Edunate is a learning management platform with life skills courses to train underprivileged kids with an integrated donation portal. This was part of my 3rd college Epics project which stands for Engineering Projects in Community Service.
Edunate
Timeline
Sept - Mar 2022
Tools
Figma
Team
Shaunak
Pranshu
Nishant
Yash
Arpan
Watan
Saransh
Pratham
Mentor
Dr. Ashish Sahu
Type
3rd Year Project
OVERVIEW
Problem Statement
In many government schools, academic topics such as science, mathematics, and social studies are taught at a basic level, but crucial life skills such as communicating effectively and speaking fluent English are not taught properly, which takes away many opportunities from them in this modern world but again the issue is the medium. How will these kids access these courses when most of them do not even have a smartphone in their homes? At the same time, there are a lot of people who want to specifically help or do charity for these kids to get educated to empower them but are unable to do so sometimes due to less awareness about such platforms or organizations.
IDENTIFY
Objectives
Our general objective was to make online courses easily available to students who do not have the resources or help people who want to gain subject knowledge on topics such as communication, languages, computer science, etc.
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To tackle the technical issue, we planned to do weekly live classes by collaborating with NGOs and government schools so that we can reach students who do not have the gadget to access our free courses online.
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We have also planned additional modules for the website:
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A donation system that allows people to directly donate money directly to the NGO of their choice. These organizations assist underprivileged students to gain access to the resources they need to educate themselves on various topics.
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A reward system that incentivizes users to complete and purchase more courses on our platform.
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A section for paid courses that people can purchase, from which a certain percentage of the money will be donated to organizations that help underprivileged students.
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A section that informs people about the upcoming donation drives in their city.
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Literature Review
There are many websites that have a Learning Management System that helps students gain knowledge through online courses as well as helps them to keep track of their progress and manage their time effectively. Websites such as Udemy and Coursera have courses that people can purchase and complete for certain certifications. Learning Management Systems open up many opportunities in the field of education.
Course content is now available to anyone with an electronic device at just a click away. Students enrolled in the online courses are able to track their progress stats, such as what percentage of the course has been completed, how one is performing on tests of specific topics, and which topics need to be strengthened. However, there is no website aimed specifically at helping underprivileged students gain crucial life skills in addition to academic knowledge. We wanted to design our website such that any student will be able to easily access the course content and other features.
VOLUNTEERING
On-Field Work
We wanted to get to know about the other perspective too in order to know more about their pain points, their experience, challenges, what all are they interested in learning, and the level of help they need from respective courses. We collaborated with Robin Hood Army ( RHA ) to join them with their initiative of teaching underprivileged children and training them with various life skills. They are given a selection of subjects from which to pick, including performing arts, visual arts, sports, technical arts, etc. They first observe what will be taught to them, and then they choose one of the subjects to learn over a period of six months.
I believe that being young works better since the children connect with you on a personal level and open up to you about their feelings. They become nervous around instructors, so we always remind them that we are not their teachers and that we are all here to learn something new together. Because they do not have such opportunities, these children are more eager to study. So when they come across something, they grab it. Volunteering with RHA is really rewarding because, at the end of the day, you see these children happy and learning new things. As difficult as being around children might be, I would say the experience is too enriching.
My experiences have taught me the value of recognizing and appreciating diverse points of view. Many of the children with whom I have worked come from varied backgrounds and have distinct experiences and viewpoints that have helped me see things from fresh perspectives.
Furthermore, I learned the value of patience and understanding while working with people from marginalized backgrounds. Many of the youngsters I've worked with come from challenging homes and may have had a lot of adversity in their lives. This experience taught me the value of being patient, understanding, and empathic when working with people from underrepresented populations, as well as how it may assist to create trust and mutual respect.
DESIGNING
Final Screens
My task with Nishant was to work on the website's UI/UX part. We chose the yellow color because of the positive emotions associated with it like happiness, hope, originality, and enthusiasm.
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Hero Section
The hero section has a slider with images of the on-field work done by our team members with buttons to go directly to the course section and donation portal.
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Courses
People can choose from a variety of courses made by top instructors and some of our team members because we wanted students to see some similar faces through this mode too.
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Stats
People can see how many lives we have influenced with our work and their donations.
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Notifications
Users can get notified about upcoming donation drives in their city if they are interested in volunteering for the same.
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Onboarding
People who are interested in becoming a mentor and joining our cause can do so to share their skills with the world and help raise funds for this initiative.
REFLECTION
What did i learn?
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My experiences have reinforced the importance of accessibility and inclusivity in education. Many of the children I worked with face barriers to accessing education due to their socioeconomic background.
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This experience has reinforced the belief that every individual has the potential to succeed, regardless of their background or circumstances, and also has taught me the importance of providing all individuals with the support they need to reach their full potential.
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Overall, my experiences educating underprivileged kids have provided me with a valuable perspective on the importance of diversity, inclusion, and accessibility in education and design.