Unfortunately, my design didn’t work at last. The main reason for the LED failing to light up may be the wiring, which I lacked time to recheck, or that the battery ran out of power. This is also a part that I will need to improve on, which is the design and application of circuits. Another thing that I would need to improve on is the choice of materials. Due to the fragility of the wires, tissue paper, and the LED light is more challenging than I thought it would be to work with them. The tissue paper was torn several times accidentally through the process, and the wires which acted as the framework of the dress were bendier than I needed them to be. In addition, I also broke one LED when I was working with the circuit. However, I really like my design and think it is both original and creative. It’s quite a pity that I cannot create it as planned, and the top layer of the dress remained undone. Another success of my design was the pedestal. Since I chose to make it out of cardboard, I can still create holes through the surface easily to stabilize the LED and the switch, which also made the process of creating the circuit relatively simple. Overall I chose these materials because they are eco-friendly. The tissue paper, steel wires, and cardboard are all made of natural components and easy to recycle. The design for transforming energy is quite simple and was kept comparatively sustainable since it didn’t require much equipment changing except for the battery. Overall, I believe that my design will make a good toy and decoration for kids in the dark if it is working, for it being both safe and pretty.
Engineering Project: Create & Improve
Day #1: I got help from the teachers of the design lab in choosing my materials. Since there are no light bulbs in the design lab, I was suggested to replace it with a 3 volt LED light. After collecting all the materials I needed, I created the pedestal and sketched out the circuit. Then I started to work on the framework of my dress, which was made of bendable wires. I faced some trouble when I bent the wires into circles since it was tough to form rounds using bare hands.
Day #2: I kept working on the framework. I started to find that it was more challenging than I expected. The wires were bendier than I needed them to be, which caused a lot of unnecessary twists and bends. Putting them together was definitely a significant difficulty, so I had to make changes to the structure of my framework to build it successfully.
Day #3: I finished the framework and used tissue paper to wrap it around. Here’s when I faced another challenge, the tissue paper was too fragile and thin that whenever I tried wrapping it around corners, it got torn. I had to try several ways of covering to prevent it from tearing, but the size to cut was also a decision I had to make thoughtfully.
Day #4: Finally, I found a solution that wouldn’t rip the paper, that is, to use two different sheets of tissue paper and wrap the outside and inside of the front and back, respectively. This suggestion was given by Annie, and I found it to be beneficial. However, trying out the ways of wrapping delayed my progress, and I didn’t have time to continue working on the top layer of my cover.
Day #5: I created the circuit using wires and the 3-volt-LED. The difficulty that I faced on this day was that I had to redesign the pathways of the circuit since I decided to connect them from the bottom of the pedestal. Moreover, I didn’t have enough time to test my product out since parts were undone, and I couldn’t figure out the reason of the LED failing to light up. That made me feel rather unfortunate.
(The pictures failed to upload. I will try again on Monday at school. )
Engineering Project: Develop & Plan
The techniques that I will use include creating a circuit, building a paper lampshade, working with bendable wires to construct a human figure. There are videos related to these skills, therefore I will watch and learn them through the powerful internet.
First design block: Gather and try out possible materials that I may use in my creation. Carve out the pedestal out of cardboard and sketch the places of the circuit.
Second design block: Build the framework of the dress – the wires which will support the paper layer of dress on top.
Third design block: Paste the paper layer on top of the framework. In addition, start creating the top of the lamp with bendable wires and tissue paper.
Fourth design block: Finish the figure for the top. Also start working on the circuit.
Fifth design block: Make final touches. Test out the final product and improve if there are any problems.
Engineering Project: Define & Inquire
What is this engineering task?
The purpose of this engineering task is for students to design an original product which transfers energy in consider of the final outcome being environmentally friendly and good-looking. Throughout one class of investigating design ideas and five classes in the design lab, students explore the ISB design cycle and several engineering techniques by creating their products. The design should have a targeted audience and purpose of its function.
What are you thinking about/interested in doing?
The ideas that I am currently interested includes:
- Night lamp
- LED dress for dolls
- Windmill toy
Embed images/links/videos of ideas you like/don’t like.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsSxWzHb0oI&t=41s I quite like this design because it is very artistic and creative. It doesn’t look very hard to make and the materials are also recyclable, which meets the criteria of our project. However, I am not sure what kind of light is used in this idea, and the materials are not listed, so I’ll have to figure things out myself if I choose to follow this design.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7QRn9ZGZvM I really like this idea; it looks so beautiful and adorable. I think that it will be very useful and charming once the product is made. Even though, I am currently not sure about how the energy transfer will be shown through this design and trying to get the materials may also be a challenge. Overall, I think that it will be very interesting if I have the chance to try it out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkQsBD5WtDo Even though this idea is closely related to the sustainable and recycle criteria of our project, I am not very interested. Firstly, it seems to be overly simple, and I don’t want to finish it in one or two classes then have nothing else to do. Secondly, I think that I’m more of an arts and beauty people, and I would like the design to contain some aesthetic elements more or less.
