CIS@NCU

The Right APP.ti.tude

2011-12-15T19:30:00.000-05:00

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

2011-12-14T19:48:00.001-05:00

On December 1^stand 2^nd a delegation from the Department of Computer &Information Sciences of Northern Caribbean University (NCU) attended the bi-annualEduVision conference, held at the Jamaica Conference Center in Kingston. EduVisionis Jamaica's premier conference highlighting the use of technology foradvancing educational objectives.

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

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

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

Department of Computer and Information Sciences Delegation Visits MIT and Harvard

2011-11-03T19:42:00.000-05:00

On Monday, October 17, 2011, an enthusiastic delegation of faculty, students and recent graduates from the Department of Computer and Information Sciences, headed by Department Chair, Kenrie Hylton, embarked on a trip that would take them to visit two of the most prestigious institutions of higher learning in the United States of America. The purpose of this visit was to expose them to research opportunities and graduate study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts. This trip was partially sponsored by Dr. Byron Robinson, an alumnus of Northern Caribbean University.

Upon our arrival at MIT, on Tuesday, October 18, the delegation was met by Christopher Jones, Assistant Dean for Graduate Education, who hosted us at breakfast and introduced us to MIT while giving us a heads-up on the activities planned for the day. Our visit started out with a brief tour of the campus and an extensive visit to the Media Lab conducted by a Research Assistant, Kenton Williams. At the Media Lab an unorthodox research approach to envision the impact of emerging technologies on everyday life, technologies that promise to fundamentally transform our most basic notions of human capabilities, is applied. He also gave us a very comprehensive introduction to some of the cutting-edge research activities being conducted by him and other members of the Personal Robots Group in their research laboratory. We concluded the tour with a brief stop at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL).

Group at MIT's Media Lab

Our visit to MIT continued with a working luncheon with representatives from the School of Engineering, Graduate Admissions, and the International Students Office who gave presentations about research and graduate study opportunities available at MIT, along with pertinent application and immigration procedures relevant to international students. Presenters included Danielle Guichard-Ashbrook, Associate Dean and Director at the International Students Office, and Cardinal Warde, Professor of Electrical Engineering. After our luncheon current graduate students of MIT conducted a very informative Graduate Clinic which highlighted not only what graduate study entailed, from the application process through to final research, but also their own journey as students of MIT.

On Wednesday, October 19, our trip to Boston continued with a visit to Harvard University. After being met by Marie Dahleh, Associate Dean of Academic Programs at Harvard, Gloria Anglόn, Assistant Director of Graduate Admissions & Administrative Fellow in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), provided us with an overview of SEAS, their research activities and graduate study opportunities. Jorge Pozo, Coordinator of Educational Programs, continued with an enlightening discourse about his own continuing journey as a graduate student within SEAS. In spite of continuous rain, typical of Boston at this time of year, we were given a very extensive tour of the Harvard campus, during which we were exposed to the very rich history of this prestigious 375 year old university. Our visit at Harvard concluded with a stop at the Harvard International Office where we had discussions with Darryl Zeigler, Advisor to International Students and Scholars, about attending Harvard University and living in Boston as an international student.

This trip was of benefit to all of us. Prospective graduate students were energized as they were introduced to the joys, challenges and benefits of research and graduate study in Computer Science at MIT and Harvard. Faculty and staff left with renewed interest in research and fuelled with fresh ideas for the continued development of the Department of Computer and Information Sciences. Added to which we were all impressed by the strong commitment to scholarship that was very evident in the environment of both universities.

by Halzen G. Ashton Smith
Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Information Sciences

Alumni Profile (3)

2011-09-14T23:52:00.000-05:00

Name: Chantal ‘CJ’ Thompson

Degree Completed: B.Sc. Computer Information Science

Class of: 2008

Company/Employer: Affiliated Computer Services, Inc., (ACS/Xerox)

Position: Hardware Resell Support Manager

Memorable CIS Moment(s):

Every LAN party! I’m supposed to be the reigning Female Mortal Kombat champion (despite what Christine says, lol!)
When they finally sprung me (by giving me the piece of paper dem call degree)

Achievements (while enrolled and/or recent):

CHIPS Social Director
CHIPS Project Director
USM Sports Director
ACS/Xerox – Employee of the Month May, June, August, September, January, Employee of the Year 2010

Parting Words....
CIS & NCU taught me everything I know, most of the things weren’t taught in the classroom and one would get in trouble for divulging such info, but there are no regrets. Life in CIS was never easy, but no one can say it wasn’t interesting.

