We had our final presentation on monday, and I would say that our team made a positive impression on the rest of the teams, even if our work was a little slapped together. I would say that no team had a really terrible project. Plus each idea was unique and interesting, which gave the whole show a very impressing feel.
What pleased me the most was that our project was the noisiest. This made it a natural attraction, so our team managed to get all of the major guests to our table at once. Its a very pleasing experience to show off your work to someone who has lots of experience.
So, this is my last post, as I am a terrible blogger, and will completely forget about the whole thing in a weeks time lol.
Its been a fun ride, and I'll keep these memories for as long as I can remember.
Signing off
Derek Drescher
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
IT'S OVER!!
Right now, I am awaiting the final class of iFoundry. This is both sad and great, as I won't have an excuse to see my friends almost every day, but I won't have iFoundry anymore.
Over all, I have a slighly postive opinion of the iFoundry experience. It was a ton of work and I didn't feel that I got out what I put in to the project. But maybe the benefit comes later. I did make a ton of great friends that I wouldn't have made otherwise, and these friends are continually intorducing me to other friends. It really is great.
Plus it's snowing right now lol.
Over all, I have a slighly postive opinion of the iFoundry experience. It was a ton of work and I didn't feel that I got out what I put in to the project. But maybe the benefit comes later. I did make a ton of great friends that I wouldn't have made otherwise, and these friends are continually intorducing me to other friends. It really is great.
Plus it's snowing right now lol.
Monday, November 30, 2009
I don't like Blogging!
I just don't! Sure I can write a bunch of stuff, but its not fun for me. This was an intersting assignment, but i really didn't like it at all...
iFoundry as a whole
Now, when I look at iFoundry, I am reminded of the little "festivals" that parents try to put on. They have a palpable feel to them. Its a feeling of sadness, of insignificance, or of "I had good intentions and tried really hard but failed" kinda thing. This feeling makes me sick. Physically ill, because I can sense it from far away. As soon as I see the project in action, there's just this, feeling of dread. Because when examined on paper, the project elicited smiles from all involved, but fails to meet anyone's expectations in the real world.
iFoundry feels like one of these projects. "Let's let kids work with actual companies, but let's have them work on their own, so they can express their own ideas. It will provide fantastic real world experience!" Thats what this project looked like on paper. I can see that I should be really honored to be in this project, as it is really beneficial to me, as it both teaches me about and ensures me a future with a company.
The only problem was that I wasn't ready, and neither was anyone else.
We came from one of the most defined, and structured stages of our life, High School, and are thrust into an ambiguous and fluid stage, where we are expected to make something our of nothing. This is the way the actual world works, so it would seem excellent training, but falls short of what it could achieve.
The ropes course is a great example for our high school career: We are put in an environment with boundaries, given a task, and set loose. There are many answers, but few efficient ones, and we soon find the "correct" answer.
iFoundry was like putting us in the middle of town, and telling us to "do a project". No one knew the needs of the town, those who did know thought it best to not tell us, and none of us really knew each other.
These factors contributed to so much confusion and stalling for the first few weeks, but eventually, the teams constructed a structure from which to work from. Then as we explored the needs of the structure, its strengths and weaknesses, we got to the end of the semester.
That was all we could do.
That was all I expected after the first meeting. We were a small team, in an uncommon field, nothing like "Engineering and Environment", where everyone has heard of the types of projects done. I think thats why our group is so small. No one really knew what it was about. I choose it cause it sounded closest to what I wanted to do in life (I was correct, the projects we talked about all sounded really interesting), but we didn't have the structure that was necessary for any of the projects.
In the real world, we have experienced members, previous knowledge, and the basic know how to get our jobs done. At iFoundry, we had none of that.
iFoundry feels like one of these projects. "Let's let kids work with actual companies, but let's have them work on their own, so they can express their own ideas. It will provide fantastic real world experience!" Thats what this project looked like on paper. I can see that I should be really honored to be in this project, as it is really beneficial to me, as it both teaches me about and ensures me a future with a company.
The only problem was that I wasn't ready, and neither was anyone else.
We came from one of the most defined, and structured stages of our life, High School, and are thrust into an ambiguous and fluid stage, where we are expected to make something our of nothing. This is the way the actual world works, so it would seem excellent training, but falls short of what it could achieve.
