This past week in Open Source we had an opportunity to hear what some of the groups had been working on for the past couple of weeks. I enjoyed hearing about the different types of contributions everyone was able to contribute in such a short amount of time. My group took a slightly different approach in our project. Instead of working on multiple smaller contributions, we decided to work with the Oppia team and figure out what larger projects they needed help with.

This week was a pretty short one in Open Source. As a class we did Stand Ups again and learned about everyone’s progress thus far. Individually, my team and I continued working on our contribution for Oppia.

This week in Open Source we continued working on our Group Project Contributions in addition to wrapping up our discussion regarding Humanitarian Free and Open Source Projects. We also had the opportunity to learn more about Open Source Business Models and discuss some of the previous guest speakers we had and share our thoughts on Open Source in a Corporate context.

This semester is pretty unusual given the current circumstances. Coronavirus is an issue that is affecting people globally. In an effort to help people and hospitals a number of open source efforts have been made. In class this week we discussed just a few of these projects.

This week my group and I continued to work on our contribution for Oppia, and we also got to hear how the other groups are contributing to their projects.

This week in Open Source we had the opportunity to explore the benefits of Open Source by reading The Cathedral and the Bazaar, an essay by Eric S. Raymond and by hearing from the Verizon Media Director of Open Source and Technology Gil Yehuda.

This past week was an exciting week with regards to my group’s project! To recap I am working with Priya and Selam on an Open Source Contribution for Oppia. About two weeks ago we reached out to Oppia and figured out together what our project would be. We will be working on a Partnership Package; essentially we are tasked with developing two new tabs on the Oppia Website. The tabs, For Parents and For Teachers will provide new users of Oppia with an introduction to Oppia’s impact, a guide on how to navigate the site, and tips on how to motivate students.

Despite the chaoticness of this week (switching from in person lectures to online) I must say in this class the transition was pretty smooth as we moved onto the next stage - contributing to an open source project as a group. This past Wednesday I found out who I would be working with for the rest of the semester. My new team members and I then spent the rest of the week deciding what project we would be working on exactly and what kind of contribution we would be making.

What an exciting week in Open Source! Not only we were fortunate enough to hear from Vicky Steeves again, but we also had the opportunity to really dive deep into some cool open source projects that we could potentially contribute to by the end of the semester.

Open Source this week was jam packed with exposure to real life Open Source Projects. On Monday we focused on projects that I could see myself potentially contributing to and on Wednesday we got an inside look on what Open Source looks like in an industry environment. Aside from learning more about Open Source I also took this week as an opportunity to finally start making contributions of my own. Prior to this class I do not think I would have had the confidence to make any sort of Open Source contribution, but I am really looking forward to making more and potentially larger contributions over the semester and beyond this course.

This week I had the pleasure of hearing from Deena Engel and Vicky Steeves, both experts of “Open Data”. My peers and I learned about the various resources and tools one uses when working with Open Data, the challenges around working with propriety data, how to “clean” data, and overall the possibilities and applications of working with open data.

Prior to February 3rd, I had no idea what was involved when creating a browser extension. As of February 12th my team and I have developed a simple, but fully functional Firefox browser extension. One of the best things about being a developer is how fast you can see a project through with an abundance of resources both online and in my case, offline with my team members. I do not have a strong Javascript background but I was able to finish the project both through online tutorials and relying on my team members to help with parts I did not have much experience with.

This week I was super excited to start coding, and I really enjoyed working in a group. In my previous computer science classes I have not had as many opportunities as I would have liked to collaborate on projects. Even when I did work with others we did not use formal channels liked Github and Slack. Keeping a live log made the process so much simpler and it helped us come up with and delegate the tasks of our project efficiently. Over the past week my group and I have been developing a Firefox Browser Extension that simulates a coin flip and a dice roll. Today (February 9th) we just finished up the backend and in the next few days hope to add finishing touches to the design.

One of the reasons why I love being apart of the technology community is how collaborative and willing people are to help each other. Over the years, I have been able to leverage outside tools, existing technology and have had access to numerous resources that have allowed me to build my own apps, websites, and tools. While I do enjoy working on my own projects, I have come to understand and appreciate the open source movement where we are all working together towards a common goal. I want to contribute to the community that has helped me grow as a developer which is part of the reason why I was interested in taking Open Source this semester.