Capstone: Competitive Research

Hello! I am a back with more information on how to tackle my capstone. It has been a while since our last chat so let me catch you up to speed…

For my capstone, I will be creating animated storylines that are designed to teach children around the ages of 3 to 5 about different emotions and how to deal with them. These stories will exist within an educational application along with different interactive activities. However, in order to create an effective product for my target audience, I need to look at the competition already out there and see how I can improve the educational experience.

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Montessori Preschool

Montessori Preschool is an educational program for children around the ages of 3–6. The app provides an interactive experience designed to help teach children the basic learning components for subjects like math, literacy, and art. The app also teaches kids practical social skills such as how to stay organized and put things away.

The games themselves are highly intuitive. The lessons are designed in a way that is engaging for kids of early childhood. There are little characters that help explain the activities to you and guide you through the lessons. Another nice thing about this product is that parents have access to personalize their child’s account and keep track of their progress.

The art style is very childlike and colorful to grab the user’s attention. The characters are all made from the same basic structure and represent a diverse group of children. While the games are visually appealing, the artistic style is not as unique. It appears very similar to imagery seen on other preschool learning products.

I chose this app as one of my competitors because it teaches kids not only school subjects but also basic skills they will need just in life. I wish for my capstone to offer this as well. Montessori understood that kids need to learn more than just reading and math; they need to learn how to take care of themselves and their toys. They teach these abstract concepts in fun and often silly ways that have proven to be effective.

Khan Academy Kids App

Khan Academy is known for their vast knowledge in all subjects for all grades. This app is a free educational program designed to create a fun and engaging learning experience for kids. The app walks kids through different school subjects through learning activities such as games, books, songs, and art. Their goal is to make children learners for life. Education is important and with the right approach, kids can learn the value of it early on. The app was built for children ages 2–7 years old. They use friendly animal characters to guide the user through activities.

The games themselves are cute and simple. You can tap on a character to play with and they will lead you to a specific activity. The interactions are not as innovative. Some are very simple and short. This could possibly lead to a child getting bored. However, there are many activities to choose from so you can definitely stay busy with this product. The games all seem to be storybased which is very appreciated. This allows kids to connect with the charcaters which makes the games all the more fun.

The art style is bright and illustrative. It definitely stands out compared to other educational programs. The imagery itself makes me want to play with the app due to its unique and styalized appearance. The animations are very sweet as well. The characters move in an energetic and playful manor which adds more life to the screen.

I chose Khan Academy Kids because of its unqiue illustrative style and emphasis on the characters. There is something very wholesome about the app’s appearance. I wish to create something as playful and innocent as this app.

Sesame Street Kid App

My final competitor is the famous show Sesame Street. This television program is known for its beloved characters that teach kids not only the alphabet and numbers but also walk children through abstract concepts and tough topics. Sesame Street known for their success in connecting with kids and understanding the best ways to explain things to them in ways they can comprehend.

This show has also brought multiple apps for children to play on. Their main application provides access to different educational shorts and games. The section I personally took interest in was titled “Social Development”. This section was filled with short videos from past episodes that brought attention to emotions, senses, relationships, and more. There is one game in this section titled “Elmo’s School Friends”. This game allows users to play with Elmo and his friends. In the game, Elmo is faced with the challenge of helping his friend feel better whether they are dealing with anger, sadness, embaressment, etc. The user is given the option of telling Elmo what to do to help. The point of the game is to teach kids what they can do when they themselves are facing those emotions or their friends are.

The art style of the app is consistent with the show. The illustrative style is very cartoony with vibrant colors. While the imagery is not as detailed, children are drawn to it due to their love of the characters. The animations are simple with the purpose of only provided visual context and keeping the user’s attention.

The reason I chose this show/app as a competitor is because I admire the way they strategically and effectively teach kids how to deal with their emotions. They approach each concept with patience and kindness. They use mental hooks to build these abstract thoughts and feelings off of. This has proven to be both enlightening and entertaining to the kids.

Six Nuggets of Wisdom:

Illustrative Style

My competitive research has given me insight on which apps visual stand out and which blend in. It is important to create these apps in engaging styles that distinguish your product from others. I plan to create energized cartoon characters that will guide the users through videos and activities. I believe Khan Academy and Sesame Street do a great job of creating beloved heartwarming characters that grab your attention. This will engage not only the kids but the parents as well. A wholesome and fun look equals a trustworthy product.

Story Driven Interactions

These three products are great examples of weaving stories and education together. Each provide scenarios for the user which motivates them to complete the tasks. I believe stories are the best way to communicate with children and allow them to bond with the characters of the show or app. Stories allow kids the chance to project themselves in situations which will be help them effectively understand emotion and other social skills.

Freedom of Choice

I noticed that the Sesame Street game gave the users a choice to decide what they wanted to do in a specifc situation. This gave the user more control over the story which helps keep them interested while also being an effective tactic when teaching them how to deal with emotions and help their friends. In my app I wish to create animated shorts with discussion questions but I also think it would be effective to have activities on the app that give this freedom of choice.

Lively Animations

I believe that Montessori Preschool does a great job at creating educational games while Khan Academy does a great job at visually strong animation. I wish to combine these strengths in my app and create interactive activities that have strong visuals that match the quality of my animated shorts. I believe this will help be differentiate myself with my competitors and provide an improved product for my target audience.

Resources & Techniques

I want to be able to help kids address how they feel and find ways to calm themselves down. I noticed that while the game with Elmo allowed the user to help solve his friend’s problems, it didn’t give the kids techniques to help deal with their own personal emotions. I want to be able to provide resources and methods for them when they feel upset or angry.

Thinking Outside The Box

I believe it would be beneficial to incorporate activities kids can do outside the app while watching an animated short. I want to provide educational coloring book designs that parents can print out for their kids. These coloring books would have the charcaters on them and partain to the story they are watching. My goal is to design creative ways for children to reflect on what they watched and absorb the morals of each story.