Building community service projects effectively

Authors:
Michael Werner;Lisa M. MacLean
Affiliations:
Wentworth Institute of Technology, Boston, MA;Wentworth Institute of Technology, Boston, MA
Venue:
Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges
Year:
2006

Citing 1
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Abstract

This paper presents an approach to using real projects for non-profit agencies in computer science courses. The goals are to deliver a useful project to our non-profit clients while providing a valuable learning experience to our students. The paper builds on failures and difficulties encountered in past community service projects. Risk factors are identified and measures devised to counter them. These measures include developing a systematic approach to managing such projects, enhancing course offerings to better prepare students for working on real projects, and building a repository of practical knowledge within the department. Proper communication between students within teams and between other teams, as well as timely feedback to faculty, and better preparation and communication in the community agencies is essential for effective projects. We also propose building an application framework, reusing proven design and implementation techniques to exploit the fact that many of our non-profit clients have similar requirements.