CoffeeBeanEdu

Creators

This project was made by Alex Yeghikian (BenzeneRing#6757), James Streett (jamesd5#1245), and Daniel Torres Pomares (Willowsneeze#1102), from Verdugo Hills High School.

Inspiration

Anyone who knows a programming language can understand the difficulties involved with learning computer science. As self taught programmer, we appreciated the effort needed to gain a footing within the space. Thus, we decided to create a program that teaches Java, built with Java. As one of the world's most popular programming languages, it would provide a good basis for any interested party.

What it does

This program teaches Java beginning with variables and manipulation to flow constructs to Arrays, ArrayLists, and Hashmaps. It teaches each concept step-by-step along with examples presented for every stage. In addition, it hosts a number of practice problems for the user to attempt. These problems are given along with an area where the user can type code; the program will execute the code and return the output as a success or failure.

How we built it

We built CoffeeBean using Java, coding each step and mechanism within. To create the program's visuals, we used JavaFX and minimal graphical design support from Scenebuilder's FXML.

Challenges we ran into

Unfortunately, we ran into a number of technical issues which drained a significant amount of development time. New concepts that were required for us to learn were also challenging to figure out. Ultimately, communication issues and challenges with team cooperation over the Internet caused us to suffer enough time constraint to fail to meet adequate submission requirements.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of the immense depth of our program, which teaches Java to about a first-year introductory computer science course level. The UI is elegant and intuitive, and overall this project was an overly ambitious one that we made tremendous strides in.

What we learned

We learned a great deal about advanced features working with Java, and a valuable lesson about teamwork and time management.

What's next for CoffeeBeanEdu

We are certainly going to continue refining the program, adding more features such as a point system, saving, and more in-depth lessons. The program itself will be improved over the coming months. We have established community outreach through a project Instagram, @coffeebeanedu.