TheStudentMotivational

Bracelet

DuncanSmith,JordanMellinger,DavidTishmack

Contents

Page

Section

Summary

Personas

BrainstormingandIdeation

13

Design

14

Testing

17

Rationale

Summary

OurIdea:
TheStateseducationalpoliciesarecreatinganenvironmentoffearforthestudents,
andtheirmethodsofincentingstudentstocompletetheK12schoolregimenareverynegative
andaffectstudentsfortheworse

OurProcess:
Weanalysedrelationshipsbetweenstudents,teachers,andstateeducation
administrationsinordertofindwherethecurrenteducationsystemisfailing.Bycreatingchain
reactionlinksbetweennormaloccurrencesinaHighSchooleducationalsettingandtheir
reactionsandconsequences,wenarrowedinonsomeareaswheretechnologyhasbeenable
tonegativelyaffectthewaythatstudentsandteachersperceiveaneducationintheUnited
States.Wethentookthetechnologiesandideasthatarecausingthesenegative
consequences,andlookedforwaystoproduceapotentialproductthatwouldallowauserto
experiencehowtheStateAdministratorsviewthestudentsinaradicalnewlight.

OurSolution:
WedesignedwhatwearecallingtheStudentMotivationalBracelet.Itisadevicethe
userswearlikeawatchthatcanadministeranelectricshockifcertaincriteriaarenotmet.
Thesecriteriacanbelocation,sleepschedule,andstudyhabits.TheStudentMotivational
Braceletwillalsoadjusttoimprovethemotivationalimpactbyincreasingordecreasingthe
voltagebasedonthestudentsperformance.Thisdevicewillhelphighlighttheridiculous
methodsandideasthatarecurrentlyimplementedbythestateinordertopromotechange.

Personas

Jared,JuniorinHighSchool.

Jaredisanexcellentstudentandenjoyshisclasses,buthefeelsthatheisnotgetting
themostoutofhiseducation.Heenjoyskayakingandwantstopursuethatmoreoften,butas
hearriveshomefromlongdays,hefinditdifficulttofullyconcentrateonhishomework.His
gradesareinaslowdecline,butnotenoughtoruinhischancesofbeinganhonorstudent.His
parentdowanttoseehimasavaledictorian,andJareddoesntwanttoletthemdown.What
canhedotohelpkeephimontrack?

Kyle,SeniorinHighSchool.

Kyleisaproblemtohisclassmatesandhisteachers.Hisgradeshaveneverbeenlower,
hehasnotyetcompletedhisSATtest,andhemaynotgraduatethisyear.Healsohasbeen
doingcopiousamountsofdrugsandhasattemptedtosellonschoolgroundsmultipletimes.He
dislikesschool,buthisparentswillnotallowhimtodropout.Therehastobeawaytokeep
Kyleontrackandcorrecthisbehaviorsbeforehepotentiallyhastobeexpelled.

Stephanie,JuniorinHighSchool.

StephaniewantssomuchtobeanArtTeacher,howevershecannotgetoutoftakingall
herveryinsignificantlanguageandmathclassesinordertostudyart.Shedoesntfeel
motivatedtotryintheseclasses,andconsequentlytakesahitinhergrades.Herparentsare
pressuringhertoimprovehergrades,butshecannotfindthetimeorenergytocompletethese
tasks.Shejustwantstodropoutandstudyart.Whatcanshedotopasshighschoolandstill
getherpassionforartexpressed?

BrainstormingandIdeation:

Thepreviousstudentsrepresentafewselectedsituationsthatwehavefoundstudents
inHighSchool.Theyeachexhibitalackofdesiretoputfortheffortinschool,andseemhighly
motivatedtodosomethingexternal.Webrokedownthesestudentsandbegantoanalysethe
interactionstheyhavewithteachersandstateeducationadministrators.

WefoundthattheStudentsandTeacherssharedalotofsimilarfeelingsanddisconnect
tothegoalsoftheState.WhatwealsonoticedisthattheStateviewedthestudentsasjust
numbers,andtheirmethodsofimprovingthestudentsperformancewastoaffecttheteachers
negativelyforthestudentslowperformance.Thisalsowasapointraisedindiscussionthatthe
teachersarepressuredandandunderfirecommonlyinthecurrenteducationsystem.Sowe
feltthatthereshouldbeawaytoplacethepunishmentforunderperformanceontothe
students,inordertoshowhowtheStatesmethodsofmotivatingandbringthestudentsthrough
theK12systemwasharmingtheintegrityofboththesystemandthestudents.Wecreated
chainsofmultiplestagesofcauseandeffectinordertofindplacesthatwecouldfocuson
producingatechnology.