Alumni Profile (2)

2011-09-14T13:10:00.002-05:00

Name: Trevoir ‘The Trev’ Williams

DegreeCompleted: BSc. Computer Science (Programming Emphasis)

Class of: 2010

Company/Employer: Northern Caribbean University (UNISS)

Position: Junior Software Engineer

MemorableCIS Moment(s):

Every moment was an adventure, and thus memorable

Achievements:

2007 – Silver Medalist – National Skills Web Design Category
2009 – Int'l Software Design Finalist in the Microsoft Imagine Cup (Cairo, Egypt)
2010 - Int'l Software Design Finalist in the Microsoft Imagine Cup (Warsaw, Poland)

2011 – Prime Minister’s Youth Award for International Achievement

Parting words:

CIS for life!!!
Long live the Republic

Alumni Profile (1)

2011-09-12T21:25:00.000-05:00

Name: Le-Vaughn Roper

DegreeCompleted: BSc. Information Science

Class of: 2009

Company/Employer: Harrison Memorial High School

Position: Information Technology Specialist

MemorableCIS Moment(s):

I would need a book to tell it all, and even if I got a book all the good stuff would be left out. Lol But as the great Barney Stinson would so eloquently put it, “THE LAN PARTIES ARE LEGEN……….DARY!!!!!!”

Achievements:

Honor roll for a couple semesters, if I remember correctly.
One of the I.T representatives for West Jamaica Conference at the 2011 Global Internet Evangelism Network (GIEN) Seminar held in Jamaica. More to come. :-)

Parting words....
To my remaining CIS colleagues, Viva la Résistance! And never forget that "Amidst adversity, God provides the ultimate solution." - L.A.R

2011 Graduate List

2011-08-02T14:09:00.000-05:00

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN COMPUTER SCIENCE

Brown, Courtney
Westcarr, Jevon

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN COMPUTER INFORMATION SCIENCE

Anthony, Melissa
Britton, Aldain
Brown, Michael
Campbell, Shellaine *
Foster, Abigail *
Granston, Durvan
Hanson, Ricardo
Jefferson, Rion
Lewis, Jaison
Sinclair, Niffian
Smith, Rohan
Stennett, David
Wheeler, Silvester

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN INFORMATION SCIENCE

Hector, Terrence
Letts, Mkwawa +
Swaby, Anthony

ASSOCIATE OF SCIENCE IN INFORMATION SCIENCE

Campbell, Andre
Holness, Duane +
Palmer-Hynes, Marion

CIS Family Addition

2011-08-02T13:19:00.000-05:00

Announcing the arrival of Makenzi Shae and Makayden Avery on August 1, 2011 to the CIS family. Congratulations to the proud parents, Janece and Kerry Morgan.

Makayden Avery

Makenzi Shae

Software Development Jobs Pays!

2011-02-21T11:13:00.004-05:00

U.S. News has reported that Software Developers are among the highest paid careers. See the following excerpt from their article "10 Jobs that Offer a Big Bang for Your Buck". Please note that the figures quoted are in U.S. Currency.

http://money.usnews.com/money/careers/articles/2010/12/07/10-jobs-that-offer-a-big-bang-for-your-buck?PageNr=1

"Computer software engineer: With a bachelor's degree in computer science or a related field, computer software engineers bring in a median salary of $87,000 a year. For more complex jobs, a master's degree may be required, but the real gold standard is in-depth knowledge of programming languages. Employment is expected to swell by a whopping 295,200 jobs, or more than 32 percent, between 2008 and 2018."

U.S. News also cites technology positions as one of "The best Careers for 2011".

http://money.usnews.com/money/careers/articles/2010/12/06/the-50-best-careers-of-2011?PageNr=2&s_cid=related-links:TOP

"Technology positions also account for a good chunk of our top-choice careers. Computer support specialist joins the ranks this year with upward trending employment numbers. "

The Story of Xormis

2011-02-09T14:04:00.018-05:00

Once upon a time, in a land not so far away – there were four aspiring apprentices – Shawn McLean, Derron Brown, Markel Mairs, and Dwayne Samuels, who were all trained and highly skilled in the art of software development. These noble men lived in a time when the world was in a state of despair:

The United Nations and Microsoft therefore sent out a call throughout the entire world, challenging students from around the globe to compete in the Imagine Cup by developing technology solutions to these, the world’s toughest problems.

Undaunted by the mammoth task ahead and the stiff competition they were most certainly to face, this group of technologists stepped up to the challenge. Under the guidance and direction from their Mentor in Chief – Kenrie Hylton, they decided to develop a solution that was not aimed at one, but rather all the problems outlined by the United Nations.

