The details of our course long project have not yet been fully defined, but there are a couple details we were told so far.

• The application we’re developing will be for mobile devices, with optional support for other platforms
• The application will be designed around the keywords: Nature, Engagement, and Delight
• The age range of the application will be between 25-60 years old

I’m sure we’ll be getting more details in today’s lecture, but I came up with an idea while Brenda was talking about the campus during lecture. She was talking about how beautiful the campus is, and that she can’t believe it when she sees students walking around zoned out looking at their phones and listening to music.  My first thought was that is would be funny to make an app that automatically turn off a phones audio when approaching a scenic area of campus. Of course, this seems like it would just be frustrating than causing delight, so instead I thought of a couple ways in which people walking around the campus could be more engaged with the environment.

Borrowing from the features of Yelp, if different scenic areas of campus had the ability to “check in” and take pictures of a place, then a list of these places could become a guide to exploring campus. The implications for visiting parents and prospective students are as a campus tour guide. For the current campus population, this app could be a way to engage with their surroundings by reminding them about all the campus has to offer.

As opposed to Yelp, the locations on campus are usually visited by hundreds of people a day, so the idea of someone becoming the “Duke” or “Baron” of a place doesn’t make sense. However, the crowd voting method of Reddit could be used instead. People could take pictures of a scenic area on campus and other people could “upvote” or “downvote” the picture. The person with the highest voted picture could be given a title like the “Duke,” and in this way a competitive dynamic would emerge where people are trying to take the best possible picture of an area.  Although some people will use it as a means of expression to have the highest rated pictures, other people will be able to enjoy seeing the nice pictures while looking through all of the different places on campus. In addition, some pictures may be taken at a certain vantage point that is really interesting, which could inspire people to explore the area and find out where the photographer was positioned. This would create a sense of belonging by connecting people through the shared experience of sharing that same space, but in another time.

To extend the idea, the different local animal population could be included as part of the application. Sights of these animals are frequent all over campus, and getting the best picture of them could be enjoyable for everyone. Who doesn’t love cute animal pictures? People could find delight in opening the app everyday to see the latest animal encounters, and by inspired to spend more time being engaged with the environment by looking out for these types of photo opportunities. For example, here’s a picture I took last quarter of a squirrel that came up to me during breakfast.