Inspiration
My wife is a college professor, and I've been one too. Students today learn differently, due to social media, phones and apps. Teaching needs to adapt. Also, my children are often shown movies in the classroom, as electronic babysitting. FlixREMIX makes education more entertaining by making entertainment educational.
What it does
While watching a Hollywood movie (on any device... TV, DVD, Blu-Ray, streaming, Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube or even VHS) the FlixREMIX app, running on an iPhone or iPad, synchronizes with the audio feed of the movie using Audio Content Recognition, and displays and optionally speaks Expert Commentary and Interactive Quizzes, written by professional teachers, related to what's going on the screen at that second.
Sample lessons include Economics of WIlly Wonka, Politics of A Bug's Life, Biology of The Lion King, Science of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and many more!
How I built it
Originally I used image recognition but after focus groups, it became clear that it would be cumbersome to force the teacher to keep the iOS device propped up to keep the video screen in view.
Challenges I ran into
I had to teach myself Audio Content Recognition to make the app work using audio fingerprints, and then coordinate the database for the movies.
Accomplishments that I'm proud of
I worked with a lot of teachers and students, in New York City and New Orleans to test the idea and the app. Everyone liked it and I incorporated their feedback.
What I learned
Any solution for schools has to be foolproof and not depend on high-speed internet or quiet classrooms or the latest technology.
What's next for FlixREMIX: Watch & Learn!
Need finances to be able to pay more teachers for more lesson plans, so the solution is more robust and practical for all ages and all subjects.
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