Submission of Design Journal, Multimedia Presentation and Model

Design Journal
Please name the file as DesignJournal_yourName and submit to the ADMT submit folder.

Multimedia Presentation
Please post your completed Multimedia Presentation in your personal ADMT blog. Post the URL of your post in the comments.

Model
Completed Model will be collected during ADMT lesson in week 5. Please ensure you have written your name and class on the model.

Due Date of Submission:11th Oct 2010

Design Journal: Table of Content

Material and Joints

Assessment 3: Design Journal, Final Multimedia Presentation and Prototype

These are the rubrics for your final piece of work due in Term 4, Week 4. THREE things that you would need to submit are:

1. Multimedia Presentation: this is supposed to be a self-running multimedia presentation that should last a MAXIMUM of only 3 minutes! It could include graphics, pictures, voiceovers, sound, text or other media that should explain how your final product works, and solve the intended problem. Creativity is highly encouraged, and thus approaches similar to advertisements, campaigns and telling a story are possibilities that could be explored. This presentation should be uploaded into your ADMT blogs and commented upon subsequently by your peers.

2. Design Journal: this should include observations and product ideas that you have captured in this project, and your evaluation of them. This should be concluded with how your product is supposed to resolve the problem that you are tackling, and your finalised product idea. It should preferably be done in Word/Pages and should be able to explain sufficiently the processes involved in coming out with the final product.

3. Prototypes/Models: this is supposed to be working, or almost working, models of your product ideas. It should be able to show clearly how the problem that you have highlighted, is supposed to be solved. Use of cardboards, corrugated boards, wire, clay and others, where relevant, are highly encouraged.

Class Participation

Presentation Schedule

Please ensure your presentation slides are ready for the presentation on 27th August 2010

Presentation for Elderly Challenge

Prepare a 5-minutes presentation slides
The things that we are looking out for in your presentation are as follows:
1. Explanation of the design problems identified.
2. Presentation of your proposed solution ( Google Sketchup, Sketching)
3. Justifications on why your proposed solution is able to solve the selected problem. Taking into account your research findings and any ergonomical and anthropometrical considerations, such as 'How is the product/s easy to use for the elderly?', 'How do you ensure that it is safe to be used for the elderly?' and 'What is the size of the product idea/s being proposed?, based on your anthropometric information about the elderly?'
Due Date: 27th August 2010

Purchasing a HandPhone

You have done well in your Final Year Examinations and your parents were very pleased with your results. As a reward, they promised to buy a handphone for you. When you entered the mobile shop, there are many different types of handphones available.
In the form, list down
1. Considerations of the handphone when you are doing the purchasing
2. How do you develop these considerations?
3. Importance of having these considerations.

E-learning Activity

Please Click on the following URL for your E-learning activity.
http://admtelearning.blogspot.com/

Have a Great Day Ahead!

First Angle Orthographic Projection

After viewing the video clip, please comment on the followings.
1. How are the 2D drawings created in first angle orthographic projection?
2. Discuss about the layout of first angle orthographic projection drawing.
( Do discuss about the alignment and distance of the drawings.)

3D drawings

Ergonomics and Anthropometry Part 2

Ergonomic and Anthropometry are “married” in every product.
How are Ergonomic and Anthropometric data related to each other?

Comment please.

Ergonomics and Anthropometry Part 1

Two different types of setup of a workplace are shown in the video.
1. Compare the two types of setup and state reasons why one of the setup is preferred.
2. What are the area of considerations when designing a conducive and comfortable workplace?
3. State the reasons why these considerations are important.

Work Submission:
1. Submit your answers in personal ADMT blog.
2. Name your post as Ergonomics and Anthropometry Part 1.
3. Copy and Paste your URL in the comment below.

Designing a Classroom Work Desk

Task: Designing a Classroom Work Desk with the following tools:

- Push/Pull
- Move/ Copy
- Tape Measure
- Intersection
- Offset
- Layers
- Scenes + Animation
- Import

Work Submission:
1. Upload the animation of your Work Desk into your personal ADMT Blog.
2. Name the Title of the post as Classroom Work Desk.
3. Copy and paste the URL of your post in the comment below.