Inthischain,weconsideredtherelationshipsbetweenthelackofsleepandthedangers
itcancreateforstudents.Ofcourse,itwasalittlehumorous,butitwasnottoofarfetched.An
articlepublishedbyTimeonlineoutlinedtherisksofthelackofdaylightandthedangersto
peopleingeneral,withstudentsbeingamajorfocus.
http://time.com/3549442/daylightsavingtimetrafficdeaths/
Alongwiththis,thelengthoftheschooldayhasincreasedforstudentsratherdrasticallyover
thepreviousdecades,withmeasurednegativeimpactsonstudentperformanceand
perceptionsofschool.
http://www.teachhub.com/edreformlongerschooldays

Thischartplacesaconnectionbetweenthestudentsnecessitytopassatestoverruling
theneedforstudentstoprocessandcomprehendtheknowledgetheyaregiven.Themost
commonconcernfortestsuchastheISTEP+andSAThasbeencriticalreadingandcritical
writing.
http://nytmarketing.whsites.net/inschool/wpcontent/uploads/2010/09/SAT_Guide.pdf
Basiccomprehensiveskillsarenowbecomingnecessarytobetaught,ratherthatcreated
throughasolidbodyofeducation.

Thisreactionchartallowedustoproduceagraphicalcorrelationbetweenclassdifficulty,
teachersalary,andresultantstudentperformance.Withtheteacherstakingtheharsher
consequencesforstudentunderperformance,theonlyavailableresponseistoreducethe
difficultyofyourcurriculumtoensureahighperformingclass.Thenegativeconsequencetothis
isthatstudentloserespectfor,anddoevenpoorerin,theclass.

Sowiththesechartsandideasbroughtforward,wefoundthreeseparatetechnological
introductionsthathavecreatedanenvironmentfortheaforementionednormstoexist.

Technology

Aspects

FancyTextbooks
Textbookswithmore
andmoreimages,whileexcludingordiluting
content.

Lackofmaterial
Cookiecutterformatting
Dilutedmaterial

RepetitiveTesting
Themethodof
Devalueseachtestforstudents
constantlytestingstudentstodeterminetheir MaintainsvalueforStateandTeachers
progressthroughclassesandtohelppinpoint Predictivebutnotindicative
potentialstudentsthatneedextraworkto
improvetheirscoreinthefuture
Invasivemonitoring
Encouragementof
parentsupervisionduringhomeworkandto
keeptheparentconstantlyinvolvedinorder
toensureastudentisstudying.

Studentslosefreedom
Desiretorebel
Distrustofexploratoryactivities

WefelttheseweretherootidealsandtechnologiesintroducedintotheK12educational
systemthathavebeenproducingsubstandardstudentsandcurriculum.Weexploredeach
categoryandcameupwithwaystoaccentuatehoweachonehasbeenaproblemforteachers
andstudents.Thesewereconceptsandideastobeexplored,notnecessarilyfullproductideas.
Insomeinstances,thesewereactualthingsbeingused,suchastheadaptivetesting.

1. FancyTextbooks
a. WhathappensiftheywereHUGEwithnextto0informationandyouneededto
useittofindanswersforatest.
b. Whatifitwassoinsanelydrollandyouwererewardedfordoingnothing,toa
pointwhereyoudidntbotherregisteringthematerial.
c. AudiobookTextbooks
d. *Microtransactionlessons*
1. RepetitiveTesting
a. Theyareweightedmorethanneeded,whatiftheyhad3questions,andifyou
missedone,youwereassigneda10questiontest,getonewrongyouwere
givena30questiontest,etc.
b. Attempttoansweraseriesofquestions,butgettingonewrongcreatesatideof
sandthatcausesanannoyingbeeping.youhavetoremovethesandwitha
utensilinordertostopit,butyouhaveatimelimitonthetest.
c. Onlinepopquizthatcantextyouatanytimewithaquestion,andyouneedto
texttheanswerbackinordertopassthequiz.
d. Adaptiveexams,examexpandstheworseyoudo.*
2. Invasivemonitoringofstudentsactivities
a. Anythingthatisnotexplicitlyworkwillresultinyourcomputerlockingup.This
canbeassimpleasanunexpectedGoogleSearchtoopeningupaword
documentwithoutauthorizationfortextediting
b. Attempttostudyalessonwhileadronefliesaboveyourhead
c. Efficiencytimer
d. Housearreststylemonitoringofstudentactivitiesoutsideofschool
e. Accesstomaterialscutoffinordertoimprovesleephabits

