CMU SMC 2029
5032 Forbes Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15289
June 5, 2012
Professor Ananda Gunawardena
Associate Teaching Professor
School of Computer Science
McDonald, PA 15057
Dear Professor Gunawardena:
Accompanying this letter is our initial proposal for refining and implementing new techniques for the
Flashcards Tablet PC application. This report is an overview of the process for designing, implementing,
and evaluating different methods in order to make the application more efficient and user friendly.
The proposal will include background information about the application, our proposed plan, the benefits
associated with implementing these techniques, our specific methodology to fulfill our plan, our work
schedule, an evaluation of our progress and our group’s academic qualifications.
Please feel free to contact us at tvarun2013@gmail.com, bjk25cc3@gmail.com, or radduby@gmail.com
if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Radhir Kothuri
Ben Kenawell
Varun Thangavelu
enclosure: paper entitled: “Revising and Implementing New Techniques in Flashcards Tablet PC
Application"
Project Proposal:
Revising and Implementing New
Techniques in Flashcards Tablet PC
Application
Submitted to
Ananda Gunawardena
Associate Teaching Professor
School of Computer Science
Carnegie Mellon University
Prepared by
Radhir Kothuri
Ben Kenawell
Varun Thangavelu
June 5, 2012
Table of Contents:
Title:
Page
Introduction------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4
Plan-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4
Benefits------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4
Approach----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5
Project Schedule-------------------------------------------------------------------------------5
Evaluation---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6
Qualifications-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------6
Sources-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6
Introduction
Our group intends to implement and refine the Flashcards application in order to
enhance its efficiency and user friendliness. Currently, the application has no ink recognition
feature since the user inputs both the question and the answer. However, the user has to make
the decision during game play if his/her answer matches that of the answer on the back of the
card. Even though the user would be able to make an accurate decision, there are still minute
discrepancies that can occur on the correctness of the answer given. Hence, this is one aspect
of the application that we wish to tackle. Also, the application does not captivate the attention
of young students who wish to use the program. Hence, we intend to revamp the user interface
by making it more user friendly as well. Finally, we plan on refining the application so that it is
suitable within a classroom environment where the teacher has access to the student's
performance.
Plan
The objective of this project is to refine and implement new techniques to the existing
Flashcards application that will increase the efficiency of the program, captivate the attention
of young students, and develop a method for teachers to access students' performance. To
accomplish this, we will use the preexisting application, which was presented to us and the
Microsoft Ink API. Once we obtain the source code of the application, we can then develop and
implement the revisions that we wish to.
We will use a traditional development model, with tasks allocated to different members
of the team in advance. Although this approach tends to be less flexible than various modern
models, it is better for a project which is known in advance to have two main independent
branches of development that will be joined together at the end. In particular, it allows for the
two tracks to proceed independently during the early stages of development, and allows
individuals to maintain knowledge from task to task. If one stage or task is completed before
the others, then the remaining members will help the others to finish their task as well. After all
parts are accomplished, they will be merged into one final application.
Benefits
There are numerous benefits to the Flashcards application. It is already a great study tool in
general for students of all ages. Some of the main benefits that we plan to implement include:
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A more vivid and attractive user interface
A correction system so that users will receive immediate feedback
A correction system in case of teacher error
Statistics after each series of flashcards
Animations and badges after each series of flashcards
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Approach
The approach we plan to take to accomplish this project is to split the work among
group members in order to be as efficient as possible. There may be problems we may
encounter as a group and we have to be prepared to solve the problem immediately and move
along with the project. We must also consider taking an approach where we do not waste time
doing unnecessary work. So if we abide by the following methodology and schedule, the project
will be accomplished on time.
Methodology:
Our overall goal is to make the Flashcards program more accessible in general and add
some functionality. We have already obtained the state approved curriculum for elementary
schools and will use it as a guide for UI implementation and awards system. As a group, we plan
to enhance the program by making it more visually attracting, adding correction features, and
awarding badges and/or playing animations after the end of each series of flashcards.
The project is broken down into 3 main parts. The first part consists of using Ink
Recognition to detect if the program's computed answer is equal to the teacher's answer. This
aspect will be developed by Radhir Kothuri. Concurrently, Varun Thangavelu will be developing
the aspect where teachers are able to view students' performance. Ben Kenawell will then
develop the rewards system. Once these parts are accomplished, they will be merged and
debugged. However, there will be many situations where the assigned tasks might overlap.
Hence, team members may even assist others in a particular situation if necessary.
Project Schedule:
Figure 1: Gantt chart depicting proposed schedule
During the first week of the project, all team members will work on brainstorming ideas for
possible techniques of revision and implementation and a formal proposal will be constructed.
The schedule might have minor changes depending on if we run into problems or other
unexpected issues.
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Evaluation
The proposed additions to the program will be tested by a live audience composed primarily of
teachers and students in elementary school (K - 4). They will also be our primary source of
feedback as they will help us develop and enhance any aspect of our implementation that we
need to. We believe our improvements will be significantly beneficial to the Flashcards
application as they are designed to make the user have a more comfortable experience using
the program.
Qualifications
All three team members have knowledge in programming. We all have creative minds and
have common characteristics like determination and perseverance. It is evident of these
characteristics that we can accomplish this project within the given time constraints.
Radhir Kothuri
10th Grade High School Student
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Programming experience in Java, Android, and XML
Active Participant in TSA
Varun Thangavelu
11th Grade High School Student
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Programming experience in Visual Basic and Java
Active Participant in TSA
Ben Kenawell
10th Grade High School Student
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Programming experience in Java, HTML, Android, and XML
Active Participant in TSA
Sources
Gantt Chart software: Gantt Project
http://www.ganttproject.biz
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