Sir Shawn assumed the role of Chief Software Architect and Lead Application Developer,
Derron served as the Mobile Application Developer and the Algorithm Expert
Markel was charged with key programming tasks and creating pivotal modules
Dwayne took on the responsibility of marketing and being the usability engineer.

Together they called themselves Team Xormis.

Now armed with nothing more than an idea and a thirst for success, this team set out on a quest to fulfill their dreams and conquer in the Imagine Cup competition. What they lacked in resources, they made up for in their passion and proficiency.

Through sleepless nights they toiled, with final exams looming and their social life now shattered and nonexistent. Still they pressed on with their eyes on the prize.

There were many who thought it could not be done, certainly not from the land of wood and water. This is a battle that only the perceived mighty from the U.S., from China or from India can win. But alas, this did not deter this committed team.

With only minutes to spare, the team submitted their entry in an attempt to be one of the very few from around the world to qualify to journey to Poland for the World Finals of this prestigious event. Some members were doubtful, but hopeful. How could they overcome the multitude of challengers from countries such as India, Singapore, Russia, Germany, Finland and Spain? They were up against 90 other teams and as much as 450 individuals from around the world. Could it be done?

The answer came some time later, when the finalists were announced and behold – Team Xormis from Jamaica outclassed the lot and qualified for the world finals of the competition in Poland.

Although this in itself was a remarkable achievement, this was not the end of the book, but merely the beginning of a new chapter. Amidst the celebration, the team still kept focused on the prize.

They were now to travel to a distant land – Poland, to vie for the coveted 1st place prize against giants Brazil and Indonesia.

Battling airport security, airline food, and sleep deprivation along the way, the team survived the long journey across continents. In spite of being afflicted by jetlag, with the help of God, the team prepared for and delivered an outstanding presentation in the final round.

After almost a year of hard work, of trials and setbacks, through intermittent despair and discouragement, Team Xormis was about to receive the results of their labour. Can we place second? Can we beat the mighty Brazil, the perceived favorites? Can we be first place winners? Can we really beat the entire world?

The results answered those questions with a resounding: “YES WE CAN”

In an astounding feat, Team Xormis emerged winners of the coveted Interoperability Award, and in so doing, once again demonstrated that this land we love has among its human resources bright, adept and highly skilled technology experts.

These valiant young men have raised the bar, and have brought positive attention to our embattled country through this truly incredible and well deserved victory.

This story however does not end here, but continues through the lives of those that have been inspired by this amazing accomplishment to go forth and attain even greater success.

--
K. Hylton

Imagine Cup 2010 Poland Opening Movie

2011-02-08T19:38:00.000-05:00

Imagine Cup 2010 Poland Awards Ceremony Opening Video

Featuring team members from Northern Caribbean University, Jamaica

Internet running out of IP addresses

2011-02-04T08:35:00.002-05:00

There are reports that the pool of Internet addresses has been officially depleted.

http://isoc.org/wp/newsletter/?p=3139

See excerpt below:

"The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) has just announced the long-expected final allocation of IPv4 addresses to the Regional Internet Registries. This begins the final chapter in the history of IPv4, as each of the five regions of the world have now received their final blocks of addresses to distribute for use in new network developments.

The regions will each run out of IPv4 addresses at different times, at which point the only new IP addresses available for Internet growth will be IPv6. "

Official Android 3.0 Honeycomb Demo

2011-02-02T14:22:00.001-05:00

Google Demos their new Android 3.0 Honeycomb operating system, which is reported to have been designed primarily for Tablet devices. It will be interesting to see how developers will respond and what ideas can emerge from this new operating system.

Moving to IPv6 to Avert Internet Crisis

2011-01-30T16:38:00.002-05:00

The pool of available IPv4 Internet Addresses will soon run out. This event is being likened to the problem of Y2K, however the problems that can emerge may be quite notable if appropriate action did not or does not take place. IPv4 designed in 1977 has a limit of approximately 4.3 billion addresses. Thankfully IPv6 has been steadily being introduced over the past few years to replace IPv4. With IPv6, the new limit will now be 340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456 addresses.

The following article provides further details on this important issue:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20029721-264.html?tag=TOCmoreStories.0

Here are a few excerpts:

"Many expect some disruptions as the IPv6 shift takes place. Web sites could be slow or inaccessible, companies could have a harder time setting up new services, Internet service providers could have a hard time keeping up with subscriber growth, and security will have to adapt to the new technology.