Due Date: 16th July 2010

Introduction to SketchUp: Designing a MacBook Pro worktable

In the first lesson on Google SketchUp, please get yourself familiar with the following functions:

• Push/Pull
• Move/Copy
• Layers
• Materials
• Dimensions
• Scenes

You are to design a 'LAPTOP WORKTABLE' for your MacBook/Pro that is dimensionally correct, and is able to satisfy the following design specifications:

1. It should be able to hold your Learning Device, taking into account the cabling for power and the USB connections
2. It should also have space for placing at least 1 regular-sized pencil or pen
3. It should be able to be placed on your study table at your own home OR at the table in school
4. There is a handle that would enable it to be carried around easily
5. Optionally, it should have a space for a mousepad or a mouse.

From EQ's to Challenges: Brainstorming for challenges

After coming out with a list of Essential Questions (EQ's) and ranking them, your next step is to analyse these questions further by brainstorming. For each of the 3 shortlisted EQ's, brainstorm some of the possible challenges/problems that might crop up. The key idea here is to allow you to identify possible areas that you can work towards as part of your work in ADMT later on.

You might want to use Mindnode as your tool of choice.

After you have completed this, please export the file as a graphic file (.PNG image), or convert it to other VISIBLE formats where viable, and upload it to your ADMT personal blog post, with the blog post title: 'Identifying Challenges from EQ's'.

Please place the URL of your blog post in the 'Comments' section of this post.

You are also to visit your classmate's blog post (at least 3) and comment on some of their ideas/challenges/suggestions/mindmaps. Remember that your comment should be useful and constructive.

Selecting your EQ's

Based on the list of EQ's that you have come out with, select and rank the 3 (or more) EQ's that you would like to follow up. Comment and elaborate on these EQ's that you have selected in your personal ADMT blogs, stating reasons and other factors that you would like to highlight that can help you to answer them. Post the URL of these statements in the comments section of this blog post.

The Ageing Challenge: Essential Questions

To begin with Semester 2's work, we would be looking at eliciting some essential questions (EQ's) that would help to scaffold your project further in subsequent lessons. The following are the basic essence of what constitutes an EQ:

A question is essential when it: 

1. causes genuine and relevant inquiry into the big ideas and core content;
2. provokes deep thought, lively discussion, sustained inquiry, and new understanding as well as more questions;
3. requires students to consider alternatives, weigh evidence, support their ideas, and justify their answers;
4. stimulates vital, on-going rethinking of big ideas, assumptions, and prior lessons;
5. sparks meaningful connections with prior learning and personal experiences;
6. naturally recurs, creating opportunities for transfer to other situations and subjects.

[Taken from: http://www.authenticeducation.org/bigideas/article.lasso?artId=53]

By design, the big idea allows for the generation of a wide variety of essential questions that should reflect your interests and the needs of your immediate community. Essential questions identify what is important to know about the big idea and refine and contextualize that idea.

Please follow up with coming out with as many questions first bearing in mind the ideas or information that you already have thought of in the last few weeks, if any.

The Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) Framework

I hope that the diagram of the CBL framework below would give the class an idea on how we are going to move forward in tackling 'The Elderly Challenge' in Semester 2.

Source: http://ictedservices.typepad.com/icted_services/2009/10/challenge-based-learning-professional-learning-module.html

Video on CBL

A short video clip on Challenge-Based Learning (CBL)

Holiday work - Part 3: Tools to be learnt in Semester 2

There are primarily 2 key software tools that you would be learning in Semester 2, namely:

• Phun
• Google SketchUp

Please do try to self-learn the basics of the 2 software tools above. For Phun, there are tutorials already done up on their website. Please do have a look at them. You might also be able to pick up some completed examples from YouTube. For SketchUp, there are even more resources available for you. You might want to try to download some free video podcasts from your iTunes, or watch some tutorial videoclips from the SketchUp website, or to look at other tutorials done by other users on YouTube...the choice is really yours.

