Empathy Day

Today's activity was extremely helpful and interesting as we learned about something completely applicable and useful. We had two teachers tell us about problem defining and problem solving, and we worked in groups to solve the problem of how to welcome incoming Windsor high school students. We then had to make a prototype and present to panel of teachers and students.

My groups went around and lunch and interviewed a new teacher, a freshman, and a foreign exchange student about their experience at Windsor high school, and what makes them feel welcome or excluded. What was interesting was that clear parallels were automatically drawn between all three interviews. It turned out that people felt most welcome when they had a community, or people to belong with. These empathy interviews helped us define a problem that we could then use to find our solution.

We decided given the results of the interviews, to develop a buddy system to introduce new students and show them around. This would include application forms for both buddies, this way the service is optional.
Finally, we presented our solution to the panel, and received some feedback.

This process was extremely important for my understanding of problem solving, as it made me realize I never spend enough time defining the problem. In addition it showed me a considerable amount about teamwork and how to work with people you have conflicting views with, or that are naturally pessimistic.  I am certain that the skills I acquired will come in use throughout all corners of my life.

Thursday 4/14-Project Community research

This day along with many of the previous core days leading up to the project, was dedicated to the research and exploration of public art installations, works, and community. Im sure everyone of us had notice a project similar to ones we were introduced to today, but none of us thought of them from the prospective of someone trying to design something to bring people together.

The things that particularly stood out to me were the large red statue drum that stands on the campus at UC Santa Cruz. This captured my attention because it is a relatively simple structure that, whether serves its intended purpose or not, resulted in a community of students playing music together.


This reminded me how powerful music is in that it unifies everyone in its proximity.

We also watched videos of other projects like the Subways stairs which resulted in people hopping and dancing us subway stairs as music notes played from under them. There were also larger projects like Parking day where people pay a meter for an entire day and set up a mini park in the parking spot. We also were provided with a website full of other public works and art installations meant to exemplify how others have attempted to bring their community together.
These videos were both helpful and confusing for me and many other of my peers, as these seemed to be more a form of entertainment rather than sustainable community. These projects probably were not based off of empathy interviews, nor did they seem to solve any kind of problem. Although they were temporarily unifying and entertaining, I wouldn't call most of them "sustainable". This clouded my idea of what our projects were supposed to do. I originally wanted to do something that fit with the art pieces we had seen, a sort of walking art gallery where a painting would change as you moved. But then we were told we had to identify a need, and all of a sudden the art installations we had been shown had little connection.

Final Blog Post- Reflection

This project was ultimately the reason I chose STEM as my focus group. The way we were able to connect creativity, team work, research and Problem solving with the community and real life applications, was truly a special experience.

It taught me several things about community, the first being that the best way to make a strong community, is to provide them with the opportunity to share positive experiences. Whether its observing art, playing volleyball, or introducing your dog to another's, if the experience is positive, the community is sustainable. It also taught me that sometimes the most simple things create community. It doesn't have to be an elaborately planned event or show; often some music or art is enough to draw a crowd.

Anyone who has been in school knows that a group can make or break a project. In this case, we were extremely lucky with our group, as everyone was diligent, hard working, and willing to contribute. It was obvious from the get go that some of us were more outspoken and shared our ideas more than others in the group. At first this looked like a weakness, but once we started our process, the quieter members were extremely helpful and hardworking, and really made the project possible. It was also notable that the Team Leaders did a good job of delegating and supervising without interfering. It was also helpful that once someone finished a task, they were ready to work on a new one because it allowed us to finish our projects in time.

I was very satisfied and impressed with our group's project. Not just that the prototype was exactly how I imagined it, but also that the vision of our project really it the mark. I think instruments were a tricky task, especially 3, for only several days of building since they require so much precision and tuning. So considering the time restraints, I was very pleased with our project, especially aesthetically.

Friday 5/7- Presentation Day!!!!

Wooooooo! Today was an amazing day of presentations and the best way to wrap up our community project. First block was dedicated to perfecting our presentations, which left Second block for presenting and third block for a look into the Past/Future. During our prep time, Christophe and I rehearsed and revised our presentation while Andrew spliced the Intro Video and Grant, too sick to recite, helped us with feedback. All of the groups were extremely excited to present in front of the mysterious Panel of community members involved in some way or another with the Town Green.


