Team Powerpuffs (039)

Inspiration

Our group realised that there was a gap in the market for technological tools that are aimed at developing stronger bonds with one’s family. Social media and communication resources are widely targeted at teenagers and young adults to be used in conjunction with their friends and colleagues. However, the core unit of a person’s primary support is usually their family. Hence we have decided to create an app that could help strengthen familial ties during this period of time, where safe-distancing regulations and closed borders make it difficult to spend time with loved ones.

What it does

Our app, FamJam, allows users to create or join a room, where they can interact with their family members. Our app contains 5 main functions:

1. “See What’s On”: This feature allows users to have an overview of the family’s events for the month. Users can also add an event into this shared calendar by simply filling in the “date” and “event name” section. This shared calendar will hence allow users to share their achievements or milestones, as well as organise family outings or virtual events.

2. “Join A Video Call”: This page allows multiple video calls to be hosted. The user can select a call to join, or they can also create a new room and wait for family members to join.

3. “Play Games”: In this section, users can play games and compete with their family members to earn points! These points will be tabulated and displayed on the leaderboards. This can instill a sense of good sportsmanship, while simultaneously having fun with family members.

4. “Try Something New!”: This section provides suggestions on activities users can partake in. These will be refreshed every week to ensure a wide variety of fresh, fun, and interesting activities are available for the user to try. Users can also upload their attempts for other family members to view, and also look at the submissions by other family members.

5. “Resources”: This section includes some of the main areas that families may have difficulty navigating through. Clicking each button will bring users to another page where more information, helpful advice and informative links are located. Besides providing support, there are also ideas for users to plan their next virtual hangout, or even outdoor activities they could partake in when safe-distancing restrictions are lifted.

How we built it

We used Figma to design the prototype of our app.

Challenges we ran into

We were severely limited by time constraints. We planned to utilise React for web/app development, but were unable to execute our ideas effectively.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We’re satisfied with the design of our product and we believe our app and its features will help families stay connected.

What we learned

There are many components in app/web development which require time to learn, especially for beginners. Hence in future hackathons, we would prepare ahead and familiarise ourselves with the common tools used in web development and app creation, in order to effectively execute our ideas.

What's next for FamJam

We hope to further expand our ideas beyond FamJam in the future. This concept can be taken and applied to various other kinds of relationships. For example, a classroom setting, where students and teachers can develop greater trust and understanding for each other outside of the classroom. This requires certain modifications of the core functions that can be pivoted to prioritise healthy learning whilst still maintaining a fun environment in which to do so. Some of the potential changes are:

• The assignments can be gamified to allow students to earn points. This can replace the “games” tab.
• The use of a leaderboard could encourage healthy competition and motivate students.
• The video call function could be used to let students join virtual classes, while the games and challenges.
• The resources could be directed to information regarding stress management and studying techniques. The importance of mental health and good relaxation strategies could also be included.

Built With

• figma