The ropes course is a great example for our high school career: We are put in an environment with boundaries, given a task, and set loose. There are many answers, but few efficient ones, and we soon find the "correct" answer.
iFoundry was like putting us in the middle of town, and telling us to "do a project". No one knew the needs of the town, those who did know thought it best to not tell us, and none of us really knew each other.
These factors contributed to so much confusion and stalling for the first few weeks, but eventually, the teams constructed a structure from which to work from. Then as we explored the needs of the structure, its strengths and weaknesses, we got to the end of the semester.
That was all we could do.
That was all I expected after the first meeting. We were a small team, in an uncommon field, nothing like "Engineering and Environment", where everyone has heard of the types of projects done. I think thats why our group is so small. No one really knew what it was about. I choose it cause it sounded closest to what I wanted to do in life (I was correct, the projects we talked about all sounded really interesting), but we didn't have the structure that was necessary for any of the projects.
In the real world, we have experienced members, previous knowledge, and the basic know how to get our jobs done. At iFoundry, we had none of that.
Next presentation/demo thing!
Oh, here it is. The final presentation of the semester. The Last Project.
Now a major motion picture.
Haven't been lots of posts recently, as I am not much of a journalist (in any sense of the word), but I do have plenty to say about many things: namely our projects.
We have decided to do a Hover craft for the "thing that moves on its own". I am again Project Manager (anyway I can post that on my resume? all I ever do is manage people lol), and we have everyone else (still the same people) doing other stuff... What? I'm the manager, yes, but that doesn't mean I have to tell you what other people are doing. Go to their blogs and find out!
Erm, anyway I am currently stuck on my project. See, we have just come from Thanksgiving break, and I have forgotten what it is that I was supposed to do. I know it has something to do with our rudder system, but I just can't for the life of me remember.
Well, I should probably describe the machine for you. That would make my ranting a little less random.
Our hovercraft is based off of Chris's hovercraft from his high school physics project. It is composed of a Styrofoam meat packing tray, a trash bag with holes cut into it, two "lift fans", one "directional fan" and the bread board. The stimulus that moves it will be a SNES controller attached to the breadboard.
I don't have any pictures, but I assure you, that its pretty cool.
As far as having it done, we are severly lacking... the coding needs to be done, the mechanics need to be figured out, and really the only thing we have accomplished is that we figured out a good pattern of holes that provides enough lift for the contraption. 33% is not done, but salvageable. Hopefully we can get it done in time...
Now a major motion picture.
Haven't been lots of posts recently, as I am not much of a journalist (in any sense of the word), but I do have plenty to say about many things: namely our projects.
We have decided to do a Hover craft for the "thing that moves on its own". I am again Project Manager (anyway I can post that on my resume? all I ever do is manage people lol), and we have everyone else (still the same people) doing other stuff... What? I'm the manager, yes, but that doesn't mean I have to tell you what other people are doing. Go to their blogs and find out!
Erm, anyway I am currently stuck on my project. See, we have just come from Thanksgiving break, and I have forgotten what it is that I was supposed to do. I know it has something to do with our rudder system, but I just can't for the life of me remember.
Well, I should probably describe the machine for you. That would make my ranting a little less random.
Our hovercraft is based off of Chris's hovercraft from his high school physics project. It is composed of a Styrofoam meat packing tray, a trash bag with holes cut into it, two "lift fans", one "directional fan" and the bread board. The stimulus that moves it will be a SNES controller attached to the breadboard.
I don't have any pictures, but I assure you, that its pretty cool.
As far as having it done, we are severly lacking... the coding needs to be done, the mechanics need to be figured out, and really the only thing we have accomplished is that we figured out a good pattern of holes that provides enough lift for the contraption. 33% is not done, but salvageable. Hopefully we can get it done in time...
Monday, September 21, 2009
Steam Driven Car
"Oh boy, this is going to be exciting!" was the first thought that entered my head when the project was announced. We are going to build a steam driven car. I have always had a thing for steam driven machines, and I continue to think about their possible applications with modern technology, but with this project I would get to actually build one.
First we got into teams to build the car. My team consists of Myself, Matt, Kevin, and Chris. I had met both Matt and Kevin before, and Chris was new, but he was a pretty cool guy, so it was all good. Our team then had to pick roles. I immediately knew that I wanted the Turbine, which is like the heart of the car, transferring power to the rest of the vehicle. I was also picked for Team Manager, which was fine, as I can handle the responsibility of being in charge just fine.
