Throughout researching our project topic, we found out that many people are lacking the basic knowledge of synthetic biology, indigestion, and the usages and functions of the lipase and E. coli. Moreover, many existing websites do not contain all information on those concepts. As a result, it is hard for people to really study those topics online by themselves. Furthermore, by just reading the articles online, people always forget what they have learned from the articles after days. Therefore, we want to establish a software that allows people to find as much information about synthetic biology, indigestion, lipase, and E. coli as possible while testing their understanding conveniently and efficiently. In addition, because we want people can study and test anywhere, a mobile application can meet all expectations.

To develop the software dedicated to raising awareness on lipase usage and basic knowledge, we followed a procedure of requirement analysis, design, building, testing, and maintenance.

Considering the accessibility and simplicity of our educational tool, we wanted the app and its interface to be aesthetic, clear, concise, and approachable for the general public. The application’s user interface should be user-friendly so that users would be able to easily navigate the app and utilize the different functions independently. The application should also allow users to utilize informative programs conveniently and smoothly. During planning and design, we focused on the educational and informative aspect of the application, aiming to provide users with basic knowledge regarding lipids in the human body, obesity, lipase, and its extensive usage beyond pharmaceutical and dietary products. The software should also protect user privacy and will not store, share, or spread user information in any format.

To support accessibility and usage without WIFI, we developed the application to be largely operational without a network connection. Additionally, we formatted the information into a short Wikipedia and questionnaire format. The short informational Wikipedia sections include information and key concepts regarding fats and lipase, indigestion, BMI, obesity, and the synthetic biology principles behind the various topics mentioned. Each section includes clear image illustrations and basic descriptions of the concepts.
To ensure user privacy, the survey results are anonymous and information from the application will not be stored or shared anywhere. The quiz/questionnaire contains 7 multiple choice questions regarding knowledge of lipids, lipase, indigestion, and synthetic biology principles. Once the user clicks the desired answer, the application will show the correction of the answer.
In order to create a simple and interactive app interface, we decided to use XCode to model and design our software. XCode allowed us to both code-specific functions and to model the design interface of our application in actual usage.

For developing the application, we used Xcode which is software that enables users to develop and simulate their own apps.

We first had a Navigation bar before the main page because we want users could back to the main page after entering the subpages. Then we added two buttons on the main pages: one could lead to the subpage for studying and another one can lead to the subpage for quizzing. Next, we connected the buttons with the corresponding viewcontrollers. By the same token, there were buttons that were connected to the articles in the study subpage. Because each article had information that could not be shown within the screen size, we created the scroll view for each article.

On the other hand, there was the quizzing subpage. We had seven questions and were presented using modal popups. We first connected the buttons with the question number on them to corresponding questions. Second, we selected “popup modally” and “present on current context”. After finishing the popup function, we had to do some coding for checking the answers. We added a UIviewcontroller for each question’s view controller. The image above shows the code for how to check whether the answer is right or wrong. Lastly, we added a transparent button at the blank space for dissolving so that people could close the question by tapping the blank space.

1. Users have to find our application’s icon on their phones and tap the icon.

2. After the launching screen, the users will enter the main page. There are two buttons on the interface. By tapping the button “Study”, users can find some articles and learn some information. By tapping the button “Quiz”, they can take the quiz for testing their understanding. Generally, users should tap the “Study” button first.

3. By tapping the “Study” button, users can enter the study subpage. In this subpage, users can see serval articles and scroll down for finding more articles. They can read the article by clicking their titles.

4. Users can scroll down for reading the full article. After reading the article, they can click “Back” on the topic corner to get back to the “Study” subpage for reading other articles or further back to the main page.

5. Users can tap the “Quiz” button on the main page for going to the quiz.

6. By tapping the question buttons, users can get to the corresponding questions. After reading the question, they can type in their answer into the text field and tap “Check”. If their answer is right, the app will show “Correct”. Likewise, if the answer is wrong, the app will give “Incorrect”. After answering the question, users can tap the blank space on the interface (the space other than the question) so that they can back to the Quiz subpage for choosing whether to go on to the next question or go back to the article for studying again.

We have created an educational mobile application that can inform users about the topics that we are reaching on. In the future, we want to include more articles in our database so that the information contained in our app will be more comprehensive. Moreover, we will create functions for allowing users to annotate the articles, enabling users to write and submit their own articles, and having a forum for users to share their idea. Of course, the submitted articles will be reviewed by professionals first in order to make sure every piece of information is accurate and does not infringe copyright. Moreover, we will have more questions for users which are given corresponding to the articles that they have read. The users can also create their own questions and submit questions for testing our users (the questions will also be evaluated by professionals).