Week 10: The Finale

I am composing this blog as of late, having just been made aware that a final blog entry was deemed necessary to close out the class. Having just completed all of my assignments, I find that I am in more of a reflective state, taking into consideration all that I have learned in professor Kim’s class over the past ten weeks. This has been a class that (as an artist) I have come to really appreciate. I was allotted time and freedom to explore a topic of emotional interest to me. The tools taught were extremely helpful as they assured that my presentation was well thought out and thorough in its execution. The prototype that was developed is something that I feel great about using for my final project for the LDT program. So many of my other classes here at Stanford assisted in the design process. Taking into consideration things like the user interface, psychology, educational policy, learning theory and marginalized populations, I believe that I have come up with a final project piece that could revolutionize the way teachers teach, students learn and parents participate in the education system. This is very exciting and I am grateful for the support of my professor and the 2010 LDT cohort for their inspiration and feedback.

Our final week of class was spent preparing for our formal presentations. We anticipated many companies coming to see and hear about what we had designed. It was a great! As I listened to each of my classmates present, I noticed considerable difference between how they and their prototypes had evolved over the course of the class. The designs were very thorough and each student was confident and passionate about what it was they were presenting about. We must have made a good impression during out two-minute pitches, because our corporate visitors came ready to ask questions. For the most part we were all able to give sound responses to their questions and I know for particularly for myself, people walked away impressed, congratulating me on my project and wishing me success with it as I moved forward. Although I made no official contacts with any of the corporations present, I feel that I have the makings of a good mobile application on my hands. The only criticism I received was with regard to how well it could be implemented, without disrupting the student classroom and parent-working center. I do admit, this will take a great deal of communication and organization on behalf of the parent and teacher, but this is a relationship worth while building as it supports the child. The biggest error a parent can make is to believe that they are too busy to take part in their child’s education, especially since they are such a huge motivating factor. This is the beginning of a new way of teaching; a way I have that I have been waiting in anticipation of for a long time.

My goal over the next couple of months is to develop a functional prototype and conduct some user testing in one of the neighboring schools that caters to children who are at risk, or who are with special needs. I am inspired! This has been a great experience for me.