At the Department of Computer Science, IT Product Development students often conclude a course by creating a prototype that illustrates their academic understanding. However, prototypes don't always get to live in the real world. Johanne Birkkjær, Sigurd Würtz, and Jacob Møller Kristensen's LakeLog project, however, sparked such interest from their partner, Naturvidenskabernes Hus (the House of Natural Sciences), that they were given the opportunity to finalize the project. The LakeLog computer program is now ready to assist high school students in interdisciplinary studies of the Danish lakes.
LakeLog emerged from Johanne, Sigurd, and Jacob's work on the 8th-semester course in IT Product Development, 'Innovation Projects'. Here, the group was free to apply everything they had learned in their education to investigate a problem and create a prototype solution. The only requirements were that the project had to focus on sustainability and involve collaboration with an external partner.
The result was LakeLog: a computer program where high school students can record all their answers and data task by task. Having all notes in one place is particularly convenient when students juggle multiple subjects simultaneously, such as in the interdisciplinary SRP project. Moreover, the computer program is a flexible, modular tool that each teacher can easily adapt to their teaching.
But how does the LakeLog project meet the innovation course's requirements on sustainability?
"Sustainability can be addressed on many levels. LakeLog influences a higher level of abstraction by promoting young people's interest in STEM solutions to environmental pollution. However, the primary goal is to provide students with a more holistic and nuanced understanding of lake conditions. Instead of merely noting whether a lake is covered in algae or not, LakeLog invited students to dive deeper in their observations," explains Sigurd.
In April 2023, Danes were shocked by biologists' findings (or lack thereof): after 70 hours of video recordings of Vejle Fjord, only one sole flounder was found. This reignited the debate on oxygen depletion in Danish waters, and Greenpeace and the Danish Anglers Association even held a symbolic funeral for Vejle Fjord.
"The Vejle Fjord debacle became a horror story, but even though it worried many, people may not fully understand why marine life is dying out. Here, we hope that LakeLog can help students to look at the local lake with new eyes," says Sigurd.
When asked about the process, Johanne, Sigurd, and Jacob highlighted how rewarding it was to work on the project both as students and later as consultants.
"As students, there was plenty of room to critically engage with the wishes and ideas presented by Naturvidenskabernes Hus, and we were very focused on ensuring that the solution we arrived at would be educational for us to work with," recalls Johanne, with Jacob adding: "But it was also interesting to move from prototype to product: here, we learned entirely new skills, such as pricing, estimating time, and documenting the definitions of all the features that needed to be included - the entire project management package."
It was a new, satisfying experience to take the study prototypes to the next level.
"Often, a course ends with a prototype that seems somewhat incomplete. With LakeLog, it was really cool to actually completely finish something and to be able to pass on a product that others will use and benefit from,” smiles Johanne.
Naturvidenskabernes Hus will certainly benefit from LakeLog. The organization works to develop, disseminate, and support practical teaching for primary and secondary schools throughout the country, so the collaboration was highly meaningful for both parties.
"The three students approached the task independently and very professionally, and in their semester project, they delivered such a good product that we at Naturvidenskabernes Hus saw the opportunity to further develop the project together with the students. This has resulted in the LakeLog application, which will become an integrated part of when we have high schoolers visiting us," explains Maiken Rabøl Rossen, Development Consultant at Naturvidenskabernes Hus and high school teacher at Bjerringbro Gymnasium. The first classes are planned to start working with LakeLog already in the autumn of 2024.
*STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics.
