One of the main goals of the Software Engineering Practicum class is to gain experience working on an actual software development project (practicum -> practice; makes sense to me!). As students, we are understandably limited to Open-Source Software, and for this class, we are focusing on Humanitarian Free and Open-Source Software (HFOSS) projects.
I have to admit when I took an initial glance at the main page listing these HFOSS projects, I was not very inspired by the names and descriptions. I personally have a very focused interest in databases, which not many of my classmates necessarily share. Also, having worked in the non-profit sector for two and a half years before beginning my computer science degree, I have seen promise after promise of technology that is going to make all the problems in the implementation of an NGO's mission disappear overnight. Honestly, a lot of the problem is people, not technology; the people in the organization who are so focused on the mission that they are unwilling to spend the time to learn how to use the existing or new tools available to them, the people receiving the services who do not understand the value or importance of them, the people working to communicate that importance without stopping to study and understand the cultural differences and use that understanding in their communication. Enough of that rant, suffice it to say that I don't believe that technology is the "Silver Bullet" to solve the world's problems, although I do believe it can be a great tool.
After our team, the A-Team, met in class on Thursday to choose our top three options, I went back and researched those three a lot more and, thankfully, got a lot more excited about the possibilities! The projects that we chose seem to be led by people who do understand the difficulties involved with using technology in developing countries where there is not necessarily electricity or the internet, and seem to be really working to meet the felt needs of their target audience! That makes me so happy! And I'm so glad to experiencing that sense of optimism that is so important in a programmer/developer! I think we really can contribute to something good here!
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