Inspiration
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we found it difficult to feel connected to our classmates and teachers during virtual learning. It’s hard to imagine being in a classroom and communicating freely with our peers after being detached for so long. Therefore, we wanted to create a hack that would allow students to immerse themselves back into a classroom setting and regain the connections they once had. One of the best ways that we’ve bonded with friends outside of school is via video games, ranging from League of Legends to the classic Minecraft. We decided to use the multiplayer aspect of those games and implement it into the classroom setting to make a platform that allows students to feel connected throughout the school day. By incorporating an interactive aspect of school, this program will be able to engage students more than the typical online lecture.
What it does
SchoolStudio is a multiplayer, interactive platform that simulates a school classroom. Students can join a classroom server that their teacher hosts. Inside the classroom, they are able to freely move their avatars and utilize a chat feature to communicate with their peers. Additionally, students can click on the Google Meet, Classroom, and Drive icons and be directed to those sites. Teachers are also given a lot of control. They are able to assign lesson plans and add additional links to websites that they want their students to visit. This interactive learning model allows students to feel as if they are actually in school with their friends, a feeling that we have been missing out on due to the pandemic. Overall, SchoolStudio can greatly enhance students’ virtual learning experience.
How we built it
SchoolStudio was built by creating character models and environments with Blender, coding the interactions and functions in Visual Studio with C#, and compiling these features using the Unity Video Game Software.
Challenges we ran into
This was the first time any of us have created a multiplayer game in Unity, so building the server and figuring out the C# code was definitely a challenge. It was also difficult to incorporate everything and enhance the graphics.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Overall, we are very proud of this hack. In a short period of time, we were able to make a multiplayer platform that has the potential to greatly improve the virtual learning experience for many students.
What we learned
As a team, we were able to learn many things from attending this hackathon. Even though this was not our first time creating a game, there were many aspects of this challenge that forced us to learn new things. For instance, we learned how to make the game multiplayer so that many people could join the virtual classroom and interact with it. This involved things that we had never tampered with before, such as networking and hosting/joining servers. We also learned how to improve game graphics within the Unity game engine. Most importantly, we learned how to cooperate better as a team. This included dividing up roles, communicating better, and having a positive attitude towards the project.
What's next for School Studio
We intend to continue improving upon this software so it can be more suited towards its purpose of enhancing students’ school experience. This would include, but not limited to, adding more functions for students and teachers to perform (raising their hand, calling on students, leaving the room, etc), creating an in-game voice chat, and allowing users to customize their avatar to their liking. There are many other features we could add: the sky's the limit.
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