For this step in our design process, we worked on presenting our project and the information we have thus far. All of the work we have done up to this point was used as evidence of our work ethic and the viability of our product. We completed this design step by working with our mentors, and a lot of collaboration and cooperation with each other. On top of our group assignments, we were also tasked with individual programming activities for 3D modeling and understanding how to use online circuits. Below are the different parts to our Design Step 5.
Step 5, Part 1
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Step 5, Part 2
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While our assignments for this design step were limited, they required team work and coordination to complete successfully. The individual software projects were very interesting. The circuits I completed on Tinkercad, and the Simscale tutorials will be discussed in more detail later in my report. Above all, I can really see my skills with using online circuits and 3D modeling improving. I know this will help me and my team in the long run, as we are facing the decision of creating our product virtually.
The main assignment, and first one we did in this design step, was the Design Defense Presentation. This was our moment to present all of the work we have completed for our project, and defend the product we are creating. We created a slideshow presentation that covered all of the design steps we completed, accompanying the projects/work we did for them. Then, we recorded ourselves on Zoom giving the presentation in real time, as if we were in person. Our teacher also asked us to develop a script that we used when presenting and as a written defense. After completing all of our design defense projects and assignments, we also had individual programs we needed to complete. These were on Tinkercad and Simscale, which will help us create our product online and professionally.
The main assignment, and first one we did in this design step, was the Design Defense Presentation. This was our moment to present all of the work we have completed for our project, and defend the product we are creating. We created a slideshow presentation that covered all of the design steps we completed, accompanying the projects/work we did for them. Then, we recorded ourselves on Zoom giving the presentation in real time, as if we were in person. Our teacher also asked us to develop a script that we used when presenting and as a written defense. After completing all of our design defense projects and assignments, we also had individual programs we needed to complete. These were on Tinkercad and Simscale, which will help us create our product online and professionally.
Step 5, Part 1
The first assignment we tackled was the Design Defense presentation. Engineers must convince customers and investors that a design is worth expenditures of money and the time of skilled people. In a student design project, this process of convincing customers is simulated by a written and oral defense. The goal of this presentation is to win the confidence of the project sponsors and possible clients, henceforth referred to as the "jury". Due to the unusual circumstances of this school year, we were not able to have a panel of judges to present our case, so instead we video tapped ourselves presenting virtually.
The presentation was created on google slides. The way we formatted it was by the design steps we had completed so far. There were four of us, and four steps so that is how we divided the work and specialization. I worked on step 1 as my section, and presented why we wanted to pursue amateur musicians as our audience and the design ideas of our product. Below is the presentation that we created and used in our video.
The presentation was created on google slides. The way we formatted it was by the design steps we had completed so far. There were four of us, and four steps so that is how we divided the work and specialization. I worked on step 1 as my section, and presented why we wanted to pursue amateur musicians as our audience and the design ideas of our product. Below is the presentation that we created and used in our video.
Along with the slideshow, we developed a script to use when we filmed our voice overs. This script was our written defense document, as it went into more detail and covered our points more than the slideshow. We wanted to keep the words and bullet points used to a minimum on the slides, because people tend to not want to read a lot of information on slides. The sprit was collaborated on by myself and my other team members. They went into detail on what they wanted to convey during their time in the presentation, and I did the same for my design step. Below is the document we turned in as our written defense/script.
Now, we had our presentation and script so the next part of the process was to film. The purpose of this was so we could act as if we were in class, and presenting in real time. We got to talk about more points and summarize the main goal and missions of our project and it's future. We recorded the presentation over Zoom, and then we downloaded the recording and uploaded the film to the assignment. The filming process went by surprisingly simple and quick. This video, which can be found below, was our first and only take. The script (above) is a written transcript of what we discussed in the filming portion. Again, the purpose of this assignment was to defend our work we have done and argue for our won sake as to why our product is good project idea that we have been spending time on.
Step 5, Part 2
Again, we continued to test our simulation skills with the two softwares we have been using. Tinkercad and Simscale are online rendering softwares that allow you to construct circuits/objects online. We worked on the tutorials listed below to improve our skills in online 3D modeling and circuit building. The following images are some still from a few of my lessons I completed.
