CramEra

Cramera

Inspiration

Students in SMU may want to pre-study modules, or access alternative learning resources when existing ones are inadequate. Yet, such resources that are bespoke for SMU modules are scarce and highly dependent on access to seniors or peers who possess them. Thus, the team aims to create a open-source resource sharing platform to democratise access to alternative learning resources.

What it does

One-stop platform for students to upload, view and download learning resources from across the community
AI-synthesised flashcard feature to aid with revision
Identity verification and peer-review system (in-the-works)

How we built it

Frontend: React Native (for cross-platform compatibility)
Backend: SpringBoot (for client-server)
Database: MySQL(for material storage, user management) & AWS S3 (for file storage)
Deployment: Amazon EC2 for SpringBoot; Amazon RDS for MySQL

We broke down our tasks before breaking it down into weekly tasks. We then further break it down into task per group member. We also held weekly syncs to communicate our progress.

Challenges we ran into

Since this was our first time building a complete mobile application from scratch, much of our time was spent learning new technologies, understanding how the frontend and backend interact, and familiarising ourselves with the development process. Although this reduced our development speed in the early stages, it provided us with valuable experience and a solid foundation for the rest of the project.

Collaborating on GitHub also proved challenging with asynchronous merges and pulls. We adjusted by adhering to best practices (different branches for different tasks, pulling before each coding session) and openly communicating changes when made.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Despite the challenges and steep learning curve, we successfully completed a functional mobile application. The experience strengthened our technical skills, teamwork, and problem-solving abilities, making the journey both challenging and rewarding.

What we learned

We gained valuable technical knowledge through the workshops while also developing essential teamwork and collaboration skills. Working together to design, build, and refine the application strengthened both our technical abilities and our experience in software development.

What's next for CramEra

Since this was our first experience building a full mobile application, we encountered time constraints and a steep learning curve. To ensure we delivered a functional product, we focused on implementing the core features while postponing some of our planned functionalities. In the future, we aim to expand the application by incorporating these features and further enhancing its usability and overall experience.