Submission:
Please do up a simple room or layout space that shows how you would consider planning to furnish a room so that they are more elderly-friendly. Do explain your submissions with some texts to explain. Submission deadline for this is on the 21st June 2010. Please  name your files as follows:

SST_ADMT_ElderlyChallenge_YourClass_IndexNo_YourName.skp

(e.g. SST_ADMT_ElderlyChallenge_S104_07_TanAhKow.skp)

Holiday work - Part 2: Deepening your learning experiences

As part of your research into understanding the elderly, you are tasked to also take video clips, photographs, or any other forms of recordable media to show how the elderly cope with their daily routines. These could include, but not necessarily limited to, every day activities such as: cooking a simple meal, pouring water from a flask, going to the market to buy groceries, going down the stairs, exercising, etc.

As a follow up, each one of you would do a podcast or a writeup of your observations and interviews with the elderly, caretaker, nurses or anyone who work with the elderly. Find out from them what are the problems that the elderly faces. Look for opportunities to observe and interview them such as at the senior citizens corners, void decks, hawker centers, etc.

Note that you are highly encouraged to select a range of elderly folks to observe so as to give you a broader perspective of them.

Submission:
You are to post your work on your personal ADMT blog every Wednesday of the week during the June holidays. (2nd, 9th, 16th and 23rd June 2010). Name your post: Elderly Challenge - Observation 1, Elderly Challenge - Observation 2, etc. You are also tasked to go to other students’ personal ADMT Blog to comment on their posts.

Holiday work - Part 1: Understanding the ‘The Elderly Challenge’

For your ADMT individual coursework in Semester 2 on the topic of ‘The Elderly Challenge’, you would be tasked to get a better understanding of the local context of the situation/challenge. A reading on the report done by the 'Committee on Ageing Issues (CAI)' is compulsory for you. The link to the report is here:
http://bit.ly/aKVZZC

Submission:
The following are guiding questions that may enable you to understand the report better. Please answer them in your own ADMT blogs, and post their links into the ‘Comments’ section of this post. You are to complete this by the 19th June 2010.

• Explain in your own words, the FOUR key recommendations of the report.
• State ONE way that the CAI report is recommending to make our public housing more elderly-friendly
• State TWO ways on how we can ensure that the quality of elderly care here in Singapore is affordable
• After reading the CAI report, what do you are the THREE things that you can do, as an SST student, to help overcome these elderly challenges

T2W8: Rubrics on Group Presentations

This is the proposed rubrics for the evaluation of each individual member in the final group presentation:

T2W8: Rubrics on Group Work

This is the rubrics for group work, for your kind reference:

T2W8: GROUP Reflection of Semester 1's project work

Hi all, these are the guided questions that your GROUP can use to craft out and evaluate your group's work on the 'Environment' theme in Semester 1: 

What do we need to evaluate?

• The processes: What are the different stages of the process? Evaluate each stages. How do you think that you can improve on the various stages.
• The proposed solution: Is it an effective solution? 
• If yes, state the reason.
• If no, suggest an alternative solution/make improvement to the proposed solution

Please submit your completed group reflection documents in the ADMT's Submit folder. Please name your file as follows: 
GroupReflection_S106_Grp_GroupNumber 

T2W8: Personal Reflection of Semester 1's project work

Hi all, these are the guided questions that you can use to craft out your personal reflection on the 'Environment' theme and the group work done in Semester 1:

• How do you think you have contributed to the group?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses? 
• How do you think you could have done better?
• What are the problems faced during the process?
• How did you overcome the problems?
• What would you have done if you were given a second chance?

Please submit your completed personal reflection documents in the ADMT's Submit folder. Please name your file as follows: 

PersonalReflection_S106_IndexNumber_YourName

T2W5: Rubrics for Animation

For your information, this is the rubrics for your animation:

T2W4: I&E Lesson on Problem Identification

This is the scenario so far...

