Business majors classify trees in yearlong Urban Forest Project
Kelly Enos
Issue date: 9/10/08 Section: News
A new Web site set up by SJSU students for the city will make it easy for residents to find the information that they need relating to classification of trees.
As a part of the Gary J. Sbona Honors Program at SJSU, several business students undertake a two-semester class in which they are assigned a significant project to be completed during finals.
The idea for the Urban Forest Project originated with San Jose's arborist Ralph Mize, who approached the MIS Honors Practicum Instructor Jeanne Sawyer and asked if the students could help by building a Web site.
It was created by students Rick Dexter, Chienfei Connie Chen and Kiran Sharma who would put all of the information needed about trees in one central place.
Before the Web site existed, all of the information was scattered in multiple departments in the city and made it difficult to clarify, Sawyer said.
Sawyer said she chose the projects herself.
"The most important factors are the technology involved and quality of learning experiences the project will provide." she said.
The city has been a valued partner for a number of projects, Sawyer said.
"The technology requirements are challenging, the students get an opportunity to work with a large organization (another challenge) and at the same time we can provide a valuable service for our city."
The city was responsible for the content of the Web site, Sawyer said, and the students were in charge of building the structure to make the information available.
The main point of the project is to teach the students about project management tools and methods within the classroom, which students can use to manage their own projects. In the case of the Urban Forest Project, the students worked over the allotted amount of time at the end of the semester to make the Web site fully available.
Kiran Sharma, one of the students who worked on the project, said this was just what she expected from this class.
As a part of the Gary J. Sbona Honors Program at SJSU, several business students undertake a two-semester class in which they are assigned a significant project to be completed during finals.
The idea for the Urban Forest Project originated with San Jose's arborist Ralph Mize, who approached the MIS Honors Practicum Instructor Jeanne Sawyer and asked if the students could help by building a Web site.
It was created by students Rick Dexter, Chienfei Connie Chen and Kiran Sharma who would put all of the information needed about trees in one central place.
Before the Web site existed, all of the information was scattered in multiple departments in the city and made it difficult to clarify, Sawyer said.
Sawyer said she chose the projects herself.
"The most important factors are the technology involved and quality of learning experiences the project will provide." she said.
The city has been a valued partner for a number of projects, Sawyer said.
"The technology requirements are challenging, the students get an opportunity to work with a large organization (another challenge) and at the same time we can provide a valuable service for our city."
The city was responsible for the content of the Web site, Sawyer said, and the students were in charge of building the structure to make the information available.
The main point of the project is to teach the students about project management tools and methods within the classroom, which students can use to manage their own projects. In the case of the Urban Forest Project, the students worked over the allotted amount of time at the end of the semester to make the Web site fully available.
Kiran Sharma, one of the students who worked on the project, said this was just what she expected from this class.
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