Background
cONnect is a mobile application that helps foster communication between teachers and parents. The concept and wireframe were initially drafted during the CSC Co-op Innovation Day, and was awarded first place by a panel of five judges.
Project Type
Product Design
Tools Used
Adobe Experience Design, Sketch
The Current Solutions
The education sector heavily relies on agendas, report cards, and websites to inform caregivers on their children's progress at school. The more traditional methods, agendas and report cards, remain as popular choices, but they do not offer spontaneous feedback. Meanwhile, websites created by teachers result in an inconsistent and confusing experience for parents.
My Proposed Solution
My goal was to overcome these barriers with cONnect. I decided to use a mobile app as the platform for the end users, because not only are mobile devices more accessible, the app could use notifications to send out alerts to parents if an emergency arises. More importantly, this digital tool can streamline information more quickly and efficiently.
Account Management
One child? 10 children? No worries.
Adding or managing multiple accounts is extremely easy with cONnect. Each profile is tied to the student's Ontario Education Number (OEN), a unique identification number that is assigned by the Ministry of Education. Since the ministry already uses OENs to keep track of each student's records and progress in school, transitioning to cONnect would be effortless.
Digital Agenda
Avoid frustration and confusion.
One of the best things about cONnect is that it is a tool that can benefit both the educators and guardians. cONnect highlights the tasks that are assigned by the teachers each day, so parents are not taken by surprise when they flip open to an empty agenda. Also, it's a great way to ensure deadlines are met. Yup. Teachers, no need to chase around to get that field trip form signed.
Attendance
Knowing your child's presence is important, so why wait?
Traditionally, phone calls are made at the end of the day to notify parents if students did not show up to one or more classes. This delay can be alarming. Besides safety concerns, attendance records are a great indication of the students' performance at school. Given how crucial this data is, cONnect places a huge emphasis on it.
Colours are used to signal the student's status of each class. If the caregiver approves the absence (i.e. knows the child's whereabouts or the reason behind the absence), the user can swipe to "acknowledge” and notify the school. Users also have the option to setup notifications, so they are informed if their children are not present in class.
Moreover, over the years, parents have openly expressed their dissatisfaction toward the long and tedious process to report their children's absences. cONnect also understands that calling in sick shouldn't mean waiting on the phone for hours. It can be simple, very simple. In fact, all you need is a few clicks and a brief explanation. User can also upload attachments (e.g. a doctor's note) during the process.
Report Card
Running out of space to archive those report cards?
Report cards are excellent for providing summaries of the students' performances throughout the school year. However, if feedback is not given on a regular basis, they can come as a real surprise. And in most cases, it might be too late for improvements. With cONnect, not only does it update the overall marks regularly, it breaks down the grades by assignments, quizzes, and tests.
Additionally, the app stores all historical data from previous years, so there's no need for that oversized cabinet anymore.