The FCPSchool Bus Tracker Johnny P., Kiran S. Age 11 Virginia Click through slides

Describe the problem you want to solve. The real world-problem may be one that all the people in your neighborhood face, something that all your friends complain about, or an issue you talk about where you live. It could also be about a bigger, global problem that affects many people. Your entry must describe how you help solve the problem by inventing something new. Make a list of possible ways to solve this problem. How have people tried to solve this problem in the past? Think of how you can improve on other solutions. Draw pictures and diagrams to show your invention and how it might work. Include video, photos and text of the steps you take in building your prototype or model. Show your model to friends and hear what they say. Write down their suggestions. Perform some experiments to find out how well you prototype works. Write down the results of each test. Adjust your prototype or model based on the suggestions of your friends or findings of your experiments. Give your invention a name and explain why people should buy it. Things to think about as you complete your submission….. Take time to make your presentation impressive. Use diagrams, video, voice, and photos. You may include multiple slides for each step of the invention process.

Have a great idea for an invention (required step) We wanted to make an invention that let parents, kids, and the school staff know approximately where each Mosby Woods Elementary School (the school we go to) bus is at any given time. It solves the problem of wanting to know where the bus is because the current schedule only has the time of the first and last stop listed.

Investigate inventions and ideas of the past (required step) To our knowledge, no one has tried to solve this problem in the past for Fairfax County Public Schools. There are similar things to what we were thinking, but nothing like it. From- goo.gl/3b5EaJgoo.gl/3b5EaJ

Draw pictures and diagrams to show your invention and how it might work. (required step) This is what we might want as the homepage for our website: Pictures and diagrams of invention to follow….

Home Page Secure Log In Pick Your Bus View maps, routes, and times. F L O W C H A R T P L A N

Build your prototype or model of your invention

App Making We found a website (appmakr.com) that we could make an app on. We tried it and then decided it would be too hard to make an app to put on the app store.

This is our idea in an app.

Website Making We had heard of sites.google.comsites.google.com, a website maker by Google. We thought it would be perfect for us.

This is the website on Google Sites.

The Routes We input the routes and all the bus stops for each Mosby Woods bus for both mornings and afternoons.

Timing the Routes By mapping the routes on Google Maps we were able to determine approximately what time the buses would be at each stop. We listed times for the morning schedule and for both afternoon schedules (Monday only and Tuesday-Friday), since Mosby Woods has a half- day on Mondays. We weren’t able to put the times on the map, though.

Bus MW-1 Morning Route

Test your invention We tested it on Google Sites, but we ran into some problems. We wanted to add a forum on our website for people to comment if the buses were running late or early. It ended up that we really didn’t like that there weren’t many options for us on Google Sites. So, we went on the internet to do more research to find a website that would help us make a website easier with more options.

Changing Programs We also had experience with weebly.com. We decided to try it. It was just right for what we needed to do, so we stuck with it.weebly.com This is the weebly.com home page.weebly.com

Keep improving your invention. ●First, we created our website on weebly.com called “FCPSchool Bus Tracker.” ●Next, we moved all of our content from Google Sites to weebly.com.weebly.com. ●Then, we created a password for our website to keep our website secure. ●After that, we added estimated times for each stop on all eleven buses. ●Next, we added a forum for parents to chat about the bus (e.g., if it is late or early). Continued on next slide

●Next, we created “Find Your Bus” section on Google Maps. ○ We plugged in all the bus stops for our school (which is 87 bus stops). ○ We color-coded each bus route on the map for easier viewing. ○ Parents can then plug in their address and find out which is the closest bus stop to their home.

Market your invention to people who might buy it. (required step) This will be a $2-3 service to begin with the online system. But if we add GPS or are able to make an app, the price will increase to $5 to pay for cost of app developers, time and equipment. We will market this service to the parents and the school. To get the word out, we will make flyers for the school to pass out.

Things We Will Consider For The Future ●An app on the App Store (iPhone) and Google Play (Android). ○Interactive app for parents to report if bus is on time, late, or early at stop. Can also indicate different bus driver, etc. ○App will send out text to parents if bus is not on time. ●A GPS on the bus that shows exactly where the bus is in real- time on the website or on the app. ●Better website design: ○On each route map, will give times if the cursor hovers over a particular stop. ○Separate forum for each bus. ○Routes on a different mapping system. ●Our own domain (not just ●Add more FCPS schools and, eventually, other counties or other states.

Want to see the website? Click the bus! Click “Let’s Get Started Button” and select Mosby Woods as the school. Mosby Woods school password: demo