The Net won't collapse, though."

"Perhaps the best news about the IPv6 transition is that, once it's mostly over, the Internet will be a qualitatively different place. With vast tracts of IP addresses available, individual ones can be assigned to phones, computers, cars, stereo components, living-room thermostats, heads-up display glasses, wristwatches, home solar panels--you name it. Where a case can be made for networking, these devices will be able to communicate directly without the network topology shenanigans such as network address translation necessary today."

Google Supporting WebM for HTML5's Tag

2011-01-17T10:01:00.004-05:00

Google recently announced that they will be dropping support for the H.264 codec in Chrome. Videos encoded in this format will still be playable via Flash and Silverlight plugins. For Google's explanation for this move - visit The Chromium Blog:

http://blog.chromium.org/2011/01/more-about-chrome-html-video-codec.html

Here are a few excerpts:

"As it stands, the organizations involved in defining the HTML video standard are at an impasse. There is no agreement on which video codec should be the baseline standard. Firefox and Opera support the open WebM and Ogg Theora codecs and will not support H.264 due to its licensing requirements; Safari and IE9 support H.264. With this status quo, all publishers and developers using the tag will be forced to support multiple formats."

"We acknowledge that H.264 has broader support in the publisher, developer, and hardware community today (though support across the ecosystem for WebM is growing rapidly). However, as stated above, there will not be agreement to make it the baseline in the HTML video standard due to its licensing requirements. To use and distribute H.264, browser and OS vendors, hardware manufacturers, and publishers who charge for content must pay significant royalties—with no guarantee the fees won’t increase in the future. To companies like Google, the license fees may not be material, but to the next great video startup and those in emerging markets these fees stifle innovation."

Job Opportunity: Web Developer

2010-11-16T13:53:00.001-05:00

Unique Media Design Limited (UMD) needs an experienced PHP Developer on our team. UMD helps clients work smarter, faster and more cost-effectively. UMD team develops web sites and web apps that load fast, look great and work flawlessly.

Our web developers, graphic designers, project managers think deeply about each project and insist on doing the right thing, focusing on usability and simple, intuitive navigation so that your web presence is a pleasure to use as well as pleasing to look at. The team currently includes professional developers as well as graphic artists who handle UI and theme elements. We also work with CAKEPHP and ZEND frameworks.

The qualified candidate must have at least 1 year of relevant experience and be able to demonstrate a mastery of PHP and its platform friends, MySQL and JavaScript. Knowledge of CAKEPHP framework, MVC programming model will be also welcomed. If you’re on the upside of CAKEPHP, MVC and have plenty of enthusiasm, really good communication skills and a willingness to get it right, we want to talk to you (...so long as your PHP coding is solid...)

Full-time employee preferred. No contract or remote workers please.

Work Schedule
* Full Time

Minimum Requirements
* IT Skills
* PHP (Required)
* MySQL
* JavaScript
* CAKEPHP
* MVC

If you are interested in this position, please apply by visiting http://www.uniquemediadesigns.com/jobs and complete the application form.

Tan Le: A headset that reads your brainwaves

2010-11-14T14:09:00.002-05:00

Tan Le's astonishing new computer interface reads its user's brainwaves, making it possible to control virtual objects, and even physical electronics, with mere thoughts (and a little concentration). She demos the headset, and talks about its far-reaching applications.

Tan Le is the head of Emotiv Systems, which is developing the next generation of human-machine interface -- a headset that takes input directly from the brain.

Wanted: Silverlight Developer

2010-11-06T18:43:00.003-05:00

A software house, in a niche market, in Birmingham, England is seeking the services of a Silverlight and C# developers.

The successful candidates will have experience of C# version 3.5 or 4, and Silverlight 3 and/or 4. He/she will be working on the company's internal systems for a 1 month period, with the possibility of extension to 3 months.

If you are interested, please send a copy of your resume to:
Alison Corcoran, Recruitment Consultant - Midlands Division Microsoft Specialist
Monarch Recruitment Ltd
Direct Line: 0121 237 3112
Email: acorcoran@monarchrecruitment.co.uk
Web site: www.monarchrecruitment.co.uk

Job Availability

2010-11-02T00:19:00.003-05:00

BPO Audio Communication is in need of persons for employment part-time and full-time. Jobs are available in the following areas:
1. Spanish
2. French
3. Accounting
4. Management
5. Finance
6. Communications
7. Marketing
8. Customer Service
9. Data Entry
10. Information Technology

Please send resumes indicating interest in this company to carolyn.smith@ncu.edu.jm or directly to bpoaudio@gmail.com.

