For East senior, necessity is the mother of invention

Pam Schiff
Posted 1/27/16

High school students have a lot to contend with –much more so now than in the past.

One of the things Cranston students had to deal with was the process of uploading artifacts into the RIEPS …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

For East senior, necessity is the mother of invention

Posted

High school students have a lot to contend with –much more so now than in the past.

One of the things Cranston students had to deal with was the process of uploading artifacts into the RIEPS (Rhode Island Electronic Portfolio System) computer system for presentations of their senior portfolios as a graduation requirement.

In the fall, the district notified students that RIEPS would not longer be accessible. All students were required to remove their artifacts from RIEPS and upload them to Google Docs.

For the 359 seniors at Cranston High School East, this was one more added stress to their lives. As seniors, they had accumulated three-and-a-quarter years’ worth of tasks in their portfolios already. Having to transfer them all was going to be a time-consuming, daunting task.

For senior Rashard Hinds this was not acceptable.

“We as seniors already have so much on our plates,” he said. “This was a real crunch time for us. It was very restrictive, coming in the end of the quarter. We had to take screen shots, download files, save on a computer, enter into Google Docs, pick and choose which artifacts we wanted to take.”

Hinds said he knew it took some students over an hour just to move eight tasks.

“I knew there had to be a better, faster, more efficient way to get this done. I identified a problem, I wanted a solution and I went to work,” he said.

Hinds, a Cranston native attended Edgewood Highland Elementary School and Park View Middle School.

“I was in the NEED program, with Mrs. Joanne Spaziano and it had a big impact on my science interests. I want to make technology that is sustainable and functional for years to come,” he said.

Over the course of a two-week period, he would work two to three hours a day building a platform.

“It all was based on my mindset that there must be an easier way to accomplish a seemingly tedious task that would take over 45 minutes, so I developed a platform from scratch to download artifacts from RIEPS and packaged it in a manner that any student would simply download a single file and drag and drop it into the new Google Drive, all within five minutes,” he said.

Students log on to Hinds’ website, and enter their username, email, and password for RIEPS, and the back end would select tasks available based on their graduation year. Then the server would turn the information into a ZIP file, and all they had to do was drag the file onto the Google platform.

“The code was encrypted and not accessible to me. I offered the website for $5 to the first few people who signed up. As the deadline for RIEPS closing got closer, and more people starting to contact me, the price went up to $10,” he said. “I used self-taught knowledge to accomplish this. If anything, I think this should inspire other students to get into coding and computer science, it teaches you how to think.”

“The development of his code to transfer graduation portfolio artifacts from one computer application to another was a major accomplishment. However, I have a feeling it is not the pinnacle of his success but just the beginning of many ideas that this young mind is capable of analyzing and finding solutions. He has developed his skills for thinking outside the box for a solution. When most would say it cannot be done, it often fuels Rashard to think otherwise. These traits will no doubt be a key to his success in the future,” said Andrew Ruscito, a technology teacher at East.

Approximately 125 students used Hinds’ service for their portfolios. Of those students, Hinds could determine that 85 percent were seniors.

Fellow senior Steven Ellis was thrilled with the program.

“It was the easiest process for me to do and it basically did all the work for me. I am so grateful for the program. I paid $5 and would have paid more. I am not sure what I would have done without Rashard’s program,” he said.

Hinds had his technology teacher, Robert LaBanca, run tests on the program prior to offering it to others.

Hinds is deeply motivated by Elon Musk, a South African-born, Canadian-American business magnate, engineer, inventor, and investor. He is the CEO and CTO of SpaceX, CEO and product architect of Tesla Motors, chairman of SolarCity, and co-chairman of OpenAI.

“He looks beyond Facebook, Twitter or Snapchat. He wants to have a societal impact. Makes me think what I want my legacy to be,” Hinds said.

Hinds actually built his own 3-D printer in a week. “I want to be able to produce prosthesis arms and legs for children and veterans,” he said.

His goal is to build better hardware and software, and make it accessible for everyone.

Hinds personal mentor, Arnell Millhouse, is the founder of the group Intracitygeeks.org, which helps bring technology and computers to underprivileged children in the inner city of Providence.

“I am so proud to be part of this program. We are doing amazing work and seeing all these kids using technology, it makes me know I have to stay on my game,” he said.

Cranston East Principal Sean Kelly is impressed with Hind’s accomplishment.

“Rashard was able to identify a problem that was affecting almost every student in our school, and came up with a plan to fix it. I know his fellow classmates appreciated his program, and his teachers were impressed with his skills. He will definitely be one to watch for in the future,” he said.

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here