Computer Science, taught by Ms. Taricco, focuses on the mastery of Java and other aspects of coding. At the beginning of the year, we learned about HTML and CSS and used them to code our websites. Next, during A and B term, we worked on a multitude of Java projects and labs: creating a Bulgarian solitaire, validating credit card numbers, and calculating a user's salary. During C term, we will create an app that will help solve a problem in society. For the students who previously completed AP Computer Science or scored well on the Computer Science pre-assessment, they get to work on an independent CS project.
One topic we covered in our Java unit during A and B term was ArrayLists. I personally enjoyed this unit because working with arrays wasn't too complex or difficult. One assignment we did with Array Lists was creating a Bulgarian Solitaire, where we coded the shuffling and process of playing Bulgarian solitaire with the input of a triangular number. Trouble viewing the PDF? Click here!
During the year, we also focused on Graphic Art and Line Art. Below is an assignment I completed in class that allowed us to create a drawing using Line Art properties, and then create a smaller version on the inside. Trouble viewing the PDF? Click here!
Nearly 100% of Mass Academy students have difficulty understanding the volunteer hour system and are not completely satisfied with the current process. Through a survey, we found that the majority of Mass Academy students find difficulties with forgetting to submit their hours, knowing how many hours they have, and forgetting to approve the activities and hours in time. 68.2% of students rated the overall process at 3 out of 5 or below, noting that the current process is a hassle and inefficient.
The designed app will appeal to high school students who are in some form of society or organization that needs to log the amount of volunteer hours that they have completed and get those hours approved. This website is also applicable to people outside of high school who need to log community service hours or other forms of hours, such as work tracking. In addition, this website is beneficial to organization leaders for management and analyzing how many hours everyone within the group has, and creating a streamlined visual for viewing them so that they can focus their priorities on improving the organization itself, rather than spending time keeping track of member hours.
Students recommend the implementation of a digital process to make the volunteer hour system more efficient. This digital process would consist of a web application with a login system. Once logged in as a student, the user can log hours, log activities, and see their total hour log. Logged hours and activities can be approved by the admin, and the user can input the advisor's details when they log an activity. Through the admin page, the admin can view the hours of each individual student and approve individual hours and activities.
For the Minimum Viable Product (MVP), we will have three main features: Hour and Activity Addition, Personal Hour Retrieval, and ADMIN Hour View. The first feature, hour and activity addition, consists of two main parts. For adding activities, users will be directed to a screen to add information about a certain activity, such as the location, organization name, supervisor name, etc. After an activity is added, it can be approved by the ADMIN, which is not a part of the MVP, and then be added to your personal list of activities. Similarly, when you add hours, you will select the activities the hours align with, along with information such as the date and the number of hours you served. Then, you will be able to view your hours and their approval status, which would not be part of the MVP, as well as a list of your activities. The ADMIN would also be able to see what hours and activities all students have logged, in addition to summaries such as how many total hours were completed by each student.
Additional features include how with our application, paper copies and handwritten signatures will be removed, reducing the likelihood of important documents getting lost. Additionally, our application will allow the user to view their total hours, which is not currently offered with the paper system. This way, students will know how many hours they still need to complete, high needs or regular. The admin will also be simultaneously able to approve activities and hours for each user, without the hassle of approving an activity at one time and then approving hours again later on.
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