BY DANIELLE OBAL
The developers of Sheridan’s new app, Survive and Thrive, have come up with a foolproof way to set students on the path to success.
Survive and Thrive is an app created by students that includes top tips on how to navigate college. For some of us, we resort to playing “I Will Survive,” by Gloria Gaynor on loop to help us gain some extra end-of-term motivation.
Just me?
“The Survive and Thrive app was developed by students for students, to introduce Sheridan services and processes,” says Allison Fitzgibbon, professor and program coordinator in the Educational Support program.
The app is divided into two categories. “Survive” includes all financial, registration, and transportation needs, while “Thrive” includes clubs, fitness, tips and extras.
First-year? Fear not!
“We know that new students often feel overwhelmed by the amount of information in the first few weeks of the term, as they adjust to campus life. Our goal was to develop an app that would provide students with the opportunity to review this information at a time, place, and pace that suits them best,” says Fitzgibbon.
We live in a time where technology, apps, and social media play a central role in society. So, why not integrate an app into Sheridan to make sure that all-important information about the college is right at your fingertips?
The college already has a mobile app, but this one includes different user-friendly features that have been in the works since the spring through Sheridan’s Scholarship, Research and Creative Activities Grant.
(Photo by Danielle Obal/Sheridan Sun)
“We hired four students – two from the Musical Theatre degree program and two from the Interaction Design program – to collaborate on the development of scripts, storyboards, videos and screencasts,” says Fitzgibbon.
“Survive and Thrive offers study tips, financial aid information, and advice for getting around Oakville, really expanding on things the Sheridan app hadn’t touched on,” says Lindsay Rolland-Mills, a host and presenter on the app.
The app also helps students with health concerns to find gluten-free food around campus, like at the Coffee Loft. It can also comfort students in finding that necessary third cup of joe during finals week.
“We were attentive to the needs of our diverse population at Sheridan, and developed videos introducing Sheridan’s universal washroom that is gender inclusive and accessible. The app contains videos with closed-captioning, detailed screencasts, and short text,” says Fitzgibbon.
Although the smartphone app is still in the testing stages at Trafalgar, it can currently be accessed through the mobile website.
Participating in the creative process of building an app is a huge undertaking as a student.
“It’s certainly not easy, but it’s exciting. It’s inspiring for me because now I know how to make an app from beginning to finish. Definitely more work than I thought it would be, but I think it makes me more prepared for graduation and feeling confident,” says Yi Xiang of the Bachelor of Interaction Design program.