The Information Technology sector is expanding at a prolific rate and now affects all facets of business and the economy. According to the Information and Communication Technology Council (ICTC) IT hiring requirements in Canada for 2007-2010 will reach 89,000 positions, far exceeding projected output from universities and colleges. Another ICTC report lists IT Staff (primarily programmers/developers) as one of the top 10 jobs that employers are having difficulty filling.
This concentration area prepares students for positions as software developers / computer programmers, software quality control specialists, software testers and other similar positions, all in high demand.
At AVC, it’s all about the student. Students who want to learn programming will have an opportunity to practice their skills in an environment that they can enjoy, and we do everything we can to find engaging, challenging projects for our students.
Provided with an intensive training in programming languages, techniques and environments, our students are given ample opportunity to realize their strengths and interests, and apply their new skill in realistic projects relevant to the IT industry. That’s why our graduates are ready to take on work challenges when their diploma is completed.
Students research the robot specifications and add some hardware components just before programming this robot.
The students applied real-time Java programming to get this robot to read sensors and move through a maze. The five week experience engaged students with working in the same language and development environment as many Nova Scotia companies are using today (Java/Eclipse).
Students implement J.H. Conway's Game of Life using the C programming language and OpenGL library in the Eclipse development environment.
The cells are born and die according to specific rules, and the colony pattern changes from moment to moment creating different designs such as the design shown. The project reinforces students' problem solving and math skills and demonstrates their importance in programming. It is also a brief introduction to the very same OpenGL library that is used in many commercial game consoles. Defining a new, 3D version of the original Game of Life is an instant, tempting challenge!
Taken from an assignment in Java programming, the Java applet above displays 3D shapes, which spin and move across the screen.
The program stores and retrieves the movement parameters in a database using the JDBC API, and controls screen updates with multithreading. Students see the Java Applet running within a Web browser on UNIX and Windows systems. Also, students are introduced to the Java policy file, which defines applet security allowing (or not) the Java Applet to have access to local PC files.
A three dimensional tic-tac-toe game programmed in C# using Microsoft’s DirectX graphic library is used to show the principles of object-oriented design.
The Microsoft Studio DirectX development environment gives students an opportunity to see how mesh objects are placed on a graphics screen, and how to change the location and colour of these mesh objects.
“NSCC has built a great foundation for me to continue building off of as I progress through the workforce.”
Mitchell Wells, CARIS Geomatics Software Solutions 2007 Graduate
“I have now completed the academic phase of the program and have entered a ten-week work experience phase. This course has brought my programming skills up to today’s standard.”
Harry Vincent, CFB Greenwood 2007 Graduate