Week 8

 Final Video Project Reviews

The topic is well covered and suitable for a general audience. The presentation is clear, concise, and to the point. The content provides just the right amount of information for viewers to understand the basics without feeling overwhelmed.

The video production quality is good, and I especially liked the clips that helped visualize what the narrator was describing. However, I found the AI-generated voiceover a bit distracting. I think a human narrator would have made the presentation feel more engaging and personal.

Since most people are already familiar with what drones are, I didn’t find the topic particularly interesting. The presentation could have been improved by including more unique or surprising facts about drones to better capture the audience’s attention.

It’s not entirely clear how the teamwork was divided in this project, though I assume multiple people contributed. Overall, the video is appropriate for a general audience but could benefit from a few more engaging or lesser-known details about drones.

The topic of drone delivery is well covered and provides a good overview for viewers. However, the presentation could have been more specific in its focus. For instance, a title such as “The History of Drone Delivery,” “Why Drones Are Becoming More Popular,” or “How Drones Work” would help narrow the scope and make the content more engaging.

The research appears thorough and includes many relevant facts that support the topic. The quality of the video production is good. The b-roll effectively illustrates and reinforces what the narrator is explaining.

To make the video more engaging, the team could consider using a more attention-grabbing or descriptive title, as “Drone Delivery” feels a bit too broad.

The teamwork is evident throughout the presentation, as all members are featured narrating. It also seems that each teammate contributed to writing the script and assembling the final video.

Overall, the presentation is appropriate for a technology professional audience and provides a solid understanding of the topic.

The topic of autonomous weapons is far too complex to cover effectively in a short two-minute video. Narrowing the focus would have made it more accessible for a general audience. For example, using the time to simply explain what an autonomous weapon is and provide a few examples would have been sufficient and more effective.

The presentation itself is not very clear. By the end, I was still unsure what an autonomous weapon actually is, who uses them, or when they have been used. The research appears somewhat surface-level and could benefit from more depth or specific examples to help the audience understand the topic.

Some of the video elements also felt mismatched. The background music did not fit the serious nature of the subject and distracted from the message. Overall, the video failed to fully engage me as a viewer and left me feeling a bit lost.

Teamwork does seem evident, though it’s unclear how many people contributed to the final product.

To improve, the video could focus on clearly explaining what an autonomous weapon is and why it matters, ensuring that the presentation aligns better with the tone and expectations of a general audience.

The topic is well covered and provides a solid overview of autonomous weapons. The presentation is clear and well organized, especially with the inclusion of a roadmap that outlines what the video will cover. It gives a clear definition and strong examples of what an autonomous weapon is—much clearer than the version intended for a general audience.

The research appears thorough and well-supported by relevant information. The video production quality is good and appropriate for the presentation. The visuals and pacing complement the content effectively.

The video is engaging and thought-provoking, particularly because it raises interesting ethical questions about autonomous weapons. Teamwork also seems evident, as it feels like multiple members contributed to both the narration and the creation of the project.

Overall, the video is appropriate for a technology professional audience and presents the topic with the right level of depth and clarity.

The video could have used a clearer and more specific title. It’s not entirely clear what aspect of digital detox the team is focusing on or what the overall purpose of the video is. However, I really liked the team’s use of a group discussion as a form of research. It felt personal, authentic, and engaging. The video editing flows smoothly, and the quality is good, which helps keep the viewer’s attention. Each team member is clearly visible and actively participating in the discussion, showing strong collaboration. Overall, the video is appropriate for a general audience, as the conversational format makes the topic approachable and easy to understand.

The title is engaging, specific, and feels relevant to a technology professional audience. The presentation is clear and effectively focuses on the topic of digital detox. The quality of the research is good, with supporting statistics that strengthen the team’s claims.

The animated illustrations are well done and help tell the story in a visually appealing way. They make the video engaging, though the topic itself could have been explored in a more interesting direction. For instance, since the team mentioned that Gen Z is “digital detoxing,” it would have been compelling to dive deeper into how the younger generation is approaching this trend.

Overall, the video shows evidence of strong teamwork, as it clearly feels like multiple people contributed to its creation.

Weekly Reflection 

For our video project, my team created a presentation titled “Can AI Replace Tutors and Teachers?” This project helped me gain a deeper understanding of how artificial intelligence is influencing education and the ways it might support, rather than replace, human teachers. I learned how to evaluate information from different sources and present it clearly for an audience that may not be familiar with the topic. Creating the video also helped me develop skills in organizing research, writing a script, and communicating ideas visually.

