Concepting:
My partner, Medini Cardenas, and I wanted to create an app that could change the world, starting with children, the creative thinkers of tomorrow. As children, we remember the nightmares of the dreaded red pen and the damage it could do to last night’s homework. Medini and I wanted to create a digital planner and homework rewards program that could encourage elementary age students to complete their assignments with a help from their own personal buddy. Genie is our solution.

Because it has been a while since either one of us has stepped into a 3rd grade classroom and experienced what life is like during the time of recess and arts and crafts we had to do some user research. Do to the logistics and issues surrounding working with children, I had the help of a teacher, Beth Langendefer, to give us some insight into the typical elementary school classroom environment. Beth gave us some direction through stories and information about what homework assignments are like for elementary school students today. From her stories, Medini and I were able to create our little hero, Pete. Pete has always had trouble with school and keeping on task with assignments. 

 

From the hero scenario user flow diagram, Medini and I were able to create a possible flow from screen to screen and how Genie can help a student like Pete. 

 

With resources like the buddy help, teacher Q&A section, and helpful websites for certain assignments, Pete and his parents can reach out to the teacher and get a better understanding of the assignment. Buddy Help is a personalized Homework Genie to guide the child through each homework project.