Design Thinking: Edu-Innovator App - Literature review Example

Design Thinking: Edu-innovator app Edu-Innovator App Preamble According to Goldin & Katz (2008), technologicaladvancement has hugely contributed to the transformation of the globe in several aspects of life. Notably, one of the most contemporary aspects is the globalization. This has further been enhanced by the advancement of communication channels and devices. The frequency with which new devices are being availed or rather launched in the market is quit perplexing. Chesbrough (2003) argues that the competition has been heightened to the stratosphere and businesses that do not conform to these trends have had no option to shape out while those that have aligned their strategies to these complex phenomenons have continued to annex huge profit margins. The rate at which applications are infiltrating in the market has also been high. For an instant, various applications have been developed that enhance the payment of goods and services. In addition to that, some have made communication easier compared to the traditional forms of communications that existed in the mid 20th century. An example of this phenomenon is the existence of numerous social media sites such as facebook, twitter, Linkened in, You Tube, and my Space among others. Various companies have incorporated these trends in their marketing and promotional strategies. However, in the educational field little has been achieved in terms of apps. As much as there are several applications that have been incorporated into the education system, a lot needs to be done. Some of the apps that tend to complement or facilitate learning process in the market are the use of Amazon apps or other apps to buy books; availability of several apps that are used as grammar checkers among others (Osorio et al, 2005). There are increased calls by educators for the high standards and quality learning activities that will equipp students with necessary ammunitions to tackle challenges they are likely to encounter. Technology has not been left behind in the quest for more knowledge and learning experiences. Schools that embrace technology in reforming their education systems are likely to aid their students in the development of higher order skills and also to survive effectively outside the classroom. Achieving such levels, however, requires change not only in the contemporary education system but also the kind of technologies that are employed in the various learning institutions. Edu-Innovator App Edu-Innovator app has been developed and designed to enhance and facilitate learning, as well as, the quality of students at the Regent’s University. It is aimed at increasing communication and sharing information between not only the students but also the instructors of the institution. The interface of the app will be like that of faceboook though its color will lime green. At the top left of the interface will be the logo of the app. The logo of the app is a picture of a graduating. The web url of the app in case an individual will want to access the site will be www. Edu-Innovator.Regent.Uk. Once the site is access, the user will have to register an account. The app will be integrated will the university records where it will automatically have access to the registered students of the institutions as well as the instructors such as lecturers and tutors. Once a student signs in using his or her registration number given by the schools administration, he or she will have to create a password that will enable him or her to access the created account. Subsequent logging into the site will however only require the registration number and the password since the owner of the account had initially registered. On the other hand, the instructors to will have to create an account by registering just like the students. However, there registration details will be a reflection of their information that the institution possesses. The system, for security purposes is automated with every user’s details according to the records of the university. Once an individual has signed in the site then he/she will be privy to the provisions of the apps that are aimed at facilitating learning and improving the quality of learning. The app has six enabled provisions that are synchronized or rather integrated within the interface of the web page. These provisions are the communication exchanger; article displayer; book preview; Grammar checker; Video debater; and online tutor. Interestingly, the most unique thingabout this app is that the Edu-Innovator provisions can be accessed by mobile handsets that are internet enabled. The icon that denotes the communication exchanger is a student holding a parcel in the form of a letter. Since there are various departments in the Regent University, once a student or instructor logs into the Edu-Innovator and clicks the communication exchanger icon, then they will be able to access information from the various department of choice. The communication exchanger is designed in such a way that the user has to search for the department of interest through the departmental search engine at the communicator’s page. It is prudent to know that the exchanger is designed in a way that the instructors have provisions that only enable them and not anybody else to post on the departmental site. On the other hand, the students to have cannot post information into the site in the pretext that the information is emanating from the department in question. This helps in the elimination of malice and also in ensuring that there is authenticity in the sharing information. The exchanger provision also has an online chat platform which enables students inclusive of the lecturers to post their opinion concerning a particular topic or issue. When there is a discussion that is ongoing, any student who has logged into the system can chip in his or her ideas and can also follow up on the discussions without necessarily participating in the discussion. The outstanding factor of this particular provision is that it helps the students to bond among themselves, as well as with the lectures or the instructors. It also helps in doing away with classroom boredom. The second provision, called the article displayer, is majorly for articles of students and lecturers and tutors on various topics of choice not necessarily on specific courses offered. Some of the topics are those to do with contemporary issues. This provision is not as complex as the other since there is no division into various departments. It generally links all the students of Regent University and the lectures as well. The icon that denotes this particular provision after logging into the Edu-Innovator app is a picture of a letter at the opening of a box. A student or an instructor may write an article and posts it in the article displayer. Those who will have read the article can in turn participate by either criticizing or reaffirming the writer’s convictions or vindications. Beside the article, there is not only a provision for brief comments but also that which enables an individuals or user to also reply the article in discussion in the form of another article. The third app which may also be useful for individuals using the article displayer is the grammar checker. The grammar checkers icon will be denoted by a picture of a pen and an eraser. The writers who wish to post articles in the article displayer will have to check the authenticity of their work besides ensuring that their work does not have grammatical errors. The student too will be able to use this provision to verify their assignments by check for these errors before submitting their assignment. In addition, the instructors too will have the