“Chargers Info Spot”

At our school, middle-school students sometimes forget their schedule or are unaware of schedule changes. As a result, they arrive in class late, receive negative consequences from the teachers and experience additional stress.
Another problem that we needed to solve was that middle-school students would not know what lunch clubs they could go to on any given day. For example, on Wednesday, there might be a new lunch club offered that someone might not know exists.
At times, there are special events held in the school that do not follow the regular schedule. If a student missed an announcement about it, they might end up in the wrong place at the wrong time (ex. in the math classroom instead at the grade assembly in the auditorium), or they might miss a bake sale, scavenger hunt in the library, or other special event.
Additionally, The recess schedule varies from day to day due to the weather. This also causes confusion.

To solve the problem, we have followed the design thinking process that is centered on the user’s needs. In the first phase of the process, “Discover,” we interviewed students, administration, and other stakeholders. We analyzed the necessary functions of the solution and constructed our Design Goal Statement, and we researched similar existing products. Next, in the “Ideate” stage, we brainstormed and formed our ideas and product design. We often went back to the “Discover” phase to gather additional feedback from our stakeholders. As we moved to the “Prototype” step, we developed our ideas using AutoCad, Google Slides, and Google Sites as well as actual hardware we are going to use for the product (Raspberry Pi 5.0 and a touch screen). Throughout this process, we kept checking with our users and made needed changes. Finally, we plan to “Deploy” our product by collaborating with Boyce Technologies inc. (a company we partner with). We also plan for future upgrades based on data collected from the Chargers Infor Spot users.

Using the Design Thinking Process, we created a product that addresses an authentic problem that middle-school students experience. Our mini touchscreen “kiosks” will provide them with easy and fast access to critical information by being installed in the most convenient places at school. Students will be able to quickly navigate to their class schedules, special events information, and important announcements. The Chargers Info Spot will help students be on time for classes, not miss out on events and special programs, and have good learning and social experiences at school.