Tag: gerontechnology

Celebrating the life and passions of Dr. Jean Coppola

We are deeply saddened to share that our much loved Pace community member, professor of information technology, and friend, Jean Coppola, passed away on Sunday October 29th, 2017.

As an integral part of our community, Jean leaves an incredible legacy behind: the creation and management of the WestchesterSMART Mobile App Development Bowl, which ran for three consecutive years with increasing attendance and success; her outstanding work in her life’s passion of gerontechnology, as a founding member of the Pace University Gerontechnology Program, through the mobile app contest, and through the classes she taught; the passion she instilled in her students; her incredible baking skills; her prowess on the softball field; her choir leadership; as a board member for her alma mater St Francis Prep, and so much more.

One year ago, Jean was recognized by the Westchester County Association for the second time as she received a Women in Tech Award. A month after that, she was honored at Pace for an astounding 30 years of service to the University, our students, and our greater community.

Jean has been a powerhouse in the field of technology, appearing in Westchester Magazine just this summer to discuss the critical issue of cybersecurity, an issue that is “not going to go away.”

Jean in her element wearing her famous red suit.

She has been known around Pace for being one of the sharpest dressed faculty members on campus. As recognizable for her suits as for her intelligence and creativity, Jean always made an impression whether in front of a class of students or interviewing for any one of the international publications that featured her.

And, thanks to Jean’s passion and determination to share her love of technology in the classroom, her teaching, leadership, and memory will live on in the thousands of students and colleagues she met over the years.

Here are some of the unique ways Jean instilled user experience design and empathy in her students:

Jean, you will be greatly missed by all of us at Seidenberg.

 

Third annual #WestchesterSmart Mobile App Development Bowl aims to improve lives of aging populations

Once again, the #WestchesterSmart Mobile App Development Bowl enabled hundreds of talented young high school and college students showcase their STEM skills in a competition to build apps to improve the lives of older people.

In partnership with Westchester County, this year’s iteration of the competition was its biggest yet, with over 440 students from 18 high schools and three universities taking part.

The mobile app bowl takes place over three monthly sessions, the first two consisting of intense training where students learn how to build mobile applications catered to aging populations. On the third day, which took place on Friday, April 28, at Pace University’s Pleasantville Campus, teams presented their apps and the winners were decided.

County Executive Robert P. Astorino presented the awards to the winners in a variety of categories, including awards for creativity, usability, and functionality. Winners of the YouTube Social Challenge earned trips to Google and YouTube studios in New York City, and prizes were also given for high school coach of the year and college coach of the year – the latter being won by our very own Jean Coppola.

On top of the category awards, the #WestchesterSmart award, a grand prize of $1,000 cash and swag from Panasonic was up for grabs.

“The #WestchesterSmart Mobile App Development Bowl sends a strong statement to our students, as well as our communities and businesses, that Westchester is a place where smart things are happening,” said County Executive Rob Astorino.

The grand prize was snatched up by KanjiStick, the team from the New School’s Parsons School of Design, who created an app aimed to assist older people overcome issues typically experienced when interacting with technology. The team focused on creating an app that assisted with hearing, vision, and dexterity problems, allowing users to enjoy a smoother experience.

Teams from Pace University’s Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems also took prizes in the event:

Dean Jonathan Hill with Daniel Citardi and Ricky Harris (Run DMR), and Rob Astorino

Teams Run DMR and Programmers Box took second and third prize in the Mobile App Creativity category respectively.

Team QWERTY accepts their prize for mobile app usability

Team QWERTY won second place in the Mobile App Usability category.

Programmers Box won third place for mobile app functionality

In the Mobile App Functionality category, teams Bice and Programmers Box achieved second and third place respectively.

Downtown Developers won functionality and YouTube Social Challenge awards

Tours of Google and YouTube were won by Downtown Developers, and Vida is Real.

Rob Astorino with team Vida is Real, Arton Mirakaj and George Samuels, and Dean Jonathan Hill

“Once again, we are blown away by the talent of the students who participate in the Westchester Smart Mobile App Development Bowl,” said Jonathan Hill, dean of the Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems at Pace. “Their work will improve the quality of life for older citizens throughout the area, helping them do everyday tasks and manage their lives better. This event grows every year and we hope to see even more student app developers next year.”

