Einstein Studios

Einstein Studios Logo

Inspiration

The COVID-19 pandemic affected virtually every aspect of our lives. For students attending school from grades K-12, the pandemic shifted the course of their lives during some of their most formative learning years. According to the United States Census Bureau and the Curriculum Associates national i-Ready assessment data, students were found to be up to 5 months behind in their Math and Reading learning timelines and assessments compared to the previous 3 years. To combat this, we created a no-code intuitive IDE/Virtual Lab for Teachers and Students K-12 to increase engagement and accommodate changing environments and different learning styles.

What it does

Einstein Studios is an intuitive learning platform that utilizes the concepts of virtual labs and interactive learning elements. From a school staff member's perspective, teachers are able to create studios based on the curriculum they're currently teaching. There are also preset studios corresponding to different categories such as grade, course, location, etc. in addition to being able to create completely customizable studios. After a teacher creates a studio to their liking, they're able to publish it either privately or publicly for other members of the teaching community to view/take inspiration from. From a student's perspective, one can view their assigned studios as well as create their own to continue learning outside of the classroom.

How we built it

When building Einstein Studios, our team utilized web development languages and tools including HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and React. For user-authentication we used Firebase, and to increase visual appeal, we also utilized Figma, Bootstrap, and Tailwind.

Challenges we ran into

The main challenge we faced was an overall lack of tech stack familiarity. To address this, we delegated roles within the first hour based on each of our team members' strengths and weaknesses. There was also the general time constraints (and exhaustion). We also ran intro several problems integrating Firebase for the user authentication, but once we added another person to work on that feature, we were able to integrate it properly.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

An accomplishment we're all definitely proud of is having created a finished product that's both functional and visually appealing, especially under the time constraints and minimal knowledge we started with. We're also proud of how much we learned and were able to adapt to the projects needs in such a short amount of time.

What we learned

One of the most important things we learned was how important the design process is. We attribute a lot of our success to the fact that we were able to discuss, collaborate, and agree on a clear-cut idea relatively quickly from the beginning. Listing out the exact features, screens, necessary technologies involved, and more at the start is what allowed us to streamline work even under suboptimal conditions.

What's next for Einstein Studios

One thing that's really cool about Einstein Studios is how incredibly scalable it is. In just about 24 hours we were able to create the process which teachers and students would use when creating and using a 4th grade, science class, water cycle preset studio. However, think about how many grades, courses, cycles, processes, and other concepts you could use a virtual studio to simulate and increase learning for. There are also many other features that could improve the application including gamification, school district groups, shared learning components, and so much more. Recent events have significantly impacted our student's learning processes faster than we've been able to keep up, but with the many innovative tools being created to combat this issue, such as Einstein Studios, we're confident that the next generation of learners will be able to bounce back and continue to advance and innovate.