Motivation
During the COVID lockdowns, in-person work with students with dyscalculia was disrupted. My then-girlfriend worked as a dyscalculia therapist, and her experience inspired the project. We developed the idea together: she contributed the therapeutic perspective, practical requirements, and feedback from how the tool would be used, while I designed and implemented the software.
Objectives & Goals
To build a responsive, intuitive digital tool simulating physical counting cubes, supporting simultaneous interactions for remote math tutoring sessions.
Solution & Implementation
I used Socket.IO for real-time interactions, hosting it securely on a dedicated VPS with robust authentication. The platform enabled users to create virtual math cubes, manipulate their grouping and colors, and hide/reveal solutions dynamically. Each tutoring session had secure, unique identifiers for privacy.
Results & Achievements
The platform was deployed online and used in remote tutoring sessions. The collaboration helped ensure that the software reflected actual therapeutic practice instead of assumptions I made as a developer.
Learnings & Reflections
The project deepened my skills in full-stack web development and real-time communication protocols. It also taught me the value of combining technical implementation with the domain knowledge of the people who understand a problem first-hand.