The year is 2012 and SST has moved to its permanent site. As the school is surrounded by a lot of trees and vegetation, there are a lot of birds and insects flying around. This has caused a lot of problems for the school especially at the dining hall, the school field and any open spaces. The birds’ droppings are everywhere and this is not only unsightly but also unhygienic. The food in the dining hall also attracts the birds and insects and this has made the dining experience very unpleasant.

The school has decided to form an innovation team to come out with a solution to the problem. The team has decided to adopt the following steps in the problem solving process:

Step 1 - Identify underlying problems

Step 2 - Select an underlying problem

Step 3 – Produce solution ideas

Step 4 – Select criteria
Step 5 – Apply criteria
Step 6 – Develop an action plan

For today's lesson between 2:30 to 3:30 pm, you are tasked to complete Step 1 using the Wallwisher.com site here. Please take about 15 mins to identify and come out with as many possible problems as you can. For steps 2 and 3, you are encouraged to use a Mindmap tool, or/and any other relevant IDEATION tools, on ONE of your selected problems, that would enable you to put it up on your ADMT blog.

T2W3+W4: Animation Programme - Creating YOUR Story

Based on the sessions conducted earlier, your group would have completed a simple basic animation clip on the 'Bouncing Ball'. Please do remember to upload this clip into your group ADMT blog (if you have one), OR in one of your team member's blog. Do remember to input the URL into the 'Comments' section of the previous post! I would also appreciate it if the other team members could also input some key learning points that they have obtained whilst coming out with the 'Bouncing Ball' animation.

For the next part of this programme, you would be looking at coming out with the most important component of your animation, i.e. YOUR STORY. Do remember Mr Joshua's key pointers during his presentation. Some things that you might want to take note of are:

• Use the research information that you and your group have collated earlier in Term 1 to come out with some initial story ideas/seeds
• Do be mindful of your 5W+1H's (Who, What, Where, When, Why, How). For eg, who is your target audience, what is the message that you want to deliver, when would be an appropriate time for your clip to be shown, why do you think your clip would be most effective, etc
• The 4 key structures of a story, as mentioned in the last session on creating a story: 
• PREMISE: (5W+1H, Protagonists, Antagonists, Goals)
• CONFLICT: Goals, Opposing Attributes, the Antagonists (Others, Self, the surrounding Environment)
• Crisis: Height of Conflict, Important Decision
• Climax: Resolution of Conflict, Achievement of Goals

Your assignment: 

Each one of you would have to come out with 3 possible story ideas or seeds for your homework. Do get this done on a simple piece of paper/foolscap before the next lesson!

T2W3: Animation Lessons - 'Bouncing Ball' clip

Please remember to include the link to your group's 'Bouncing Ball' animation clip in the 'Comments' section of this blog post. Do take the effort to take a look at other group's animation and comment, where relevant.

T2W1: Animation programme - a software update!

Just an update on the software that would be used for the Animation programme. Instead of the FrameBy Frame software tool that was originally planned, we are using an alternative software that is downloadable here or here: http://tinyurl.com/yjjh6sh. Please do take note of this!

T2W1: Reflection on LEAPS to NeWater Plant

After your visit to the NeWater plant, please do follow up with your own reflection. You can use the following questions to guide your reflection:

1. What are the 3 key takeaways from today’s visit?
2. Name 2 concepts that you have learnt today during the visit.
3. What is the 1 interesting thing that you have learnt today?
4. What are the things that you can do to help with water conservation in Singapore?

Submitting your work...

• Post your response in the personal ADMT blog that you created earlier. Give the title in your post: Personal Reflection (NEWater visit)
• Copy and paste the hyperlink of this particular post to the Comments section in this post. 

March holidays: Late submissions+Animation Program for T2W1...

Before we start on the animation program, please be advised that the software that we are going to use is called FrameByFrame for Mac (Leopard). Please download and install it into your learning devices before the start of the lesson. The software is downloadable HERE. Have a great and a restful week-long holidays.

