Project Summary

Creative Discovery Museum’s project will teach teens and staff 21stCentury skills in media, information technology, critical thinking and collaboration. The resulting completed app, app toolbox and digital record will serve as an app design blueprint for other organizations.

Project Timeline

Week 1: Project overview training

Week 2: Discussions with internal and external stakeholders about app ideas

Week 3: Discussions with internal and external stakeholders about app ideas Week 4: Decide on sample app or apps

Week 5: Decide on sample app or apps

Week 6: Teaching skills/identifying needs for sample app, building app

Week 7: Teaching skills/identifying needs for sample app, building app

Week 8: Teaching skills/identifying needs for sample app, building app

Week 9: Teaching skills/identifying needs for sample app, building app

Week 10: Teaching skills/identifying needs for sample app, building app

Week 11: Identification of next steps/completion of digital log

Week 12: Identification of next steps/completion of digital log

Project Partners

Spartan Systems will be a key partner in this project. Spartan Systems developer will bring a wealth of knowledge about apps design and web infrastructure. The project goals align well with Spartan Systems’ desire to be innovative and challenged. Their involvement will consist of the following:

• Provide questions and guidelines for surveying internal and external stakeholders regarding the type of app to be developed. • Set up collaboration mechanisms so that results can be universally shared. • Review survey results. • Assist with app selection. • Educate the group on the Software Development Life Cycle. • Supervise the app design phase. • Organize and monitor the app development phase. • Direct the deployment of the app to a hosting or cloud environment. • Document the process.

Metrics and Outcomes

Technical Outcomes

Creative Discovery Museum will provide an excellent environment for this type of project. Both the auditorium and boardroom provide multimedia capabilities and are well suited for collaborative work. The Museum also provides large areas for breakout sessions and brainstorming. Most importantly, the Museum is the physical template for the experience to be created in the app.

The Volunteer Department at the Museum is the home of ‘Media Lab,’ a technology based workspace that allows teens to create media. Teens are able to create original media as well as document Museum programs and events. They do all post production work as well. Depending on the project, it may be shared with other teens, used by staff for training or shared with our audience on our social media outlets.

In addition to the Museum, the project group will have access to Spartan Systems work space. Access to a professional environment will enhance the overall experience of the teens and give them a feel of what a career in this field would be like.

Creative Discovery Museum is a dynamic educational environment that emphasizes play as a learning process. The Museum offers visitors a variety of programs including art lessons, science demonstrations, story times, as well as "spur of the moment" activities. The art lessons change monthly and offer parents and children the opportunity to engage in a fun educational lesson offered by trained instructors. The science demonstration changes two or three times per year and features subjects such as liquid nitrogen, light, bugs, and health. The "spur of the moment" activities might include bringing a snake into the atrium of the Museum for children to touch or inviting children to "get their heart rates up" in an activity called Just Move.

Any app the Museum creates will reflect the play centered educational model our stakeholders have come to expect.

Learning Outcomes

By participating in the pilot, participants will learn the following:

Internal: Teens and staff will learn the skills and the process of developing a professional app. Additionally, teens will develop 21st Century skills through critical thinking, communication and creative collaboration. Staff and teens will also develop media and information technology skills which will translate into life and career skills for both groups.

External: Outside organizations and youth groups similar to ours will have a digital record/tutorial as a reference.. This will aid them in further development of an app and will be the starting point for 21st Century skill development in their organizations.

We will measure these learning outcomes through arriving at a realistic consensus on the process of developing an app, evaluating participation and feedback from outside organizations and measuring how closely the proposed app align with needs identified in the initial feedback from internal and external stakeholders.

Community Outcomes

This project will teach teens and Museum staff 21stCentury skills in media, information technology, critical thinking and collaboration. For outside organizations, the project will provide a blueprint for developing an app from the ground up by a diverse group with varied levels of competency with media and technology.

Visuals

Our Audio Visual team has been having a great time documenting and editing the Museum’s project. Check out the links below for some great behind the scenes footage they put together:

Emotionless Derek: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzZH6ooGFE0&list=UUdYS_WGJbekAm83hKt8yI2w

Sam Is Lonely: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W88w5jplIio&list=UUdYS_WGJbekAm83hKt8yI2w

JAC is Argumentative: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKbQMltoi8c&list=UUdYS_WGJbekAm83hKt8yI2w

The Beautiful Brent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL6GP2V6AMY&list=UUdYS_WGJbekAm83hKt8yI2w

The Magnificant Caleb: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbL-poW0MoE&list=UUdYS_WGJbekAm83hKt8yI2w

Building an App from the Ground Up (Rough Cut): http://vimeo.com/114137189