leverage of using the provision while going through the students’ assignment. The next provision of the app is the book review. This provision enables students and lecturers to access books depending on area of the interest. It has a search engine where the user can type the name of the author of the needed book or article or journals after which all the works of that particular author surfaces. In a case where the author of a book is not know by the user, then the title of the book can be typed after which all the books providing relevant information concerning the information being searched will surface. The concept used in this particular provision is borrowed from those of the google scholar, worldcat library, and Amazon though in this particular site the books are offered freely without remittance of any payment. The provision is aimed at facilitating and making it easier for students to access information through the system without going to the library at anytime in any given day. A picture of a book is used as a representative icon that denotes the provision. The fifth provision of the app is the video debater. This is a very interesting provision in the app. It is denoted by an icon whose picture represents that of a TV. Once a user has logged into the sites app and selected the video debater, he or she can link up with a maximum of five other users online and make a decision on the topic of discussion. When that is agreed upon, the selected five users then agree on the amount of time one is allowed to put across his or her views or opinions. This duration is then fed into the schedule provision after which the entire discussion will automatically be moderated according to the agreed time. In case an individual is through in airing his or her views/opinion then there is an icon that allows another user to pick up on the proceedings of the discussion. The screen of the video debater is designed in such a way that it is divided depending on the number of individuals discussing. Each user will be able to facially view the body language of the other user while conducting a discussion. The provision is aimed at making the discussions lively and interesting. The final provision of the app is the online tutor. This will basically be used by lecturers. The unpredictability of life can sometimes pose challenges not only in the education system but also other aspects that are not education related. Moreover, the convectional mode of passing information through the classroom system can be boring. This provision enables lecturers and students to conduct the lessons online. The students can be taught from the comfort of their dwelling places as this method tends to eliminate the monotony of classroom lecturing. In addition, lecturers or instructors can video record their lectures and post them on the online tutor provision so that when their students log into the apps provision, the can access the lecture lessons. In addition, the provision is also designed in such a way that it has an archive that the lecturers posted can be accessed at a later date. This will enable the students to video review that which had been taught earlier. Conclusion: Technology has continued to impact changes in the various sector of the society. One of the sectors that have heavily been infiltrated by technology is the business arena. The development of channels of communications, as well as, devises has also significantly contributed to the contemporary trends we are witnessing. In addition, these devices have been characterized by various numerous applications that have specific functions (Goldin & Katz, 2008). The education sector too has witnessed considerable changes in reference to technology (Chesbrough, 2003). Admittedly, the technological trends in the education sector or learning institutions have been geared towards not only improving learning but also ensuring that students are provided with quality educations that will enable the students survive beyond classrooms (Osorio et al, 2005). The Edu-Innovator discussed above is one of the apps that if effectively employed can significantly help in increasing learning and quality of the student experience at Regent University. This particular app has six provisions as mentioned earlier in this essay that are synchronized to serve multiple functions. However, each of the apps are designed to enable the stakeholder (students and instructors only) to interact with the aim of increasing learning experiences and sharing of ideas. In addition, they are aimed at making the learning process interesting and minimize boredom that usually characterizes the use of classrooms. The advantage of this app is that despite using a platform that is relatively similar to several social media apps, it upholds authenticity and eliminates malice at all cost. Visuals of the various provisions of the app Video debater and Online Tutor Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04kJtp6pVXI The interface for the Video debater and online tutor will be similar to the screenshot above. The Edu-Innovator concept is borrowed from the picture. Grammar Checker Interface The user will have to click this icon to enable him or her to check grammatical errors in their work. Communication exchanger Source: https://www.google.com/search?q=Whatsapp+interface&tbm=isch&imgil=y6SyKPF73y5W2M%253A%253BQdo5gZBRP9fW3M%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fsanziro.com%25252F2011%25252F10%25252Fapp-of-the-week-whatsapp-messenger.html&source=iu&pf=m&fir=y6SyKPF73y5W2M%253A%252CQdo5gZBRP9fW3M%252C_&usg=__244uLQErvfFCa1w5HzebFmM0-u0%3D&biw=1280&bih=634&ved=0CCcQyjc&ei=f0k5VYa6AcfQ7Ab37oDgBA#imgrc=y6SyKPF73y5W2M%253A%3BQdo5gZBRP9fW3M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fsanziro.com%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2011%252F10%252Fwhatsapp.png%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fsanziro.com%252F2011%252F10%252Fapp-of-the-week-whatsapp-messenger.html%3B580%3B425 The concept used in the communication exchanger is borrowed from the whatsapp concept Pictorial representation of Book review and article displayer’s provisions respectively Chapter one The second provision, called the article displayer, is majorly for articles of students and lecturers and tutors on various topics of choice not necessarily on specific courses offered. Some of the topics are those to do with contemporary issues. This provision is not as complex as the other since there is no division into various departments. It generally links all the students of Regent University and the lectures as well. The next provision of the app is the book review. This provision enables students and lecturers to access books depending on area of interest. It has a search engine where the user can type the name of the author of the needed book or article or journals after which all the works of that particular author surfaces. In case, the student does not know the author of a book, then the title of the book can be typed after which all the books providing relevant information concerning the information being searched will surface. Reference List: Goldin, C. D & Katz, L. F. (2008). The race between education and technology. Cambridge, Mass: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. Chesbrough, H. (2003). Open innovation: The new imperative for creating and profiting from technology. Boston, Mass: Harvard Business School Press. Osorio et al (2005). Information technology and educational management in the knowledge society: IFIP TC3 WG3.7, 6th International Working Conference on Information Technology in Educational Management (ITEM), July 11-15, 2004, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain. New York, NY: Springer. Read More