Define the target audience/ problem needs you will address.
My targeted audience are kids between the age range of approximately 4-10 years old. My product will be some sort of toy or device which eases the kids’ boredom.
Reflection After MCC Interview
How did you feel after speaking with Ross?
After the interview with Ross, I feel a lot more clear in understanding the goals, aims, and reasons for their actions of the MCC. I have recorded quite a lot of notes throughout the interview, thus making me more confident and curious about the project that we will be focusing on later on. The words of Ross also made me know more about the issues that different people face all over the world, promoting myself to think more about social issues and possible methods to solve them.
What are you excited about?
I am very excited about the work and interviews that we will be focusing on and designing later. I feel quite eager to see and talk with the young cyclists of Masaka and know more about their lives, including the financial and political situations in Uganda. Most of all, the very best thing which I feel excited about is that I have the chance to help and improve the lives of other people. I believe that this project will make me very proud.
What are you nervous about?
Despite my excitement towards cooperating with MCC, I also feel quite a lot of nervousness. Since I have never touched base on anything similar to this before, I am rather concerned about the obstacles and loads of work that I might face throughout my process of research and design considering that this project may be more practical than any of the work which we have done in class before.
Visualising data & “So What?” Actions
Reflecting on my analysis, I will refine my supporting questions about the construction of households and possible solutions to my main issue then research more information based upon my new supporting questions and visualized data analysis. I have already adjusted my supporting questions into a more specific and precise version so that it can help me more with my research. For example, I changed my third supporting question from “How do the pros and cons of some solutions affect its value?” to “How might solutions which are suggested benefit the natural environment and/or society?” My next steps are to do more research and use a variety of sources, regardless of whether it is an article, video, or clips from journals. Looking at my source connection page and hierarchy, I now know that I should focus on gathering information about urban construction, possible solutions to the problem and limit my sources of information which are focused on the Amazon rainforest.
Thesis Statement Paragraph of Short Stories
In Ken Liu’s short story, “The Paper Menagerie”, Jack’s self-identity changes and develops through the use of Dialogue, Conflict, and Characterization. The key topic of this story is racism, the prejudice and hostility of different skin colors, appearances, language, and culture. In this case, Jack and his mom bear racism because of being Chinese. “The Paper Menagerie” leads to the theme “racism can ruin understandings and self-confidence”. This is a moral which applies to every reader, and there are lots of evidence support in the original text. Bullying based on racism can cause a sense of doubt and shame on youngsters on their identity. When Jack asks his dad during dinner, “Do I have a chink face?” the conflict between Jack versus himself as half-Chinese has begun. This leads to his next sentence, “Speak English.” Struggling to fit in, Jack starts to feel ashamed of his Chinese identity and culture. He suspects and rejects his physical appearance and mother language, which turns to deny his mother – who represents his existence as a Chinese boy.
Shelter Project: Pre-assessment Reflection
Reflecting back on the pre-assessment we did in Civics & Social Entrepreneurship class, I found out that I have many shortcomings through my process of designing which I have to improve on.
First, analyzing my stage of define & reflection, I only thought about my target audience briefly, there was no specific direction of who this product should help and what my design problem is. I simply defined,y audience of anyone who might need a warm shelter, which might be a vagrant or a family of refugees. This is obviously not meticulous enough. Furthermore, I gathered no precedents at all, that is something I will need to be aware of next time in my design cycle.
Something I think I did well on my work is that I developed different kinds of prototypes to try out my work and design. However, there weren’t a lot of changes or big improvements from my first prototype to my final product. I believe that is probably because that I lack a design problem. I drew a simple plan of my shelter including the shape and dimensions of my shelter, but I didn’t make a record of it. Lastly, I should have asked for some advice from my peers and do more self0reflection so I can develop my product in a better way.
I did very little self-reflection and it is not recorded since I did it vocally when I was discussing with my table. I demonstrated some growth throughout my process of designing shown from my prototypes, even though it is not very successful at last. Due to the time limit, I didn’t finish my final product. And since I did not clearly state a design problem, my product couldn’t respond to any. All of these are things I will have to attach importance to next time.
Unfortunately, I didn’t document any record of my product nor developed a list of success criteria. Therefore, I have no evidence of my designing process, luckily, I still preserved my final product and prototypes, so I can still reflect and analyze from them. Because I didn’t have a success criteria for my preferred product, it might be more challenging for me to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of my process, including the impact of my product on the audience and environment. Another reason which caused this may be that I didn’t develop an enduring issue or design problem that my product is going to optimize.
On the Sidewalk, Bleeding
The main character in Evan Hunter’s short story entitled “On the sidewalk bleeding” initially believes his identity as one of the Royals, but later understands that he has a unique and personal identity instead of being stereotyped as simply “a Royal”. His changing understanding is revealed through the use of third-person point of view and physiological description.
My Strengths and Weaknesses as an English Student
Strengths: I am thoughtful and imaginative, willing to share and collaborate with anyone.
Weaknesses: I have some grammar problems in writing that I have to improve on.