I hope to make the world a better place by encouraging collaboration and play in younger children.

As someone who enjoys the outdoors, and running around a playground, the pandemic has put a dent in my social life. I wanted to design a product that could aid in social interactions

Our Team at NuVu

Schuyler Johnson

Trevor McDonald

This project offers a unique educational experience for young children through a collaborative play experience in which a child and child interact to achieve an intrinsic award to spark a conversation. This will help children learn important skills they will utilize for the rest of their life that they have failed to develop during the covid-19 pandemic.

>40%

80%

1

4

in

Children have mental illness after the pandemic, up from 1 in 10 pre-pandemic.

Of mid-size employers or larger look for collaboration in recruiting/hiring

Of graduated students are considered to be ready to work in teams

Name: Mario

Age: 9

Siblings: Two

Afterschool Act. : Baseball

Biography: Mario wants to start the school year strong as it is the first time he will be attending a Montessori school. However, with all the new faces, Mario finds himself overwhelmed and is having trouble making new friends. Despite the natural flow of the Montessori environment, Mario finds himself trapped in a corner without an outlet to be himself.

Goals

Pain Points

Core Needs

Openness

Neuroticism

Agreeableness

Extraversion

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"

I feel more comfortable around people I know but get nervous when I am in a new space. I don't know why I'm shy though.

• Others having fun while I am too anxious to ask to play with them.
• Scared how they will react to me.

• An easy way to approach other people.
• A game that keeps my mind.
• Carefree from angst and worries.
• Collaboration with peers.
• Adaptive aspect that grows with age.
• Simple and Intuitive.

• Prepares me better for the future.
• Easier to make friends and develop social skills.

• Wants to make friends in a new class.
• Wants to play a fun game.
• Wants to talk to people more efficiently.

Early Design Iteration

Our Original Idea was a two-person marble run.

A First Cardboard prototype of our two-person pinball prompt-based game.

Prompt Cards

Marbles

Felt Circles

Color Coordinated Widgets

Marble Launcher

As society re-integrates after dealing with social isolation during the covid-19 pandemic, a new problem arises in which the populous struggles to communicate with one another. The age group that is most affect by this is the youngest generation who have lost crucial developmental years where their young minds develop cognitive and communitive skills.

Social Anxiety

Miscommunication

Unempathetic

Environment

C

C

C

ommunication

onfidence

ollaboration

Using these three principles we believe we can create a better social play experience for children.

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Allow students to talk about themselves, creating friendships

Give students the challenge of collaborating through prompts

Encourage multiple different outcomes of play through variability in design

Pandemic

Collaboration

Long Lasting

• Diversity leads to more efficient work.
• Collaborative work is more innovative.
• Collaboration is in demand (work)
• Appreciating another's perspective helps build empathy.

-University of Waterloo

Collaborative learning can help with higher level thinking and oral communication, as well as increase student retention, self esteem and responsibility. It also exposes new perspectives and gives preparation for employment situations.

-Cornell University

Results From LMS Playtesting

• Kids want to cooperate more
• Kids like to work together on prompts
• Improve mechanics
• Create more prompts