Computer Science

Computer Science explores web design and programming. As a student, one project I work on throughout this year is designing, creating, and maintaining a personal website. In addition, we learn to code in Java. A few examples of the work I did with Java can be found below. Later in the year, we will participate in the Apps for Good project.

Class Assignments

Line Art

This Java assignment practiced using graphics and loops to draw an optical illusion pattern out of all straight lines.

Guessing Number Game

This program creates a guessing number game, where a random number between 1 and 100 is generated. The player guesses a number and is told whether it is too high or too low. They continue guessing until they give up or reach the right number. At the end, the player is told how many guesses they had.

Stars

Using the graphics and the random classes in Java, this program created a class that represents a star and uses that class to draw 10 stars of random sizes in random locations.

Apps for Good Project

Apps for Good is a group project completed in C and D term where students develop an app that solves a need they have observed in their community.

Problem

Type 1 diabetes is a disability where a person's pancreas, the organ responsible for producing a hormone called insulin, no longer works. Insulin regulates the blood sugar, so to keep themselves healthy, Type 1 diabetics must administer insulin to themselves based on the grams of carbs in the foods they are eating. Many newly diagnosed diabetics find that it can be difficult to find accurate information on grams of carbs in foods, particularly at restaurants where you are not given a table of nutrition information. In addition, it can be difficult for young children to calculate the total grams of carbs in a meal that may have many different components. The goal of our app is for the audience to be able to easily and accurately look up and calculate the grams of carbs in their restaurant meals, helping diabetics keep their blood sugar levels balanced and prevent health complications.

Our App: CarbSmart

CarbSmart is an app aimed at Type 1 diabetics. It allows people to access a database of grams of carbs in foods from a variety of restaurants. Users can then add foods to a meal, where the app will calculate the total grams of carbs in that meal based on all the different foods, their grams of carbs, and the percent of the serving size the user will be eating.

Minimum Viable Product

A minimum viable product, or MVP, is an app with only the most important features. This list of features is used to prioritize during the app development process. First, we wanted to create a database of grams of carbs in foods from at least three restaurants that the app could reference. Our second highest priority feature was that the app can calculate the total number of carbs in a meal by adding together carbs of different foods. Third, we want the app to be able to receive an input for the user’s max carbs in a meal and compare that number to the actual carbs in a meal to alert users to when they have reached their input max carbs.

Poster and Presentation

An important part of the Apps for Good project was participating in the App Fair at Mass Academy to display our app to families, Mass Academy alumni, teachers, other students, WPI professors, and more.