For those groups that have not submitted your reports, please submit them to me by Monday 1800 hrs latest, because marks will be deducted at 5% per day of late submission!

Week 10: 'Greener Gadgets' Design Competition

Something that you might be interested in. Go check it out!

'Greener Gadgets' Design Competition

Week 10: Revisiting 'Bad Design' - IDEO's Shopping trolley project

The videoclip is a feature done by ABC on a design company called IDEO. Famous for being one of THE best, if not the best, design company, in the world, the feature highlights the problem-solving process that have made IDEO famous for her outstanding and innovative solutions. Watch the clip and answer the following questions:

1. In your opinion, what are some of the problems of the current design of the shopping trolley?
2. What are some of the rules instituted by the IDEO's design team, and why do you think were they instituted?
3. From your observation, what are some of the company's culture or practices that have made IDEO one of the best design company in the world?
4. How do you think some of these culture or practices can be implemented or internalised in SST, or within you as a student?

Week 10: An exemplar on the process flow for 'A Healthy Environment'

As presented during class:

Week 9: Discussions on the theme 'Environment'

There would be a need to consolidate all your research and discussions of the theme 'Environment' and of the particular problem or challenge that your group are tackling, in the form of a project journal. This should be done as a group activity. The things to look out for in this project journal are:

• Definition of the proposed theme or challenge; give details of what is the challenge that your group have originally looked into (Weeks 2 to 3)
• Mindmap of problems and ideas proposed (Week 4)
• Questions that have been restated (Week 6)
• Research and findings that have been done and collated
• Identify the need using PIES
• Existing ways of solving the problem (Tabulated, good and bad points of existing solutions, etc). Your group can also suggest solutions to the challenges using the Ideation techniques that have been taught in class, such as Morphological Analysis and SCAMPER.
• The report should be about 7 pages long (minus the cover page, if you are planning to do one; Font: Arial font type, Size 12 and 1.5 line spacing) and done on Pages or MS Word
• Please email me your report to my previously given email address. Do state your team members and class in your report.

Due date: Thursday, 11th March 2010

Week 9: SCAMPER'ing - Some examples of 50 uses

Some examples taken from Royal High School in the UK on 50 ideas for an object:

Carrots

Banana

Bricks

Your lesson for the week:

Come out with 30 uses for ANY ONE of the following items. Sketch out your ideas in your sketchbooks and submit them within the lesson. Do apply the ideation techniques that have been taught in class, namely 'Shape Borrowing' and 'SCAMPER'. The items are:

• Paper Clip
• Shoes
• Spectacles/Glasses
• Water Bottle
• Stapler

Week 8: Lessons on SCAMPER

Slide presentation on SCAMPER:

Ideation: Applying 'SCAMPER'

View more presentations from irfan darian.

Week 7: Identifying Bad Designs

Go to the baddesigns.com website link provided by the side (in Design Sites). Take a moment to study the products and situations that are listed in the site. These are some typical examples of designs or situations that are badly-designed, and might lead on to rather unpleasant product or usage experiences by the users. Based on these examples:

• Showcase a few products or situations that you can use and highlight as an example of something that is badly designed, whether be it a product, or a situation
• Put these as a blogpost in  your personal ADMT blogs.
• Place the link/s to your posts in the comments section of this post
• Remember to include these items in your blog post:
• The problem (product or situation)
• Proposed solution
• A picture or pictures of the product/situation (do remember to quite your photo sources if they are taken from some other sites!)
• You can use this mechanical pencil example as a guide
• Deadline: By Tuesday, 23rd February, 2010

Week 7: Reminders

Just a gentle reminder on 2 things:

1. Upload your selected photos into your personal ADMT blogs, together with your selected theme, and the reasons why these photos are selected to be featured
2. Updates from week 6; for each group, please remember week 6's work on restating your problems as statements. I will follow up with each individual group during the next lesson this week!

