Computer Science, taught by, Mrs.Taricco is an interactive class where students learn to utilize Java and HTML. We complete labs, using the skills Mrs. Taricco taught to create our own programs and even a website. The most impressive part of this class is that it requires no past coding experience. Anyone can join Mrs. Taricoo’s computer science class and become a better programmer.
Rock, Paper, Scissors was a lab that we completed much earlier in the year. Within this lab, I created a program that allows you to play the traditional rock, paper, scissors game against the computer. It worked by randomly selecting rock, paper, or scissors and comparing that to your choice of rock, paper, or scissors to return either a win, loss, or draw. This lab helped me grow my Java programming skills and taught me alot about utilizing if statements within Java code.
The Number Guesser lab was another assignment I completed in my computer science class. The Number Guesser plays a game with you where you are attempting to guess a random number generated by the code and you get closer and closer as the code either returns lower or higher to guide you to the correct number. It helped me utilize new skills like while loops and if statements that are within whiled loops, improving my java skills immensely.
Apps for Good is a project that all juniors at MAMS do as part of the Computer Science class, where students, in teams, create apps that solve real-life problems. My team created an app called Drowsy Drivers, which averts drowsy driving by connecting sleepy drivers via Android Auto voice calls. The idea is that a conversation between two awake but drowsy drivers can help keep both drivers alert until it is safe for them to stop and get some rest. With drowsy driving being the cause of up to 20% of car accidents, and with other solutions like facial detection not always working, we wanted to attempt something different, something social. Our app uses a preference-based matchmaking algorithm that matches users based on language and gender for a more personalized experience, and is background-running so that drivers can continue to access GPS and other functionality. We tested our system by adding dummy accounts and checking Firebase integration, as well as making sure the matchmaking functioned under various conditions. Later enhancements would involve intelligent matching, location awareness, and other safety features that would render the app increasingly useful to long-distance and night-time drivers.