MindSnacks:
MindSnacks is an app focused towards children aged between 11-14. This app helps children to learn foreign languages. It has a simple colourful layout and is simple to understand and follow. Due to the nature of the audience colour is a vital part of development of any software focused for this age group. This app uses colour very well as the app looks visually exciting and interesting. The use of animals also engages this younger audience as it adds a more friendly feel to the learning experience.
What I will take away from this app is its use of colours and animals which help engage the younger side of my target audeince. For this side of my experience I will make sure the app is vibrant and exciting so the younger side of my audience are excited about the software and learning history.
Khan Academy:
This App is an educational tool is aimed to all ages. it changes its layout and information in accordance to the level of development the child is in. This app allows people to learn any subject from History to science to English. On it’s website it gives the user a huge amount of choice into the subject they want to learn and study. For example in the history part you can select what era you want to look at e.g. Ancient Greece. After selecting this subject the webpage shows a YouTube video at the top giving a brief over view of this period and then further down the page pupils can go into a lot more detail. The layout is very simple ad easy to follow and the text is spaced out so it is very easy to read. The web page also gives the user a mini timeline at the side of the page to allow them to focus on certain aspects of the subject without being overwhelmed by information. Their app also follows this style showing coherence and an easy understanding of their content.
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/khan-academy-you-can-learn/id469863705?mt=8
This App and webpage has inspired me a lot. It has made me think that for the best experience I will need to do two items. So as well as the VR/AR experience I will also design an app to coincide with the experience. So people will not need to have a VR headset to use my application. The two pieces together will work hand in hand, this will be done in many ways. One way is a person can log onto the app and select an era of History they want to learn, such as WWII. After reading up some information on it they can put on the VR headset and jump into the period they have learnt allowing them to not only study the past but live in it as well. The way Khan academy is also laid out is also an inspiration to me. The pages are set on in linear order and have extra tabs on the side which allow the user to jump between periods at their wish. I will take this into consideration when designing my app. I will make sure that the page isn’t overcrowded with information and their is a clear rout for the user to follow.
