Solution

    In order to help these ADD/ADHD students to maintain their focus, we could develop an app that supports all of their needs, as well as a headband which measures their focus level. This app not only improves the student’s learning environment and ability, but it also improves their cognitive skills over time (e.g. organizational skills, short term memory skills, responsibility, etc), by making them aware of their fluctuations in their focus levels.

 

    When someone first downloads our app, it begins with a learning style quiz to determine which learning style the ADD/ADHD student is (although ADD/ADHD children are more prominently kinesthetic learners). This quiz not only consists of questions determining whether they are a visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learner, but also some exercises to guide them through the quiz, using real life situations. For example, the quiz might display a problem, and then display three different ways of solving it (visual, kinesthetic, auditory), and have the student select which option they would most likely pick in a real life situation.

 

    In order to help ADD/ADHD students to complete assignments, tasks, and homework on time, the app will also have a recording feature, as well as an organizing feature. When the teacher is assigning homework or assignments, the app records what instructions the teacher gives. At their own pace, ADD/ADHD students can rank which homework has the highest priority and which one has the lowest priority, and determine how much time each task consumes. Based on that, the app automatically organizes a timetable to complete the tasks in a timely and orderly fashion. This way, ADD/ADHD students can ensure they aren’t doing the assignment incorrectly, and completing the assignment, as well as following instructions.

 

    Furthermore, our idea also incorporates measuring the ADD/ADHD student’s focus level using their brain. This is one of the main components of our idea, which is the headband which measures the focus levels in the brain. This is measured through electroencephalographic (EED) activity. The focus levels in your brain are measured in the prefrontal cortex part of the brain. After the focus levels have been measured and determined, the results are sent directly to the app, which records the focus levels and creates a graph of progress over time. We will also make a focus level scale (with different colours demonstrating what is high, what is medium, and what is low). This will help ADD/ADHD students determine whether their focus levels are particularly low or high for the day.

 

    In order to improve the focus levels of the ADD/ADHD student over time, we will incorporate focus exercises games for the ADD/ADHD student daily, which are coordinated with the student’s learning style. The duration of these exercises and games depend on the student’s focus levels for the day. In addition, based on how focused they are for that day, the app gives out reminders for homework. If the students’ focus level is relatively high, the app will give out less frequent reminders and the exercises/games will have a smaller duration.

 

Evidently, our idea has several components, which can benefit ADD/ADHD students greatly in a variety of ways. Using the reminders, it can help with the student’s focus, and using the games/exercises, it can help the student to develop cognitive abilities over time.