Backward design is a well-established design strategy that has been used to produce educational curriculum for decades. While traditionally used to plan and create classroom-based curriculum, in this paper we explore the use of backward design as a design strategy for the development of an educational mobile application, BiblioTech ™ “CityHacks: In Search of Sleep.” We discuss the process from initial conception to launch and updates, as well as plans for future research.

Sports-related concussions affect over 280,000 adolescents each year while the general public remains ill-informed about concussions, signs/symptoms, and treatments. Adolescents may be at an increased risk for experiencing adverse physiological and psychological effects from concussions, underscoring the critical need for effective concussion education strategies. While mobile apps are increasingly being used in education and healthcare settings, none were found to offer comprehensive concussion education capable of reaching diverse audiences. The interactive mobile app "Rebound: Beating Concussions" has the potential to be an effective teaching tool for school athletic programs and medical professionals to communicate important concussion-related information to student athletes, parents, and sports coaches. A mixed methods study was used to determine the app's ability to convey information about concussions to student athletes in grades 5 through 12, parents of student athletes, and sports coaches. Concussion knowledge and participant opinions were assessed via a pre/post model and administered before and after app use. Participants demonstrated knowledge gains in the identification of concussion symptoms, treatments, and misconceptions. Additionally, participants demonstrated positive opinions on the content of the app, its relevance to everyday life, and its potential as a teaching tool.

is largely unknown and poorly understood as a historical figure. Similarly the fundamental principles of evolution are often misstated, misunderstood, or entirely rejected by large numbers of Americans. Simply trying to communicate more facts about Darwin, or facts supporting the principles of evaluation, is inadequate; neither students nor members of the public will care or retain the information. On the contrary, building facts into a one-on-one conversational narrative creates a memorable opportunity to learn. Here we create a digital media, self-guided question and answer 'synthetic interview' with Charles Darwin. Questions are derived from a survey of nearly 1,000 people. Answers spoken by an actor portraying Darwin are derived from Darwin's own writings. Questions on modern topics are answered by scientists, theologians, and lawyers. First produced as a museum exhibit and then later reproduced as an app (iOS/Android), the Darwin Synthetic Interview has been evaluated with more than 3,000 surveyed users, of which 69% indicated that they learned and more than 75% would recommend the experience. Students who interacted with the synthetic interview in a classroom setting found answers were unexpected and clarifying. Using a format of personal narrative, the Darwin Synthetic Interview creates a new way to engage students and the public in a process of self-directed discovery of a topic that is often considered difficult to teach.