For further information on the company visit: bpoaudio.webs.com

CIS Honour Students (2009 - 2010)

2010-10-28T19:10:00.003-05:00

Congratulations to all our students who made it on the Honour Roll for the year 2009 - 2010. Continue to excel in all you do!

Magna Cum Laude (3.70 - 3.89)
Campbell, Shellaine
Foster, Abigail
Johnson, Oshando
Wallace, Howard
Ward, Marlon

Cum Laude (3.50 - 3.69)
Bernard, Jevon
Brown , Derron
Campbell, Jovanee
Dean, Joel
Fagan, Luke
Grant, Kerrice
Nelson, David
Parchment, Chrystal
Senorine, Fabian
Swaby, Christine
Thompson, Tyrone
Westcarr, Jevon
White, Doric

Honour Roll (3.00 - 3.49)
Barnes, Ashauni
Barrett, Sheldon
Braham, Beverley
Britton, Aldain
Ebanks, Delisha
Graham, Noella
Griffiths, Kenroy
Hugg, Dudley
Hylton, Elyandra
Peterkin, Jevaughn
Wheeler, Sylvester
Williams, Trevoir

Imagine Cup 2010 Software Design Finalist Presentations

2010-07-07T15:32:00.002-05:00

The 6 top teams in the Software Design category presented this evening in the Warsaw's Opera House. We were able to see demonstrations and presentations of the innovative software developed by these teams.

Finland’s team developed SignBook – an application to help with teaching Sign Language.

Malaysia created Project Apple, a food/nutrition and wellness based application

New Zealand created OneBeep, a pretty novel concept which has the potential to have a deep impact in the area of education in underdeveloped nations.

Serbia developed a solution to assist individuals who are immobilized and unable to move or speak, to help them communicate.

Singapore’s project (Teacher’s Think Tank) is a website and SMS system that provides a support network for teachers.

Thailand developed eyeFeel – an application to help hearing-impaired communicate by showing conversation balloon and sign language animation of what others say.

Imagine Cup 2010 - Software Design Finalist

2010-07-06T17:13:00.001-05:00

Software Design Finalists

· Finland, Signbook

· Malaysia, Team HDC

· New Zealand, OneBeep

· Serbia, TFZR

· Singapore, Mama-Bear

· Thailand, Skeek

Imagine Cup 2010 Software Design Results

2010-07-04T17:22:00.002-05:00

After a day of intense competition, the results for those teams who will advance to the next round has been announced. The organizers noted that this year’s competition set a new bar and produced a host of exceptional projects. Of almost 70 teams, only 12 will move on. Unfortunately, despite the superb performance and efforts of eSCAPE - Team EDUC8, they were among 56 teams who did not advance to the next stage of the competition. In spite of this, they have represented our university and Jamaica well by developing and presenting a truly innovative solution, and we commend them for their achievements thus far and for making it to this stage of this prestigious competition. The countries advancing to the next round are:

- Germany

- Brazil

- Malta

- Morocco

- New Zealand

- Croatia

- Malaysia

- Thailand

- Finland

- Ukraine

- Singapore

- Serbia

For further information visit:

http://imaginecup.com/blogs/imagine_cup_finals/default.aspx

Imagine Cup Teams in Warsaw, Poland (Day 2)

2010-07-02T12:47:00.006-05:00

After hours of travel, sleep deprivation and a withdrawal from Jamaican cuisine, our two Imagine Cup teams from Northern Caribbean University have arrived in Warsaw, Poland to represent Jamaica in the World Finals of this prestigious event. Our first day was spent pretty much recovering from the exhausting journey and taking a scenic tour of some historic parts of Warsaw.

As usual, being Jamaicans we have been attaining quite a bit of positive attention and have already been interviewed by several media groups from around the globe.

The competition commenced today and Team Educ8 will be presenting in a few hours in the Software Design category. Sixty eight (68) teams will be competing to advance to the next round, from which only 12 will be selected. We will also know the results by later this evening.

Team Xormis will be presenting for the Interoperability Award on Monday, those results however will not be announced until Thursday at the World Showcase.

Imagine Cup 2010 Software Design Drawing

2010-06-22T20:32:00.001-05:00

The drawing to establish the order in which the Software Design Teams will present their projects at the World Wide Finals in Poland was recently released online. The 68 teams will be divided into 8 groups, the first 4 groups will have 9 teams presenting and the last 4 will have 8 teams presenting. Jamaica will be the 2nd team to present in the 7th group. The group is comprised of teams from the following countries:

Bulgaria

Jamaica

Saudi Arabia

Singapore

Korea

Nigeria

Uganda

Croatia

Imagine Cup 2010 SD drawing...

