The Right APP.ti.tude

In May of this year, the Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Department of Information and Technology of the Office of the Prime Minister, and the Central Information Technology Office (CITO) launched the inaugural BlackBerry Developers Competition sponsored by Research In Motion (RIM) and Digicel. The competition challenged entrants to create applications for either the Blackberry Smartphone or Playbook.

The objectives of the competition were as follows:

• Utilization of technology to uplift youth, stimulate enterprise and broaden the overall learning/education environment.
• Provide entrants in learning institutions across Jamaica with the opportunity to enter the world of application development for mobiles devices and further, to  showcase  their  talents  to  both  local  and  international  industry professionals.
• Foster team spirit and facilitate work in a competitive but friendly environment.
• Establish the kernel of a new industry in Jamaica and one that will hopefully result in an ever increasing number of persons entering this sphere of work in the future.

Entering from the Department of Computer and Information Sciences was Team Methods. The team,comprising Rhodrey Shaw, Terrence Sterling, Carlene Stewart, and Ricardo Thompson, and supervised by Henry Osborne, envisioned and created the MathBerry app.

MathBerry is a stunning BlackBerry PlayBook app for helping 4th and 5th form high school students prepare for their CSEC Mathematics examination. The current version offers tutelage in Trigonometry, Matrices, and Quadratic Equations. 

Team Methods and mentor with 1st Place plaque

The team worked tirelessly to develop their app for the competition and, after submission, waited anxiously to hear the results from the judges. Not only were they overjoyed to know they had been selected as one of the finalists but, they had outclassed their peers, the University of the West Indies (UWI), The University of Technology (UTech), and the Caribbean Institute of Technology (CIT), to claim 1st Place in their category.

This win follows the Department’s very recent success in the EduVision 2011 Technology competition and demonstrates the drive and work ethic that is fostered within its walls.

Team Methods with the Hon. Andrew Holness

The Department of Computer and Information Sciences is continuing to make significant marks in the technology landscape of Jamaica and is positioning itself as the premier source of training in computing and information technology.

by Henry Osborne
Technology Specialist

CIS Team Wins EduVision 2011 Competition

On December 1^st and 2^nd a delegation from the Department of Computer & Information Sciences of Northern Caribbean University (NCU) attended the bi-annual EduVision conference, held at the Jamaica Conference Center in Kingston. EduVision is Jamaica's premier conference highlighting the use of technology for advancing educational objectives.

 
This conference is organized by the Ministry of Education in partnership with the Institute of Education at the University of the West Indies (UWI), the Jamaica Teachers' Association, e-Learning Jamaica, ICT4D Jamaica and the Department of Information and Communication in the Office of the Prime Minister. The theme for this year was “Sustainable Innovations: New Opportunities for Education and Business Collaboration.” Emphasis was placed on the role of technology in human resource development and entrepreneurship.

This year’s conference saw the addition of an exciting component, aptly called, “Mission Impossible: Possible”, where students were given a challenge to solve in approximately 1 ½ days or 27 hours. The details of the challenge were presented at approximately 8:40am, where all students were simultaneously charged to develop a Library Management System (LMS) to address the needs of colleges in Jamaica. A team comprising Terrence Sterling, Rhodrey Shaw, Ricardo Thompson, Romario Hall, and supervised by Damion Mitchell, entered and competed against other teams from tertiary institutions across Jamaica. These teams included Knox Community College, and two others from the University of Technology.

 All competitors were placed in a “boiler room”, where they worked tirelessly and passionately on the given challenge. The team proved the concept of TEAM-Together Everyone Achieves Much, as each person used their skillsets to realize a working prototype of the given challenge. On the final day, team NCU presented to a panel of four judges, and was drilled extensively on the practicality of the system, and also the prospect for future growth. The team expertly handled the questions, and gave a good account of themselves, which once again demonstrated the virtues of the holistic educational approach adopted by NCU. At the end of the presentation, it was announced that team NCU outdid their competitors, and was crowned champions. This challenge certainly exposed the competitors’ technical skills as well as their team work and ability to work under pressure – all valuable competencies for successful techpreneurship. The team showed that what is impossible, with hard work and determination can be made possible. Once again, this is another great achievement that highlights the Department of Computer & Information Sciences’ standing in the Information Technology sphere in the region. Congratulations again to team NCU.

by Damion Mitchell
Assistant Professor

Department of Computer Information Sciences

by Damion Mitchell
Assistant Professor

Department of Computer Information Sciences