to add as many players as the game requires.
Dashboard Screen
Academic Calendar
This feature enables users to schedule events, set reminders, and view upcoming deadlines and events related to their courses, aiding them in staying on top of their studies and motivated to complete their work on time. By utilizing this feature, learners can improve their organizational skills and productivity in their studies.
Rewards
Within this section, users can access all the certificates and prizes they have earned for completing STEM courses or winning games. Additionally, they can view the challenges they have unlocked based on their progress and success within the app.
Profile
This section is dedicated to the user's profile, which includes their name, username, description, pronouns, and other relevant information. They can also customize their avatar and log out of the app from this screen.
Settings
Users can customize the app according to their preferences in this section. It contains four main sections, each with subsections that can be adjusted.
Takeways
A few words about our work!
Thanks for Reading!
While you’re here, take a moment to explore my other projects as well!
