Self-Initiated Technologies, Platforms and UX Project – Task 1 part 1

For this project I have chosen to develop a learning app for children to aid in learning to spell, I have chosen this as before a child leaves key stage one they are assessed on 100 high frequency words which they have to be able to recognise, say, read and write but using the current teaching method of the phonetic alphabet this is sometimes confusing for children as it may not sound out how it is actually said.

My target audience for the actual usage of the app would be for children aged 4-6 initially but this would expand after the initial launch once established. Although aimed for young children the look has to also appeal to both parents and education professionals as these are the people who will be giving the child access to the app.

I have started by researching into early development to focus on what the children of my chosen age should be able to do in regard to educational milestones

I have also looked into how a child’s mind operates at this age to make sure that the app would have the best success rate to make it more promoted by schools and parents generating free advertisement.

The market research aspect was fairly simple as my daughter is within this age bracket, a simple search on any app store will show numerous educations spelling apps available for children but as a parent they all seem to be patronising towards children in the way they are presented as the modern child is already more mature than past generations at the current age.

The key demographic factors that will be most helpful are;

Age Disability

EducationMy age has been set but I will be running a lot of ideas and factors by children of that age to make sure that the app is suitable, my app will have to be able to be used across the board for any form of disabilities that a child may have so I will make sure I incorporate both sound and visuals, and that the navigation is very simple to make sure that even with any minor-motor restriction it could still be used. I have researched the educational expectation for the age range I have chosen but have also spoken to my daughter’s school teacher for any other factors I may have to include or change but this can be more helpful once a wire frame has been created.

Self-Initiated Technologies, Platforms and UX Project – Task 1 part 2

My app design will be solely using technology which is available, this will be able to integrate the devices camera to recognise the flashcards which would be available to go alongside the app but not a necessity to make the app work it would just expand on the current 100 high frequency words it is aimed to teach.

As technology expands and increases its possibilities so would the app, it would incorporate face recognition so that it would identify to the child and load their profile and settings along with the personal information they need to learn such as full name both actual spelling and phonically spelt. It would also use GPS linked with AR and the camera to allow the child to point the camera at any item or an image and it would spell it out and allow them to copy the word out. It would also incorporate fingerprint recognition which would probably be put in place after the initial launch as the first update, this would mainly be beneficial for schools to create personal profiles for the children to be able to track overall progress easier.

 Over all I think that the ideas and concept I have come up with will create a strong foundation of an app which will only become better and stronger as technology develops further.

Self-Initiated Technologies, Platforms and UX Project – Task 1 part 3

Due to this being an app designed for children I decided to test out names and font on the targeted audience to make sure I was using the best possible option for both, I did this by selecting 5 of the high frequency words and generating a sheet with them in multiple fonts which I found was most used in children’s literature both digital and printed text and send this into my daughters school where the teacher showed it to the children to see which they found easiest to read and relate to. I was stuck between four name options, so I created a quick sheet to send in with the fonts with the name

options in a box to just tally up the results after asking the children which they would like the game to be named. The results of which are below:

Self-Initiated Technologies, Platforms and UX Project – Task 1 part 4

my research reference from children’s education and development resources:

Self-Initiated Technologies, Platforms and UX Project – Task 2

Technology is constantly changing and developing new ways to use and interact with the world around us, some of these which may affect my app design are;

Google glass – this will allow my app to be able to display to display the notification of how the word is spelt on the screen over the image which is how the potential end result of my app envisioned, but due to the large price tag attached to this technology it is not an option for this start up.

Personal 3D printers – this wouldn’t benefit the app at all as it would just be the same as handing the child a ball and letter tiles, this would be a step back in how education has developed, and it may lose a child’s attention a lot quicker.

Virtual reality – virtual reality in cases such as Oculus Rift is becoming ever popular within the game world, this could be both an incredible add on to me app or a very dangerous option due to the targeted age range. Within the classroom where the child is supervised the ability to enter a virtual world would engage the children in learning by using their hands to copy words or move letters around but this would have to have some sort of adult override or lock in enable this feature as otherwise it could prove to be very dangerous with children walking around the street without actually paying attention to the real world around them resulting in accidents.

Eye Tribe (eye tracking)- have developed the technology that uses your eye movement to control the device or application, this would allow for anyone who has server physical inabilities to still be able to use the app making it more marketable to more specially catered schools allowing everyone to be included. Although this technology is available it has yet to receive the backing it requires so is still a bit out of price range for this start up app.

Self-Initiated Technologies, Platforms and UX Project – Task 4 Evaluation

Due to circumstances discussed with my tutor where I incurred loss of work through no fault of my own this has been the hardest module to date. Although I’m satisfied with what I was able to achieve starting again with none of my original work or resources, having said that I feel that I need to use Adobe XD a bit more to become more confident with it, if I was I feel id have been able to create a better prototype and if I was to do it again I would like to have more time to develop it further.