POLITECNICO DI MILANO

Redefining class participation at
school focusing on ADHD students

Enhancing school participation though phygital experience

Concept project for Politecnico di Milano
Role and responsibilities: UX/UI, Product design, Testing, User research
Design team:  Nicola Besana, Tatiana Martinez, Tala Chehade, Giuseppe Fazio, Mira Ivanova

Project overview

Context
ADHD is characterized by a cluster of symptoms that strongly interfere with satisfactory academic performances and fruitful social interactions, contributing to the onset ofemotional disorders. More than 1 in 10 children worldwide is diagnosed with ADHD or ADD today and thenumber is rapidly growing, together with the incidence of attentional deficits related tocultural factors. Schools are implementing new ways of teaching to meet their needs but these often implythe requirement for a large amount of human resources or the intense use of digitaldevices and special treatments for ADHD children, which can create alienation or stigmatization.

Problem
Middle-primary school children with ADHD or other attentional problems struggle to followthe flow of the lectures and to participate actively to the learning process because theircondition makes it hard to ignore distractions
and remain focused, if they are notsufficiently engaged and motivated on the emotional level.
Bring an added value to the lesson experience, by designing a system able to transformthe theoretical contents into meaningful elements for playful learning moments, whileaddressing ADHD children needs: a flexible but clear taskification of activities, a socialand collaborative emotional dimension and a tangible relation with abstract knowledge.

User research

”How might we enhance motivation to participate during lectures
in order to keep ADHD and other students focused?”

MAIN PILLARS



What makes UFOcus stand out in EdTech is not only the collaborative and materialnature of the interactive system but also the flexibility of it, allowing countless ways ofplaying and Forms of expandability.

Metaphor
Right now, kids are guided through only one path making the challenge just a “who getsthere first”. This is not positive for students with ADHD.For that, we wanted them to join the crew and partake in a world of learning anddiscovery through practical experiences and multi-sensorial modalities. 


Pedagogical Model

UFOcus is initially based on the Kolb Cycle.The light on top changes with a sound cue to help kids understand the various phases.

Solution concept

Collaborative UI
The system is flexible in various ways. It allows for a very wide variety of activities thancan either be created by the teacher or browsed through the UFOcus community. Through the platform, the teacher can not only create new cycles of activities but alsomonitor students participation and understanding of the explained contents.

Physical Product
Through the physical engagement, students will be able to grasp and retain information ina more efficient and effective way, all while living an exciting and playful experience. The physicality of the product also allows them to break free from touch-screendistractions and solely focus on what is projected.

The system
The system is fexible in various ways. It allows for a very wide variety of activities thancan either be created by the teacher or browsed through the UFOcus community.Through the platform, the teacher can not only create new cycles of activities but alsomonitor students participation and understanding of the explained contents.

HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS

The system contains in physical product that has a projector combined with objecttracking; a platform for the teacher to control the product and thus the lesson. Otheressential components of the system are the presence of LIM/Class board to present theresults from the brainstorming as well as other activities to the class, and the group tablesthat consist of four sits. With this we propose a new classroom deposition.

Flexibility

Versatile system to modify the lesson structure
and manage activities in real-time.
Numerous activities divided by learning content
to easily find the most suitable ones

Collaboration

No evaluations to avoid competition among students and groups. Explicit rules to clearly
define turns and tasks and easily memorize the process

Physicality

Motor involvement to release energy and
boost memorization. Phygital system with intuitive UI that limits distractions easy to deactivate when notneeded

Final product

ACTIVITIES

The physical product

Visual identity

CHARACTER ANIMATIONS

App (tablet)

Outcome

RECAP