Project Summary

Bridging Linguistic Divides and Improving Health Literacy through App Development.

Tech for a Healthier Community. Aspire. App. Achieve.

GigBridge seeks to improve the literacy skills of English-as-a-Second-Language students (ESL) to alleviate disparities in academic performance and health. Furthermore, it exposes underrepresented populations to STEM careers. Through the app development and translation process, the project addresses linguistic and technological disparities within the educational system, in addition to educating at-risk Latino youth about obesity.

Project Timeline

Week 1:

September 16, 2014
Welcome and Overview
Google Drive Set-Up and General Pre-Program Assessment
Introduction to App Development Workshop

September 18, 2014
Account assignments, Team Assignments, Pre-Program Tech Assessment
GigBridge Overview
Obesity Panel
Individual Language Proficiency Assessment by Lead Language Instructor
Team Debrief: Concept Map, Identifying focus area for App in teams

Week 2:
September 23, 2014
Intro-to-App Development Presentation
Appy-Pie Demo

September 25, 2014
Scheme and Design Activity
Content Research overview

Week 3:
September 30, 2014
Focus Area Identification
Online Research Investigations

October 3, 2014
Focus Identification Worksheet- Online Investigation with Mentor, Electronic Completion on Google Drive
Content Research

Week 4:
October 16, 2014
Health Care Consult
App Development

Week 5:
October 21, 2014
App design and development

October 23, 2014
Review of Appy Pie
App development

Week 6:
October 28, 2014
App development

October 30, 2014
App development

Week 7:
November 4, 2014
App development

November 6, 2014
Presentation workshop
Begin presentation creation- Google Slides

Week 8:
November 11, 2014
Presentation development
Enrichment activity- Lightbot.com

November 13, 2014
Post Assessment
Presentation practice

November 14, 2014
Judging of apps and presentations
Awards Ceremony

Project Partners

The success of the project was contingent on the collaboration of several institutions. First and foremost, Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy and East Lake Academy welcomed the program into their after-school activities, enabling us to speak to groups during school hours to recruit participants. Faculty and students at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Girls Preparatory School along with employees at Tennessee Valley Authority served as IT and language mentors for the students. The Advanced Center for Sleep Disorders and the UT College of Nutrition and Dietetics worked with Global Excel to provide obesity education. Lastly, local developers volunteered their time to evaluate the students applications and presentations.

Metrics and Outcomes

Technical Outcomes

Our program took place in two Hamilton County schools, East Lake Academy and Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy. We began the program to work with ESL students and introduce them to a way to teach others about a concern for their health. Giving the students the opportunity to work with technology and create a product was a way to give them a view into what is possible in the STEM field.

Learning Outcomes

By participating in the pilot, 15 number of people will learning the following...

• The basics of mobile application development
• Risks of obesity
• How to make a presentation
• How to create a non-coded app

We will measure these learning outcomes by taking pre and post assesments via Google Forms. The students who complete the program will have created an app and made a presentation to a panel of judges.

Pre-assessment results.

Post assessment results.

Community Outcomes

GigBridge’s anticipated outcomes will be: improved digital skills and literacy amongst Hispanic Youth, and increased access to health education.

In order to accomplish these goals, the program will work with Hispanic English as a Second Language Students to develop obesity related mobile applications. Before developing the applications, community healthcare providers will conduct an instructional session to inform students of the latest obesity trends, and steps to obesity prevention. Through this, the students, who themselves constitute an at-risk demographic, will learn about obesity and its prevalence in the community. They will also pursue independent research to build on information provided by the health-care professionals to develop reference materials that they will incorporate into their applications.

Visuals

GigBridge Gigabit Fund Pitch Video

Learn More

Our project progress will be documented via weekly updates on our GigBridge blog.