Unscreen

Inspiration

No parent likes bugging their kids when it's time to stop playing video games or watching videos. Typical screen time trackers put parents and children in a negative mindset-- you've reached your limit, now it's time to stop.

Unscreen flips this dynamic on it's head by focusing the family's attention on everything but devices. As a parent, I was inspired to create Unscreen based on my own efforts to cultivate a more positive attitude around screen time limits.

What it does

Unscreen is a minimalist app that tracks:

• Movement
• Nature Play
• Self-Directed Learning
• Hands-On Projects
• Art & Beauty

Parents and kids set goals for the day. Unscreen tracks and displays how much a family participates in each category and let's them know when they've met their goal for the day.

How I built it

I used python to write the program and then realized I've never built GUI with python! So I learned what I could about tkinter on the spot when the hackathon started.

Challenges I ran into

Being a brand new coder and CS student, I knew next to nothing about building a program going into the weekend. Every step presented a new challenge, like learning tkinter from scratch. It was a lot of fun.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

Trying my hand at making a program at all is something I'm proud of. As an older, nontraditional student, it can be hard to try new experiences.

What I learned

I learned how welcoming and friendly the tech world can be (thank you, AthenaHacks!). I also learned what I don't know-- what could be more valuable than that?

What's next for Unscreen

Giving Unscreen the polish it deserves and learning how to convert it into a mobile app.

Built With

• python
• tkinter