2010-06-22T18:15:00.000-05:00

This is the drawing to establish the order in which the Software Design Teams will present their projects at the World Wide Finals in Poland !!
The 68 teams will be divided into 8 groups, the first 4 groups will have 9 teams presenting and the last 4 will have 8 teams presenting.

Team Xormis Advances to MIcrosoft's Imagine Cup World Finals

2010-06-02T06:41:00.003-05:00

In addition to the traditional software development competition, for which Team EDUC8 from NCU/Jamaica has already won the regional finals, the Imagine Cup has additional awards for which teams from around the world can compete for. There are six awards this year, and students from the CIS Department have submitted entries for four of these:

Internet Explorer 8 Award
Interoperability Award
Next Generation Web Award
Windows Phone 7 Award

Further information on these and other awards may be found at the following site:
http://imaginecup.com/CompetitionsContent/Competition/awards_at_a_glance.aspx

Please note that teams who compete for these awards are doing so against a number of others from around the world. Team Xormis, who placed 2nd in the Regional Finals of the Software Design competition, had previously advanced to the 2nd round of the competitions for the Internet Explorer 8 and Next Generation Web Awards, and is also competing for the Interoperability Award.

Early this morning, the results were announced for these awards. Competing against the rest of the world for these awards, I am pleased to announce that Team Xormis from NCU has been selected as one of the only 3 Finalists for this award and will be traveling to Poland this year to compete against two other teams from Indonesia and Brazil for the top spot in this competition.

Visit the following website to see all the finalist.
http://imaginecup.com/Competition/Finalists.aspx

The following link provides more information about the Interoperability Award.
http://imaginecup.com/Competition/mycompetitionportal.aspx?competitionId=42

The members of Team Xormis are:

Shawn McLean
Dwayne Samuels
Derron Brown
Markel Mairs
Kenrie Hylton (Mentor)

The is a phenomenal achievement!! We congratulate Team Xormis for this historic success, as well all other participants in this year's Imagine Cup competition for their efforts. This means we will have an unprecedented two teams from NCU participating in the World Finals this year!

And the winner is....

2010-04-28T23:15:00.006-05:00

On Wednesday April 28, 2010, three teams from the Department of Computer & Information Sciences at Northern Caribbean University presented their projects for the Multi-Country Americas Finals of the Microsoft Imagine Cup competition. It is the first time that multiple teams from the same country were able to compete at this level not to mention from the same university. The teams went up against a number of other teams from various countries around the Caribbean and Central America.

Each team worked extremely hard to get to this point and develop worthy, remarkable solutions. All three teams presented their projects well and we are proud of their efforts and achievements to date.

Unfortunately only one (1) of the ten (10) qualifying teams could be selected to represent the region at the world finals in Poland in July of this year and the winner is........

Team Educ8 - "Project eSCAPE” - Northern Caribbean University - Jamaica

Best wishes to the team as they continue their journey in a bid to lift the take home First Place in the World Finals.

A Tiny Apartment Transforms into 24 Rooms

2010-04-27T23:42:00.001-05:00

Imagine Cup 2010 Update

2010-04-09T22:06:00.002-05:00

Congratulations to Nicholas Brown (Meteor Strike), a freshman in the Department of Computer and Information Sciences, for advancing to Round 2 in the Game Design category of the Imagine Cup 2010.

Imagine Cup 2010 Update

2010-04-03T21:50:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Teams Educ8 and Xormis for advancing to Round 2 in the Next Gen Web Award of the Imagine Cup 2010

Imagine Cup 2010 update

2010-04-03T16:44:00.001-05:00

Congratulations to Team Xormis for advancing to Round 2 in the Internet Explorer 8 Award of the Imagine Cup 2010

Symbian^3

2010-02-20T14:26:00.000-05:00

Track Down Your Stolen Laptop

2010-02-16T15:59:00.004-05:00

Prey is a lightweight application that will help you track and find your laptop if it ever gets stolen. It works in all operating systems and not only is it Open Source but also completely free.

Prey helps you locate your missing laptop by sending timed reports with a bunch of information of its whereabouts. This includes the general status of the computer, a list of running programs and active connections, fully-detailed network and wifi information, a screenshot of the running desktop and — in case your laptop has an integrated webcam — a picture of the thief.

