Students learned practical skills with technology, citizenship with empathic thinking, and healthy habits as they created prototype fitness apps designed for a specific person’s needs. They had to put themselves in the other person’s shoes to consider the exercises they can complete, the foods best for their age and extra elements that would contribute to an individual’s overall health and motivation. This involved using Google Slides in a new way to simulate app design as well as custom exercise videos they created with green screen technology and WeVideo. 

Later these groups presented their apps for a peer review panel held at the ACE Center at Hermitage. The judges came from ACE programs in Physical Therapy, Sports Medicine, and Gaming and Web Design. In their presentations they shared the health needs of various personas like grandmothers, teen athletes, middle age fathers, video gamers and more. It was all about the thoughtful, empathetic details. The teams presented to the crowd, and went through a "Shark Tank" set of questions and answers. The panel chose Urvika and Zoe for first place with "Future Fitness," an app for a middle-aged dad. Second place went to "Mario Planet Fitness" by Sean, Jabril, and Kenneth, a fitness app for gamers. An honorable mention went to Kaliyah for "Raven's Routine," a motivational app for a teen girl with special needs. 

All students learned about the importance of empathetic design in the health field and have gained many skills in defending their designs on the public stage. They have shown that there can be health apps for all!