Homework Hotline

The Objective

The overall goal of this project was to create a website for Homework Hotline that not only supplies valuable information, but also displays that information in a most visually appealing and stimulating way and allows for user interaction. The website will be an after school destination for students, parents and teachers. The website’s content includes all of the information found on the current Homework Hotline site, with the addition of many interactive features. These features include a portal to four online games created by other students in this class, a link to an external video player that houses all of Homework Hotline’s show archives, also created by other students, and more improved organization and design of all content. With this site, students can find homework tips and resources, can challenge themselves through quizzes and daily challenge questions, can browse the show archives to find additional homework help, and will expand their knowledge through a series of interactive online games. The website will have a friendly and fun interface and will create a memorable experience for users.

Another goal of this project was to create this website with the capability to quickly and easily update the main content areas. This updateable content includes the daily challenges, homework tips, definitions, book reviews, Hotline teacher biographies, archives of the show, the schedule of the show, the Hotline Hall of Fame, and information/downloadables for teachers and parents.

The Challenge

A major challenge of this project is creating a well-designed, interactive website as part of a four person group. All group members are fourth year new media design students who all have experience in designing and implementing interactive websites. Working as a team allowed us to divide up the workload in order to be able to address all aspects of the website and spend more time creating a valuable piece. Having to complete the entire site, from research and conceptual stages, to design of each aspect to implementation, in only ten weeks, it was quite necessary to work as a team in order to finish the site.

Working as a team for a client has been a great challenge, but our group found another challenge we endured was creating the website for a much younger target audience. None of us had experience in designing for children. More often in the beginning of the design stages, but also here and there throughout the process, we found ourselves creating great designs—but not suitable for an eight year old. From the experience we have, our styles have evolved into sophisticated, clean, simple, and communicative. To break away from our personal styles was difficult, and often we were not even aware that we were continuing to design in our styles. With more research, and many hours spent on our design, we have finally developed a younger, fresher, and more playful feel for our site.

The Solution

To begin, our group examined the project and decided that our primary goal is to create an interface that was friendly, fun and well-designed. To allow ourselves to explore as many design options as possible, we all researched websites targeted at kids aged 8 to 16, and then we each created initial comps. After several stages of comps and combining elements of each design, we had a solidified design. To divide the workload, we then split up the main content areas of the site. Greg worked on the Games & Activities section and the Video Player page, Kara worked on the Homework Helper section and the Contact page, Jill was in charge of About the Show and its subpages, and Kristen tackled the Teacher's Lounge. Kristen and Kara also worked on coding the navigation together.

Each week we would present our progress to WXXI, and they in turn would provide feedback. This allowed us to tweak the design, organization, and interactivity of our website to stay on track with our target audience.

To appeal to children aged 8 to 16, it became clear that our design would have to appear playful, fun, engaging, and reflect other websites created for the same age group. In addition to the fun factor, we knew that organization of the site was crucial for students to find the information they needed when they visited the site. Where to go to play an online game, find homework tips, or view previously recorded episodes of the show should stand out nearly immediately. With all of this in mind, our site design captures both the fun factor and the organization needed for a successful website. Using bright, vivid colors, such as blues and lime greens, the site stands out from the typical educational website. Bold, bright, and animated page headers spark interest in the user to visit specific sections or read the information presented. These aspects are also carried into the content sections to provide more visualization to the information. The navigation is animated to provide additional movement and is consistent on every page of the site. Through the navigation, the user is shown which page they are on, and which section it is in. The user may also explore what is in other sections of the main navigation without leaving the page they are currently on. Overall, the success of our website redesign is attributed to the organization and improved presentation of the content. Users will enjoy using this website as a tool for homework help, and will also return to the site to use the video player and play the online games. The site creates an environment for the user to be involved in, and to make learning more fun.