2023–24 Projects:
Advisor: Amy Csizmar Dalal
Times: Fall-Winter 1,2c
The Northfield Area Learning Center provides a non-traditional education environment for students for whom the traditional school model does not fit. The students come from a wide variety of backgrounds and situations; for many of them, it is not always possible to be physically present at school when lunch orders are taken. Because the ALC is a satellite center, they must send lunch orders into the district by a certain time each morning, so that the district can deliver the appropriate lunches to the center. The current lunch ordering system is completely paper-based, and if students miss the first class of the day their lunch order is not recorded.
One of Anya Vostinar’s 2021-22 Comps groups is collaborating with the Northfield ALC to produce an online lunch ordering system for students. Students can order lunch from wherever they physically are so that the ALC can more easily assemble and send in lunch orders. That team’s deliverable is a functioning, usable prototype that addresses the basic lunch ordering needs of the ALC — and more importantly, moves them off of their existing paper-based ordering system. Once a new system is in place, bugs and issues appear — security issues, implementation decisions that don’t quite capture the ALC’s goals etc. More importantly, having this system in place frees up time and mental energy for the ALC to concentrate on deeper goals: things like long-range menu planning, food waste mitigation, and better meeting students’ dietary and nutritional needs. As the organizations’ goals shift, so do their requirements for the system, necessitating a new phase of design and implementation.
In this project, you will be collaborating with the Northfield ALC to expand the lunch ordering system developed by Anya’s Comps team. The exact focus of this phase of the project will be determined once Anya’s project wraps up in May 2022.
The project will involve the following stages:
This is an academic civic engagement (ACE) Comps project. You will be collaborating with our community partner and co-creating the system with them.
Version 2.0 of the lunch ordering system, plus extensive documentation so that other groups can maintain the system once Comps ends.
CS 344, Human-Computer Interaction, or equivalent experience is recommended but not required.
Northfield Area Learning Center website: https://northfieldschools.org/schools/area-learning-center/