Mobile Development Workshop

We had a great turn out for the workshop. Mr. Jensen gave a good intro to Android web development. He has promised more to come. He introduced concepts for and how to use the Android SDK, the Eclipse IDE, and Java JDK.  The workshop concluded with the creation of a simple Golf  Score Tracking App (Test only).

INCOME PROPERTIES INC

INCOME PROPERTIES INC has asked OSWM to produce a website and to improve their logo to vector graphics. This is a chance to flex our design skills and get your name out there as a budding web designer. More details at regular club meeting.

The Wall

The Wall is live!!! Check it out!  http://bit.ly/aNoubO

OSWM Club Meeting Minutes – 9/22/10

Guest Speaker, Mr. Chris Ovide, CEO of Cherub Media, LTD, provided great insight regarding employers’ expectations of employees’ web development and programming skills. His interactive website, Clicck.com, integrates DNA, personality traits and facial recognition technology with relationship compatibility matchmaking. He is launching design/programming contests for a mobile application and a mobile site. The mobile application, “Cupid’s Calling” will be a “match found” notification application, designed for the Droid and the iPhone.  Contest details to be announced in the near future.

Entries for the redesign contest of the OSWM website were also viewed. Winner to be announced.

OSWM Club Minutes – 9/8/10

Weekly design contest (9/8/2010-9/15/2010) will be a redesign competition for the OSWM website.  Students are to choose a page of the website and create a redesign mock-up of the selected page.  Entries should be submitted in PNG or JPG file format. Winner’s concept or a combination of the entries will be coded for the website’s new look. 

Redesign and coding of the OSWM website will be held on Fridays, during Open Source.

There will be a guest speaker at the OSWM club meeting to be held on 9/22/2010. Speaker: TBA.

We are currently brainstorming fundraiser ideas. Feel free to comment,  volunteer or propose any ideas.  Fundraiser to be held Thursday, 9/16/2010.

Website Redesign Contest WINNERS!

Congratulations to the OSWM Redesign Contest Winners – Ben Sebrell and Myrnalyn Castillo!  Their entry received the most votes at the meeting today.  This is another great design to be added to your portfolios!

This prototype will become the official design for the OSWM website within the coming months.  Our goal is to have it up and running by the end of this OSWM Term – July 22,2010.

Thanks to all the other designers for your participation in this contest.  We hope to see more participation in our next contest!

OSWM Website Redesign Contest

In our continuing efforts to develop student related activities for OSWM, we are pleased to announce an opportunity to create an eye-catching mockup to redesign the OSWM website.

The contest is tailored to encourage teamwork. All team members that contribute to the project must be listed as a team member.

Students are encouraged to be creative; we are looking for unique, informational, and original designs that best represent OSWM and its members.  Feel free to experiment but please remember C.R.A.P., typography, and graphic design rules.

Contest Requirements:

• Only OSWM members are eligible to participate.
• Teams consist of no more than 4 members.
• Teams are welcome to submit 1 or 2 entries.
• Mockups must at least include links to:
  • Home
  • News
  • Projects
  • Membership
  • Portfolios
  • Media
  • Contact
• Include an area for login/password to the Members Only Site.
• Include the OSWM logo
• Mockups must be 1024px by 768px.

Submissions:

Entries must include the following:

• Team members’ names
• 1 or 2 mockup entries in a .PSD or .AI file format
• All entries should be sent to lanaeharris@gmail.com

Deadline:

Deadline for receiving entries will be Sunday, April 25, 2010 @ 10pm.

Voting and Judging:

All entries will be posted on the OSWM website and given an identifying name or number; no names will be posted with entries.

Faculty members will view the entries and pick the best two or three entries.  OSWM as a whole will make the ultimate decision and pick their favorite on April 28, 2010.  There will be a prize handed out for each member of the winning team that day.

Pie Showdown Video

In case you missed it on April 1st, the video of the Pie Showdown is now uploaded

**Thanks to Daniel Burke for the video!

ECPI Pie Showdown

As said in the flyer above, OSWM is having a Pie Showdown!  Lanae Harris, Kondo Litchmore, Linda Walters, Daniel Burke, and Richard Robinson are all participating to raise more money for OSWM.

We will have five jars set up in the library (front desk) and anyone can donate as much or as little money into the jars as they want.  Whichever participant gets the most money donated into their jar will get PIED in the face by whoever gets the least amount in their jar.

The fundraiser is running from March 18th until April 1st.  On Thursday, April 1st, one of these five participants will get pied in the face.  Be there to see who gets creamed at 1pm in the 2nd floor break room.

Happy April Fools Day!

Things Change

In the last few weeks, big changes have been made within OSWM. Positions have been passed on and new members have stepped up to the challenge of taking on leadership roles.

The new officers are as follows:

• Dan Richard, President
• Myrnalyn Castillo, Vice President
• Erica Pugh, Treasurer
• Mary Pruter, Assistant Secretary
• Heather Speaker, Membership Chair

They will be joining current officers:

• Christine Brandt, Fundraiser Coordinator
• Samantha Arias, Secretary
• Daniel Burke, President Emeritus
• Richard Robinson, Junior Club Advisor/Projects Coordinator

Former OSWM president, Shane Jeffers, has stepped down and been succeeded by Dan Richard. Shane expresses best wishes to the club and plans to continue being an active member:

It was a pleasure to be the President of OSWM, regardless of how long I was in office. My life is going full force at the moment and I couldn’t put as much effort as I would have liked into the club. I wish OSWM the best and I hope to be running some workshops very soon.

