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Role: Product Design, App Development
Role: Product Design, App Development
Tools: Unity, Vuforia, Laser Cutting
Tools: Unity, Vuforia, Laser Cutting
Team of 2
Team of 2
Duration: 3 weeks
Duration: 3 weeks
NEED
NEED
Lakhotíwaye is built primarily for young Lakota learners (ages 4-6) on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota. Two problems inspired the design of this tool.
First, less than three percent of the reservation’s 30,000 residents speak fluent Lakota. Because of this, few students have access to a fluent Lakota speaker.
Second, most resources to learn the language are traditional means of learning such as worksheets, workbooks, and textbooks. These resources, while important, do not maximize student interest nor give them the tools they need for today’s tech-driven world.
SOLUTION
SOLUTION
Lakhotíwaye consists in a set of wooden puzzles augmented with 3D models and segmented pronunciation through a digital app.
The tool utilizes social learning theory and hands-on learning research to assist students with proper language acquisition. It also leverages hands-on activities to generate user interest in culturally relevant material.
Lakhotíwaye was developed in collaboration with Lakota teachers, parents, and students, and will continue to do so in order to create a new meaningful, engaging way to learn language.
Lakhotíwaye board
Lakhotíwaye board
The Lakhotíwaye board consists in simple puzzles for the children to solve. The objective is to provide a hands-on and collaborative activity that fosters motivation for children to discover and learn new words. By completing the puzzle and using the app, children ultimately have access two four representation of a word: the 2D image, the 3D model, the written word, and its pronunciation.
Lakhotíwaye AR app
Lakhotíwaye AR app
When looking at a complete puzzle through through the camera, the Lakhotíwaye app superimposes a 3D model of the animal over the puzzle and the word in Lakota is said out loud. With Lakhotíwaye, one goal is to facilitate language learning without needing the observance of a facilitator. Fewer than 3% of the Pine Ridge community speaks fluent Lakota, so most students do not have an able helper outside of a Lakota language classroom. Therefore, this feature is crucial.
Cultural relevance
Cultural relevance
Language learning has many cognitive benefits but can also positively affect perceptions of culture as well. Learning a second language is shown to improve attitudes and beliefs about the culture of the language learned. In an area like Pine Ridge, where students deal with difficult challenges daily inside and outside of school, improving positive outlooks toward their own culture and heritage is an important task. The solution we designed includes recorded videos of Lakota fluent speakers telling stories. They will use the words the children learned from the board.
Modification of the core design
Modification of the core design
Initially, we built a wooden board with slots to write down words using letter tiles. We created an app using Augmented Reality to superimpose an image of the object of the word once it is correctly written down. After testing it with children, we realized that writing the word was not engaging and it required to know the word in advance, which defeated the purpose. Therefore, we focused on the visual representation of the words as the puzzles.
Age-appropriateness
Age-appropriateness
One good example of taking into account the age of the children is that once the puzzles were completed, students had difficulty removing the pieces. The solution was to include holes under each puzzle so that students could easily “pop-out” completed pieces with their fingers.
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