Hannah Gerber
Faculty Mentor: Hannah Gerber
Assistant Professor, Department of Language, Literacy, and Special Populations
Student Team Members: Luis Gaitan & Melissa Ashworth
Student Reflections
Faculty Report
The project, Using Pro-Social Gamified Apps to Solve Global Problems, has thus far been successful as a project—both through planned research and outreach. To date the research team has successfully created an alpha version of the app, with levels representing the United States, Egypt, Colombia, and South Africa. This alpha version is soon to be switched to the closed beta, which we will beta test in Egypt over the winter holiday with 20 Egyptian youth. We will interview the youth before and after they play with the app, as well as we will conduct observations over a two-week period.
In order to get to this stage, we pulled together a cross-functional team—a business major, Melissa Ashworth, and a computer animation major, Luis Gaitan, as well as brought in a high school student, Stiaan Cronje, as a programming intern. Our project initially began in the spring of 2014 and we hosted two focus groups—one comprised of various undergraduate students from multiple backgrounds and disciplines, and a group of education doctoral students. Through both focus groups we gathered information on what would make the app a successful app from both a marketing standpoint, and from an educational standpoint. We then went forward with the development of the app and the development of a business plan for the app that would reach into both emerging markets, as well as established markets in the Western world to provide corporate sponsorship for our leveling program within the game.
As for dissemination of our app to a larger audience, the app was accepted as a presentation at the International Council of Educational Media conference in October in Eger, Hungary and was well received by the various parties who had a chance to see the app and to play with the app. Additionally, at this conference we had the opportunity to speak with the UNESCO project lead for mobile learning and developing nations who has encouraged the team to submit the app for consideration in the Showcase Mobile Learning week at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris in February.
As we continue to collect data of the app usage, both backend data and qualitative data from youth who use the app, we will have a better indication of the educational merit of the app, and the likelihood of this app making a positive impact in the development of recycling and sanitation programs in developing nations globally. We look forward to presenting our data from Egypt in the spring at the Student Research Conference and the Undergraduate Research Symposium.