Process
Phases of CBL:
The issue:
Our class learned what a barrier could be, and the many numbers of barriers that exist. We searched through barriers we could try to solve, and switched from affordable housing to affordable transportation, then to easier communication within bus programs. Communication in bus programs is an issue because a bus being late to a stop without people knowing when it would arrive can cause frustration among students and parents alike. After a meeting with the bus coordinator at our school, we decided that bus program communication was the barrier we would attempt to break. That phase was important because it was when we picked our barrier, and begun our journey for CBL.Â
Research + Define
Once deciding on improving communication within bus programs as our barrier, we set off to do research. This research included learning why this in an issue in bus programs, the impact it has on people's lives, and other existing solutions to our barrier. Solutions included solutions with GPS systems, dashboards, and communication options. This was important because we could know our boundaries and goals before moving on to make a solution of our own.
Ideate:
We came up with 40 innovative solutions in order to have options to improve communication in bus programs. Ultimately, we decided on a communication system that would be paired with a card scanner so students could safely enter the bus as well as the communication system improving. We met with our client, who agreed that this would improve communication as well as safety. Our group learned that ideation is important, and it required a lot of creativity to ideate. The importance of this phase was that it helped us be creative and think outside the box, and ultimately created our solution to this barrier.
Test, Iterate, Implement:
We did research on how we could improve communication as well as make buses safer. After meeting with the Senior Director of Innovation and Technology at our school, we figured that using Remind.com as our source of communication was the best idea. We can put in phone numbers into the system, and then add "teachers" that would be the bus driver, so they could communicate to those who need it. In addition, we used Arduino coding to create an RFID tag scanner to let students onto the bus when the correct card is scanned, and a website connected to google maps so parents can see the location of their bus. See the "Solution" page for more information. The importance of this phase was that it gave us the opportunity to create and make our ideas and planning into a real prototype.
Launch:
The final stage was Launch. During this stage, we finalized our solution, and received data on how helpful our product would be if implemented into the real world. The results told us that buses are late very often, and riders and parents are not happy with the lack of communication in their program. After that, it was time for the CBL forum. This was where we could showcase Tardy Tracker to parents, administrators and teachers at our school. Our group made a poster with graphs from our data, as well as creating a video after the forum to explain what we did in this project, our solution, what is next for us, and recapping the CBL forum. In this phase, we improved our public speaking skills and learned how to collect data well. The importance of this phase was that we could get the idea of what it would be like to become very close to implementing a product into the real world, and the steps it takes to prove that a product is worthy.
My Movie 3.mov