Do It Better - Final Project
Background:
For this final project of the year, we were given an option of what project we would like to complete. We were to form our own groups this time and either choose to impove upon one of our projects completed earlier in the year, or we could design a chair out of cardboard. My group decided to continue to improve our skills with working with coding and electicity. I was very happy to have more time to improve this skill. Our goal was to be able to use the LCD display, LED lights, and buzzer at the same time.
For this final project of the year, we were given an option of what project we would like to complete. We were to form our own groups this time and either choose to impove upon one of our projects completed earlier in the year, or we could design a chair out of cardboard. My group decided to continue to improve our skills with working with coding and electicity. I was very happy to have more time to improve this skill. Our goal was to be able to use the LCD display, LED lights, and buzzer at the same time.
Physics Component:
The terms and definitions that were used in this unit are all mentioned in my Programming Robotics Art page. Also on this page are the equations used to find current through the circuit o
r the entire resistance a circuit has and what concepts those equations relate to.
This project used the same equations and vocabulary, but the physics concepts we used also included the principle of the scientific process. This process is defined as "principles and procedures for the systematic pursuit of knowledge involving the recognition and formulation of a problem, the collection of data through observation and experiment, and the formulation and testing of hypotheses" by the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Basically, it's the process of exploring an unknown concept with a hypothesis and experimenting, finding an end result, but then repeating the steps (with a new question and hypothesis) to gain new information. Or perhaps keep the same hypothesis and simply improve your last process. That is what we did in this last unit. We took a project we had previously completed, and then chose to improve upon it.
The terms and definitions that were used in this unit are all mentioned in my Programming Robotics Art page. Also on this page are the equations used to find current through the circuit o
r the entire resistance a circuit has and what concepts those equations relate to.
This project used the same equations and vocabulary, but the physics concepts we used also included the principle of the scientific process. This process is defined as "principles and procedures for the systematic pursuit of knowledge involving the recognition and formulation of a problem, the collection of data through observation and experiment, and the formulation and testing of hypotheses" by the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Basically, it's the process of exploring an unknown concept with a hypothesis and experimenting, finding an end result, but then repeating the steps (with a new question and hypothesis) to gain new information. Or perhaps keep the same hypothesis and simply improve your last process. That is what we did in this last unit. We took a project we had previously completed, and then chose to improve upon it.
Project History:
Pitfalls: I think this project had some of the most interesting (and frustrating) challenges. I did improve my coding skills and was able to combine code, even when other members of my group couldn't. However, there were times when none of us could do anything to fix a problem, simply because our board would not connect to the arduino program. It would work perfectly one time we ran the program, and then suddenly just stop functioning. Because of this problem, it was very difficult for us to expand our code.
Best moments: I really enjoyed working with my team members. I loved being able to help them out when necessary and even fixing the code when they could not. That was a good feeling because I felt useful.
Reflection:
I think that this project was a very good way to end Freshman year in the STEM program. It was not so stressful that it kept me from studying for finals, and it also let me improve on a project that I felt like I hadn't worked my best on.
I learned some new things about myself as well. I now know that it's not just important for me to have a job to do, it's also important for people to give me time to work with them and help support them, because otherwise we all end up feeling segregated and annoyed at one another. I'm really thankful that I never felt that way working with my team members during this unit.
Pitfalls: I think this project had some of the most interesting (and frustrating) challenges. I did improve my coding skills and was able to combine code, even when other members of my group couldn't. However, there were times when none of us could do anything to fix a problem, simply because our board would not connect to the arduino program. It would work perfectly one time we ran the program, and then suddenly just stop functioning. Because of this problem, it was very difficult for us to expand our code.
Best moments: I really enjoyed working with my team members. I loved being able to help them out when necessary and even fixing the code when they could not. That was a good feeling because I felt useful.
Reflection:
I think that this project was a very good way to end Freshman year in the STEM program. It was not so stressful that it kept me from studying for finals, and it also let me improve on a project that I felt like I hadn't worked my best on.
I learned some new things about myself as well. I now know that it's not just important for me to have a job to do, it's also important for people to give me time to work with them and help support them, because otherwise we all end up feeling segregated and annoyed at one another. I'm really thankful that I never felt that way working with my team members during this unit.