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.