SparkIt!

Homescreen
Toolbar
Mentorship center
Account Information Page
Mentorship information page
Messaging portal

Inspiration

All of the members of our team attend CCTL, and at our school there is a mentorship program for freshmen that the upperclassmen assist in. However, we noticed as a team that these mentorships do not last throughout a students time at CCTL. They also do not directly target the interest of students, leaving some mentorships underutilized. Reflecting on how mentorships have impacted our own lives, we decided to create an app that helps our student body, and perhaps other schools, conduct mentorship programs that are specific to the needs of students using important data related to personality types, interests, and meeting preferences.

What it does

SparkIt! allows students to create a mentorship account that contains a variety of important information, including interests, personality, zip code, phone number, meeting preference, and if they want to be a mentor or mentee. Then, this account is posted to a database. Users can scroll through this database to find mentors or mentees they want to start a mentorship with. Then, users can take the phone number found in another account and use the messaging portal to message their new mentor/mentee and start their mentorship. In our app, there are also two information pages. One for account creation assistance that has resources for finding interests and a personality test, and another page that contains advice on the value of mentorships.

How we built it

We built it entirely in MIT app inventor by designing the UI first, and then giving each element functions using the command blocks. The account database was constructed using a cloud database and a list function. The accounts are elements in the list, created with the input boxes on the "your account" tab, allowing for user customization. The information pages are labels that can be manipulated using button functions. The messaging portal uses the texting application and contact picker applications in MIT app inventor, which utilize the SMS messaging functions of android phones.

Challenges we ran into

All of the people on our team are novice coders, and are not experienced with MIT app inventor. Also, many of us faced unforeseen roadblocks and could not work as much as we liked to. Finally, some of the android phones we used to demo the app had restrictions that would not allow us to use MIT app inventor.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Despite the challenges we faced, we were all able to develop our first app. We are also able to identify a need within our academic community. When we conducted a survey, we found that the majority of our peers wanted mentorships, but felt that they could not find them. We were able to create something that has the potential to make a positive impact.

What we learned

We learned how to function as a team, especially while facing stress. We learned the importance of mentorships and the value of making progress through taking direct action. We also learned what makes successful mentorships, and what factors can lead to their longevity.

What's next for SparkIt!

SparkIt! would like to find a way to create a search function, so people can find different accounts with ease. We would also like to make the account pages more interactive, and instal a guide for users to navigate the the user settings in google to allow SparkIt! to function with SMS messaging.