The Living Climate Change Video Challenge

There is an interesting international video challenge competition that I find to be very interesting and relevant to our theme on 'Environment'. I thought that I might want to sound all of you out, in case you are interested. The deadline for this is also just nice for your ADMT project. Do take a look at the Under-18 category of the competition in the URL below. If you or your group are interested, do pass me your names.

http://www.design21sdn.com/challenges/24

Week 6: Your Environmental Challenge - Brainstorming/Ideation

Restating your problems
In week 4, your group would have worked on coming out with 2 key problems and 3 key areas that you would want to work on as your environmental challenge. Before you start to brainstorm on ideas for probable solutions to these problems, please restate your problems as a challenge or a question. For example, if your problem is:

'To encourage students to recycle', 

you can restate your problem as 

'How can we encourage SST students to recycle 

their water bottles?'

The idea here is to be as specific as you can on the intended challenge. This will then allow you and your team to be more focused on your challenges, and your intended solutions.

Ideation

By using any of the ideation methods that have been taught in class, ideate as many possible solutions as you can to each of your problems. Tabulate these solutions if you can.

Week 6+7: Basic Photography - Your fortnight 'assignment'

As part of your assignment on photography over the next 2 weeks, I would like each of you to choose just one of the following themes below:

1. Family Ties
2. Perspectives
3. Emotions
4. Motion/Stationary
5. Nostalgic
6. RED!

Take as many pictures as you want of any of the given selected theme that you have chosen. Apply the basic knowledge that have been taught in class in your pictures. Choose between 8 to 10 of your best pictures in class and showcased them in your personal ADMT blog, together with some explanation of why the photos were chosen for the given theme. You are also expected to do a short presentation of your selected photos in class.

Week 6: Basic Photography: Lesson 3-The Diagonal Rule

The Diagonal Rule states that a photograph looks more dynamic if the objects fall or follow a diagonal line. The diagonal line doesn't have to be an actual line and it doesn't have to be a straight one. It could be the edges of a river, the top of a forest, or even an imaginary line connecting the different objects in the scene.

One side of the picture is divided into two, and then each half is divided into three parts. The adjacent side is divided so that the lines connecting the resulting points form a diagonal frame. According to the Diagonal Rule, important elements of the picture should be placed along these diagonals. Here are some pictures as examples:

 

Article and pictures taken and adapted from:

http://www.colorpilot.com/comp_rules.html

and http://www.picture-thoughts.com/photography/composition/angle/

Week 6: Basic Photography: Lesson 2-The Rule of Thirds

The ancient Greeks are amongst the first to realise the more pleasant effects that a visual presentation using the rule of thirds would present. Hence most of their works of art uses this rule in its visual presentation. In fact the rule of thirds are amongst the first few rules that are taught in basic photography classes.

The basic principle behind the rule of thirds is to imagine breaking an image down into thirds (both horizontally and vertically) so that you have 9 parts. As follows.

As you’re taking an image you would have done this in your mind through your viewfinder or in the LCD display that you use to frame your shot. With this grid in mind the ‘rule of thirds’ now identifies four important parts of the image that you should consider placing points of interest in as you frame your image. Not only this – but it also gives you four ‘lines’ that are also useful positions for elements in your photo.

The theory is that if you place points of interest in the intersections or along the lines that your photo becomes more balanced and will enable a viewer of the image to interact with it more naturally. Studies have shown that when viewing images that people’s eyes usually go to one of the intersection points most naturally rather than the center of the shot – using the rule of thirds works with this natural way of viewing an image rather than working against it.

An example of such a photo is presented below:

 

In learning how to use the rule of thirds (and then to break it) the most important questions to be asking of yourself are:

• What are the points of interest in this shot?
• Where am I intentionally placing them?

Once again – remember that breaking the rule can result in some striking shots – so once you’ve learnt it experiment with purposely breaking it to see what you discover.

Adapted from: http://digital-photography-school.com/rule-of-thirds

Week 6: Basic Photography: Lesson 1-Knowing your focal point

It is important in basic photography for you to be able to know what are the focal points of the photos that you are taking. Are you taking a single subject matter or a group of people engaging in a certain activity? The reason why a focal point is important is to allow your viewers to maintain their focus on the intended subject matter. Hopefully the ideas and messages that you would want to show, highlight or put across in the photos would be put forth across successfully.

