For this design step, we finalized and presented our work. It was such a rewarding opportunity to look back at all of our progress and present all of our findings/work. 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 8.
Step 8, Part 1
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Step 8, Part 2
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We had two weeks to complete this final step, and we had a lot to get done in that amount of time. One of the most pressing challenges that we faced was the issue of time. Our time in STEM was coming to a close, and we had so much to get done and finalize. We were working on new interface and wrapping up assignments from the previous design step all at the same time. I get more into the challenges we faced in my reflection section, but overall this was something that we inevitably could not escape. Additionally, this was a reflective process for me to test my own software skills and expand my knowledge. I will discuss this in a bit more detail later in this write up when I talk about the Arduino tutorials.
This was the final step in our design cycle, so it focused mostly on finalizing the project and presenting all of our work that has been generated. Again, we divided the work for this design step into two parts. In part 1, we worked on marketing strategies and promotion components. These included digital posters, business cards, and finalizing our website. In part 2, we dove more into the technical and formal side of the project. These assignments included the final project report, a presentation with a voiceover, and independent circuit tutorials. Keep reading to get more details about the specific assignments I completed.
Step 8, Part 1
The three assignments that we were assigned in this part of design step 8, all related to the marketing and promotion of the JEDD 2021.0. Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. We believe that marketing our product to amauture musicians would be the smartest move. This is a large client base that has a wide variety of genders and age, but there is a common interest and need for this product. By focusing on this client base we can find unique and specific ways to advertise our product and make sure that it appeals to the clients. As supporters and participants of the arts, we all can attest to the needs that these clients have and what kind of problems they want to solve to make their lives better. This is also a broader term, meaning that with the exclusion of professional musicians our product would apply to most of the people on our brainstorming list.
This was the market that we wanted to target with our promotions. Marketing was our way to promote the JEDD 2021.0 in a controlled manner. We managed what we presented and how we did it. This was a great way for us to put our best foot forward, come across as professional, but at the same time in an appealing way to out consumers. To do this we used different methods which are listed below with out four main goals.
This was the market that we wanted to target with our promotions. Marketing was our way to promote the JEDD 2021.0 in a controlled manner. We managed what we presented and how we did it. This was a great way for us to put our best foot forward, come across as professional, but at the same time in an appealing way to out consumers. To do this we used different methods which are listed below with out four main goals.
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One of the most significant marketing move we made, however, was developing our website. I have mentioned the website design before in Design Step 6 & 7. To read more about how we went about designing the, I would encourage you to visit that page on my website. In sum, we continued with the website development in this step. It mainly consisted of small tweaks to the format of pages, color schemes, link embedding, and updating all of the new material we could add to it (like our commercial). The following images, link, and video are the main marketing methods we used.
An image of a poster promoting the JEDD 2021.0
This is an image of our technical digital poster
This is our commercial for the JEDD 2021.0, you can watch it by clicking the play button above.
This image to the left is the top of our homepage on the Ampliteam website. Read more about this design process in Design Step 6 & 7. |
Step 8, Part 2
To wrap up our project we did more technical and royal components in this part go the design step. The final project report encapsulated all of our work. We discussed multiple topics from throughout our capstone project and different design steps. It was so rewarding to put all of our work into one final write up, and see how far we have come and the amount of work we did. The Design Report documents the final design. It enables someone unfamiliar with a design to figure out how it works, evaluate it, build it and reproduce it. It is the final step in the design process. There was also a specific order we had to put the writing and analysis of our work in. This order followed us in the pattern we completed the assignments, from beginning to end. We had specific guidelines that we followed to produce this piece of writing, you can find that list below.
Writing Guidelines
Use double spacing to leave room for instructor comments. Use the section and subsection headings of Table 28.1 and boldface them so that they stand out. Finally, figures should be embedded within the text (rather than placed at the end of the report) for ease of reference. In addition,
Use double spacing to leave room for instructor comments. Use the section and subsection headings of Table 28.1 and boldface them so that they stand out. Finally, figures should be embedded within the text (rather than placed at the end of the report) for ease of reference. In addition,
- Be concise.
- Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence that expresses the theme or conclusion of the entire paragraph. The reader should be able to overview the entire report by reading just the topic sentences.
- Generate high-quality concept drawings and detailed drawings to pass the "flip test." The first thing the instructor does before reading the report is to flip through the pages to examine the figures. The figures are the instructor's first impression of the report.
- Give each figure (i.e., drawing, graph, etc.) a figure number and a self-explanatory figure caption, for example, Fig. 3: Decision matrix. Figures should be numbered consecutively and referenced from the text using the figure numbers. For example, "The results of the comparison are summarized in the decision matrix of Figure 3."
- Use a spelling checker. Spelling mistakes cause the reader to question technical correctness.
- Employ page numbers both in the text and in the table of contents.
We also created a presentation that follows the same order as the paper above, but in a more concise lecture style. The presentation covers the topics and tasks we completed thought the project, and we include many of the marketing and promotion topics as well. My group and I also recorded this presentation using Zoom, so we could at least pretend that we were presenting to an audience. The idea of this assignment was that we would show this recording of this presentation to our class during the time we would be having our final. I am very happy with how the presentation and video turned out. Both of them can be found below this description, including a curtail demonstration of our product working.
