Our project, named Greensmart, is a webapp which displays simulated data of the electrical grid of Oahu, Hawaii. It provides a user useful information in a way that is easy to digest and gain something useful. We have two pages which give different data to the user: a stoplight page and a grid info page. The stoplight page presents the user with a stoplight with either the red, yellow, or green light lit up. This represents the current level of carbon emissions. The user is given an explanation of the data presented and a recommendation if it is a good time to be using energy. The grid info page is a page where the user can enter in data to get the information that they want displayed in a google chart. The user can choose from a source and the start and end date.
There were two big things that I gained from this project. The first one is working in a group. I had only once before worked in a group for programming. The methods that we used in class like Hudson and HackyStat were very helpful in giving me a taste of what I can expect a professional setting to use. The second thing I learned was about the user interface and creating an interface that would be user friendly. There was a big emphasis placed on making the webapp as user friendly as possible and I learned a lot about what things we can do or avoid to achieve that goal.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Software Engineering
This semester I took ICS 413, Software Engineering. This was the hardest, but most rewarding ICS class I have taken. I learned much more about software engineering than I thought I would. I really feel like I am coming out of this class as a much better software engineer. We implemented many things that are used in the professional setting. Now that I have some experience using some of the tools, I feel more confident.
The best part about this class was working in groups. It was a very valuable experience that I haven’t gotten in my other ICS courses. Learning to work in a group, I think, is something that is very important to learn before to get out into the professional space. There are many things that I learned about working with other people and what you need to do as an individual and as a group to be successful.
This course also was set up in a way that was different than the other ICS courses I have taken in the past. The lectures were placed online and the time in class was used to work on our assignments. I felt that this was very effective and I wish that more courses would implement this same style of teaching. The hardest thing is the self-discipline to watch the videos online. Since the videos were necessary for the next class, if you don’t watch the video, you’re not going to be able to utilize the time in class productively.
The best part about this class was working in groups. It was a very valuable experience that I haven’t gotten in my other ICS courses. Learning to work in a group, I think, is something that is very important to learn before to get out into the professional space. There are many things that I learned about working with other people and what you need to do as an individual and as a group to be successful.
This course also was set up in a way that was different than the other ICS courses I have taken in the past. The lectures were placed online and the time in class was used to work on our assignments. I felt that this was very effective and I wish that more courses would implement this same style of teaching. The hardest thing is the self-discipline to watch the videos online. Since the videos were necessary for the next class, if you don’t watch the video, you’re not going to be able to utilize the time in class productively.
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