| |
Google sent out a call for entries called Project 10100, asking people to submit project ideas that they could invest in, in order to help a large number of people.
The following is one of the project proposals that I submitted.
Your idea's name:
Kidnooz
Please select a category that best describes your idea.
- Community: How can we help connect people, build communities and protect unique cultures?
- Opportunity: How can we help people better provide for themselves and their families?
- Energy: How can we help move the world toward safe, clean, inexpensive energy?
- Environment: How can we help promote a cleaner and more sustainable global ecosystem?
- Health: How can we help individuals lead longer, healthier lives?
- Education: How can we help more people get more access to better education?
- Shelter: How can we help ensure that everyone has a safe place to live?
- Everything else: Sometimes the best ideas don't fit into any category at all.
What one sentence best describes your idea?
Kidnooz is an online blog application for kids (ages 7-13) where they will be able to update their friends and family with news about themselves.
Describe your idea in more depth.
This is a COPA-compliant blog interface, designed in a single-click "Wizard"-style, very kid-friendly design. This application will be designed with individual task completion in mind -- almost as a linear application without extraneous clutter (or distractions like banner ads or marketing messages). There would be both an English and a Spanish version of this site.
When I was seven, my father brought home our first computer. He told us that we weren't allowed to play games on it (it was only to be used for work and school), but I discovered that programming and testing games was an acceptable loop-hole. Granted, the games weren't that great (text adventures with Indiana Jones, in space, fighting zombies) but I learned quite a bit. A few years ago, I volunteered lead a class of third-graders through using the internet. I had the opportunity to have them test some Flash games that I helped build for Sony Metreon, and I also was able to observe how they used browsers, what attracted them, and how they navigated from site to site. That led me to design a communication and social network style system for them that they could play around in, but that would also protect them while encouraging them to explore, learn, and grow.
Certain security measures will be enacted to ensure children's safety. Parents must be involved, both to help set up the account, and to have oversight over the child's activities. A vulgarity filter (similar to ones I've built for Blockbuster and Qualcomm) would be implemented, as well as additional monitoring. The information architecture will be designed in such a way as to make it very difficult for users to casually browse and interact with users they do not already know (whether personally or through some other medium).
What problem or issue does your idea address?
Most children have a point in their life where they struggle with reading and writing. Once they get over their learning hump, these things become easier…but some struggle with this for years (and possibly end up as adults who hate to read or write). However, if these children are engaged in an activity that inherently encourages them to pick up and practice these skills, they're more likely to conquer them -- especially if they are rewarded for doing so. In this case, the rewards are the same satisfaction of publishing a document and connecting with friends…the same internal reward system that causes adults to blog. Additionally, having this site function the same in both Spanish and English will help school children who are struggling with making the transition (or dealing with bilingual vocabulary issues).
If your idea were to become a reality, who would benefit the most and how?
Kidnooz benefits all children -- not just developmentally challenged, or hyperactive, or dyslexic children. Once they are shown the site and given basic instructions from a parent or guardian (like when they would go to cartoonnetwork.com or a similar site) they'll be able to run home after school, get on the computer, write a quick note, and publish it to their friends. The feeling that they get of communicating with the world at large (even within a site that protects them) is the same as the feeling a child gets when they make a personal magazine or newspaper -- but even better, this one encourages real-time feedback from their friends and classmates!
What are the initial steps required to get this idea off the ground
I have initial wireframes that I have designed and would need to finish, which will then need to be tested with a real classroom of children. After testing for a week or two, new designs will be created which will then be implemented -- and a beta site will be launched. Additional testing and a soft-rollout will occur (as well as making sure the site is architected to be stable and scalable) prior to a full national launch (and then further usability testing, including eyetracking, and the design and development of additional features -- that will not impact the simplicity or the functionality that is required).
Describe the optimal outcome should your idea be selected and successfully implemented. How would you measure it?
The best possible outcome would be that kidnooz would be adopted by school boards nationally (or the Department of Education) similar to the way other programs are introduced and propagated. Realistically, the creation of a series of lesson-based programs designed for teachers, as well as supplementary information for parents, should be implemented in concert with a national marketing campaign. Interfaces for parents to track progress and monitor their child's usage would also be implemented.
According to the 2006 US Census, there were 28 million school-children, aged 7-13. If only 1% of them used the site, that would still be 280,000 users…which would be a good initial goal for the site (5,600 students per US State).
0 Comments
Submit a Comment:
|