Tinkercad Tutorials
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Simscale Tutorials
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Reflection
This design step was filled with reflection as a group and individually. Two skills that I used well were time management and critical thinking. The first skill that I used well was time management. A specific instance when I utilized this skill of mine was in the beginning of our design step. It was the first work day, and my group and I were discussing how we wanted to create our presentation. I made it clear that since we had trouble with time management in the last step, we needed to make that our first priority to conquer this time. I went into toggle and update our Gantt chart while also delegating tasks to each of my team members. In the end, we finished our project in a timely matter and we did the best we could have with the time allotted and our resources. The second skill that I used well was critical thinking. A specific example of when I used this skill well was when we had to give our presentation. It was a little more complicated then we anticipated to make voice overs on our slideshow, and there was a lot of technical difficulties. I knew we had to do something, or we would fall off schedule and not finish in time or correctly. I started thinking of alternatives, and remembered we could record and present on Zoom meetings. I suggested it to my group ,and we all loved the idea. We used Zoom to film the presentation, and complete the assignment.
While I had many personal wins in this design step, no one is perfect. Two skills that I still need to improve on are communication and collaboration. The first skill that I need to keep working on is communication. A specific example of when this became an issue was the last day of our project. I was unsure about what the format needed to be for our written defense, so I asked my group. We talked, but it was a lot of information and people speaking and I did not know what to think. I called in our teacher, and he told us what he wanted. One of my group members had apparently answered my question before we called in the teacher, and it was my lack of communication that made me miss his comment. In the future, I will make sure that Ian attentively listening to my team and using my resources around me before asking for other help. The second skill that I still need to work on is collaboration. Now, there was nothing bad that happened to us because of this lack of skill, but I noticed something specific during our work days. One day, we were delegating task and communicating/talking to each other, and the next it was all specialized work. I know this is the most efficient way of going about this task and with the deadlines we have, but I feel like we can find new ways of working with each other so we aren't so isolated. In the future, I think we should have people working with each other on some assignments or at least having educational conversations while we work about things to keep us engaged and connected as a team.
All in all, this was a successful design step. We were able to successfully defend our work and project idea, and improve our technical designing skills for our final product rendering. We are closing in on some of the final weeks, and I am super excited to see how we will close out this year and our project!
This design step was filled with reflection as a group and individually. Two skills that I used well were time management and critical thinking. The first skill that I used well was time management. A specific instance when I utilized this skill of mine was in the beginning of our design step. It was the first work day, and my group and I were discussing how we wanted to create our presentation. I made it clear that since we had trouble with time management in the last step, we needed to make that our first priority to conquer this time. I went into toggle and update our Gantt chart while also delegating tasks to each of my team members. In the end, we finished our project in a timely matter and we did the best we could have with the time allotted and our resources. The second skill that I used well was critical thinking. A specific example of when I used this skill well was when we had to give our presentation. It was a little more complicated then we anticipated to make voice overs on our slideshow, and there was a lot of technical difficulties. I knew we had to do something, or we would fall off schedule and not finish in time or correctly. I started thinking of alternatives, and remembered we could record and present on Zoom meetings. I suggested it to my group ,and we all loved the idea. We used Zoom to film the presentation, and complete the assignment.
While I had many personal wins in this design step, no one is perfect. Two skills that I still need to improve on are communication and collaboration. The first skill that I need to keep working on is communication. A specific example of when this became an issue was the last day of our project. I was unsure about what the format needed to be for our written defense, so I asked my group. We talked, but it was a lot of information and people speaking and I did not know what to think. I called in our teacher, and he told us what he wanted. One of my group members had apparently answered my question before we called in the teacher, and it was my lack of communication that made me miss his comment. In the future, I will make sure that Ian attentively listening to my team and using my resources around me before asking for other help. The second skill that I still need to work on is collaboration. Now, there was nothing bad that happened to us because of this lack of skill, but I noticed something specific during our work days. One day, we were delegating task and communicating/talking to each other, and the next it was all specialized work. I know this is the most efficient way of going about this task and with the deadlines we have, but I feel like we can find new ways of working with each other so we aren't so isolated. In the future, I think we should have people working with each other on some assignments or at least having educational conversations while we work about things to keep us engaged and connected as a team.
All in all, this was a successful design step. We were able to successfully defend our work and project idea, and improve our technical designing skills for our final product rendering. We are closing in on some of the final weeks, and I am super excited to see how we will close out this year and our project!