We believe that learning should be more than just memorizing facts and dates. To truly understand a subject, students need to make a personal connection with the stories and the people behind the information. This was our goal when we designed the digital experience for the Holodomor Mobile Classroom – a converted luxury RV in which high school students across North America learn about theUkrainian Genocide.

This interactive classroom is unique; nothing like this had ever been created before. Prior to designing the interfaces or specifying technologies, we embarked on an extensive planning process with the Canada Ukraine Foundation to translate their traditional curriculum into an experience that would shine as an interactive lesson plan. The purpose statement we developed for the Mobile Classroom was to not only make students aware of the Holodomor, but also help them feel empowered to stand up to social injustice wherever they experience it.

The interactive experience unfolds in a custom iPad app as a series of concentrated activities in which students reflect on words and ideas, and play the role of a historian by hunting for clues hidden in old photos and documents. Students learn to think creatively and solve problems, discussing their findings in groups and submitting their findings which then appear on the large screen. Custom animations and cinematic bumpers serve as transitions between the activities, shifting the immersive atmosphere in the bus from heavy to hopeful as the hour-long lesson unfolds. The entire seamless experience is orchestrated by a facilitator using a custom app that triggers digital events, moderates the student responses on the large screen, and initiates each activity.

Although the Mobile Classroom experience appears seamless to users, the technology and software is anything but simple. We created a technological ecosystem that links three custom apps, 32 iPads, a MacPro server and a 24-foot screen, all using an array of programming languages. Our team overcame numerous technology integration challenges, including the crucial goal of creating a 'bulletproof' system that would stand up to the use of thousands of students and the rigours of constant road travel, with minimal maintenance requirements. Hundreds of hours of stress testing with real users allowed us to tweak the experience and fix weaknesses as they were uncovered.

The Holodomor Mobile Classroom has already visited dozens of schools, and its journey is just beginning. The feedback from students has been beyond expectations; they leave the bus talking not about the technology they used, but rather about the ways that the experience shifted their perspective and opened their eyes. The digital experience we created emphasizes that history is about real events and real people, and that standing up for what's right is everyone's responsibility.

CHALLENGE/DESIGN PROBLEM

Forge was tasked with translating a traditional lesson plan on Ukrainian Genocide into an immersive and interactive educational experience. Our primary challenge was to rethink this lesson plan and to implement it on a bus converted into a technologically advanced classroom on wheels. In terms of technology, our main challenge was to create an ironclad networking and communications system that would stand up to the use of thousands of students and the rigours of constant road travel, with minimal maintenance requirements.

SOLUTION

Before developing the apps or specifying hardware, we embarked on an extensive planning process with the Canadian Ukraine Foundation to translate their traditional curriculum into an experience that would shine as an interactive lesson plan. The goal of our design solution is to not only make students aware of the Holodomor but also help them feel empowered to stand up to social injustice wherever they experience it.

SCOPE

The scope of the Holodomor Mobile Classroom consists of a technology ecosystem that combines a student activity iPad app, a 24-foot screen, a MacBook Pro server, and a facilitator app to control the entire the lesson and moderate student responses in real time. This ecosystem is built on an array of programming languages and integrates inter-app communications, cinematic visual animations, and real-time collaboration / content sharing.

SUCCESS

The Holodomor Mobile Classroom has already visited dozens of schools, and its journey is just beginning. The feedback from students has been beyond expectations; they leave the bus talking not about the technology they used, but rather about the ways that the experience shifted their perspective and opened their eyes. The digital experience we created emphasizes that history is about real events and real people, and that standing up for what’s right is everyone’s responsibility.