For example, compare the 2 pictures below:

 Picture 1

Picture 2

Which of these pictures would show more clearly the idea of students being engaged in an IT-based activity?

6 Techniques to Enhance the Focal Point in an Image

A focal point can be virtually anything ranging from a person, to a building, to a mountain, to a flower etc. Obviously the more interesting the focal point the better – but there are other things you can do to enhance it’s power including:

• Position – Place it in a prominent position – you might want to start with the rule of thirds for some ideas.
• Focus – Learn to vary your depth of field to blur out other aspects in front or behind your focal point.
• Blur – If you really want to get tricky you might want to play with slower shutter speeds if your main subject is still and things around it are moving.
• Size – making your focal point large is not the only way to make it prominent – but it definitely can help.
• Color – using contrasting colors can also be a way of setting your point of interest apart from it’s surroundings.
• Shape – similarly contrasting shapes and textures can make a subject stand out – especially patterns that are repeated around a subject.

Keep in mind that a combination of above elements can work well together.
Lastly – don’t confuse the viewer with too many competing focal points which might overwhelm the main focal point. Secondary points of interest can be helpful to lead the eye but too many strong ones will just clutter and confuse.

Adapted from: http://digital-photography-school.com/using-focal-points-in-photography

Week 5+6: Ideation - 'Shape Borrowing' slides

The slides that I presented on the topic of 'Shape Borrowing'

Ideation: Shape Borrowing

View more presentations from irfan darian.

Week 5+6: Tools for Ideation

This week, we are going to cover a little bit on some of the tools that can be used for Ideation (and Brainstorming). Ideation is an important component for any problem solving situations as it allows one to look at possible solutions, and then after considering all possibilities, is then able to make a decision on the most appropriate solution/s. In previous lessons, we have learnt 2 tools that could also be used in an 'Ideation' context, namely the 'PIES' and '5W+1H' methods. For the next fortnight, I'll be covering 3 types of ideation techniques that you can use to generate ideas, and possibly solutions. They are:

• Morphological Analysis
• Shape Borrowing techniques
• SCAMPER (which is the acronym for Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to other use, Eliminate, and Rearrange/Reverse)

Please do some basic research on these methods before my presentation so that we can go through some activities and exercises in class.

FYI, the diagram below gives you a good idea of how the problem solving process (and the project) is supposed to developed across the entire Semester.

Taken from: http://blog.makezine.com/designprocessjpg.jpg

Week 5: An exercise on IDEATION

Take a look at the following YouTube clip, that is a compilation of the Top 5 clips from the series 'Whose Line is it Anyway?' The show primarily consists of a series of skits that involves 3 resident and an invited guest comedian that will come out with various improvised situations based on a given theme.

The series of clips below is taken from the item known as 'Prop', where the comedians are given some weird-looking props, and are given very little time to come out with as many variations and interpretations of their given props as they can. Take a look at this and see what are some learning points that you can derive from this:

Do answer the following questions:

1. What do you think is the main underlying theme of the clip above?
2. What are some skill sets that would be needed by the comedians to make their impromptu presentations successful?
3. How do you think you would be able to hone your skills that you have mentioned in question (2)?
4. How then would the skills that you mentioned be useful and applicable in your other domains and subject areas?

Week 5: Sustainable Design...a wow idea!

The clip below is taken from TED.com, an annual seminar of sorts where great people with great ideas come together and present their ideas and perhaps even solutions for almost every single problem known to Man. Here is a clip that I find suitable in presenting an example that may deepen our understanding on the topic of 'Sustainable Design', one of the relatively newer areas of Design. Enjoy the clip and answer the following questions below:

• Based on the clip, what is your understanding of the term 'Sustainable Design'?
• Can you think of other possible situations where sustainable design can be incorporated? 
• What do you think inspire him to come out with such a solution?
• How would such a contraption benefit Mankind?