Our team communicated and collaborated mainly through online messages and shared documents. We divided the work evenly, allowing each member to contribute to the research, narration, and editing process. Everyone shared their perspectives and ideas, which made the final project stronger and more balanced.

To make our collaboration more effective next time, I think we could schedule more regular check-ins earlier in the project timeline. This would help us stay aligned on our progress, clarify expectations, and allow extra time for feedback and final revisions. Overall, I’m proud of how our team worked together and what we accomplished.

Week 7

 

Part One: Team Final Research Video Project Planning

Our team communicated and divided tasks effectively for the final video project. We used Trello to stay organized, assigning roles and setting deadlines for each portion of the presentation. Meetings were held over Google Meet, which made it easy for us to share progress and brainstorm together in real time. For our slides we used Canva because it provides clean, professional templates and supports collaborative editing.

Overall, the collaboration went smoothly. To improve future large collaborative projects I would schedule a few more brief in person meetings to build rapport and momentum. I would also use shorter, focused check ins rather than longer meetings to keep us on task and respectful of everyone’s time. Finally, setting clearer expectations early for research and presentation sections helped reduce confusion and improved workflow.

Part Two: Reflection on TED Talks and the Harvard Podcast

This week I reflected on three sources: the TED Talk titled "AI is Dangerous, but not for the Reasons You Think" by Sasha Luccioni, the TED Talk "Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance" by Angela Duckworth, and the Harvard Thinking podcast episode "The Promise and Peril of AI." Each offered distinct but complementary insights about technology, ethics, and personal development.

Sasha Luccioni, AI is Dangerous but not for the Reasons You Think

Sasha Luccioni redirected attention away from speculative doomsday scenarios to the current, tangible harms AI is creating. Key points that stood out to me include the environmental cost of training large models, the lack of consent when creative works are used as training data, and the ways model outputs reproduce social bias. The environmental examples were striking: training one open model consumed the equivalent energy of 30 homes for a year and emitted about 25 tons of carbon dioxide, while some models can emit many times more. Luccioni’s practical response was to develop measurement tools such as CodeCarbon to estimate energy and emissions, and to support artist led tools like Have I Been Trained to help creators see whether their work was included in training sets. She also developed the Stable Bias Explorer to surface patterns of representation in image generation systems. Her call to measure impacts, disclose them, and create governance tools made me think concretely about responsibilities I will have as a software engineer to design and choose models that respect both people and the planet.

Angela Duckworth, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

Angela Duckworth’s research emphasizes that sustained effort and long term passion predict success more reliably than raw talent or IQ. Grit is defined as the stamina to stick with goals over years, and Duckworth showed this trait matters across many domains, from military training to spelling bees to classroom persistence. What resonated for me was the practical implication that skills and success improve through sustained practice and mindset work, not only through innate ability. Duckworth highlights growth mindset interventions as one promising approach for building perseverance, though she also notes that the science of how to reliably build grit is still developing. As a student and future engineer I took away a renewed commitment to consistent practice, to embracing failure as a learning opportunity, and to applying small, measurable changes that reinforce persistence.

Harvard Thinking Podcast, The Promise and Peril of AI

The Harvard podcast offered a broad, nuanced discussion about how AI’s promises and risks are often uncertain and context dependent. A few themes stood out. First, the speakers argued that ethics must be embedded throughout the design process rather than treated as an add on. Second, they emphasized the importance of observation and monitoring as AI systems scale into social institutions, using the metaphor of a car with brakes, accelerator, dashboard, and airbags to illustrate needed safeguards and visibility. Third, the episode discussed inequality and power, noting that while AI can sometimes empower less skilled workers, it can also concentrate benefits for those who control capital and data. Finally, the podcast stressed the complementary roles of academia and industry, and the need for public investment in oversight and monitoring that matches the scale of technological change.

How I relate...

Taken together these three pieces shaped my thinking in two main ways. On the technical and societal side, Sasha Luccioni and the Harvard panel reinforced that measuring impact matters. As a future software engineer I will prioritize transparent measurement of environmental, social, and fairness impacts and advocate for tools and practices that make those impacts visible to teammates and stakeholders. I will support embedded ethics in development cycles and push for monitoring and remediation strategies when systems are deployed.