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The final part of this design step was completing online tutorials of the software, Arduino. Arduino is an open-source electronics platform based on easy-to-use hardware and software. It's intended for anyone making interactive projects. The Arduino board senses the environment by receiving inputs from many sensors, and affects its surroundings by controlling lights, motors, and other actuators. You can tell your Arduino what to do by writing code in the Arduino programming language and using the Arduino development environment. We used this software through the online site called Tinkercad.
Tinkercad is an online rendering software that allow you to construct circuits/objects online. The simulation tutorials and software has become very important to my group as we navigate the possibilities of construction regarding our product. 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. The lessons each had sub sections of 5-6 lessons, you can find these by clicking on the project names below.
Arduino Projects
"Project 0: Introduction "
"Project 1: Get to Know Your Tools "
"Project 2: Spaceship Interface "
"Project 0: Introduction "
"Project 1: Get to Know Your Tools "
"Project 2: Spaceship Interface "
Reflection
I think there was a lot of success in this design step. Two skills that I used well were creativity and time management. The first skill that I used well was creativity. A specific event when I saw how I used my creativity to the fullest was in the midst of our working frenzy. Our teacher was giving my group and I some feedback and last minute guidance on how to wrap up our project. He thought a good idea was for us to focus some energy in our marketing strategy. I decided to take on the challenge of developing a commercial for the group. I was a actually a really fun experience, and the final product was decent. I needed to make it fun and exciting, which let me be creative and add my own flare. The second skill that I used well was time management. A specific event of when I saw I used this skill well was the week of finals. Finals week is always stressful and full of studying and work. However, we still needed to finalize our project and presentations. It became clear as the week started that my group and I were in great shape and on track to finish the project early. And that is just what we did. Our management skills stems from our Gantt chart planning and the specialization of tasks for each team member.
While this design step was full of wins, there was also some lack of performance from myself. Two skills that I will continue to work on are critical thinking and collaboration. A specific instance where I did not think critically happened the day we filmed our presentation. I was tasked with presenting the information on the experiment results, but I was not that involved with the design and execution of the experiment. This was due to our separation of tasks and I used my skills in other areas of the project. I was very lost, and needed time t think about how ti interpret the results and explain it to the audience. I worked, with the help of my team, to get a script ready. In the future, however, I will not always have the help of people or a team. I need to be able to think for myself and be aware of what is happening around me in a project. The second skill that I will continue to improve upon is collaboration. There is not really a specific event that I can remember from this project that made me worried for my performance in this skills area. But, I know that in the future I will need to be a collaborative person. Collaboration and team work are skills that follow you throughout life, and I think this is something that I must always work on and find ways to improve.
Well, that's a wrap. I can't believe that this is the end of my STEM journey. I have made so many amazing friends, memories, and learned invaluable life lessons from this program. Since my freshmen year, I knew this was the place for me. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to be apart of this community and find a place to express my passion for science. I hope that I never lose that spirit. But, I am ready to experience the next chapter of my life and I can't wait to see what the future holds for me. Thank you.
I think there was a lot of success in this design step. Two skills that I used well were creativity and time management. The first skill that I used well was creativity. A specific event when I saw how I used my creativity to the fullest was in the midst of our working frenzy. Our teacher was giving my group and I some feedback and last minute guidance on how to wrap up our project. He thought a good idea was for us to focus some energy in our marketing strategy. I decided to take on the challenge of developing a commercial for the group. I was a actually a really fun experience, and the final product was decent. I needed to make it fun and exciting, which let me be creative and add my own flare. The second skill that I used well was time management. A specific event of when I saw I used this skill well was the week of finals. Finals week is always stressful and full of studying and work. However, we still needed to finalize our project and presentations. It became clear as the week started that my group and I were in great shape and on track to finish the project early. And that is just what we did. Our management skills stems from our Gantt chart planning and the specialization of tasks for each team member.
While this design step was full of wins, there was also some lack of performance from myself. Two skills that I will continue to work on are critical thinking and collaboration. A specific instance where I did not think critically happened the day we filmed our presentation. I was tasked with presenting the information on the experiment results, but I was not that involved with the design and execution of the experiment. This was due to our separation of tasks and I used my skills in other areas of the project. I was very lost, and needed time t think about how ti interpret the results and explain it to the audience. I worked, with the help of my team, to get a script ready. In the future, however, I will not always have the help of people or a team. I need to be able to think for myself and be aware of what is happening around me in a project. The second skill that I will continue to improve upon is collaboration. There is not really a specific event that I can remember from this project that made me worried for my performance in this skills area. But, I know that in the future I will need to be a collaborative person. Collaboration and team work are skills that follow you throughout life, and I think this is something that I must always work on and find ways to improve.
Well, that's a wrap. I can't believe that this is the end of my STEM journey. I have made so many amazing friends, memories, and learned invaluable life lessons from this program. Since my freshmen year, I knew this was the place for me. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to be apart of this community and find a place to express my passion for science. I hope that I never lose that spirit. But, I am ready to experience the next chapter of my life and I can't wait to see what the future holds for me. Thank you.