Comp Sci Project Showcase
by Cody Schober

Blog Entry #16

April 7, 2016


The project is taking a new direction and purpose.

For the past month, I have been attempting to learn and understand Unity for the purpose of developing the VR app. This was the second piece of software I picked up after I determined that developing with OpenGL in Android Studio was going to be like moving through mud. While going through the Unity stuff, I discovered that in order to do the animations required for project demonstrations, it would require the use of Blender. Thus, I started to learn how to use Blender as well. It was around this point that I determined that while I could complete the VR app, it would not be possible to do so within the time alotted.

I met with Dr. Pankratz and I explained the situation to him and requested that I potentially get a change with the project. The project has now dropped the VR aspect to it, and it is now an android app that showcases and demonstrates senior projects. I am to meet with Dr. Pankratz tomorrow morning with a layout of my app and what I have.

When I got home this morning, I immediately drafted up the images and design for my app. The app begins with a title screen, with a button that users can tap on to advance to the projects screen. On the projects screen, there are a list of project buttons that I would most likely make in Gimp (an example is listed below). These buttons would have the picture of the programmer, the name of the project, and the author of the project on those buttons. When a user selects a project, it will bring up the information on that project and the option to demo it. The demos, at this time, will be video walkthrough of the projects that are stored locally on the app. I do have access to screen recording software, a Snowball Microphone, and Adobe Premiere Elements for the use of creating high quality videos with commentary.

Another step I have taken is to review over the VR app requirements to see what I could potentially do, should I have the time and ability to add it on. Besides the existing requirement of demonstrating Comp Sci projects, there is the additional following I determined might be possible:

  1. Include an interactive game that teaches Comp Sci.

  2. Have the ability to navigate to external project sites on compsci02.

  3. Have something, like a video, that explains to users what Comp Sci is.

  4. Run programs designed by students, particularly those on Android.

  5. Have a listing of Comp Sci courses at SNC and descriptions of what they are.

I do have concerns with doing Number 4, if I decide to do it. My two primary issues is that including a whole Comp Sci project within my Comp Sci project could drastically increase the size of the app. Not only that, there are also issues of compatibility I would need to deal with if I implemented something like this in the application. Could it be done? Maybe, but I do not want to risk any time crunches associated with trying to figure out what to do.

The last bit of planning I did was with my timeline of goals. My first goal is to sucessfully set up and format ONE Comp Sci project to go from point A (Home Screen) to point B (Video demonstration), efficiently and successfully by April 14th. By April 17th, my goal is to use the process and code with the first goal to get at least three projects up on the app. The last for sure goal I have in place is to have "The Death of a VR App" essay done by May 8th. As I finish steps and get a better estimate on what I can do, and how much time I have to do them, I will add on additional goals that can fit into the short time span that I have.

With my general game plan laid out, and with my diagrams in place, I started to move ahead with the development of the app. Since I had already researched into and worked with Android Studio, and since it was also recommended by CJ, I decided to build the app in Android Studio. Due to my prior experience with it during the time span I was working on the VR app, I was able to get a significant amount of work done in a short time span. I have successfully completed the home screen, I got one project button up and working on the Projects screen, and I have begun work on setting up the Descriptions page for the first project. Since I am using Kyle's project, and he has already recorded several videos demonstrating his project, I used Adobe Elements to merge together the videos, give a little background on each part he was discussing, and improve the audio quality slightly. Once I get Kyle's project description page set up, I will move on with getting the video to work in the app.