On the personal side, Angela Duckworth’s work on grit complements the technical obligations by reminding me that long term improvement requires consistent effort and resilience. I want to adopt small habits that build persistence, iterate on solutions when they fail, and keep learning about both engineering best practices and ethical design.

In project work I will combine these lessons by advocating for concrete impact metrics when we choose models, by scheduling regular, focused team check ins to maintain momentum, and by committing to the steady practice required to build the skills and judgment needed to do this work well.

Week 6

 Capstone Discussion

    During our team meeting, we discussed possible ideas for our upcoming capstone projects. Each teammate shared a concept they were interested in pursuing. Cris shared his idea for a programming language translator that could help users learn new programming languages more easily by converting code between different languages. We all thought it was a creative idea with a lot of potential, especially for students and developers who want to expand their skills.

    I also shared a few ideas, including an Automated Attendance Data Entry System, a Roster Error-Checking Tool, and a Daily Enrichment Slide Generator. My teammates liked how each of these ideas focused on improving efficiency and reducing manual work for educators. We discussed which ideas would be the most realistic to build within the project timeline and which would have the most practical impact in a real-world setting.

    Overall, the discussion was productive and helped us think more clearly about scope, feasibility, and user needs. We plan to continue narrowing down our choices in the next meeting and possibly combine ideas to create a well-rounded and meaningful final project.

Week 6 Reflection

This week, I focused on both career development and preparing for my upcoming coursework. I worked on my cover letter and resume, which was a great opportunity to reflect on my career goals, past experiences, and the skills I want to highlight for future internships. Going through this process helped me think critically about how to present myself professionally.

I also spent time reviewing basic Java concepts to prepare for CST 338. While I am more familiar with C++, I noticed many similarities between the two languages, which made it easier to understand Java’s syntax and structure. This review helped me feel more confident about starting the course.

In addition, I explored the module on career development. I found helpful information on writing resumes and cover letters, and I watched a video on mock interviews. Since I have experience with coding interviews, it was interesting to see the video perspective and compare it to my own experiences. I also watched a video referencing the Cracking the Coding Interview book, which I have used in the past. It was nice to revisit concepts from the book and see how they were presented in a new context.

Overall, this week allowed me to reflect on my career direction, strengthen my preparation for future courses, and reinforce my knowledge of coding interview strategies.

Week 5

 

Possible Capstone Ideas

After viewing several capstone presentations, I started thinking about projects that would make a real difference in everyday workflows. Since I currently work in an after-school program, I’ve seen firsthand how much time and effort teachers and staff spend on manual paperwork. Many of these tasks could be automated or streamlined with simple, well-designed tools.

Here are three possible capstone project ideas I might pursue:

1. Automated Attendance Data Entry System
   Create a program that scans daily paper attendance rosters and automatically enters the totals into a digital spreadsheet. This would reduce manual data entry time, minimize human error, and provide staff with quick access to attendance trends.

2. Roster Error-Checking Tool
   Develop a system that reviews attendance or enrollment rosters for common mistakes—such as missing names, duplicate entries, or incomplete information—and alerts staff to fix them before submission. This would help maintain data accuracy and compliance with reporting requirements.

3. Daily Enrichment Slide Generator
   Build a web or desktop application that generates Google Slides automatically for each day’s activities or enrichment sessions. Teachers could input a basic schedule, and the program would format and populate slides with the correct names, times, and activities, saving valuable prep time.

All three of these project ideas are focused on simplifying teachers’ administrative workload so they can focus more on what really matters—supporting students. Even if I don’t pursue these exact projects, I want my capstone to center around improving efficiency and accessibility in education.

Weekly Reflection

This week, I also met with my group to discuss the topics we’ll be working on for our final presentation. I’m especially excited about two of them: The Hidden Carbon Cost of Data and The Evolution of Video Game Technology. Both subjects seem fascinating and relevant, blending technology with broader societal impacts. I’m looking forward to collaborating with my team and diving deeper into these topics.

In addition to our group work, this week’s activities made me think more seriously about my future career path. I’m interested in pursuing an internship soon to gain more hands-on industry experience. I also plan to continue my education after completing my bachelor’s degree by enrolling in a graduate program in Computer Science at Georgia Tech, with a specialization in Machine Learning. I believe this path will allow me to combine my passion for problem-solving with my interest in intelligent systems and automation.