Cleo: An Internet Safety Learning Kit for Kids
School Project: Design Workshop (Thesis Project), Fourth Year
Project Objective
Throughout the first half of the course, the objective was to formulate a self-directed research question on a topic of choice, and gather and conduct primary and secondary research. Later, in the second half of the course, and as a response to the self-directed question and research gathered, use graphic design as a means to somehow address or respond to the topic of choice and its problems or concerns.
Project Concept
For my thesis project, I was interested in the topic of Internet safety and how it relates to children (and adults).
My secondary research on Internet safety explored Internet safety-related studies that focused on a variety of results and correlations related to children and the adults in their lives, such as their knowledge and understanding of the Internet and online safety; their Internet use, habits and skills; participants' perceptions of the Internet; learning through gamification; etc. This then prepared me to conduct and record my own primary research, which focused on evaluating an online Internet safety learning tool designed for young students.
Using the research I had gathered and collected influenced my design decision to respond to some of the concerns I had about young children's use of the Internet, where and how they learn about the Internet, and how to influence learning and communication among children and their parents/guardians through integrations of gamification.
This response led me to design an at-home Internet-safety learning kit for first graders (five to seven-year-olds) and their parents/guardians, called Cleo.
About Cleo
The Cleo learning kit contains 3 learning activities that allow children to learn about the Internet and online safety together with their parents or guardians through participation and gamified engagement and learning through the following: a website, flashcards, and activity books.
Meet Cleo
Cleo is also the name of the learning kit's character, who is a friendly and curious six-year-old from Planet B-10, where they use the Internet in order to help them learn about and discover outer-space. Cleo dreams of becoming a space explorer, but he first needs to learn about the Internet in order to become one step closer to fulfilling his dreams, and asks kids to learn alongside him and help him with his missions.
