Two teams of computer science students at Missouri Western State University were selected to present their web application projects at a national collegiate conference in April. They were two of only nine teams selected from colleges and universities across the country, and the Missouri Western students brought home first and second place.

The first-place team from Missouri Western developed an application for the Missouri Academy of Science and the second-place team developed one for the Boy Scouts of America to use for its national Jamboree.

 “I was extremely proud of both of our teams,” said Luke Mason, president of the Association of Information Technology Professionals student group. “It was very cool to bring home first and second place.”

Instructor Connie Hecker said the web application project spanned two semesters, and students submitted their progress to the competition site several times throughout the period.  She said the competition allows the students to take what they are learning from the textbook and apply it to their project.

Jessica Pasley, a member of the first-place team, agreed. She works for a local company, and “everything we did in the class, I could totally relate to my work. It gave me phenomenal experience.”

Student Jeff Martin, who was on the BSA project, said it felt pretty good to win first and second, considering some of the large schools they were up against. A total of 21 teams competed in the web application development.

Martin said he liked that their projects were for actual clients because they had to work closely with the client and keep adapting their web application to meet their needs. “It goes beyond the class grade or the competition. These people will actually use the application.”

Hecker noted that by working for real clients, the students also learn a lot of related skills, such as writing, communicating, and problem solving.

Team members for the first-place award included Meagan Gates, Platte City Mo.; Jason Mullin, Kearney, Mo.; Zac Parks, Braymer, Mo.; Jessica Pasley, Cameron, Mo.; and Xubo Zhao, St. Joseph, Mo. Those earning second place were Anna Edwards, St. Joseph, Mo.; Richard Fletcher, Smithville, Mo; and Jeff Martin, Savannah, Mo.

The Missouri Academy of Science project was done at the request of Dr. Michael Ottinger, chair of the department of computer science, math and physics. The Boy Scout project came about after a judge from last year’s conference requested Missouri Western students’ help. 

The students also won first place for their casual t-shirt design, second place for their professional t-shirt design, and third place for their poster design at the conference.

The conference was held in St. Louis this year, and Missouri Western was one of the host schools. “As the conference start approached, the conference chair relied more and more on Missouri Western, and we became the standard ‘go to’ team when problems came up at the conference,” Hecker said.  Fifteen students and five faculty members attended.

The AITP students have done well at the conference in previous years, too. Last year, four Missouri Western teams were selected to present their web application project at the conference out of eight in the nation and the students earned a second place and honorable mentions. In 2008 and 2009, students earned first place for the web application projects.

Missouri Western State University is a comprehensive regional university providing a blend of traditional liberal arts and professional degree programs. The university offers student-centered, high quality instruction that focuses on experience-based learning, community service, and state-of-the-art technology. Missouri Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit www.missouriwestern.edu.

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