The full list of winners can be found at our #WestchesterSmart Mobile App site.

We would like to extend many thanks to our 2017 Partners and Sponsors, including Robert P. Astorino, Westchester County Executive; Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems at Pace University; The Westchester County Office of Economic Development; Saberpoint; conEdison; Acordia Therapeutics; XL Catlin; The Bristal: Assisted Living; New York-Presbyterian; Virginia LeTourneau; Ursuline Foley; Liberty Lines Transit, Inc.; Sal’s Pizza and Pasta; and Nancy Goodman.

Read about last year’s mobile app development bowl.

Win cash, paid internships, tech, at the #WestchesterSmart Mobile App Development Bowl

The third annual #WestchesterSMART Mobile App Development Bowl is almost ready to kick off at Pace University, but there’s still time to register for the chance to win cash prizes, paid internship, and plenty of awesome tech gear.

The Mobile App Development Bowl is run through a partnership with the Seidenberg School and Westchester County’s Office of Economic Development.

The free-to-enter event, which puts teams of college and high school students in competition to create the best mobile apps, will commence officially on February 3 with a pep rally and design and development workshops aimed to teach competitors how to build quality mobile apps.

As ever, teams must build MAAPs – Mobile Apps for Aging Populations. The prevalence of technology grows along with our population, and there is a great opportunity to use technology to improve the daily lives of people aged 65 or older.

Creating apps, hardware, and other bits of tech for aging populations is part of a field called gerontechnology, which is one of Seidenberg School’s research areas. The idea is to research ways in which technology can be used to improve the daily lives of older people, and many excellent solutions have been explored by students at the mobile app bowl in the past two years.

Despite being heavily underrepresented in the mobile app development field, the aging population is the fastest growing consumer group, meaning that a focus on older mobile users is key to keeping the app development industry vibrant and innovative.

It’s also an excellent opportunity for students from the Pace community and beyond to hone their skills, get some real world experience, and feel out potential career paths.

Over two sessions of workshops before judging on April 28, teams will work together to build an app that truly aims to do some good in the world.

Last year’s event included extensive news coverage and was attended by Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino. The series was created by Seidenberg faculty member Jean Coppola and brought 250 students to Pace’s Pleasantville campus to compete in the 2016 challenge.

If you have an idea for a mobile app or want to take part in an exciting challenge that helps the community, register today. Registrations are open for both teams and individuals, who will be placed into teams before the kick off.

Check out our dedicated #WestchesterSmart Mobile App Development Bowl page for further info.

Jean Coppola receives Women in Tech award (again!)

On October 20th, the Westchester County Association (WCA) will be recognizing five women for their extraordinary efforts in STEM fields as part of their third annual “Women in Tech” awards. One of these women happens to be our very own, Professor Jean Coppola!

The WCA started this event in 2014 in order to recognize women for their remarkable contributions and achievements while working in science, technology, math and engineering (STEM).

Professor Coppola will be recognized as an award-winning educator, author and professor of gerontechnology at Pace University.

“We are delighted at this recognition of Dr. Jean Coppola’s work,” said Seidenberg Dean Jonathan Hill. “Through her research into healthcare IT in general and gerontechnology specifically, Jean has made great contributions to the discipline and, through this work, has made vital contributions to the Westchester County community. Her work has enabled hundreds of Pace University students to become engaged with their neighbors in life saving ways and we all benefit from this work.”

Coppola has won numerous national awards for her extensive research and work with the effects of technology on the quality of life for older adults, including attitudes towards aging and cognitive functioning.

We can’t wait for Professor Coppola to receive this award on October 20th. Want to see it happen? You can attend!

Congratulations Professor Coppola!

Pace University Named as a 2012 Computerworld Honors Laureate

A recent review of Professor Jean Coppola’s Gerontechnology Program by an International Data Group (IDG) panel has resulted in Pace being named a 2012 Computerworld Honors Laureate. This honor recognizes organizations and individuals that have developed innovative applications of information technology to promote positive social, economic and educational change. Continue reading “Pace University Named as a 2012 Computerworld Honors Laureate”

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