#First app
##Intention/inspiration
This app is based on my time as a tutor and instructional para. Although there are many educational apps available, not many fully matched what we hoped for in the classroom. Initially, I wanted to do a phonemic awareness application, but quickly realized that all of the ideas I had specifically for that relied on speech-recognition technology. . . which I know is a tricky area even for experts.
The next idea I had was for a phonics application that more closely matches the curriculum we were using in my school district. . . though I am not sure what does and doesn't fall into the "protected intellectual property" category.
This is an area I feel passionate about and would feel very accomplished to see it come to life. Part of me would like to use React Native as a framework for this application so that it can be downloaded/used from a mobile platform, though I have relatively little experience with Native.
The target user of this application would be pre-reading students, (primarily children under 8 years old).
##Story (with rating by priority/impact/mystery)
When the user opens the application, they hear a short explanation/directions for using the app. (high/high/medium)
(If there is time to implement) an animation will run that has the text of the directions with each word lighting up or changing color as that word is spoken in the audio file. It will possibly have a cute critter that is doing the talking. (low/medium/highish)
A random phoneme is spoken. The user should be able to tap a button to make that same sound play again. (high/high/medium)
If possible, a drag-and-drop interface will be available. The student will drag a letter to the receiving field. (medium/high/very high)
If the user correctly matches the letter to the sound prompt, the user will hear "Good job!" or similar, the field will light up or change color, and after a brief wait (1 second or so) the field will clear and a new sound will play.
If incorrect, the user will hear "Try again" or similar, and after a brief wait the field will clear and the same phoneme will play again.
If a drag-and-drop interface is not feasible, the user will be able to select an answer by clicking/tapping. Letters should light up or change color when the user selects them. (high/high/medium)
The application should track the number of correct answers the user has given (at least within that session), possibly providing visual feedback through an animation of. . . something growing? Or pooping. The target users would mostly love something pooping, the gatekeepers not so much. (low/high/medium)
Different "levels" will be available with different sets of phonemes. There will be a menu of some sort that users can navigate between levels. (medium-low/high/very low as I can route like a boss)
A potentially ambitious feature might be to have different user accounts that remember a student's progress. Not sure that is doable with only JavaScript though. (very low/high/very high)
##Technological/skill barriers
The single aspect I am most concerned about is audio files. I know that there are several free text-to-speech APIs available that may be helpful in grabbing the sounds I am looking for, but I haven't done enough research to know if they are formats that I know how to use and have the endpoints that I want, where I can just grab individual phonemes.
Even in the event that they are, I still have to account for audial directions and feedback statements (good job/try again). In an educational app targeting pre-readers, those should not be optional, so I need to find a way to store and access audio files within my application.
The other big mystery/barrier is, obviously, the drag-and-drop interface, which we have not worked on in class.
#Second App
##Intention/Inspiration
##Story
##Technological/skill barriers
#Organization
I am good at understanding the task before me and making plans to tackle it. I may choose to use Trello or Github projects to break down features into chunks.
I always have (and always will) have a degree of difficulty in following through with tasks at the time and in the order that I intend to. Regularly planning times to quietly co-work with classmates or friends outside of class on evenings/weekends may be a good idea because I am hopefully less likely to get distracted by the 84 other things I need or want to do at home, or just stare at a wall for several hours (yes, that's an actual barrier to my productivity).