Prey uses a remote activation system which means the program sits silently in your computer until you actually want it to run. If so, it gathers all the information and sends it to your Prey web control panel or directly to your mailbox. The thief will never know his movements are being watched.

Prey Features

Wifi autoconnect: Prey checks if there’s an active internet connection to send the information. If not, it will attempt to connect to the nearest open wifi access point available. This gives you a better chance to locate the device.

Lightweight: Yes, this is a feature. Prey is written in bash which means it has virtually no dependencies, only what its different modules need to work. This also means Prey is portable and should run in just about any computer.

Modular architecture: You can add, remove and configure the different parts of Prey as you wish. Prey is composed by modules, each one performing a specific task, so you can have it as you like.

Powerful report system: Get the list of current running programs, the recently modified files, active connections, running uptime, take a screenshot of the running desktop or even a picture of the guy who’s using the computer.

Messaging/alert system: You can alert the user he’s being chased at by sending messages which will appear on screen. You can also trigger alarms to make the message clear not only to him but also to whomever is nearby. Be careful with this one!

For more information and to download Prey visit: http://preyproject.com/

Imagine Cup MCA Regional Finalists announced

2010-01-11T21:32:00.005-05:00

The finalist teams for the Microsoft Imagine Cup Multi-Country Americas Regional finals have been announced today Monday January 11, 2010. The finalist teams represent Jamaica, Guatemala, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic.

Below is the list of teams that will participate in the regional finals:

Jamaica

Project Xormis - Northern Caribbean University
Project eSCAPE - Northern Caribbean University
Project A.L.E.R.T. - Northern Caribbean University

Guatemala

Uniendo pacientes y médicos a través de una herramienta tecnológica – Universidad Galileo
VIVIENDO LA MATERNIDAD CON TECNOLOGIA - UNIVERSIDAD MARIANO GALVEZ DE GUATEMALA
Control de la Prenatalidad - Universidad Rafael Landívar & Universidad San Carlos de Guatemala
ReStudy: Estudiar es para todos - Universidad Rafael Landívar

República Dominicana

Learning Touches - Instituto Especializado de Educación Superior Loyola
Software Enviroment Clean Out - Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo y Universidad APEC

El Salvador

HELPLA.NET - Universidad de El Salvador
Tutor Virtual de Matemáticas para Educación Primaria - Universidad de El Salvador

The winner of this regional competition will go on to represent the region at the world final in Warsaw, Poland.

Keep Your Crises Small

2010-01-02T12:15:00.001-05:00

Ironing out the little problems can make it so companies can avoid big disasters. Recorded: January 31, 2007.

Purdue University Adds Twitter and Facebook to Class Participation

2009-12-13T22:34:00.003-05:00

by Barb Dybwad

Students at Purdue University are experimenting with a new application developed at the school called Hotseat that integrates Facebook, Twitter, and text messaging to help students “backchannel” during class.

People who have attended technology conferences in the past several years are already familiar with this phenomenon, where social media is leveraged to allow the participants in a session or panel to comment and exchange questions and ideas in real-time. At Purdue, Hotseat is used to allow students to comment on the class as it proceeds, with everyone in the class including the professor able to see the messaging as it happens.

The Hotseat software allows students to use either Facebook, Twitter, Myspace (MySpace), or SMS to post messages during classes, or they can simply log in to the web site to post to and view the ongoing backchannel. Right now it’s only being pilot tested in two courses, but has already become a fast favorite for both teachers and students. Professor Sugato Chakravarty, whose personal finance course is one of the pilot tests, said, “I’m seeing students interact more with the course and ask relevant questions.”

And although it’s been optional for students to participate, so far 73% of the 600 or so in the pilot classes have used the software. We’ve seen Twitter become mandatory for journalism students at Australia (Australia)’s Griffith University to some negative reaction, but this is a less structured implementation which may perhaps account for its more favorable reception.

As Chakravarty goes on to note, though, the application is called “Hotseat” for a reason — and professors will have to be resilient enough to take any potential criticism or even corrections from students in real-time. Nevertheless, he cites it as a “valuable tool for enhancing learning. The students are engaged in the discussions and, for the most part, they are asking relevant questions.”

Check out a video introduction to the Hotseat application below, and let us know what you think. Does social media have a natural place in the classroom? What role should Facebook (Facebook) and Twitter (Twitter) play in education?

Ten emerging technologies to watch in 2010

2009-11-30T19:25:00.000-05:00

EE Times has compiled a list of emerging technologies that we think will be worth watching out for in 2010.

