Author: Boaz Yehezkel

Development update – Week 6

Boaz Yehezkel CWD, Development Update, Fast.Q, oAuth

Greetings Fast-Qers!
Apologies for the lack of development updates, but I will quickly fill you in with what has been happening in terms of development over the last few weeks. We have been preparing the system for integration with the Universities oAuth system. This means setting up the staff and student areas so that once a JSON request is made the data that is returned (Module list, name etc.) can be used to shape our system.

Progress is good and we hope to have an artefact which is ready for initial testing in the next couple of weeks. We hope to try out the system in a number of lectures and get feedback on the look and feel of fast.Q from both a student and staff perspective. This initial research will help to shape the system once we begin adding additional AI functionality.

I will write a post regarding how we are using the oAuth system and the benefits of a centralised university login system in the near future.

Boaz

What is CWD and why are we using it on the Fast.Q project?

Boaz Yehezkel Uncategorized

Greetings,

It has been a while since we last blogged about the progress of the Fast.Q (full development update to follow shortly) and I would just like this chance to explain one of the tools that we are using to construct the visual aspect of our system, the Common Web Design (CWD) which has been developed here at the University of Lincoln.

This is an HTML5/CSS3 framework which is currently powering many of the projects here at the university, and it aims to enable us as web developers to rapidly develop attractive, cross browser/platform compliant and valid interfaces. In doing so it also creates a sense of unity in look and feel across all university projects.

We have decided to use the CWD as it saves a lot of time implementing our front-end which means we can focus more on the clever stuff that happen behind the scenes.  It also sets to promote the thriving developer community here at the university and communities such as LNCD. There is a real sense of students being at the centre of the university research projects, and using technologies such as the CWD means that we have the support needed to let us engage further with the higher education experience (which we love here on the Fast.Q project).

The most attractive part of the CWD is that we do not have to worry about creating a beautiful interface and then spend an eternity ironing out CSS bugs for older browsers.That is all taken care of by the CWD, we just build our interface and away we go (it also supports mobile device rendering which is a mega bonus).

We will be using v3.0 (Edradour) however speaking to Alex Bilbie (a fellow student and developer of CWD) the new release is imminent which will be interesting to see which new features we could implement for the Fast.Q project.

Stay tuned for updates on the progression of the Fast.Q project

Boaz

Week 2- Development Update

Boaz Yehezkel Uncategorized

Week 2 began with a meeting to discuss the requirements of the system and to begin designing the elements which would form the main backbone.

The mockup design sketches that were featured in the previous post were just prototypes of the system to try and allow us to visualise how we would deliver the core question and answer service. This week we have taken those designs and improved them to create what will be the first prototype system.

Fast.Q system mockup
"Demonstrating the layout of the basic fast.q system"

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Week 1 – Settling in and House Keeping

Boaz Yehezkel Development Update, Fast.Q

Greetings!

Just a quick update on what is going on in terms of development this week.

The project officially kicked off on Monday when Peter and I met with John to discuss the project aims and objectives. We also discussed our individual strengths and weaknesses and informally assessed the group dynamic and the roles each of us will play during the project’s lifetime. Luckily we discovered our level of ability was on a par, and that this project would be a great (if sometimes steep) learning curve for the both of us.

This week will mainly involve setting up our workspace (including motivational “hang in there baby” posters for the hard times ahead) and deciding on a development schedule. Also we will be making decisions on the following important issues:

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Welcome to the Fast.Q project! (a little bit about us)

Boaz Yehezkel Uncategorized

Welcome to the Fast.Q project!

Students! – Have you ever sat in a lecture thinking to yourself “I really haven’t any idea what this lecturer is talking about” promptly followed by “everybody else seems to get it so I will keep quiet and stick it out” promptly followed by “ok I REALLY don’t get this… lets play angry birds”.

Lecturers! – Have you ever been stood at the front of a room full of students, explaining a difficult concept (such as the ability to wake up early in the morning) and then asked the question “does this make sense to everybody?”. Chances are this is followed by a room full of blank faces and a general mutter of agreement. Later that day you receive emails from half of your students telling you that they didn’t understand the topic that you were explaining.

Fast.Q is an anonymous feedback system to be used by students during a lecture. This system will allow students to ask questions, or perhaps ask for some reiteration on a topic that they haven’t understood. It removes the need for students to be singled out from their peers and gives the lecturer some indication of the success of his session.

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