Proposal |
Project Proposal
Book Mountains is a mobile application that incorporates gaming and reading together. The idea of the mobile application is to encourage children to read by providing an interactive choose your own adventure. Children and teens will scan books and the more books that are accumulated the more story and badges they achieve.
Go Find A Book"Self-selection of reading materials is an extremely important factor in motivating struggling readers" (Olney, 2009) While there will be a set list of up to 10 books to read set up by the library, the application starts off with children scanning a random book. The first "mission" is to find a book that they find intriguing in any section of the public library they choose. They then scan the barcode or front of the book and it registers in our system and starts the game. Children are encouraged to read or have read to them random books throughout the program. The more books that they read throughout the program means they will have more paths to discover in the story and more badges unlocked at the program's end.
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Scan ItAfter selecting a book there are two ways to log the book into the application. By opening the "Play Game" feature the application will open the mobile device's camera and a child or accompanying adult can scan the book's cover. If a match is found in the catalog it will be logged. The system will search through Goodreads and Amazon's catalogs for cover matches.
Secondly, a barcode can be scanned. This will be the recommended format for scanning and by far the easiest. |
10 Books to ReadLibraries can input up to 10 books that are their featured reads for the summer program. For instance the Indianapolis Public Library is doing Garfield books for their 2017 program. These titles could be the featured ones. As children progress through the choose your own adventure there will be certain "bosses" that appear. These boss monsters can only be defeated by reading the assigned material. Children will have to seek out the material, read it or have it read to them, and then scan it into the application.
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Choose your Own Adventure
At the heart of the mobile application is the choose your own adventure game. Players follow Steve as he climbs Book Mountain fighting mythical monsters along the way and unlocking hidden treasures. As a player you unlock certain paths based on what types of books you read. Read adventure books and different branches will open as opposed to more action books. As paths open you learn more about the main character, the mountain, and complete a whole story arc by the end of summer. The story will vary for different players which allows the users to discuss their different endings and collaborate rather than compete.
Badges and Achievements
As players complete the program they will earn badges. These badges can be downloaded and printed out by logging into a desktop version of the mobile application. A badge will show an achievement that the player has gone through. For instance the "Beginner" badge will be completed when a user has read 1 book. It is unlocked right after the first book is scanned. There will be badges for vocabulary words, story paths opening, books read, and more. There will also be weekly challenges that allow users to get specific badges for those challenges.
Log Vocabulary Words
Children and teens will be encouraged to challenge themselves and learn new words. There will be a separate section of the application which allows new learned words to be added to a virtual dictionary. Allowing the users to track how many new words they've learned throughout the program. This will be linked to achievements as well.
Example UX/UI
Conclusion
Hopefully Book Mountains can create an immersive experience that will draw children in and encourage them to read through an adventure. It's a puzzle that they get to piece together by achievements in reading. Previous gamification within libraries tends to positively suggest this is a possibility.
Questions
Will there be difficulty levels?
Not really. There will be child vs teen in order to adapt what the reading material might cover based on age, but it won't restrict a user from reading anything.
What ages can participate?
Any ages between 1-18 can participate. Participants can be read or be read to.
Are there prizes?
This will vary depending on the library. It is at their discretion
When will this end?
Summer programs usually end around August so probably around then.
Not really. There will be child vs teen in order to adapt what the reading material might cover based on age, but it won't restrict a user from reading anything.
What ages can participate?
Any ages between 1-18 can participate. Participants can be read or be read to.
Are there prizes?
This will vary depending on the library. It is at their discretion
When will this end?
Summer programs usually end around August so probably around then.