Mission: To make students feel more comfortable adjusting in a new environment with the support of their hometown and interests.
Specific Audience: College freshman possibly at UMKC, KCAI, Penn Valley, Rockhurst
How are you building community: We are planning on helping with the smooth transition of freshman by making them feel at ease and meet other people with similar backgrounds/interests.
ACTIVITY SCENARIOS
I am a freshman in college and am from out of state. I want to be connected more with my family/friends/community back at home.
This online hub will help college students stay connected with their home when they away. It will do this by letting them create an online profile which will have many functions and will act like the students are still part of their life back at home. This whole system will help the students stay at ease when they are nervous being away.
I am starting to get a little homesick as I am missing my home/old room.
This online hub will help college students stay connected with their home when they away. It will do this by letting them create an online profile which will have many functions and will act like the students are still part of their life back at home. This whole system will help the students stay at ease when they are nervous being away.
The online hub will help the college student adjust and feel at ease by letting them customize their homepage with photos from their house/hometown. They can decorate their homepage to their liking. You can also project photos on your dorm room walls so it feels like your room you might have back at home.
I miss seeing my mom.
This system will include a video chat and the option to project the person you are talking to on your wall so they feel like they are actually there with you in your dorm room.
I might not have the time to video chat with my mom, but could I quickly talk to her?
There will be a way to talk to her without the use of video chat. It will act like a phone.
I miss hearing/going to my little brother’s soccer games back at home.
Your customized profile will connect you with the soccer schedule of your little brother or any other local sporting event, along with updating you on the scores and by sharing photos of the game.
I live on a lake back at home, and moving into an inner city college makes me miss my hometown surroundings even more.
The online hub/app will let you have the ability to choose familiar sounds that you are used to hearing at home. It will then play them on your computer/iPad while you are hanging out in your dorm room. It will make you feel like you are still at home and comfortable with the lakeside atmosphere.
It would be nice to see what the weather is like back at home.
You can look up what the weather is like back where you are from, and have it displayed on your home page/profile so you can see it every time you log in.
My parents went to the state fair, and feel bad I wasn’t able to go since I am in college.
Your parents/friends can send you photos so you keep up to date with events happening in your hometown.
How can I find out who else is from my hometown around here?
When you personalize your profile on the online hub, there will be an option to view a list all of the people from the surrounding colleges that are also from your hometown.
What if I want to connect with other people that go to a nearby college that are also from my hometown? It will be nice to have friends that can relate to my home state.
Once you see the other people that are also from your hometown, you can have the option to message them and schedule a get together/outing.
What if I want to share my hometown interests/photos to my new friends?
Once you befriend people, you can have them see your customized homepage/profile of photos which can be of your home/family/lifestyle.
What if I am a foreign exchange student, and I want to see if there are any college clubs for the people of my home country?
Once you type in where you are from, the hub will list college clubs based on your home country. If the college you go to now doesn’t have a club, you can either have the ability to create a club or see if the surrounding colleges have the club you desire.
If I am getting homesick and miss the Italian food I enjoy from my hometown/country, what do I do?
On the online hub, you can have the option to select the types of foods you enjoy and it will recommend nearby restaurants that specialize in the food you enjoy. It will also list some other people from surrounding colleges that enjoy the same food/restaurants so you can have the option to invite them out with you.
I was very interested in history museums back at home, I really would like to continue going to them for fun, but I am new to this town.
The online hub will list nearby attractions if you list interests. It will even allow your parents help recommend nearby attractions. They will be able to give you a list of options that they will think you will like.
I need a specialized service where should I go?
It will recommend nearby services so you will know where to go. It will help you know the surrounding area incase you have troubles adjusting since you might not be familiar with the area.
I am Catholic and would like to know Catholic churches I can go to?
You can have the option to type in your religion, and it will give to search results for nearby churches along with other college students that attend those church services.
I got a good grade on my project and would love to share my achievement with my parents.
You can easily upload your projects/assignments to let your parents see your achievements. There is even a reward system. If your family wants to reward you for your good grades, they will have the ability to give you coupons/gifts cards to nearby restaurants/attractions.
I need help studying for a test.
This system will help stay connected with other classmates so you can prepare/organize study sessions.
Would this online system recommend other friends?
Once you start making friends that are also from your hometown, it will allow you to get to know their friends who have similar interests as you.
I am really starting to adjust to college well and its surroundings.
The more you branch out/do activities (check in at the places), it will generate rewards/discounts. This way, it will encourage students to be active and socialize.
MOOD BOARDS
Community/Audience:
Design Inspiration: (for online home pages/profiles/maps/projections in dorms)
All of the scenarios that I read above directly connected to a website/the online hub, but I did not see much that specifically talked about using the iPhone/iPad. I mean, I understand that this same information from the online hub can also be viewed on the iPhone, iPad, but I don't think that you really thought about the best ways to actively/effectively use the iPad/iPhone to its potential. I also didn't really see much in the form of speculative technology. The closest would be that projection for the video chat...but maybe it can be more speculative then just a large image of your mother being projected on the wall...maybe it has the ability to bring the scents of home as well, and maybe the furniture of the room that she's in...being her there totally virtually and not a flat regular rendering of her. Or, I totally could have just not understood what technologies you were using above. But I really think that the speculative technology should be a love more out there, not quiet tangible yet; as well as it should be a way to REALLY BRING HOME to you.
ReplyDeleteOther wise, it's a very interesting topic and it may have proved helpful when I moved out here. Maybe it shouldn't just be college freshmen, you should physically include the words transfer students + international/exchange students.