My idea for my forecasting project is the design of a mobile application to connect physics students across Alberta to allow for discussion between students that would not otherwise be able to communicate. Please follow the link below to view my proposal:
A3: Alberta Education Peer-to-Peer App
6 responses to “A3: Alberta Education Peer-to-Peer App”
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Hi Michael, I like how you had a focus on physics content within schools in Alberta. Being able to take the strengths of existing platforms in order to create one platform that fixes the disadvantages of the others is a great concept. I feel like it truly could be created now and we wouldn’t have to wait for future technologies to be developed in order for this to become a reality.
The user is at the forefront of the design of your A3, Michael. You created a consistent user interface with excellent navigation. The mobile version worked well, so I checked out the desktop version. The padding on the buttons provided excellent visibility—the placement of the titles, detailed graphics and collapsible content also improved the experience. One annoyance was the timer on the slides, which was slightly too fast to read the entire content.
I hope you carry through with this idea to create a proximity zone for the entire province. It will reduce the isolation some students feel living in the corners of the province since, unfortunately, not all communities have a positive bend concerning education.
Michael, creating community with like-minded students is a great idea. How would the app verify that the student is an Alberta physics student? I can see where if the student can create an account, not linked to identifying information, that would help with privacy as well. Having specific times to be online and with a moderator to ensure the subject matter stays in the physics realm, would prevent potential access from adults that should not have online access to children and youth. Providing instructors with access via your teacher zone could also provide insight into what may need more focus in explanation and teaching.
Hi Braden. Thanks for the idea. The data that you shared concerning the physics classroom and lack of interpersonal communication sends home the need for an app to communicate. I wonder if this idea would have any differences compared to another alternative such as Microsoft Teams channels. Some teachers have opted before to make channels where students could help each other in peer groups, similar to literature circles. With these built-in methods already, what can your idea show differently? I share some of the sentiment from Jennifer about the buy-in. It’s a great idea and I would love to see how it can be promoted.
Hi Michael, harnessing the collective intelligence to learn a topic as complex as the science of physics is an excellent idea. I think an understated feature of your proposal is the ability to create properly formatted equations within the app, as that often complicates discussing mathematics in a digital space. I do wonder how much the effectiveness of your proposal hinges on the ability to be used on mobile devices, as the idea/features seem like they would work just as effectively through a fixed device, such as a desktop computer. As Jennifer mentioned, you would need some sort of incentive for educators to participate in this digital conversation to ensure that the information being shared is correct and meets provincial curricular standards. Thanks for sharing!
Michael, as a physics teacher myself that would be of great benefit to students to go onto an online forum to discuss the content with a teacher zone. I’ve heard of this forum, https://www.physicsforums.com/ – It appears to be a moderated forum curating ideas and physics thoughts from all over. Very interesting. I appreciate that the students and teachers in different school divisions might benefit from this site, but how would you bring about teacher buy-in? How can you guarantee it’s usefulness to all Physics teachers?