Recessions are the times of change when R&D investments get pushed to the fore. It is well known that when markets and prosperity return they never return in exactly the same form that they went away.

We have deliberately favored the hardware- and physically based side of the technology landscape, although software is also likely to increase its impact and importance in 2010.

There are also some technology trends that are so self-evident and long-term that we have not listed them. We would include amongst these the need to reduce power consumption and the need to pursue low-carbon and reduced materials content solutions. We see these as drivers for some of the more detailed technologies we list below. We don't claim to have a perfectly accurate piezoelectric crystal ball, but some technologies and some technology providers are going to change the landscape in 2010. The ten technologies listed below, in no particular order, might just be part of our changing times.

Imagine Cup 2010 Update

2009-11-20T12:01:00.002-05:00

Round 1 for Digital Media and IT Challenge has ended. Congratulations to the teams that advanced to Round 2 in their respective categories.

Digital Media

1. Russia - Orange Power

2. Egypt - "A" Production

3. Sri Lanka - Creepasoides-ALPHA

4. India - Verg3

5. Sri Lanka - Creative Eyes

6. Saudia Arabia - S&J

7. India - Innovative Thinkers

8. Sri Lanka - UD.SHA movies

9. India - poverty crushers

10. India - Green Leaves

11. United States - TEAM KIDCORP

IT Challenge

280 teams have advanced....

SilverLight 4 Released....

2009-11-19T14:02:00.001-05:00

On November 18, 2009, at the Professional Developer’s Conference in Los Angeles, Microsoft Corp. unveiled a Beta version Silverlight 4. This latest version delivers hundreds of features and controls that, when combined with the continued innovation in Microsoft’s world-class tools for designers and developers — Microsoft Visual Studio and Microsoft Expression Blend – present the leading edge in rapid, powerful application development. With printing support, rich reporting and charting, and integration with back-end systems and server products including Microsoft SharePoint, Silverlight is ready for business.

For more information visit: http://www.silverlight.net/

DCIS Students on Dean's List and Honor Roll ('09)

2009-10-30T17:21:00.003-05:00

Congratulations to the following DCIS students who achieved academic excellence and made it to this year's Dean's List and Honor Roll:

Dean's List
Magna Cum Laude (3.70-3.89)

Abigail Foster
Yvonne Ricketts

Cum Laude (3.50-3.69)

Shellaine Campbell
Rion Jefferson
Flexie Muirhead

Honor Roll (3.00-3.49)

Anthony Anglin
Shanae Clarke
Dewight Flinch
Dudley Hugg
Elyandra Hylton
Dwight Johnson
Alex Lewis
Cornel Lewis
Marja Malcolm
Kadeen Nelson
Le-Vaughn Roper
Christine Swaby
Chevanese Thomas
Ricardo Thompson

ServerQuest II

2009-10-22T00:37:00.005-05:00

Do you remember playing the vintage computers games King's Quest or Leisure Suit Larry? If so, you should enjoy Microsoft TechNet's ServerQuest II game. It emulates the same sort of pixilated graphics and cheesy humor as those classics, but it's aimed at IT professionals and computer specialists.

In the game, which is created with Silverlight and runs in your browser, you play an IT pro (either Matt or Alicia) whose objective is to keep the network running smoothly while encountering a host of technical problems that are presented as games and puzzles, ranging from the absurd to things you might encounter in the real life of an IT pro. As you work through the tasks, you'll learn about and use Microsoft technologies to solve problems, encounter hidden Easter Eggs, earn geek points, and get to post your high scores for others to compete against. The game is really very humorous -- and you might even learn some interesting troubleshooting techniques as you play.

Writing the Imagine Cup Proposal

2009-10-13T18:31:00.001-05:00

A proposal is simply a description of what your project is and how you and your team will go about it. The proposal should be no more than 4 pages long and should include, but may not need four main the following, a Problem Definition, an Overview, Technologies Used, and your System Architecture.

The outline below gives suggestions on what can go into a proposal. Your proposal does not have to look like the outline below, for example any sub-header may be a main header. However you may write your proposal this outline may help you by giving you a starting point. Please note that the outline below is not a proposal, it is only an outline of a proposal.

Cover

Title

Team Name

Project Name
Team Members
Contact Info

Intro

What is this document for?
What to expect in this document?

Problem Definition

What is the problem you are trying to solve
How you plan to solve it
Brief description of project
Generally how it works
Who will benefit
How your project applies to this year's Imagine Cup Theme

Technologies/software/tools

Any tools you might use in your project

System Architecture

A description of your architecture
A visual representation of your architecture