Thepotentialwithinthecategoryof
InvasiveMonitoringofStudentActivitiese
ncouraged
ustofollowthatpathandreallyexplorehowtheinvasivemonitoringwasproducingpoor
students.Weproduceddifferentideasforhowwecouldmonitorandmotivatestudentstostay
onschoolworkwhileoutsideofclass.

Expansiononideasin
invasivemonitoringofstudentactivities.

1. BraceletthatemitsanEMPifactivityisdetectedduringdesignatedsleeptime
2. Electroshockwhenyouarenotdoingsomethingthatisexplicitlyallowed.
3. Monitorsandreportstofamilymemberswhenstudentisdoingsomething
unrelatedtoschoolduringdesignatedtimes
4. Fitbitreportsmedicalinfototeacherandstate
5. Computermonitorgetsmirroredtoteacherwhenitdetectsyouarenot
performingschoolactivities
6. Autoschedulesandtextsteacherandparentwhenyouexhibitconsistent
nonschoolbehavior
9

Theunderlinedsegmentsseemedtoprovidethemostpotentialforexpansionand
productionofanindependentideaandproduct.Soweproducedveryroughprototypeson
paperofwhatwewantedeachdesigntoincludeandinteractwiththeuser.

ElectroshockBracelet

Thisconcepttooktheideaofhowashockcollarcanalterthebehaviorsofadog,and
appliedthattoaperson.Inthisroughconcept,weexploredtheideaofthebraceletshocking
youfornotgettingenoughsleep,whichhasbeenshowntoimprovegrades.

10

MirroredComputerScreens

Thisconceptwouldallowsoftwaretostreamandrecordyourschoollaptopswhenyou
aredoingsomethingthatisunsanctionedonthem.Theyalsocanbeactivatedtomonitoryour
activitiesandtrendsinordertocateryourlearningexperienceinthefuture.Thevideofeedsare
pipedtotheteacherandrecordedforthestateandstoredforanalysisatalaterdate.

11

MedicalMonitorforEducationalExcellence

Thisdesignwasinspiredtochangethedestinationofhealthinformationthatthe
standardfitbitwouldcollect.Itnowwouldprovidemetricssuchasheartrate,sleepcycles,and
GPSlocationtotheStateandallowthemtodeterminespecificlearningmodificationstoyour
dailystudies.Also,itwouldallowthemtomonitoryourstresslevelsduringschoolasaformof
intimatefeedbackonacourse.
12

Design

Thedesignthatwechosetoproduceandtestwasthebraceletthatadministerselectric
shocktotheuserwhentheychoosetonotpartakeinaschoolsanctionedactivity.Wecouldnot
produceawaytocreateasenseofpainwithoutbeingcrueltothetestparticipants,soour
designwasonethatproducedaredlightwhenanelectricalcircuitwasconnected.Ithada
large,uncomfortablewristbandandawirethatleadfromthelightsourceattachedtothewrite
toaswitchbox,wherethepersonadministeringthetestcouldtriggerthelightinordertosignify
anelectricshock.This,combinedwiththetesterintentionallycreatingahostileandstressful
environmentduringthetestwouldhopefullyplacetheideaofanelectricshockintothemindof
theparticipant.

13

Testing

Wewantedtoensurethatourtestwasadministeredspecificallywitheachsubject.However,
themethodseachtesterusedtoproduceahostileenvironmentwasuptotheindividual
deliveringthetest.Thereisanacceptedlevelofbiasordifferencebetweeneachtesting
sample,whichweacknowledge.Thedocumentusedisbelow:

TestfortheStudentMotivationalBracelet

Whatitis
:Thisisabraceletdesignedtoadministeranelectricshockwhenadesignatedsetof
parametersisnotmet.Thisisintendedtobeusedbyschoolstoencouragestudentstopursue
theirstudiesandselfimprovementoutsideofclass.Thisdevicealsoallowstheadministratorsat
theschooltoincreasethevoltagebasedonperformance.

