"Histarco" is a board game crafted to both educate and assess players' understanding of Colombian history.
Capstone/ 6 months
DESIGN JOURNEY
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Tailored Teaching Methods for Different Subjects: In school, subjects demand teaching methods tailored to their objectives and characteristics. For example, math thrives with structured problem-solving, while history benefits from an interactive, narrative approach that engages students with past events in their context.
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Adjustment of Teaching Designs: Essential to this process is adjusting teaching designs to suit each subject's specifics, considering students' learning styles and available resources. This entails deploying diverse methods, materials, activities, and assessments tailored to each discipline's needs.
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Importance of Enriching Environments: Enriching environments, such as children's museums, play a vital role in amplifying understanding by providing immersive learning experiences that complement classroom instruction.
Conceptualization:
The consistently low scores in history on the national high school graduation test highlight a substantial challenge, underscoring the pressing need to reevaluate the current educational model and introduce innovative teaching approaches for this subject. Recognizing this, I stress the importance of creating a clear and engaging educational tool to improve the understanding of Colombian history.
I deeply immersed myself in extensive brainstorming and ideation sessions, unwaveringly focusing on meticulously crafting strategies to achieve the project's objectives.
As a product designer, my focus was not limited solely to designing strategies to help children understand and assimilate the concepts I wanted to teach them more effectively. I also aimed to design the object in a way that would physically help children understand the non-linearity of history and how a significant historical event is the result of a multitude of interconnected factors.
This encompassed the development of three distinct game proposals. The art of seamlessly translating these multifaceted concepts into an integrated framework served as the cornerstone upon which the final game's flow would thrive.
The purpose of this activity was to teach children that a particular historical event doesn't unfold linearly over time. The main focus was to convey the idea that there are specific moments, identified as turning points in history, and that these events don't always follow a predictable path. These turning points are the result of various random and unforeseen events that come into play, influencing and altering the course of history.
The purpose of this activity was to create a tangible structure representing the idea that history is built. The fundamental concept behind this notion is that history is formed by a series of events that contribute to the creation of the present. The activity encouraged children to understand how a specific historical event laid the foundation for what would happen in the future.
The main aim of this game was to convey the idea that each historical event holds significant importance in elucidating the player's present life. In a circular structure, the player's mission was to construct historical events that converged towards the center, where they were located.
What makes this concept interesting is that it offers a visual and interactive representation of the interconnectedness of historical events. It enables players to see how various historical occurrences come together to shape their current reality, fostering a deeper understanding of the relationship between the past and the present. This unique approach sparks curiosity and engagement, as players actively participate in building their historical narratives.
The underlying purpose of these ideas was to educate children about the non-linear nature of historical events and their far-reaching impact on the present. In this holistic approach, the aim was not only to teach history as a series of interconnected events but also to engage children in actively constructing historical narratives. These concepts are interesting because they provide a dynamic, visual, and interactive way to comprehend the complex web of historical causality. By exploring turning points, constructing historical events, and understanding the relationship between the past and the present, children can gain profound insights into the historical significance of every moment in time. This unique approach arouses curiosity and fosters engagement, as it empowers players to become active participants in shaping their understanding not just of history but deepening their comprehension of how the past has converged into their present lives.
RAPID PROTOTYPING
The first prototype was made on paper and was fully functional, allowing for a faithful recreation of the proposed game activity. After testing the prototype, it was concluded that the product's form was suitable and that children understood how to use it. Additionally, this phase provided insights to refine the mechanics, graphics, and themes of the game.
TESTING
Developing a Hi-fi Prototype:
Creating a prototype with real materials allowed 'Histarco' to thoroughly explore player enjoyment, providing profound insights into what truly captivated and engaged the players throughout their gaming experience. It offered me the means to evaluate the product's achievement of its primary objective: presenting history lessons in an innovative manner, as well as verifying whether the children grasped the concepts and could reenact the historical event.
