How to Build a Dynamic Course Scheduling Feature in Flutter

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Introduction


Creating an academic advising app can greatly enhance a student's ability to effectively plan their study paths. In this blog post, we'll focus on developing a dynamic semester planning feature using Flutter and Firebase. This feature will prioritize remaining courses based on prerequisites, credit hours, and semester availability. We will explain how to build a custom algorithm to dynamically reorder and suggest an optimal semester plan whenever a student adds, removes, or delays a course.

Understanding the Core Components

Prerequisites


Prerequisites are essential courses that a student must complete before enrolling in advanced courses. Incorporating prerequisites into your planning algorithm ensures students are taking the necessary courses in a logical order. For instance, if a student wants to take "Advanced Calculus", they must complete "Calculus I" and "Calculus II" first.

Credit Hours


Each course typically has a designated number of credit hours, representing the workload associated with that course. A thoughtful semester plan should balance the number of credit hours across the courses to prevent overwhelming students, especially those who may have work or other commitments.

Semester Offerings


Not all courses are offered each semester. This adds another layer to your planning algorithm, as students must be aware of which courses are available each semester. Implementing checks for course availability will enhance the accuracy of the proposed semester plan.

Developing the Dynamic Scheduling Algorithm


To create a useful dynamic scheduling feature, we'll break down the steps needed to build the algorithm and integrate it with your Flutter app.

Step 1: Define Course Data Model


Start by defining a Course class in Dart that will hold information about each course.

class Course {
final String name;
final int creditHours;
final List<String> prerequisites;
final bool isOfferedThisSemester;

Course({
required this.name,
required this.creditHours,
required this.prerequisites,
required this.isOfferedThisSemester,
});
}

Step 2: Create the Course List


Now, create a list of courses. You can retrieve this data from Firebase, but for simplicity, let's define a sample list in the Dart code.

List<Course> courses = [
Course(name: 'Calculus I', creditHours: 4, prerequisites: [], isOfferedThisSemester: true),
Course(name: 'Calculus II', creditHours: 4, prerequisites: ['Calculus I'], isOfferedThisSemester: true),
Course(name: 'Advanced Calculus', creditHours: 4, prerequisites: ['Calculus I', 'Calculus II'], isOfferedThisSemester: false),
Course(name: 'Physics I', creditHours: 3, prerequisites: [], isOfferedThisSemester: true),
Course(name: 'Physics II', creditHours: 3, prerequisites: ['Physics I'], isOfferedThisSemester: true),
];

Step 3: Implement the Reordering Logic


Next, create a method that will take in the list of courses and reorder them based on prerequisites, credit hours, and whether they are being offered this semester.

List<Course> reorderCourses(List<Course> availableCourses, List<Course> currentSchedule) {
List<Course> orderedCourses = [];

// Filter courses based on prerequisites
for (Course course in availableCourses) {
if (course.isOfferedThisSemester &&
(course.prerequisites.isEmpty || currentSchedule.any((c) => course.prerequisites.contains(c.name)))) {
orderedCourses.add(course);
}
}

// Sort courses by credit hours (descending)
orderedCourses.sort((a, b) => b.creditHours.compareTo(a.creditHours));

return orderedCourses;
}

Step 4: React to Course Changes


To ensure your app reflects changes in real-time, you should set up listeners that trigger the reordering logic whenever rows are added, removed, or modified. For instance, using Firestore's snapshot listeners can achieve this:

FirebaseFirestore.instance.collection('students').doc(studentId).snapshots().listen((snapshot) {
List<Course> studentSchedule = // retrieve course list from Firestore;
List<Course> suggestedCourses = reorderCourses(courses, studentSchedule);
// Update your state with suggestedCourses
});

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How can I integrate Firebase with my Flutter app?


To integrate Firebase, you'll first need to add Firebase to your Flutter project through the Firebase console, then utilize the firebase_core and cloud_firestore packages in your Flutter app.

What if a course has multiple prerequisites?


The provided algorithm checks if any of the prerequisites for a given course are satisfied. This way, students will be able to enroll in courses as soon as they meet any of the specified prerequisites.

Can I add more parameters for planning?


Absolutely! You can enhance this algorithm by considering a student's workload, personal preferences, or even GPA requirements to create a more tailored experience.

Conclusion


Incorporating a dynamic semester planning feature in your academic advising app can greatly enhance its functionality and usability. By considering course prerequisites, credit hours, and semester offerings, students can make informed decisions that contribute to their academic success. Using Dart and Firebase streamlines the data handling and provides real-time updates, ensuring that your recommendations are always relevant. Now, it's time to implement this feature and help students achieve their academic goals efficiently!

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