Inspiration
Last fall, another flood threatened Cedar Rapids, IA. After the flood of 2008, the city took it rather seriously and everyone jumped in to offer a hand. However, there was still a lot of unorganization and inefficiency in the volunteer efforts. We decided that this was a problem we could help with a mobile app. Hence, the birth of VolunHERE.
What it does
Our app VolunHERE provides an intuitive way to volunteer during crisis events. The app provides a mobile interface in which users can interact with and view markers on a Google map. These markers are color coordinated by urgency. For example, red = "Help, we need a lot of people" and green = "We're all good right now". When you click on a marker it displays the name of the location. Clicking on the name takes you to a more detailed screen that provides greater detail on this particular volunteer location. It also provides the user with a list of items that this location is in need of (sandbags, shovels, bottled water). Users are able to add new site locations based on their current GPS location. Users are also able edit current volunteer locations.
How we built it
We built our app using Android studio and collaborating through GitHub. The app also implements and uses much of the GoogleMaps API to help with our project.
Challenges we ran into
We ran into a lot of different challenges during this project. Implementing new technology that none of us had used previously was probably the most difficult obstacle we faced. Learning how to use and implement the GoogleMaps API took time and patience. We also ran into some challenges in Github. Occasionally a file would be touched that someone else was working on and Github would complain about conflicts. We were able to solve this through better communication. Another challenge we encountered was the design of the interface. In addition, because this was a hackathon we had to go with a more agile approach to our design. This proved to be challenging since we had to have working code at all times.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We're all really proud that we were able to implement the GoogleMaps API. Learning a new technology in such a short window of time is a very important skill to software developers. We're also proud of our collaboration through GitHub. Being able to work remotely through source control is a very important skill for software developers. We had well over 50-75 commits this weekend and we're proud of that. Lastly, we're proud to be able to put aside any differences we may have to collectively work together and produce a quality mobile application.
What we learned
Each of these events always provides us with new insight. Something we learned this weekend was to think outside the box. We asked ourselves "What's a simple application that is scalable to a hackathon event, but could also provide a practical use to our community?" Being able to maintain a broad overview of your goal while focusing on a smaller task isn't always easy. In addition, in events like this it's easy to overreach but it also can be tempting to sell yourself short. We learned about how to find a fine balance in both of these areas.
What's next for VolunHERE
A database for the Volunhere application would be useful. Being able to store volunteer sites more easily would allow for much more efficient development. Additionally, we would like to add a photo album within any given volunteer site detail that would contain pictures of volunteer efforts at that location. These pictures would be saved as albums and used to remember past volunteering opportunities.
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