Once presentation time came around, my group volunteered to go first. Christophe and I got through the presentation smoothly, and luckily were well rehearsed enough that it came pout more natural than before. The Panel seemed to love our project and they were extremely supportive and positive. It was an absolutely amazing feeling having professionals in our community excited about our idea, and tell us that they would be in contact with us once they had a design plan for the Town Green update!

The following groups proved to the Panel what innovation and creativity the STEM core possesses. They also revealed some holes in the creative and problem defining process.

Lastly, the core grouped together to bond over the movie that made us all feel like our generation is extremely behind technologically, and definitely not as fantastic as people dreamed- Back to the Future 2.

Wednesday 5/4- Final Revision and Presentation Planning

With one class left to finalize our prototypes, it is time to make our presentations, photo cards, and project video. I worked with the team leaders, Grant and Christophe, to write a script for our slide show to help prepare us for Fridays presentation. The rest of he group was split up to interview and make the video, and layout the pictures for the photo cards.

In addition, we had first block to add any final edits to the prototype. We decided after watching the wire originally attached to mallets continuously get tangled, that the best thing to do was make small holsters for them.

Monday 5/1- Reflection, revision planning, and final project planning

Today consisted of a thorough reflection of our prototype testing, brainstorming revisions to the instruments, and starting work on either a picture card of our project, a video, or the presentation for Friday. Since only a portion of the team was available for prototype testing, it was important that everyone understood what happened, and was clear about the outcome and our plans etc. Our group also planned several small changes to the prototype that were assigned to some of our engineers. Lastly, we wanted to have the three projects assigned and planned out by the end of class.

Prototype testing under the oaks

Since I was at prototype testing, I helped explain what we observed and reflect of what worked and didn't work and why, and what changes could be made. I also helped come up with a plan for Wednesday's final revisions and work. For the next three projects, I was assigned to the presentation aspect, so I worked with Christophe to make a story board for our power point, and developed the main idea that we want to get across to our panel on Friday.
  

Here are some themes we have to introduce our project


I helped come up with several aspects of the power point like the introduction showing the ideal instruments we would implement and street performers that have created sustainable community by playing them. I also came up with the idea to make our presentation about our solution and grand vision, rather than the prototype that we actually created. Instead, our prototype would be referenced as a means of testing to see if our solution was accurate. Once that was set up, I started adding photos to the slideshow.
  
Some of the instruments that are final products to propose, rather than prototypes.

Thursday 4/29- Final Building Day/ Data Collection

The goals for the day were very clear from the moment we walked into class- finish our project. In order to reach our goal, we had to make the mallets for all three instruments, attach the pedals and drums to the wood flower, and mount the rest of the frame and wood pieces for the xylophone leaf. Overall we were very successful in finishing our project in the time allotted. Once one of the projects was finished, extra members helped on the remaining projects, and when all were completed, we worked to add finishing touches to refine the project. Once 3rd block came around and the project was done, we watched as several students came in to play the instrument.


Aside from documenting, I was in charge of making a schedule for the data collection on Saturday, along with several questions to answer as we observed during the data collection. I also had to make the mallets for each instrument, paint music notes on the metal flower, and help out with various tasks on the other instruments to help finish them in time.


Now that the project prototype is done, some design flaws and improvements become obvious. First of all, a mallet made out of rubber would sound much better on metal than the wood one we created. Second, there are many aspects that need to be polished and cleaned up to make it look more like a piece of art than a school project made in three days. Lastly, allowing more time to create the best sound for every instrument will bring it from a prototype to a success, as users won't feel like they will need to know how to play the drums in order to make it sound good. During 3rd block several students came in to test our prototype.

The students mostly loved it, and enjoyed playing it with their friends. However, did loose interest quickly. I think adding to the sound would be a good way to solve this problem.

Tuesday 4/26 (photos unavailable on device)

Today our group planned to finish the instrument Bryant and I were working on, make several additions to the xylophone, and get the stem and drum pedals built for the last instrument. We decided that since the medal flower required the least amount of time, people working on that flower would shift their attention to the newer flower. In order to finish the medal flower I was working on, we needed to mount the supports, screw in the pedals, and have everything painted.

