Lumino Visual Timer
Many of us think of a timer as a countdown, this is a color down.
Rather than using numbers, the Lumino Visual Timer created by two Naperville Brothers, uses color codes with green, yellow, and red instead.
The two work at Little Friends, where they’ve learned about the challenges their students face.
“In terms of kids with disabilities, lots of times the difficulty there is that they don’t have a firm understanding of abstract concepts like time,” said developer Parker Duwelius. “How long a minute is, how long a second is. So looking at a clock or setting a kitchen timer doesn’t go very far. It doesn’t communicate effectively with those kids.”
Finding a Solution
Moving to different activities throughout the school day is difficult for some students because they can’t easily tell time.
Duwelius and his brother and co-developer, Keaton, wanted to find a solution that helps kids with disabilities, but can also be used by any student.
“The thing we keep hearing is, ‘this is excellent for my visual learners. This is excellent for my visual leaners,’ and it’s true because it gathers their attention from the beginning. They see the bright lights and they’re like, ‘OK, I see how much time I have left,’ and then they can get to work,” said Parker.
In the Works
The Lumino Visual Timer is at the prototype stage. They’ve tested the timer in their own classrooms and sent it to roughly 20 teachers across the country to get feedback.
Right now all that work happens in their basement, using a 3-D printer.
They’re taking the next step by trying to raise money to sell the device on the retail level.
Parker and Keaton have started a campaign on Kickstarter, with the goal to raise $30,000 by August 12. The money will help them mass produce the three plastic pieces, instead of spending 15 hours on each device.
But each of those hours has been worth it.
“That the product works and that the kids actually make a connection to it. It’s really such a magical feeling to have an idea come out of our brains into the real world and have it make a difference in somebody’s life,” said Keaton.
Naperville News 17’s Aysha Ashley Househ reports.
