CST 300 - Week 6

 Part 1: Capstone Ideas Discussion

In our team meeting, we discussed our possible capstone ideas and gave feedback on the ones that stood out to use. 

Luis presented a 2D platform game, a music app for tuning instruments, and a database management program. His idea for the 2D platform game is to gain experience with game development. The music app would help with tuning an instrument, and his database management would help him gain experience with building a database.  

Guillermo presented a pantry storage app, a music translator app, and a weather app. His idea for the pantry storage app would allow the user to create a list of items that they need to buy at a store. It would allow the user to enter items manually if no barcode exists and allow you to share the list with other people in the household. The weather app would focus on air quality. 

Victoria presented an all-in-one educational app, a food information app, a fitness app, and a bookworm social media app. Her all-in-one educational app is focused on parent-teacher communication and can be used school-wide. The food information app would give a breakdown of the ingredients of the food and highlight the unhealthy ingredients as well as display information about possible long-term effects of eating items with the ingredients. The fitness app is customizable for the user and can recommend exercise based on age, restrictions, or conditions. It can also remind you to take any medication or when to work out. The bookworm social media app would be a place for bookworms to socialize about books they read. There would be a rating system for books that users read, along with specialized chats about specific books. Users can also post content about the books they read. 

The ideas that stood out to me were the music app for tuning instruments, the music translator app, and the bookworm social media app. Each of these ideas sparked a conversation in our group and led us to know more about each other. I have a special place in my heart for the arts, so it was awesome to hear how each of these ideas can be created and how it leads to an interest for each of our group members.

Part 2: Readings, OLI, and Final Video Project

The readings this week were focused on career readiness. The part I found most interesting was the resume and cover letter requirements. I have been in education for 13 years, and I have a resume and letter of introduction that I have only used about three times. It is updated now but has some flaws that were pointed out in the reading. I plan on improving my resume and making a cover letter that would help me obtain an internship this summer. I really wish I had seen these tips earlier so that my resume would be more appealing to employers. 

In addition to the reading, we also had OLI Modules 8 and 9. This was an interesting module as it focused on active listening and assertion messages. I have had a lot of practice with active listening as a teacher, so I feel that I have that area down. However, I do struggle with assertion messages. I have the habit of not speaking up as often as I should, but I do know how to handle conflicts. This was good practice on how to write assertion messages and helped prepare me for using them in the future if needed. 

In addition to our group discussing our possible capstone projects, we also discussed our final video project. Our topic will be Brain-Computer Interfaces. Since Luis is ahead on his ethics essay, he volunteered to start the research for the video and assign each of us a part of the professional video. We plan on discussing the general public video at our next meeting.