Howwewilltestthis
:Asanearlyprototype,wehaveproducedasimulationofthedevice.This
isintendedtobeananalogueformofmotivationwhilewesimulateanentiredayofdecision
making.Wewillalsouseredlightstoshowwhenashockwouldbeadministeredasthevoltage
rangeisdecided.

Howthetestisadministered
:Thesubjectisaskedthefollowingseriesofquestionswhile
wearingthebracelet.Thereisastandardsetofanswersandminimalanswersthatwebelieve
willimprovethestudentscurrentstudyhabitsandthatarethecorrectdecisionsinthesituation
outlined.Acorrectanswerwillgivenoreward,whiletheincorrectanswerwilltriggerthelightsor
inarealscenario,theelectricshock.

Whatwewanttosee
:Overafewdeliveriesofthetest,wehopetoseeeachsubjectmakethe
correctdecisionsmoreandmoreoften.

14

QuestionstobeAdministered

Youareajuniorinhighschool,youareaBstudentwhohasaverygoodsociallife.Youare
leavingschoolonaWednesdayafternoonandarriveatyourhouseat3:00.YouhaveMath,
Science,andHistoryhomeworkdueFriday,youalsohaveatestinEnglishonMonday.Once
youarrivehomeyoudecidetoworkonhomework.Doyou:
a) Mathhomework
b) ScienceHomework
c) HistoryHomework
d) StudyforEnglish

Youstartto(previousanswer)yougetatextfromafriendaskingtohangout,yourhomework
isn'tdueuntilFriday.Doyou
a) hangoutwithyourfriend(shock)
b) continuewithhomework
c) watchTV(shock)

Itsbeenalongdayforyouatschool,andyoudontknowwhattodoafteryougethome.Would
youconsiderputtingoffyourmathhomeworkinordertonap?Yesor
no
?

Howlongshouldyouspendonyourhomeworkeachnight?<2hoursor
>2hours?

Itis10:00pm,youhavecompletedyourhomework.Whatdoyoudonow?
a) NowisthetimetofitinagameortwoofCOD
b) Youcanhaveafriendoverforafewhours
c) Gotosleep
d) WatchTVforafewhours

IfIhaveanAinaclass,Idontneedtoworrytoomuchaboutstudyingforthefinal.Yes/
No

PostTest

Doyoulikethissystem?Yes/No

Howdoyoufeelabouthowthetestwasadministered?

1Ihatedit2Indifferent3Itwasgood

Whatdoyouthinkwouldmakethisproductbetter?

15

Results

Subject

Test1Score

Test2Score PostTestQ1

PostTestQ2

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

10

No

11

No

12

NA

NA

No

Analysis:

Generaltrendswerethatthesubjectwouldimprovetheirscorebetweenbothtests.However,
eachsubjectdislikedthetestandfeltthattheproductwasanawfulidea.Thetestwas
consideredverystressful,evenwithouttheelectricshock.(Subject12refusedtobetestedafter
thephraseElectricShockwasmentioned)

ParaphrasedComments.

Thewristguardwasuncomfortable
Thereshouldntbeanelectricshock,thatscruel
Electricshocksarepunishment,notmotivation
ThereisnowayIwouldeverusethis
Icantbelieveyoudconsidershockingstudents
Ifeelthatifitbeeped,itdbelessharshandcruel
Iamnotgoingtodothistestifitwillshockme
Idontlikethefeelingofyouwiringmeup
16

Rationale:

What:
Whatwewantedtoachievewasadesignthatscaredpeopleandcouldinducetheconversation
ofWhywouldwedothistoourstudents.Throughoutthisprocess,webecamepassionateand
lostfavorformanydifferentconceptsandideas,andourfinalproductproducedathoughtand
responsefromeachofourparticipantsinthetest.

Why:
ItmattersthatthequestionWhyistheAmericaneducationsystemsobad?israised.Itranks
verylowcomparedtothoseinmostotherfirstworldcountriesandithasundergoneradical
changestohelpimprovetheperceptionandcapabilitiesofitsstudents.However,the
disconnectbetweenstudentandstateissovast,thatthestudenthasbecomelittlemorethana
metricforwhichtheoriesandtestscanbeperformed.Creatingsomethingthatcouldsparka
conversationonwhywewouldevenneedtoelectricallyshockastudentisafantasticstepping
stonetowardsreformationoftheAmericaneducationsystem.

17