ROYGBIV SYSTEM ™
Encouraging Creativity in Educators and Students
COZAD MATERIALS
What is ROYGBIV System™?
ROYGBIV is an outdoor school system that will aid teachers in successfully educating students in a post-pandemic era and can all be used interactively alongside the first-grade curriculum to educate students better. The system provides space for individual focus as well as team collaboration.
Opportunity
Education is changing with the implementation of technology in the classroom due to new requirements in regard to social distancing and COVID-19. These factors have caused many to rethink the way that we work and have created opportunities for change in the classroom.
PHASE 01: INITIAL REsEaRCH
Secondary Research
My secondary research focused on the current furniture that is available for educators. I learned that there is a variety of products on the market, and they tend to have similar functions. Overall I found three gaps in the market.
01: No interaction
Existing products are permanent and do not encourage interaction between students and teachers.
02: Lacks Creativity
There is very little creativity in the current market. There is uniform use of material and shape.
03: No movement
Products can not be altered to fit different class styles or needs.
Current Educational Furniture
Future Educational Furniture
PHASE 02: Customer Validation
Primary Research
To begin this project I performed primary research and interviewed educators to better understand the user need.
USERS
1. Students - In first-grade students begin learning cognitive skills and can benefit from exposure to outdoor classrooms. This space encourages creativity and interactive learning.
2. Educators - The teachers will utilize this outdoor classroom and its resources. It should be friendly for students and educators and feature components to make the classroom productive.
I focused my ideation on the content from The Future of Work by Herman Miller.
POINT OF PURCHASE + BUYER
STAKEHOLDER MAPPING
The many interviews that I conducted were focused on a variety of stakeholders, split into Administrators, Teachers, Support Staff, and School Board.
Interviews
6 Riskiest hypotheses
1. I believe there is a collaboration between the architect of the school and approval by the school board in order to make buying decisions for school furniture.
2. I believe we should market online and at furniture conventions as this will produce the most customers.
3. I believe our first customers will be private schools with a larger budget.
4. I believe this product will be profitable and will sell at a high enough price to cover manufacturing costs.
5. I believe there is a need for innovation in the outdoor school furniture market.
6. I believe students learn and perform better when they have collaborative and interactive learning.
Strategy from Talking to Humans by Frank Rimalovski and Giff Constable
PHASE 03: INSights
Curriculum
I wanted to ROYGBIV system to not only be a space in which educators could teach, but also function as a tool to aid the first-grade curriculum.
MATH
Geometry and addition and subtraction are two subjects that could use the ROYGBIV system.
SCIENCE
The outdoor classroom aids with scientific topics such as plants, animals, sound, light, and more.
ART
The ROYGBIV system helps teach color theory as well as identify primary and secondary colors.
How can we create a system of interactive outdoor furniture for the classroom that helps develop the cognitive function of 1st-grade students by encouraging them to learn creatively and interact with their surroundings?
PHASE 04: ideation
INSPIRATION
PROTOTYPING
SCALE MODEL
Construction
For prototyping this project, I created a full-scale model of one piece of the system for size reference. I decided to make it out of plywood as it would be durable and strong enough for use.
I also used Solidworks to create the entire refined system and used a 3D printer and laser cutter to prototype two different 1' = 1" models.
Manufacturing
This product could be manufactured in three different ways.
1. Rotational Molding
2. High-Quality Foam
3. High-Quality Inflatable
PHASE 05: IMPLEMENTATION
Modular. Colorful. Adjustable.
The ROYGBIV system consists of 8 different parts that fit seamlessly together to create a space for collaboration, but also break apart when needed for small group or individual activities. These 8 pieces function either as a desk or a chair can be purchased in bulk to accommodate different-sized classrooms.
The system is made with weather-resistant rotomolded plastic that can be easily disinfected. The primary and secondary colored parts can be used to help aid in teaching color theory, and the simple shapes fit with the curriculum’s emphasis on geometry.
The ROYGBIV system allows students and educators to take the curriculum into their own hands, and use the classroom itself as part of their education. The ROYGBIV system is modular and lightweight, which allows both students and teachers to take part in creating a classroom that fits their needs.
Overall, ROYGBIV will help students and educators work together to have a more creative and collaborative learning environment.
