Video Demo
https://www.flexclip.com/share/7185924442f426a25c0985a7ec1b2bff020bf94.html
Inspiration
This application takes its inspiration from the problems educators and counselors face when guiding students through the selection process of the college they will enter. To ease decision-making processes both for students and advisors, a useful tool has been developed that can easily collect and analyze data on student preferences. This idea came from providing better insights into the trends in university choices and supporting students more effectively in pursuing their academic aspirations.
What it does
This program allows users to implement a JavaFX-based crowdsourcing tool where users can collect and save information on students, including grades, desired majors, and top choices of universities. The program will then check the validation of the input, adding it to the list while creating options to save the student details to a file with the calculation and saving of percentages by university selections. It grants an easy interface toward data input, while the results are kept in a readable format for further analysis.
How we built it
After the kickoff session had ended, we discussed which challenge to tackle head-on and ended up deciding on the Collab Lab challenge. We then started to brainstorm ideas on what we could potentially build that would fulfill the Collab Lab description. We eventually landed on the idea of collecting data from users about which top three colleges they are planning to apply to. Once the goal had been set, we programmed together in C++ using Visual Studios' live share feature. This program mainly focused on the console and used it to receive as well as output data. Later on, we incorporated text files so that all of the information would be displayed there instead. After completing the skeleton of the program, we wanted to incorporate a GUI into the program. The only problem was we didn’t know how to create a GUI for our program in C++ which led us to switch everything over to Java and take advantage of our JavaFX knowledge.
Challenges we ran into
The main challenge that we ran into was switching the code from C++ to Java manually and then incorporating the GUI into it. This was the part that took the most time and confused us because, after the switch, we ran into many syntax errors, bugs, and other related issues without code. It was worth it in the end because of how well and redundant the program runs. Another challenge included formatting issues with the data displayed on the text file. Incorporating the features of JavaFX was another challenge because our whole team was not that familiar with it.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We are extremely proud of our GUI. While we all had some experience working with JavaFX, this project truly allowed us to expand our skills further. We successfully created a simple yet functional GUI that facilitates data gathering and provides a user-friendly interface for both new and returning users. The GUI also allows us to keep data in a .txt file so when the program ends the data is still stored and safe.
What we learned
None of us had ever heard of crowdsourcing before, but this project allowed us to learn about it and understand its significance in the programming world. Additionally, it enabled us to combine our knowledge of college applications—something most of the team is currently navigating ahead of graduating in May—with Java and JavaFX, making this a really fun and personal project.
What's next for Sytanx Squad -- UnivLink Analytics -- Collab Lab
The Syntax Squad aspires to grow UnivLink Analytics by providing easier access for high school and secondary students worldwide. We will accomplish this goal by turning our program into a website and/or an app. This way, students will be able to easily find us through Google or download the app to provide information about their top three universities or colleges. In return, we will grant them access to valuable data, allowing them to see where other students of the same grade or intended major plan to go.
Built With
- c++
- discord
- github
- google-docs
- java
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