Mental Health
Why is mental health important?
Why are we launching this new mode of learning?
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36.4% of students have reported that they have undergone some level of depression, which has been the main reason why students drop out
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Having a heavy focus on a student’s mental health, we are hoping that with this new technology, we can help the battle students are facing during their college years
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Providing students with counselors at their fingertips, having a moderate case load of homework (if needed based on their mental state), or the ability to actually see how you are mentally doing, we are hoping to make college easier to handle and bring awareness to the individual on how to cope with new changes and life circumstances and healthier ways to cope with stress
Mentorship Program
Why do we need a mentorship program?
How will mentors benefit students?
The mentorship program is designed to be a personal guide that helps students navigate their way through college easily. We understand that it could be hard to go through college without much guidance or help in a world of academic competition, whether it is to choose classes or a major, find a job or internship, drafting future plans, or who to seek advice from. The mentorship program would guide students through their college career in various ways:
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The creation of a mentorship program is to connect students with professionals in their desired field of work and/or major
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A variety of opportunities are offered to students like networking with researchers and potential employers
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Students can choose to have more than one mentor according to their own preferences
TriTech
introducing:
Purpose
TriTech is a new form of cutting-edge technology that will be introduced to UCSD in 2048. TriTech is built upon two essential principles that will benefit students - mentorship and mental health. We aspire to better the overall college experience and students’ well being by incorporating these two different aspects. Focusing on these two essential factors of a college student’s life, we hope to assist students when they are in need of guidance and help - whether it is through adjusting coursework, or meeting with a counselor or mentor.
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TriTech encompasses two parts - PalmBit and PatchU. The exact design and usage of each are explained and illustrated in the Tech section.
To further emphasize the importance of mental health in classrooms, professors will also be held accountable for regulating students' stress levels. Data received and generated from the Patch-U (stress level monitors) of students will be sent to the professors of each class they take. Since class ratio will be smaller, professors be able to have a closer focus and connection with their students. If a professor notices that particular students are struggling with school work because their data shows that they are experiencing a higher level of stress, the professor can reach out to these students directly to better understand what they are going through and obtain feedback that may relate to how to improve the class. If data show that the majority of the class are experiencing a higher than average stress level, the professor should consider adjusting the workload or course material so that students do not feel overwhelmed by their workload because of the class. Professors will also be partially evaluated based on the overall mental health status of their students as a way to hold them accountable. Professors should check the data at least once a week. If the average stress level of the class exceeds standard, which is the average value of the average mental health state level of all students in the class, the system will send out warnings to the professor.
Interface Sample
New Mode of Teaching
New Technology
Presented by Mootopia
1 PalmBit
2 Patch-U
Stress-Level Monitor
Mental Status Exam
Before students receive the Patch-U, they take a mental status exam that analyzes and observes their regular psychological functioning at a given point in time, including behavior, mood, speech, thought process, thought content, perception, cognition, insight, and judgment. This data will be input into the Patch-U system to better accommodate and describe the student’s mental health state and thus allow the system to evaluate when the student is experiencing high levels of stress. The purpose of the MSE is to obtain a comprehensive cross-sectional description of the student's mental state. The data are collected through a combination of direct and indirect means, such as unstructured observation while obtaining the biographical and social information, focused questions about current symptoms, and formalized psychological tests.
Data Sample
​Patch-U is a customized temporary sticker that receives signal from the human body and sends signal to a third-party or back to the person. Lasting for about 4 years, depending on the duration that the student is staying in UCSD, Patch-U has a huge fluidity regarding the pattern, size, and placement on a human body according to the student’s choice. For example, there are customized styles of Patch-U provided from different colleges, majors, or organizations. Once the Patch-U is installed on a student’s body, it will connect to his or her brain through veins and keep track of his or her health through sensing their symptoms, like appetite, sleep patterns and hours, and concentration issues. Students’ average mental health state and patterns will be presented as a numeric data on a scale of 1 to 10. The average mental health state is based on results from the Mental Status Exam. When the Patch-U collects all the data, it will send all the data to the professors and mentors and even to the students themselves under their index finger status tab through the PalmBit system. If the student’s data deviate from the standard sets of data more than 2 points, it will alarm all the data receivers so that the professors or the mentors can take action or show up on the screen to help or talk to the student.
Tritech has two parts that are intertwined. The first part is called the PalmBit, which is a transparent screen customized to the shape of one’s hand. The user will be able to select different options, which are placed on the fingertips on all four fingers except for the thumb, with their thumb or other hand. After selecting an option, the user can use the other hand to pull up a holographic screen projected from the PalmBit. The screen will have a camera embedded to enable video calling.
PalmBit is activated through a stress-level monitor device called Patch-U. The placement of PalmBit depends on the student’s preferences, for example on the left hand if he or she is right-handed. PalmBit is created for UCSD students to have a portable connection system at their fingertips in order to have direct contact to their mentors at any available time slots that are posted. Students can choose to have more than one mentor base on what their needs and interests are. Other UCSD members, like alumni, professors, or staff, can also have more than one mentee according to their free will.
There are four tabs that are enlisted within the PalmBit: Personal Information, Academics, Counseling, and Volunteering & Internship. Mentors are placed into different tabs of the PalmBit in accordance to the students’ own preferences and the type of guidance their mentor provides. Furthermore, PalmBit has the ability to retrieve student’s health data and report status to mentors and professors given that the student allows access. An alternative to PalmBit, for mentors and disabled students, would be a tablet device like an IPad 30 that serves the same purpose as PalmBit so as to connect UCSD students to other community members without any restrictions.
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Home Page (Palm)
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Check the status of availability of person you’re trying to contact
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Pinch up to show holographic screen
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Notifications
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Putting all five fingers together > Go back to Home page
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Personal Information (Index finger)
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Age, height, weight
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Health Records
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Resume
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Academics (Middle finger)
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Grades
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Classes
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Need to take
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Already taken
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Major and minor
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Mentors enlisted under tab
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Counseling (Ring finger)
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Available counselors by appointment or "walk in"
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Diary/ Log Entry
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Internship/Volunteering (Pinky)
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List of internships/volunteering that is available
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List of internships/volunteering that the student is currently undergoing
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Receiving tasks and notifications from managers or their interests
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