The Challenge

A key component of the Sacred Heart Catholic College Geelong (SHCG) philosophy is to help students leverage technology in ways that connect them to new and powerful sources of knowledge. Their Bradbury Club is a unique collaboration between the College and the expert mentorship of many academics and industry professionals to undertake engaging, problem solving projects.

Dr Adam Cole, Leader of Learning Innovation at Sacred Heart, who spearheaded the creation of the Club says: “We bring together vibrant, interdisciplinary teams in real world contexts. We are results and collaboration driven.”

What became the Fact-Tastic App Development project grew from a competition where students were asked to submit quirky, interesting scientific facts. This expanded beyond SHCG and resulted in 14,000 entries from 3,000 students at 20 schools.

“We decided to convert this huge databank of facts into an online game, but didn’t have the skills within the school. The obvious solution was to go to our IT partner Compnow and tap into their specialist App Development resources. Having the professional input from Compnow was critical to bringing all the components together,” Adam says.

The Solution

The Compnow approach to introducing students to the world of App Development was to open the girls’ eyes to the fun and challenges of creating their own software. “Compnow’s initial workshop began by easing any misconceptions about that scary word ‘coding’ and how a successful project takes more than a couple of ‘geeks’,” Adam says.

The girls were given analogies of how their brains naturally ‘code’ in every day activities. With the ice broken, it was time to draw on the talents and interests of the group to complete the App – from the technical to the business, design and marketing.

“Compnow’s structured, expert involvement was the solution. We’d take their guidance and the girls would complete each step through the process,” Adam says.

The technical areas of Compnow’s mentorship included User Interface (UI) training and designing wire-frames for the interface elements. They were taught HTML, walked through Java script and were introduced to professional grade Adobe XD software that replicated the latest technologies used in the workplace. They were taught workflow via white boarding sessions, throwing ‘what ifs’ at how the online game would be played and scored, promoting fun, knowledge growth and inclusivity. “This was very important for engagement and skills development,” Adam says.

Compnow took the finalised wire frame and completed the coding. They then helped the team refine the final App from the prototyping feedback and to undertake the formal submission to the App Store.

The Benefits

With Fact-Tastic now downloadable from the App Store, Adam sees it as “a huge achievement for a group of young students. We’re really very happy with the outcomes. This project illustrates exactly why and what collaboration is needed to bring an idea to market. And it’s been a valuable experience in preparing them for life.

“Industry connection was essential. While Compnow has had a long association with the College, its ‘extra-curricular’ involvement here is beyond what you’d expect of your IT supplier and defines partnership,” Adam says.

Download the Fact-Tastic App here