In this section, we will describe the objectives and functions of the three course components of our capstone project: (1) Senior Seminar, (2) Senior Project I, and (3) Senior Project II.
The Senior Seminar Class
There are three primary objectives for the Senior Seminar: 1) Learn cutting-edge technology in CS&IT, 2) Refine written communication skills, and, most importantly, 3) Develop public speaking skills.
Course grading is based on: 1) In-class presentations (30%), 2) Writing (30%), and 3) Participation (40%). The most important aspect of the course is the 10–15-minute final presentation.
In the first two to three weeks, the instructor covers general areas of CS&IT, focusing on topics that may be useful to students in their project interests. Students are then divided into groups based on their interests and encouraged to learn about various projects.
In the Spring Semester 2020, students were interested in mobile computing, web programming, cognitive security, scalable energy with AI, and robotics. (I always said that this class mainly talk about “other’s research work.” It is not necessary to make a close connection to your own research in the senior project class.)
In the following weeks, instructors usually choose to give formal presentations on certain popular topics in computer science. For instance, for the previous two semesters, I have given talks on data science. We also invite other faculty members and industry professionals to give talks. Throughout the semester, there are usually 2-3 faculty members and two industry professionals who come and speak to the class.
To improve their presentation skills, students are asked for suggestions on topics they are interested in and video examples of good presentations are posted to Blackboard. Students are also assigned to watch related YouTube videos and write summary essays as homework.
Student are asked to produce a one-page PPT with their title and abstract during class and for the midterm, each student is asked to give a 3–5-minute presentation of their topic for practice. In previous years, there was only one final presentation required. However, this “rehearsal” is a great opportunity for students to receive feedback on their presentation before their final and gain more public speaking experience.
For the final project, students prepare 10-12 PPT slides to give as a formal presentation.