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FitWithFriends (FWF) should help students attending UVA achieve their fitness goals by motivating prospective gym goers through connecting them with potential workout buddies. FWF will provide guidance to new users in creating a profile and matching with another person through simple instructions. It will provide a service in which users can input information, such as fitness goals and availability. FWF will also provide a database that will educate users on how to use different equipment as well as supply different workouts. Next, users can match with a single user or a group, and if it is mutual, FWF should be able to connect them within a day of the match to plan workouts. FWF will handle various physical activities from running or weightlifting to rock climbing depending on user interests. FWF can also offer rewards to students who continue to complete workouts. FWF will work to build deeper connections between students through a medium other than academics.

System concept statement

To the psychologists, sociologists, and generational and media experts who study them, their digital gear sets this new group (yet unnamed by any powers that be) apart, even from their tech-savvy Millennial elders. They want to be constantly connected and available in a way even their older siblings don't quite get. These differences may appear slight, but they signal an all-encompassing sensibility that some say marks the dawning of a new generation.

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The difference is that these younger kids "don't remember a time without the constant connectivity to the world that these technologies bring," she says. "They're growing up with expectations of always being present in a social way — always being available to peers wherever you are."

“A teacher needs to be a role model, mentor, and advice giver – not a ‘friend.’” When a high school student gains access into a teacher’s network of friends and acquaintances and is able to view their family photos, for instance, the student-teacher dynamic is altered.

While students may be eager to find and friend their teachers on Facebook, many of them understand the implied rules and boundaries of this virtual environment. “I do understand why my teachers do not want me to add them until I graduate,” says Jegaraj.

sites like Facebook are social environments. Teachers guide students in a professional capacity, and being social doesn’t seem like part of the job description

Embodied learning theory maintains that associating movement with content results in better learning. The creators of SMALLab, an immersive virtual learning environment, introduced the Flow system last spring. Flow allows educators to implement embodied learning at a much lower cost: In classrooms with an interactive whiteboard, the only new equipment needed is a Kinect camera. The Flow learning scenarios (some available free, but most by subscription) are projected onto the whiteboard, and the camera captures students’ actions.

Imagine a teacher holding "office hours" once a week in the evenings for students who need extra help.

. If your students are working on a project and are stuck on a particular section or concept, you can connect them with an expert to help them through it.

This is where Hangouts can aid in connecting people without the need for travel.