Here are additional project possibilities for Fall 2019
The problem: Students notice problems with facilities, landscaping, lighting, as well as opportunities for improvement to the UHM campus all the time. While there is a campus hotline number that students could call to report these problems, this is old fashioned, time consuming, and feels like talking into a “black hole”. For all these reasons, students won’t typically use it.
The solution: Design a web app that, once a student logs in once, allows them to report a problem or enhancement idea in less than 10 seconds of effort. The page would have a pull-down list of possible problem types, the urgency of the request, the location, and a short field with which the student can provide a description.
In addition, the app provides a feed of recently reported problems. Students noticing the same problem can select a feed entry and augment the description with additional info. This also serves as a “vote” from the student to address the issue.
Each problem report would be time stamped and the administration can access the user’s email as a contact person for further information.
When facilities or other campus personnel respond to a problem, they can mark it as resolved. Students can reopen issues if they were not resolved to their satisfaction.
As a “special sauce”, use the phone’s geolocation features to automtically identify the location of the problem based upon the student’s current location.
If you pick this project, you cannot name your app “Manoa Problem Hotline”.
The problem. Students typically limit themselves to only studying consistent locations when there are hundreds of available study spots all over campus. Sinclair or Hamilton library are the “go-to” study spots, but both can get busy throughout the week and especially during finals week. There are many spots available to students that are not utilized because students are not aware of it.
The solution. A website that will allow students to post and rate study spots throughout the UH Manoa campus and the surrounding areas so that other students become aware of possible study spots. The entry for each location will list hours, capabilities, capacity of the location, and accessibility to different types of students. In addition, there is a “real-time” feature, where students can login and provide time-stamped notifications about the current state of the study space. This can inform other students about whether the space is noisy, or crowded, or even quiet and empty.
If you pick this project, you cannot name your app “Manoa Study Spots”.
The problem: With Hawaii’s traffic being the second worst in the nation and limited parking space on UH campus, it can be very difficult to get onto campus via car. Sure there’s rideshare programs like Uber and Lyft, but for some it can feel unsafe; riding with strangers who you know nothing about. Not to mention the environmental impact caused by all the cars going to and from just for a single student, there must be a better solution to this. Of course there is : carpooling is a great solution to solve these problems.
The solution: A website that will allow users (UH Students, Faculty, and Staff) to organize carpools with each other. Users can sign up to be a driver/rider, and drivers can search for riders that are most convenient to/from campus. These carpools can be recurring such as everyday classes or one-time such as for special events. A rating system for both drivers and passengers prevents abuses, plus a special administrator mode enables the site admin to remove users based upon substantiated complaints.
If you pick this project, you cannot name your app “Manoa Rides”.
The problem: Buying and selling books from the bookstore is tedious and expensive. Direct sales from students to students can “cut out the middleman” and result in both higher revenue for the seller and a cheaper price for the buyer. But how to connect interested sellers to interested buyers?
The solution: Manoa TextBook exchange enables students to login to the site and indicate books they would like to buy and books they would like to sell. They must supply the ISBN number (i.e. the unique ID) for each book, enabling the system to match up buyers and sellers. Buyers and sellers can rate each other, enabling users to build up confidence in each other over time. Admins can ban users for inappropriate behavior.
If you pick this project, you cannot name your app “Manoa Textbook Exchange”.