Byte Jam showcases software development students

OTTUMWA — It's not exactly a final exam, but the Byte Jam does mark the end of the term for Indian Hills Community College computer software development students.

Slated for the last week of the fall term every year, the Byte Jam incorporates what students have learned during the term into a project that will demonstrate their skills to potential employers.

This year's Byte Jam requires students of the program to design either a mobile application or a website with a 1980s theme. Students work in teams from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on three specified days to complete the projects. "They can't work outside that time," said Susan Wilson, an instructor in the computer software development program.

High school teams will also be competing in Byte Jam, but they aren't limited in the amount of time they can spend on their projects, Wilson said.

All teams will present their projects for judging at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Hellyer Student Life Center on the IHCC Ottumwa campus. Students will vote on the projects from noon to 12:45 p.m., and winners will be announced at an awards ceremony at 2 p.m.

Speakers from Keyot and Principal Financial Group will speak to students about career opportunities in information technology.

Byte Jam teaches the students team building, problem solving and project management, said Wilson. It displays the students' skills to eight or nine companies who will have representatives at the event.

Wilson said companies routinely contact IHCC to find new employees. "They went out and did research on our website, and they like our curriculum," Wilson said. IHCC is attractive to employers because it offers both mainframe and web courses, she said.

Each year, businesses from Des Moines, Fairfield and Ottumwa visit the campus to discuss with instructors changes that are taking place in the business community. "We make changes [to the curriculum] so that we keep up to date," said Wilson.

Mainframe is "older technology, what we (he and Wilson) would have learned in school," said Kevin Throckmorton, professor of computer software development. "The internet is a big part of what we do now. Part of being a programmer now is going out to find code" on the internet.

"The code is entirely different," said Throckmorton. "Not that you don't use some of the same concepts," he said, but the web development is more interactive, like using an ATM or fueling a car or using mobile apps.

Mainframe technology works behind the scenes, Throckmorton said. "A lot of times mainframe will run at night," doing what he calls "batch processing."

"We're doing all the new stuff," said Wilson, "but we're still providing support for all the old [technology]." That's what makes IHCC students attractive and more marketable to potential employers, she said.

"We have to be able to marry the technology," said Throckmorton.

Many companies are switching from old tech to new, said Wilson. "Our students can do that because they can read the old code."

Throckmorton said companies in the Midwest are familiar with Indian Hills and its computer software development program. "Most of this area has heard of this degree," he said, and will seek out IHCC students. The prospect of job placement after graduation becomes a selling point for the IHCC program.

Reporter Winona Whitaker can be contacted at wwhitaker@ottumwacourier.com and followed on Twitter @courierwinona.

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