CSP Final Review

CSP Full Year Reflection – Soumini Kandula

“This is the culmination of everything I’ve learned this year—from JavaScript basics to full-stack engineering, from brainstorming with my team to presenting our final work at Night at the Museum.”

Trimester 3 – Final Sprint

Illumina Interactive Biotech Projects

1. Trivia Quiz (Bias-Free Learning)

  • Overview: Built a dynamic biotech quiz app that queries Gemini via an API prompt and returns JSON-formatted questions and answers.
  • Technical Features:
    • API Development with Flask
    • Token Authorization to access Gemini
    • Frontend-Backend Integration using async fetch
    • JSON Parsing and DOM manipulation
    • CRUD Operations for local quiz management
    • Postman Testing for endpoint verification
  • Skills & Concepts Practiced:
    • Software Engineering Practices: Planning changes, testing API endpoints, and building help documentation
    • Data Types: JSON objects, arrays, strings
    • Control Structures: Async functions, error handling

2. 10-Year Heart Disease Risk Predictor

  • Overview: Combines a machine learning model and Framingham study equation to calculate user health risk.
  • Technical Implementation:
    • Trained RandomForestRegressor on health datasets (Pandas/Numpy)
    • Used a medical formula from literature to verify prediction
    • Final output = Average of ML prediction and formula
  • Skills Gained:
    • Software Development Lifecycle Practices: Version control, testing, debugging
    • Data Management: Scaling, cleaning, analyzing large CSV datasets
    • ML Concepts: Multi-output regression, model training/testing
    • Operators: Mathematical expressions and boolean logic

Book Journal – Personal Project

  • Overview: A full-stack book tracking app. Users can add books with title, author, summary, cover URL, and reactions.
  • Tech Used: Python (Flask), JavaScript, SQLite
  • Features:
    • Card-style frontend rendering for each book
    • API-based input forms with CRUD logic
    • Database integration for persistent state
  • Concepts Applied:
    • Software Engineering Practices: Commented code, modular design
    • API development
    • Used Python, Javascript, and SQLite
    • Classes: Used Python classes for API routes and book objects

Trimester 2 – Mid-Year Focus

Bookworms Project

  • Feature: Random book generator with search bar, comment, and threaded reply sections.
  • Backend: Flask endpoints with structured routes and conditional queries
  • Frontend: JavaScript-based interaction, rendered comment sections, and reply logic
  • Skills Developed:
    • Control Structures: Nested conditions for comment threading
    • Data Types: Arrays and JSON objects for book data
    • Input/Output: Form validation and storage
    • CRUD Operations

Trimester 1 – Foundation

Initial Book Project

  • Project: Frontend-only book app with LocalStorage for reviews and likes
  • Languages: HTML/CSS/JavaScript
  • Concepts Learned:
    • Input/Output: HTML forms and DOM elements
    • Control Structures: Loops, if/else, error catching
    • Operators: Math and string manipulation

Key CS Principles Mastered This Year

  • Data Types: Numbers, strings, booleans, arrays, JSON, SQLite tables
  • Operators: Arithmetic, string operations, boolean logic
  • Control Structures: Iteration, conditionals, try/except, .then()/.catch()
  • Input/Output: DOM manipulation, HTML forms, frontend data handling
  • Classes: Python class definitions, instantiations, method handling
  • Software Engineering: Planning, issues, code comments, building docs
  • SDLC: GitHub flow (fork, branch, PR, merge), testing
  • Retrospective Practices: Demos, reviews, presenting, reflecting

Homework Certification & Yearlong Practices

Night at the Museum (June 2025)

Projects Presented:

  • Biotech Trivia Quiz – real-time API-fed learning tool to teach people about DNA and biotechnology, sourced from Google’s Gemini API to reduce creator bias in the questions
  • Disease Risk Predictor – personalized health analytics tool to help others understand what factors contribute to the risk of stroke and heart disease

What I Learned:

  • How to present technical projects to general audiences
  • Explaining the coding process through documentation
  • The importance of visual design and responsiveness
  • How to answer questions about backend structure and data flow

Favorite Project I Saw:

  • Annie – Biology Chatbot from Period 2
    • Used voice recognition and AI to explain biotech concepts
    • Showed incredible creativity and user interaction quality

GitHub Contributions & Stats!

Contributions

  • Issues: Opened and tracked progress for every feature with checklists
  • Commits: Documented code updates with detailed commit messages
  • Pull Requests: Merged features with clear descriptions and testing logs
  • Burndown Charts: Used to plan progress and check off milestones
  • Help Docs: Authored markdown-based docs for Book Journal and Risk Predictor

AP Exam & MCQ Reflections

Scores:

  • Trimester 1: [Insert score]
  • Trimester 2: [Insert score]
  • Trimester 3: [Insert score]

AP Exam:

  • MCQ: Strong understanding of algorithms and data
  • FRQ: Confident due to deep project experience
  • Overall: I applied everything from class, especially full-stack project knowledge