After a few weeks of planning, students who are enrolled in Assistant Professor Bren Raffaelly’s Information Technology course at ˿Ƶ Tech began working with their newest “client” the Malin Cemetery. “These projects are excellent opportunities for students to experience an entire systems development lifecycle process,” explained Raffaelly, who has been teaching the course for 2 years.
The database application will help Klamath Falls residents and visitors to easily locate their loved ones in Malin Cemetery. It will also help the Malin Cemetery staff create, manage and store the cemetery data. The paper-based system they currently use is not as efficient, searchable or easy to use as an electronic database of information.
Neumeyer said, “We are pleased to have a willing partnership with ˿Ƶ Tech’s Information Technology class in helping get our handwritten records brought up to the computer age.” By updating their records, Neumeyer hopes to have a system in place that will make it easier to look up specific plot information, for example. The database will also make it much easier for the Board to store and retrieve information.
The students’ engagement with local organizations to solve community problems is a key component of ˿Ƶ Tech’s hands-on, applied approach to learning in the field and on-the-job. “Our class works on local business projects while learning how those projects are managed and completed,” commented ˿Ƶ Tech student Floyd Young, a junior who is managing the student-led project. “We are really excited to do this project with the Malin Cemetery Board, and gaining direct experience that will help us once we’re in the workforce.”
The course the students are in, Systems Analysis II, requires teams to work with clients to help analyze and define the business requirements that the project will satisfy. The students then create documentation and models for a proposed system, in this case, a database application. Finally, the students build and implement the application for the client. The skill sets students utilize in these real world projects are systems analysis, database development, computer programming, user and technical documentation, and training. All of the projects the students work on in the course need to be smaller to medium sized projects that can be completed within the 10-week timeframe of the class.
Students are currently in the process of building the database for the cemetery and expect to have the project completed in mid-March.
For more information regarding the project or to inquire about how the Information Technology Department can assist your organization, contact Bren