Below, I have interviewed Dan Richard about how he came into power, his vision for the future and OSWM in general. [Insert maniacal laughter here]

How did the opportunity of being president of OSWM arise?  What kind of skills do you think helped you stand out as a candidate?
The opportunity to become president of the OSWM came about when the previous president decided to step down.  As the acting vice president at the time I was the natural successor to the position. As far as skills that helped me stand out above others, I think it was my enthusiasm towards the field of study we are all in. I joined the club in early 2009 and hit the ground running, helping nurture the club in its infancy to what it’s becoming now.  With help from the previous officers, Shane, Daniel, Richard and others, I was persistent in learning what they did and what they wanted to do to help build the club with their original visions in mind

What kind of changes do you see in the short term within the club?  What kind of goals have you set?
The purpose of the club is to improve the quality of the portfolios of web students at ECPI so that the students will have a portfolio that will make them competitive in the web development industry.  Short term, ideally, increased club membership, increased participation within the club with things like projects (creating websites), contests and things like that. Tutorials and workshops available to students on the weekends, so that any questions about coding or design can be answered.  To sum up the goals, it’s about getting students ready to be the best web developers they want to be by the time they graduate.

How about the long term, what kind of changes do you hope to see?  What are your goals?
Long term goals for the OSWM.  I would like to see the club perpetuate itself beyond its current members.  I would like to see a system in place that allows the club to offer its services to the students long after the current student body has graduated.

What do you hope to get out of OSWM?  What do you hope others get out of it?
I’m a sponge. I like learning from others and learning new skills.  One of the greatest things I’ve taken from being a part of the club is the opportunity to really hash out new ideas with other students.  To bounce concepts and thought processes back and forth to really come out with some really neat work.  No creative is an island, so being able to network and talk with each other and learn how to process all the feedback you get from your peers has been the greatest thing I’ve taken from the club.  I hope others find OSWM a place where they are among friends. You’ll find students who have different interests and talent sets, and of varying experience in each field they like to study. With that in mind, I hope it’s a comfortable place where students can interact and exchange ideas.

What are some services the club offers that many members fail to take advantage of?
The biggest resource the club has is knowledge.  Some of the students newer to ECPI and OSWM don’t tap that resource enough, in my opinion.  We (the officers) are approachable 24/7 for the most part. Each of us with our difference disciplines and should be able to offer assistance to answer any question.  If we can’t answer it we can show you where to get the answer.

I’m (me, Mary. Original blog writer, not Dan, question answerer) going to take a moment to interject here. If you don’t feel comfortable approaching an officer for help in person, we’re all available on Google Chat. Don’t know our screen names? That’s easy, log into the member’s only section of our website, http://studentorg.ecpi.edu/oswm/membersonly/index.php, and search them by name in the “Members Email Search” box. And when Dan says the officer’s are approachable 24/7, he’s not kidding, people are signed on at all hours of the night.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled program:

Projects. I can’t tell you how many projects have slipped through our fingers because there hasn’t been a whole lot of interest from members in stepping up and taking one on.  Every meeting we inform the students we have projects they can work on for experience or money and no one really takes us up on the offer.

If you had to sum up what OSWM means in one sentence (no cheating and using a semi-colon), what would you say?
OSWM is a creative platform that allows students of all web development disciplines to learn, grow, and be the very best at what they do.

Any other shameless plugging of any sort you’d like to do?
I’d like to thank the staff sponsors of the OSWM, and all the officers, students, faculty, and computers that put in the work to make this club what it is. Keep up the fabulous work. 2010 is going to be amazing.

Does taking on a leadership position interest you?

Do it! I’m not asking you to believe me, but I do think you should listen to the wise words of Vice President Myrnalyn (mixed with a little bit of my editing):

The process in becoming a leader is not hard at all.  I remember one time when Daniel Burke said that if EVERYONE in the club wanted to become a leader, he could probably think of a position for all members.

Our main goal at OSWM (aside from portfolios, of course) is involvement.  A majority of OSWM is comprised of web developers (but anyone from ECPI can join the club), so when participating and networking with those who are also web developers, one can only grow and further one’s knowledge in this field.

Basically, if you want to become a leader, show interest.  Show that you want to learn and you want to network with others.

How, you ask?

Easy, I exclaim!

Come to OSWM meetings, ask questions, try learning on your own, become excited, etc.  All leaders have these qualities. Show the eagerness to learn and a passion for web development.  If you show interest, the leaders will notice and more than likely approach you.  If you don’t want to wait, just ask one of us.  How can I become more involved?  What is needed in the club?  How can I help?

That’s pretty much all there is to it.  If you have a talent for something, you can help the club in that area.  It doesn’t even have to be web-related – we have a fundraiser coordinator, a treasurer, and secretaries; none of those positions are web-related.

Remember, ECPI is a fast-paced college.  You’re here for 2.5 years or less, so make the best of what you have, while you have it.  If you want to become more involved, don’t wait, do it now!  Also, it looks GREAT on your resume!