Appy Days

For my orientation term project, I am designing an app to help kids and teens with obsessive compulsive disorder. I teamed up with a couple of professionals, and had a bunch of fun! Check out my work below!

What is my GOAL for the project?

To design an app to help kids and teens with OCD. If all is going ahead of schedule, then I want to make a beta version of the app. If that goes according to plan, then I want to launch the app on an app store.

WHY do I want to understand or be able to do this? How does it CONNECT to my interest, passion or goals?

I’ve been wanting to create an app or do something relating to coding for a while now- I enjoy coding and robot work. I also am a mental health advocate and I want to make sure everyone has the resources that they need.

What ESSENTIAL QUESTION(S) will guide my work? Click HERE for a guide to EQs.

• How do you design/make an app?
• What are the most important things to include in an app for people with OCD?

What EVIDENCE/ARTIFACTS will I produce to know (and show others) that I have met my goal?

1. My notes
2. My designs for the app
3. My interview recording
4. (If all is going ahead of schedule) A beta app

Realistic: I identify what the app would look like and have designs

Doable: I have a beta app with 3 of my screens that I want to include

Pipe dream: I have a finished app that is launched on an app store.

What MODELS exist that are similar to what I want to do? Link an example of a similar project.

An app called ClearFear helps people with anxiety, and the same creators made an app called CalmHarm to help people who self harm. I hope to model my app after theirs, and include distraction techniques as well as hotlines and other applications.

Who can serve as an expert mentor to help support and evaluate this project?

Lisa Dion, who works with Girls Who Code, or Jason I Forgot His Last Name who is a teacher at UVM of mobile app building.

What RESOURCES do I need to make this happen? A resource could be a person who will teach or assist you, a book, website or instruction manual, or it could be a piece of equipment or supply of materials.

• A way to use Java script
• A psychologist (not for me, for developing the app so it actually helps people)

I may need other materials that I will know about once I do more research about coding and app building.

Here is my project proposal/plan!

Here are my rubrics! I made two because one is required, but the first one makes more sense for me.

Here are my app designs! I made them using Adobe Illustrator, in order to figure out the formatting for my app.

In this project, I think I did exactly what I set out to do! I set goals that showed I understood how much time I had, and I accomplished what I had said I was going to do during the Orientation term. If I had more time, I would have actually built the app, and maybe try to release it onto a platform. I didn't anticipate the process of installing the software and learning how to manage it take so long, and I ended up needing more time than I had budgeted. But I'm happy with what I did this term! It felt like just the right amount of time, work, and energy for an orientation term project. I am happy with the work that I did, and I could see myself continuing this in the future, but for now I'm good to put a pin in it. I can see myself doing a Fall Term project, and then coming back to Appy Days in the Spring Term, just so that I don't get worn out with it, and so that I can dive into some other project topics.