shrivats 11e technology evaluation

8/2/2019 Shrivats 11E Technology Evaluation

1/5

Shrivats 11E Technology EvaluationDesign Cycle Stage by Stage EvaluationI found the investigation stage to be more challenging than I thought it would be. I think my guiding

questions for research were well thought-out however I knew that my research would have to be

very specific to find the answers need. However I ended up researching more than I needed and

covered topics such as suede which didnt benefit me at all. This was reflected in my research

analysis which lacked depth because I didn't find a lot of the information to be relevant. But the

problem was that I couldn't find the specific answers I said I was going to get in my research plan.

This led me to broaden my research and I started taking down any information that was related to

laptop holders without considering their relevance. When I started writing my final specifications

after my research only a couple of them were based on my research about other laptop holder

models while the rest were ones I thought of that would solve the problem in my design brief. I think

my methods of testing were okay, not great but okay. I thought I would receive the feedback that I

needed even though the questions were not that detailed. There was also a big similarity between

my expert questions and the questions in my questionnaire; one of my methods of testing. If I was to

repeat this I would try to keep my research relevant and persist on searching deep to find the

information I need. I think I would have to show an improvement in two ATL's: Information literacy

and Information transfer skills in order to get better answers to my guiding questions and design

better specifications which could have led to a better and more interesting product. A solid

investigation almost always leads to a quality product.

The design stage is usually always the most difficult for me and it was no different this unit. To say

that my drawings are not of sufficient caliber for Year 11 would probably be an understatement. This

is why I decided to use Google Sketch Up for my Initial, Chosen and Developmental drawings.

However I did include one two point perspective drawing of my final design but it looked like

something I did very quickly and I didn't put a lot of thought and time into it. My design also looked

very simplistic given the fact that we had 10 classes to complete our work. My written on the other

hand, was very descriptive. I wrote comparisons for each of my initial design against each of my

specifications, explained whether it follows the specifications or not and justified my explanation. It

took a lot of time but it was the only way for me to decide which was the better than the rest. This is

why I had to spend an equally long amount of time on my justification of my designs to explain why I

picked it above the others. Ideally I would like to spend more time on the actual designs than the

written work next time. Overall I have not shown much of an improvement from last year's design

stage, particularly in the major unit at the end of the year, and I'm disappointed about that.

The plan stage was quite a short one because of the extra design lesson which is why we weren't

supposed to plan for the entire create stage but rather just a couple of classes. I think considering

those circumstances I planned quite well considering I had to plan on a lesson by lesson basis

because of all the modifications and additions I made in order to give me enough work to last 10

classes and remove a part of my creation that I didn't need (the border). I also think that certain

parts of my plan lack the detail to reach the highest levels in the criterion. A major improvement

would have been to include references to my templates. By doing so I would have probably made

this easier for someone else to follow if there were labeled and detailed template drawings. Maybe

if I had taken time to make good templates I would have realized what was wrong instead of making

changes, such as the leg support addition I added to the legs, during the create process. Overall I

think that my planning skills have improved since last year. However I still need to be more detailed

and specific especially when other people have to be able to read and understand my directions.


2/5

The create phase of the unit was the one I enjoyed the most. Despite the changes I made to my

product it was for me to be back in the workshop sawing, drilling and hammering (I found filing and

sanding to get boring though). A definite improvement for me was my sawing and filing skills. I

started to be able to cut more efficiently; getting the job done faster and with fewer errors than I

normally would. Hand-drilling and screwing is still a skill that could use some improvement though. Idecided to use the automatic hand drill and screwdriver instead of manual ones because it saved a

lot of time. I am looking to try and use manual tools for those tasks during a future create unit.

Towards the end of the creation stage I began to wonder if the worked I had planned to last 9-10

classes would actually be enough to keep me working for all those classes. In the end it turned out

that I had almost an entire lesson (not including the first one which I didn't start creating). Of course

I wouldnt have had enough work to do if it wasn't for the leg support and cup holder add itions that I

added to my creation which I thought of while recording my process journal notes. I think the cup

holder greatly increased the appeal of my product to my target audience because it would make it

more convenient for someone working for long periods of time, because they will have a place to

put their drink where they could easily reach it. I tried to keep it towards the top corner of my

product, this way there would be a less chance of someone's arm accidently knocking a glass full ofwater onto their computer or onto themselves. As I noted in my process journal, the blocks I added

for support to the legs ensured that the table wouldn't wobble when weight was put on it. I tested

to see whether there was any improvement by placing somewhat heavy objects (Frandsen's

cupboard creation) on it and I found that the table appeared to be more stable as opposed to before

where it felt slightly wobbly as if it could collapse at any time. In general I had a bit of fun during this

stage of the design cycle and also improved on some woodshop skills so I'm happy about how things

turned out in the end.

