Never Lost – Innovative app from Corfu students – Through this, a child who is in a difficult situation or panicking, with just two clicks, can inform their family.
The “Never Lost” application, created to be a useful tool for all children in Greece, answers certain questions that a child has when they are lost or find themselves in an emergency situation, such as, “where am I? I am lost. How can I ask for help? How can I send my location to my parents? How can I see where I am?”.
The idea was born at the Amphipagita High School located in North Corfu, but because the knowledge of the school's students in relation to programming was limited, roles had to be given to older classes as well, which is why a collaboration was established with the EPAL of Kato Korakiana, as well as with the 2nd and 4th GEL of Corfu.
Sotiris Fotiou, computer science teacher at Amphipagiteon High School, explains to APE-MPE how easily a child can get immediate help using the innovative application.
"Basically, when you open the Never Lost app, 6 large boxes appear. The first one says "call" while the others say "send a message", "see your location", "send your location via message", "send a map of your location". When the user taps the "call" icon, they talk to their mother. If they tap "send a message", a message will automatically be sent that is already written and says "I'm lost". If they panic, by tapping the location icon, a map comes to their parents' mobile phone.
Mr. Fotiou points out that the students worked with great enthusiasm and worked with great joy, as they were the ones who asked the computer science teachers to create the application. However, as the professor explains, every year, together with his colleagues, he looks for new ideas in order to make the lesson more enjoyable for the students, so that they have a motivation to create something new. What they are being taught this year is how to make applications for mobile phones with the Android operating system.
"We wanted to convey the message to them that they can create an app for those in need," he points out and says that they began talking to the students about the Special Vocational Workshop in Corfu with the 40 children who face chronic problems. This was followed by a visit to the Special School and numerous questions from the students about the problems and lives of people with special needs, as well as the students' reflection on what they could offer them as help.
"We as educators," says Sotiris Fotiou, "initially thought about the main axes of the project and presented our concerns to the children. The children themselves took concerns and proposed the creation of the Never Lost application. The secret was to feel the project as their own idea, as their own creation. Only in this way would they work happily. The children often did not take a break."
It was an educational process that worked very well for four schools. The children even collaborated via Skype and there were visits from one school to another. When the Never Lost app was created, the high school children uploaded it to the internet and anyone can now download it for free. The Never Lost app is useful for all children who use a mobile phone, even the elderly. In fact, three weeks ago, it was presented at an IT conference in Kastoria and there is already great interest from Greece and abroad.
The Computer Science professor emphasized: "Children in public schools, which are generally under attack, can and do create innovative applications, as long as they have the motivation. The motivation was how we can help some children who need us. And we can do this."
The working group of fifty students, who designed and implemented the application, issued an announcement inviting parents: "We invite you to download the Never Lost application from the Google Play Store, install it on your child's mobile phone and explain to him how he will be able to use it, if necessary. With the hope that the Never Lost application will give confidence and security to every child."
All information about the innovative Never Lost application can be found on the school's website,
www.epalkerkyras.com/neverlost.
Source: defencenet.gr