I worked with Bryant to mount the pedals and supports to the correct part of the stem. Before this could be accomplished, the supports needed to be painted and drilled and notches needed to be made in the stem.

 I help spray paint, but left the drilling and notch making to those with more experience. In the mean time, I helped cut out sheet medal pieces for the new drum. I then helped tape these so the edges were not sharp. As part of the media and marketing team, I also documented, and created a plan for the prototype testing.

So far our team is continuing to work diligently and cohesively, aside from small miscommunication. I feel that when working in groups as large as ours with team members scattered across the campus, problem solving becomes essential.  Overall, we have managed to make effective use of our time, and help out our group mates when needed. In addition, each member has taken on some responsibility outside of school. I, for example, need to bring a couple materials to next class. In addition, our products continue to impress me as we near presentation time. It still facsinates me when a drawing is brought to reality.

Friday 4/22- First full day of building

Today was a successful and busy day. After the group put together the goals for the day, our team set off to start building two of our three projects, the third had to wait because we couldn't cut wood due to the rain. We planned to have the metal pedals for the instrument I am working on cut out and painted, along with the pieces of the support metal cut. For the xylophone, we planned to have the frame cut out and mounted to the bottom piece. For the third instrument, the goal was to get everything marked ad planned out so constuction next class will run as smoothly as possible. 

All three tasks were completed, and our group ran a little ahead of schedule.

The xylophone group started drilling holes to mount the wood pieces, and my group started making plans to mount the pedals on the stem of the plant.

As always, my role was documenting and building the metal flower instrument. I enjoyed documenting today because it gave me an excuse to watch as the xylophone leaf was constructed. In terms of construction, I completed several tasks. First, I worked with Bryant to cut out the rest of the pedals from the sheet metal, while grant filed them down. 

Then at lunch I hot glued the circumference of each pedal in attempt to transform them from circular blades to child friendly flowers. Once I realized the glue wouldn't adhere, we decided to use painter's tape, and Bryant and I taped the edges. 

While we waited for the paint to dry after Grant sprayed them, I did some math to figure out how long each support piece would need to be. After Bryant cut them, we measured to see where they should be placed so that we could cut a notch into the stem of the flower. 

Overall I am very excited about our project thus far, and very proud of my team for working so diligently. It has been amazing watching as the pictures I sketched have come to life through each step of the construction process, along with how they have been revised in order to be practical for a prototype. Today was reassuring as we were able to finish our tasks with few barriers. Now the only challenge will be time, as one of our three instruments has not been constructed yet, and we still need to test the instruments to make sure they will actually make something we can call music. 

Wednesday 4/20- Home Depot day

Today's venture has been stressful and intense. As a part of media and marketing, I went to Home Depot to record the process of buying materials. But first we needed to finalize our material list which was far more difficult than it sounds as our project changed since last class, and the list needed a great deal of editing. Once at the store, we rushed to find our materials, partly split up, partly working together. 

 

While we were at the store, the rest of the team learned about leadership and projects. Once we returned back to the school, the team split up to work on the project, cutting wood and metal. I started cutting out metal leaves for the instrument Bryant and I are making, and recruited a couple others to help speed up the process. 

Now for the stressful and intense part. Einstein said spend 50 minutes defining the problem and 10 minutes solving it. But I don't think Einstein had to design and construct instrument shaped like flowers with only a day or so of planning, and a couple hours worth of making a list of materials and schedules. I feel that with a budget as large as ours, we should've had more time to take the advice we had received from the teachers and videos, and plan out our project in a more detailed manner. Because I feel that the teachers have high hopes for this project considering the amount of money going int it, I think the groups could have benefited from more planing and revising. Not by talking in small groups, but by making a small prototype to see what needs to change. The biggest challenged for me as an engineer in this project, is that I am not familiar with the thousands of materials at Home Depot that I have to work with, so come material list time, I wasn't exactly sure what to put down. For this reason, another prototype would've been helpful. In addition, it seemed that one of the team leaders had created an instrument plan on his own and added materials to the list for it, but failed to add some materials for thing we had designed as group. This forced me to take over a bit of leadership and straighten out what we were actually about to make.

By the end of 3rd block, I was a bit more hopeful about the fate our project than at the start of the day, and excited to continue working. Hopefully now that our plan is more clear, our project will run a little more smoothly.