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Knocking Down the Language Barrier.

Team Members



 
robert_plaugher

Robert Plaugher

Roles: Web Master, Presenter, UI Design

Robert Plaugher is a senior in Computer Science at Old Dominion University. He is interested in quality assurance, software engineering, as well as video game design. His work experience included an internship at DOMA Technologies as an Application Tester.




 
Michelle Graham

Michelle Graham

Roles: Team Leader, Research, Solution, Feasibility

Michelle Graham is an undergraduate senior majoring in Computer Science at Old Dominion University. Her career interests lie in her passion for educational gaming. She enjoys making origami, the color blue, and trying new things.




 
Robert Marchand

Robert Marchand

Roles: Presenter, Research, Feasibility, Risk

Robert Marchand is a senior in Computer Science at Old Dominion University. He is interested in pursuing a field involving simulation or scripting. His work experience includes warehouse management, audio visual installation, and sports coaching.




 
Matt Bryant

Matt Bryant

Roles: Feasibility, Solution, Database

Matt Bryant is a senior in Computer Science at Old Dominion University. He is interested in following a career in database administration after graduation. He enjoys watching live stream coding and video games on Youtube in his free time.




 
Noah Young

Noah Young

Roles: Research, Solution, Note-Taking

Noah Young is a senior in Computer Science at Old Dominion University. He enjoys programming and aspires to be a game developer.



 
Greg-Raver-Lampman

Greg Raver-Lampman

Role: Mentor

Staff writer and freelances at Pulitzer Prize Nominated Journalist and Author -- various.


Project Overview




Problem Statement

There are an estimated 4.5 million students who are English Language Learners (ELL) and participate in language assistance programs to help ensure that ELL students attain English proficiency and meet the same academic content and achievement standards that all students are expected to meet (U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2017). Only 63 percent of ELL students graduate from high school, compared with the overall national rate of 82%. Of those who do graduate, only 1.4% take college entrance exams like the SAT and ACT (Claudio Sanchez, “English Language Learners: How Your State Is Doing”).

Many ELL students struggle to understand context, spelling, colloquialisms, and homonyms which are but a few aspects of the English language. ELL students struggle to grasp concepts which can negatively affect their grades, confidence, and understanding of the English language.

Presently, there are no mobile applications to address areas such as homonyms, colloquialisms, and context. ConText will provide a fun and interactive way to bridge the gap between fun and learning about these concepts of the English language. ConText will improve the confidence, comfortability, and knowledge of the users’ English skills.


Solution

Create a mobile application for Android phones to assist English as a Second Language (ESL) Students learn common difficult words. Our android-specific application that will achieve this is called ConText. ConText is a mobile application developed in Android Studios that facilitates learning for ESL Students through the use of visual puns, American humor, and through linear gameplay.

Splash Page GUI

GUI Mockup 1

GUI Mockup 2


Features

How does this app compare to other apps of similar purpose?




Goals and Impact

Our application will not replace a proper English class, quiz users for learning progress, or collect individual user data. We intend this product to be an easy and fun experience devoid of traditional teach-and-quiz type of format. Ultimately we wish for our users to enjoy their time playing through the levels of our application in order to maximize user returnability, replay value, as well as having users recommend this to other ESL students.

Goals and Impact:

Increase English proficiency in ELL Students
Increase Confidence in ELL Students
Assist in English learning in and outside of the classroom

User Stories


Above is a graphical representation of how users (developers and end users) will interact with all parts of ConText from the database, play store, to the actual application itself.

Gantt Chart Above

Deliverables

Group Presentations

Feasibility (v1)
Risk Analysis (v1)

Group Presentations (Revised)

Feasibility (R)
Risk Analysis (R)




Software Diagrams

Process Flows
Risk Matrix

Documents

Research
Project Word List
Test Cases

References

ESL Student Population:

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "Local Education Agency Universe Survey," 2003-04 through 2013-14. (This table was prepared December 2015.)


Device Ownership Growth:

Pew Research Center survey conducted March 17-April 12, 2015. Smartphone data based on Pew Research Survey conducted June 10-July 12, 2015. Trend data are from previous Pew Research surveys.


College ESL Percentages:

Haynie, D. (2015, July 14). Colleges With the Highest Percentage of ESL Students. Retrieved March 01, 2017.


Camarota, S. A., & Zeigler, K. (2014, October 03). One in Five U.S. Residents Speaks Foreign Language at Home, Record 61.8 million. Retrieved October 23, 2017, from https://cis.org/One-Five-US-Residents-Speaks-Foreign-Language-Home-Record-618-million"


Chaffey, D. (2017, May 17). Mobile Marketing Statistics compilation. Retrieved October 23, 2017, from http://www.smartinsights.com/mobile-marketing/mobile-marketing-analytics/mobile-marketing-statistics/

Contact Us

Do you have a question that wasn't answered? Send us an email and we will get back to you as soon as possible.


  • Team Member Emails:

    Robert Plaugher:
    rplau002@odu.edu

    Michelle Graham:
    mgrah021@odu.edu

    Robert Marchand:
    rmarc001@odu.edu

    Matt Bryant:
    mbrya002@odu.edu

    Noah Young:
    nyoun@odu.edu