One of the hallmarks of the Drexel curriculum is its hands-on nature, allowing students to take theoretical knowledge and apply it in real-world situations. This hands-on work comes in many forms, from in-class exercises to large-scale team projects that span multiple terms. The emphasis on tying theory and application is especially critical in areas of computing, where both theoretical and practical advances are occurring at an astounding pace.
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Profile: Freshman Research “Millenial” Information Seeking Behavior
iSchool freshman Jamie Thomson and Sam Chenkin have several years before they begin their Senior Design Projects, but they have a head start on gaining the skills they’ll need. Sam and Jamie developed and executed a research project on the information seeking behavior of “Millenials,” people born in or after 1982, versus faculty expectations of student information seeking. Working with the iSchool’s Dr. Susan Gasson, they discovered distinct tendencies. Millenials are inclined to research digitally and with less specific goals that therefore return broader results. They prefer human information sources when seeking feedback, discussion, or a diversity of ideas and resources. While they are quick to use new media in search of feedback, they do not make new connections through electronic media, rather furthering pre-existing interpersonal relationships. Sam and Jamie’s work, which included project design, certification from the Institutional Review Board, research through interviews and surveys, analysis and result presentation, was sponsored by the STAR program of the Pennoni Honors College.
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Profile: The RCCM Senior Design Project
As part of their senior design project, Computer Science students Michael Bartholomew and Mark Davis teamed up with Dr. Werner Krandick and several students and faculty from Mechanical Engineering on their project "RCCM - Remote-Controlled Crack Monitoring". This project designed a system to identify, track and measure the formation and propagation of cracks in aircraft full-scale fuselage curved panels. Test data collected by this system can be used to predict fatigue damage in aircraft fuselage structures. This project is a wonderful example of the type of real-world project done by our undergraduates. All Computer Science seniors are required to complete a three term software engineering project, in which teams of 4 to 7 students are required to specify, design, implement and test a substantial software project. This past year there were 18 projects, all of which participated in an end-of-year competition with external judges from local industry, and the RCCM project won first prize at this competition. This type of hands-on, long-term project provides the students with a great experience in team development and problem-solving.
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Profile: Game Development Workshop I and II
As part of the Game Development curriculum, Digital Media students and Computer Science students work together with other majors to design, prototype, and implement 3D video games in a model resembling the game industry. In Game Development Workshop I, students work in groups of 4-6 to research and a develop a novel game concept, create a Game Design Document, and build a working game prototype. The best game is selected during a presentation before the school for full development in Workshop II by a multi-disciple team of 15 or more. Music majors, Script and Screenwriting majors, and others contribute to the final product. Project Bolt (www.projectbolt.com), designed by former Digital Media students Seth Kendall, Patrick Kemp, Juan Cardarelli, and Phil Doran, and developed in full by a team of 15 was the first full game produced by this course in 2005, and several team members have gone on to work in the gaming industry on games for the Playstation 3, Xbox360, and Nintendo Wii.
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Profile: The RAPID Senior Design Project
Anyone who’s been late because of a delayed bus or train will appreciate Team Triple Threat’s Senior Design Project. Adam Caponetti, Iftakharul (Iffy) Islam and John Simon, advised by iSchool professor Martin Donaldson, developed RAPID (Route Arrival Passenger Information Display) to bring real-time transportation updates to public transportation riders. In partnership with SEPTA – the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority – they devised, designed and tested a system that draws data from SEPTA’s existing GPS network to calculate bus, train and trolley arrival times and report the results directly to travelers. Commuters can check the website though a computer or web-enabled mobile device, receive updates via cell phone, and create a “frequent routes” profile that allows quick checks of personalized information. Team Triple Threat presented their solution to SEPTA as well as at the Senior Design Challenge ceremony, gaining valuable public speaking experience in addition to project management skills.
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Profile: Freshman Design with Roomba Robots
As part of Freshman Design Lab, a number of first-year Computer Science students participated in the "Roomba" project -- programming intelligence into the Roomba robotic vacuum. The goal of the Roomba project was to identify and encode a set of behaviors to control a Roomba , enabling it to perform a series of challenges (beyond the typical vacuuming of the floor). In this lab, students encountered the interdisciplinary realities of the real world, having to deal with the complete set of electro-mechanical and software systems that sense and act in the external environment. The Freshman Design Lab is part of the full freshman design experience, in which a three or four person team produce significant work over a period of approximately thirteen weeks. The teams first select a topic and obtain a faculty sponsor. Then they develop a proposal which contains an analysis of the current status, including a review of the literature, the proposed plan of action, tradeoffs and justifications, division of team effort, a timetable for completion, and cost estimates. Next, the teams begin the project and write progress reports to their faculty sponsor. The project is completed and a final comprehensive written report is prepared. The experience culminates in a formal oral presentation during the annual freshman design seminar.
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Profile: The BASS Senior Design Project
A team of Computer Science majors — Dave Becker, Brian McBurney, Sean Durkin, Micah Garnett, Patrick Mulhern, Ben Siegl — coordinated a senior design project aimed to develop a Blind Accessible Shopping System (BASS). With faculty member Jeff Salvage serving as an advisor, the team created technology that used Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags to lay a coordinate grid along the floor of the store. They then used a database to store the locations of all products within the store, such that a person shopping can search the database for a desired item. The RFID reader then reads the current position of the shopper, find its relationship to the position of the item desired, and gives verbal directions for the person to find the item. Not only does their technology give more independence to visually handicapped people that would like to shop without assistance, it can benefit the sighted by reducing shopping time with detailed directions to desired items.
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Profile: Management Information Systems Introductory Project
As part of the introductory Management Information Systems course, students design and create an online e-portfolio. The goal of the project is for students to present their educational and personal accomplishments on a website in a compelling manner for others to see. Students come to appreciate that the design and layout of a website is a reflection of their ability to convey information to others. They have a fully functional site by the end of the term that they can update throughout their senior year. e-Portfolio encourages students to get involved in planning, and to take more responsibility for achieving their own educational goals. It is a timeline of where they have been and where they are going.
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Profile: MIS Systems Analysis and Design Project
In our Systems Analysis and Design course, students work in teams on the development of a systems solution for a specific business problem. Examples of such problems include a parking tracking system for a metropolitan parking facility, a promotion and reservation system for a travel agency, and a billing and customer management system for an internet service provider. The student teams are provided a portion of the actual requirements from which they develop a baseline project plan for a selected segment of the problem. After their planning and analysis is completed, students present their proposed solutions to members of the business community from which the problems arose. These persons are IT consultants, Chief Information Officers (CIOs), business managers, attorneys, or Chief Executive Officers (CEOs). The business person asks questions, interjects observations or criticisms and then selects the best solution proposed by the teams from the class (where best is determined by meeting and exceeding the needs and wants of the client’s requirements). Each term, the team with the best solution receives a certificate of recognition signed by the business executive and the professor, Dr. Susan K. Lippert, Assistant Professor of MIS in the LeBow College of Business.
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Profile: MIS Senior Project
In the MIS capstone course, students work in teams to address professor-suplied case studies or requests by local CEOs company owners to develop integrated IT solutions for their companies using tools such as VB.NET. These solutions may also include the recommendation of new computer hardware, identification of potential network configurations, creation of new software, pinpointing the appropriate implementation strategy, development of training programs customized for the skill levels of the employees. The students present their solutions to the company’s problems on the last day of class. Feedback is then provided to the students regarding those ideas which match the needs and interests of the company. This technique and process enables the students to utilize and integrate all the knowledge, skills, and abilities that they developed throughout their undergraduate MIS concentration into a single experience with direct real-world application.