Environmental Impact of Design

Considering the fact that my design it mostly out of wood I dont think it would be fair to say that myproduct is very green especially looking at wood as a resource in todays world. Unless the trees

being cut down for the resources to create my product were replanted, my product would not be

able to be mass produced without a negative knock-off effect on the environment. Although wood is

technically renewable, we are witnessing it being turned into a resource that is becoming more and

more limited. Deforestation as a result of urbanization and deforestation for wood is the main cause

of this problem. If my product was to be mass produced and released into the consumer market

then the demand for wood would increase even further and so would the rate of deforestation.

Although one cant imagine how one product would make a difference, there are thousands and

thousands of companies across the world that put in orders for wood. My product would also result

in a lot of wasted wood which would end up trashed because of the cup holder. While I dont think

this would necessarily become a problem if those trees are replanted, my laptop holder will more

than likely do very little than contribute to the depletion of trees and forests.


3/5

Testing against specifications and rating how well I followed them

Total: 38/45 Average rating per specification: 4.22/5

I think I managed to follow most of my specifications. The only thing I am disappointed about was the fact that I didnt end up completing the entire project

by hand like I thought I was going. As for the specification about the bendable legs, I didnt prioritize them very high so in the end I thought the design was

overall good enough for me to leave it out when it came to selecting the final design.

Should be

made of

wood

Could have

legs

Legs could

be

bendable

(if it has)

Must be

large

enough to

hold the

tablet on

top of it

Should be made

out of hand tools

Should not

overheat

when a laptop

is placed on it.

Must be

completed

within time

frame given

Should be

able to hold

an object

equally as

heavy as a

tablet

The wood should

be easy to cut

The design

was

completely

made out

of wood.

5/5

The product

included

two legs,

however

they were

not the 4

individual

legs I had

originally

targeted to

make

4/5

The legs

cannot

bend,

however

this was a

very low

priority

2/5

It was more

than big

enough to

hold my

tablet.

5/5

For the drilling and

screwing I used the

automatic hand-

drills so I didnt

fully meet this

specification.

3/5

The wood is

quite thick and

can easily

withstand the

heat

5/5

Initially it

would have

been

completed a

couple

classes

before the

deadline but

the additions

made the

workload

last till the

end

4/5

I tested this

with

Frandsens

cupboard

which was

significantly

heavier than

the tablet

and it

looked like

it could

easily

handle the

weight

5/5

The wood wasnt

hard to cut at all, I

didnt encounter

any problems with

it

5/5


4/5

Short Survey of Classmates

On a scale

of 1-10rate how

appealing

my

product

looks?

Is there

anythingabout the

product you

find

interesting or

think is really

good?

Is there any

aspect of myproduct that

you don't

like?

Is there

anythingthat I can do

to improve

it?

Do you think

this producthelped solve

my problem

(to find a

good laptop

holder that

can

withstand

heat)?

Would you

want to usethis as a

laptop

holder?

Lastly, do

you thinkthis would

suit my

target

audience

(14-16

year olds)

7 The drink

holder

I think it

might be a

little tooheavy,

especially if

you want to

put a laptop

inside of it

Use lighter

wood

It will

probably

withstandheat, but I

doubt you

should hold a

laptop in it,

as the laptop

can break

and it is too

heavy

Maybe if I

was at home,

but I wouldnt

want to take

it out with me

Yes

6 The size; its

big enoughto place my

laptop and

comfortable

use it.

The two

legs. Sincethey can't

fold it's

harder to

keep them

away

Four legs

would haveprobably

made it look

cooler

Definitely Maybe as

something Iwould use if I

was working

for long hours

but not in

class

It depends,

somepeople

don't like

laptop

holders.

But I think

it will suit

most

people.

7 The cup

holder

I still think

there's a

good chance

the drink

could get

knocked

over and

spill all over

the laptop

Make the

cup holder

deeper (I

understand

you can only

do it to a

certain

point)

Of course,

it's thick

enough to do

so.

For Personal

project and

EE where you

spend loads

of time non-

stop staring at

the screen,

this way I can

still get a

drink to stay

refreshed

while

working.

Yes


5/5

7 Cup holder The tiny

wooden

blocks look

ugly I think

the make

the designlook worse

Four legs,

that way the

design has

more

support and

that way youdon't need

the ugly

blocks

It looks like

you could

put hotter

things on it.

Yes, (despite

the blocks)

It may not

appeal to

them but

in terms of

function,

yes.

6 Cup-holder Doesn't look

attractive.

Paint it. Add

color to it,

maybe even

spray paint.

It would look

way better

than it doesnow

Yes No (don't like

to use laptop

desks)

No, not

enough

appeal

7

7

7

6

6

NOTE: I chose a larger number of classmates to ask for the rating than the other questions

Quantitative Analysis

Most people think that an accurate rating for my product would be 7/10. I dont find this surprisingbecause I would have given myself about the same (I thought it was 6/10)

0%

0%

0%

0%0%

40%

60%

0%0%

0%

Rating product of out 10

1 (terrible)

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10 (Outstanding)

shrivats 11e technology evaluation

Documents