CSExplore is a mobile application in development that aims to encourage overall interest and involvement in Computer Science for high-school students. To do this, the application seeks to improve the CS pipeline from high-school to college and help high-school students participate in local Computer Science events and organizations. In addition, the application also plans to use data from RadGrad which contains information on extracurricular activities and courses available to undergraduate students.
The CSExplore Resources page has many different resources available. Each resource contains valuable information that can be used to help make CSExplore a unique and useful mobile application.
Resources such as Code.org, Exploring Computer Science, and Tableau include things like course information and curriculum on teaching and learning computer science material. UMass CS Careers Page and Hack Club, on the other hand, are sites that contain valuable information for students already interested in the Computer Science field. This includes things such as nearby opportunities, interview help, and resume review for the former and online chatrooms for coding help or related questions for the latter.
CSExplore could be used as a center of information containing all of the above resources. By doing so, CSExplore can easily introduce these resources to high-school students as opposed to them having to search for it all themselves.
Due to CSExlplore’s platform being a mobile application it already stands out from any of the above resources. Phones are more compact and easily accessible in comparison to computers. Teenagers also generally spend a lot of time on their phones which may make CSExplore more appealing.
Another way CSExplore can stand out from these other sites could be to have an interactive interface that promotes continuous use and provides benefits for doing so. RadGrad is a platform that displays many opportunities for Computer Science students and rewards them for taking part in them. CSExplore can similarly be used as a way to introduce students to resources related to Computer Science and reward them for learning Computer Science topics, getting involved in events, or practicing programming skills.
Since CSExplore is for high school students, I think another good feature would be to showcase what kind of skills and projects that undergraduate students at UH Manoa learn and build. For example, the final project of my ICS 111 course was to work with others in a team in order to create a game using what we learned throughout the semester. I think possibly displaying projects visually like this could create interest in high-school students and also encourage them to join the computer science program at UH Manoa.
In addition to showing projects made from students pursuing Computer Science, another possible feature that CSExplore could include are projects that high-school students can attempt themselves. Introduction-level projects that include a step-by-step tutorial to make something simple with their own efforts could also serve as a way to spark interest in high-school students.