THON Technology Committee

Projects
The Dash Team


Dash Team solved a perennial THON Weekend problem in 2020 by implementing a portal closure tracking system on the site. This system scanned spectator wristbands in and out of full BJC portals using a tablet camera and barcode detection software. The system replaced various pen-and-paper solutions used in the past, greatly increasing productivity and minimizing human error.

The Dash Team


Dash Team solved a perennial THON Weekend problem last year by implementing a portal closure tracking system on the site. This system scanned spectator wristbands in and out of full BJC portals using a tablet camera and barcode detection software. The system replaced various pen-and-paper solutions used in the past, greatly increasing productivity and minimizing human error.

The Special Projects Team


One of the platforms that the Special Projects team designs is for in-store merchandise sales and keeping track of transaction histories and Organization crediting. Named "Point of Sales Technology" (POST), it makes exchanges and customer transactions streamlined and trackable, POST also communicates with THINK to maintain an inventory system across stores. Through this project, our team had the opportunity to make a functional project from the ground up while helping the THON community, by making the user experience at THON stores better and help keep track of resources and expenses.

The Systems Team


Over the years, The Systems team has migrated several THON sites to Amazon Web Services (AWS). This migration has used many industry-standard tools and practices, such as Docker and continuous integration and deployment. We now utilize various AWS services such as the Relational Database Service, Elastic Container Service, and CloudFront to ensure the site can meet high demands in web traffic. The use of AWS helps the Technology committee to scale the technology infrastructure so that everyone can continue to visit and use THON's websites.

The Systems Team


The Systems team migrated Dash (dash.thon.org) to Amazon Web Services (AWS). This migration used many industry-standard tools and practices, such as Docker and continuous integration and deployment. Various AWS services were used, such as the Relational Database Service, Elastic Container Service, and CloudFront, to ensure the site can meet high demands in web traffic. The use of AWS helps the Technology committee to scale the technology infrastructure so that everyone can continue to visit and use THON's websites.

The THINK Team


In 2020, the THINK team launched a new site for our Four Diamonds Families. This site provides families the opportunity to register to be involved with THON and pair with Organizations. Throughout this process, the THINK team had the opportunity to interact with numerous families and the Family Relations Committee in order to build and maintain this site and ensure families are registered for events throughout the THON year.

The THON.org Team


The THON.org team has worked on multiple design challenges throughout the year for all of the THON.org sites. One big project the team took on recently was restructuring photos.thon.org to allow for more efficient uploading from the Photography Committee. Through plugin research and testing for Wordpress, a process was developed to help the Photography Committee upload the images they take for THON year round more efficiently. This in turn helps the public see their hard work, and those in the photos have one place to find all the content.

The THON.org Team


The THON.org team worked on multiple design challenges throughout the year for all of the THON.org sites. A big project the team took on was restructuring photos.thon.org to allow for more efficient uploading from the Photography Committee. Through plugin research and testing for Wordpress, a process was developed to help the Photography Committee upload the images they take for THON year round more efficiently. This in turn helps the public see their hard work, and those in the photos have one place to find all the content.

The UI/UX Team


In 2020, the UI/UX Team worked on a project to help make sure THON Volunteers can log onto the THON servers more easily and securely. This involved designing the THON login screen to encapsulate the THON brand but also make it easy and efficient to sign into a website. This design allows volunteers to log on to THON sites similar to how they would log onto any Penn State sites with their student account.

Technology We Use