In our computer science course, taught by Mrs. Taricco, we have been learning coding languages like Java, HTML and CSS. This website was created using HTML and CSS, which allows for the creation and styling of web pages. We have been learning Java by doing many different coding exercises, such as the two examples on this page.
One of the first assignments we had was to use the Java Graphics class to draw an image, which is composed solely of straight lines. It was interesting to see how simple lines could be used to create complex geometry and patterns. Below you can see the code I wrote, along with the final product.
This Java assignment was a further exploration into the Graphics class, where we used different types of shapes, shape fills, and sizes to create many different images. The result is displayed in an applet, or display window, with many different shapes and patterns.
Aurora Charities - Apps4Good
For the second half of the year in Computer Science, we were tasked with developing an app, as a part of the Apps for Good project. I worked with Ryan Mechery, Bella Doyle, and Raheel Sarwar. The app we developed, named Aurora Charities, links charities in the Worcester area with individuals who want to donate material goods. During covid, many charities slowed down their reception of material donations from individuals for obvious health and safety concerns. Now, with covid slowing down and many businesses opening back up, charities are looking to accept more donations. Our app allows charities to more easily notify a broader audience of the items they require. Many of the charities with which we partnered oftentimes had needs for specific items arise, separate from their routinely requested donations. The charities struggle with reaching a broad audience about these items, and have difficulties filling these requests in a timely manner. With our app, a charity would be able to enter a request for any item that comes up as soon as the need is known, and all individual users on the app will be able to see it. As the app and user platform grows, charities will have more exposure and will reach more individuals who could be willing and able to donate a specific item.
Problem Statement: Charities in the Worcester area collecting donations lack an effective system for requesting and tracking material donations.
Project Objective: To create an app that connects charities with individuals willing to donate items, and displays specific items requested by charities for individuals to see.
In the process of designing and creating our app, we developed criteria for the minimum viable product,
or MVP. The MVP, as it sounds, is the features that are crucial for the app to be considered fully functional. In the case of
Aurora Charities, we decided that the most important required features for our app were:
- Charities must be able to create and edit requests for new items needed
- Individuals must be able to see all items requested by each charity in the app
- Individuals must be able to establish direct communication with the charity
This video shows a walkthrough of our app, and highlights all the different functions. First, the charity side of the app is shown. Here, charities and organizations can sign in with their specific credentials and access their contact information and the list of items they are requesting. The items in this list can be edited, and requests for new items can be added to the list as well. The individual side of the app is then shown, and when the user first enters they are shown the list of charities in the app. in each charity's page, the list of their items is shown. Individuals also have the option to search the whole app for specific items that they would like to donate.