Next, Matt wanted the Boiler. He was very enthusiastic about it. I assume its because he has a good love of trains (the epitome of actual steam driven machines). Chris and Kevin didn't care either way, so I choose their parts for them in my capacity as Team Manager. I knew Kevin a little bit, and initially felt that he should do the more important job of the wheels, but thought it would be a good measure of Chris if he took the wheels instead.
That left Kevin with the chaisis, but I also had Kevin be in charge of the final fitting together. This gave him the responsibility that I wanted him to have. Chris seamed like he could handle his details, so I had him sign up for quality control. Matt, being the enthusiast that he is, would most likely have noticed anything wrong in the initial testing phases and been able to address those problems.
We began work that Monday, and since I was the PM and closest to the work place, I was also given the responsibility for keeping the parts together.
First we got into teams to build the car. My team consists of Myself, Matt, Kevin, and Chris. I had met both Matt and Kevin before, and Chris was new, but he was a pretty cool guy, so it was all good. Our team then had to pick roles. I immediately knew that I wanted the Turbine, which is like the heart of the car, transferring power to the rest of the vehicle. I was also picked for Team Manager, which was fine, as I can handle the responsibility of being in charge just fine.
Next, Matt wanted the Boiler. He was very enthusiastic about it. I assume its because he has a good love of trains (the epitome of actual steam driven machines). Chris and Kevin didn't care either way, so I choose their parts for them in my capacity as Team Manager. I knew Kevin a little bit, and initially felt that he should do the more important job of the wheels, but thought it would be a good measure of Chris if he took the wheels instead.
That left Kevin with the chaisis, but I also had Kevin be in charge of the final fitting together. This gave him the responsibility that I wanted him to have. Chris seamed like he could handle his details, so I had him sign up for quality control. Matt, being the enthusiast that he is, would most likely have noticed anything wrong in the initial testing phases and been able to address those problems.
We began work that Monday, and since I was the PM and closest to the work place, I was also given the responsibility for keeping the parts together.
The Begining
Is always a good place to start. I've obviously not been posting at the "correct" times, but thats why I'm making up for it now.
This blog is for the ENG 198 class at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. We are to write about our experiences and analyze them as part of the multidisciplinary class that iFoundy is. I'll be the first to admit that I had no idea what this class entailed, or even whats its purpose was. This was made clearer and clearer at each meeting and class I attended.
From what I gather, the class is here to make us more well rounded students. Much like dice, the more well rounded a person is, the more things that person can do. A six sided die has only six possible answers and sharp 90 degree corners. In contrast a 12 sided die has 12 possible answers and rounded 120 degree corners. The die that looks more like a circle has more possibilities than the well defined and common square die.
My first experience with the class portion went pretty well. I came out with knowledge in my head, mixing with ideas and creating new ones. (the chem example is still fresh in my mind) But I was soon met with a difficult situation. A week into class and I still couldn't get a hold of the books required for the class. It wasn't until a friend told me that they could be found at the TIS bookstore that I was able to obtain one.
My first impressions of the books are that both are applicable, and that I prefer the much more informal tone of the Napkin book. It wasn't written for college students specifically like the Entrepreneurial Engineer was, so I find it a bit more interesting.
This blog is for the ENG 198 class at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. We are to write about our experiences and analyze them as part of the multidisciplinary class that iFoundy is. I'll be the first to admit that I had no idea what this class entailed, or even whats its purpose was. This was made clearer and clearer at each meeting and class I attended.
From what I gather, the class is here to make us more well rounded students. Much like dice, the more well rounded a person is, the more things that person can do. A six sided die has only six possible answers and sharp 90 degree corners. In contrast a 12 sided die has 12 possible answers and rounded 120 degree corners. The die that looks more like a circle has more possibilities than the well defined and common square die.
My first experience with the class portion went pretty well. I came out with knowledge in my head, mixing with ideas and creating new ones. (the chem example is still fresh in my mind) But I was soon met with a difficult situation. A week into class and I still couldn't get a hold of the books required for the class. It wasn't until a friend told me that they could be found at the TIS bookstore that I was able to obtain one.
My first impressions of the books are that both are applicable, and that I prefer the much more informal tone of the Napkin book. It wasn't written for college students specifically like the Entrepreneurial Engineer was, so I find it a bit more interesting.
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