Final-ish direction

Exploration

Direction 1

Hub 

timeline

preview of the year

selected year 

Mobile

opening screen

input methods

description

feed

Box Component (viewing & input)

time line/viewing

input options

Direction 2ish

Hub

timeline

view

mobile (input)

description

Our Final Presentation

In our system, we are proposing a memory box. This memory box can provide both the Alzheimer's patient and their caregiver comfort through the inevitable ups and downs of the disease. Our community consists of those living with the disease and those with a loved one living with this illness. Our online system is providing a way to preserve memories, both physically and digitally, both of the patient and their loved ones. More importantly and separately, as an offline activity, it is improving the quality of life for the patient by stimulating their senses by connecting them to their loved ones. It is also providing a coping mechanism for the families in preparation for the devastating eventual outcome of the disease. This memory box serves to immortalize an individual so that their presence and legacy will live on for generations to come.

Our three devices: The memory box meant primarily for the patient, the online hub to serve as a means to input, output, and archive, and our third device is the application for the iphone which serves solely as an input device.

Our presentation:

Let the blogging begin! (MX response)

While pondering the interwebs for an article, I turned to Fast Co. and found this article here. This article takes a look at how schools can implement the teaching and production methods of Google, IDEO, and Pixar. The article highlights High Tech High, a San Diego charter school practicing an educational system unlike any other.

First and foremost HTH has created an environment for its' students that promotes collaboration, spontaneity, and is just plain beautiful. In this school you won't find individual desks, narrow hall ways, or locker's stuffed with mirror's and Lisa Frank stickers like Bethany. You will find a spacious facility filled with glass, power tools, and students who aren't counting down the minutes to the end of class on their iPhones. The students at HTH want to be there. While the students study a broad range of subjects, they go about covering every subject on a project based learning (creating books, robots, games, animations, films). This simply means that rather than having courses on specified subjects their program places emphasis on the process, much like the principles of design. Instead of writing a book report, they can opt to create a book of their own, and share their process for feedback from teachers and fellow students.

It appears that an important characteristic of this school is the relationship between student and teacher. Respect amongst teacher and student is highly valued and practiced. Students are spoken to and treated like adults. The hierarchy in a learning environment has been leveled more so than a traditional high school, done so by sharing bathroom and cafeteria, in effect the students have proven to have less disciplinary problems and have a space that they enjoy coming to.

Ken Robinson spoke of planning for the future. We can predict what may happen, but can never truly be certain of what lies ahead. It seems that we have been out growing conventional teaching and learning facilities and methods. We have our own experiences with our education system and I'm sure we can agree it needs a little restructuring. Let us see what we can brew up, always more effictively collaboratively of course.