Week 5: Drawing in perspectives: 1 and 2-points perspectives

Take a look at the picture below that shows a scene from my personal collection of desktop wallpapers. What do you notice about the pathway and the rows of benches placed alongside it?

In the previous sketching lessons, you have been exposed and practising your sketches in isometric orientation, where lines are usually parallel in nature. But as you see from the photo above, and most other photos, the human eye has a peculiar way of looking at things. For example in the picture above, although we are aware that the path does have a constant width, our eyes choose to see that the path and the rows of benches are CONVERGING to a SINGLE POINT. This is known as a single point perspective!

Similarly, in certain instances, there are occasions whereby things are seen with not a single, but a 2-points perspective. The examples below shows sketches in 2-points perspective:

How about the picture below? Can you see it having a 2-points perspective orientation?

Taken from: http://z.about.com/d/drawsketch/1/0/O/O/street_corner.jpg

HOMEWORK for the weekend:
Here is a YouTube clip that you can view to learn more about how to come out with  1, 2 and even 3-points perspectives:

Perspectives

An interesting message from Foo Ming Yong & his team

At this rate mankind is going, i tell you, we're doomed. We're cutting down trees like mad, wasting water, polluting the air, land and sea. We're doomed to one day destroy our own mother earth and by then, its too late to regret it. This is a short animation i made to explain that, although what happens in the animation is not true, we will still destroy earth in a similar way.

Week 4: Consolidating your Research

Now that the individual team members have done their own individual researches, as a group, do consolidate your research. Take some time (about 20 to 30 mins) during class to consolidate and answer the following questions as a group:

1. State 2 major problems that you have identified on the given topic on 'Environment'
2. State 3 potential areas or problems that you think, as a group, you would like to work on for the next 10 or so weeks. Note that you would NOT need to work on all 3 later on, most probably just 1 or 2 only!
   
3. Think of how you can incorporate these sub-lessons for the problem/s that you are going to solve:
• Photography
• Animation
• Models and/or prototypes . Do give some suggestions for this too if possible and relevant.

Note that the deadline for this exercise is next Fri, 5th Feb 2010 by 1700 hrs

Week 4: Sketching: Isometric and Oblique sketches

There are various specific ways that you can use to show the orientation of your sketches. What the lessons have shown you so far is the standard way of indicating your orientation of your sketches in an ISOMETRIC manner.

The other sketching orientation that is usually used, but not as frequently, is the OBLIQUE orientation.

The difference between the two can be shown by showing the following 2 examples:

Taken from: http://www.tpub.com/content/engineering/14069/css/14069_187.htm

• Could you state ONE advantage of using an Isometric projection/orientation in your sketches?
• Could you state ONE disadvantage of using and Oblique orientation in your sketches?
  

By using the 'Box' or 'Crating' method as demonstrated in class, complete the worksheet given to you during class, in your sketch books. In case you prefer the soft copy, the 12 isometric blocks that you have to complete are as shown below:

Week 4: Making Your Research Clearer

There are many ways to ensure that that your research information is presented in a clear, concise and more targeted manner. Two methods that you can adopt are the '5W+1H' method and the P.I.E.S. method. Do a search on these to know what they are.

Week 3: Doing 'Research' (part 2)

Based on the given 5 different topics on Environment (shown below according to your assigned numbering within your group) that has been given to you in class, do a more in-depth research individually. Ensure that the context of your research is localized, i.e. in Singapore's context. Put up your research work in your ADMT personal blog, and put the URL/link in the comments section below.

FYI, the 5 given topics are:
#1: Sustainable Design
#2: Conserving Water Resources
#3: Alternative Energy Sources
#4: Singapore Environmental Policies/Campaigns
#5: Reducing, Reusing & Recycling@SST

Deadline: Monday, 25th Jan 2010 @ 5pm

Week 3: Understanding 'Research' (part 1)

After your presentations on your initial findings and research on the theme 'Environment', I would like to gauge your understanding on the topic of 'Research'. On your own and during class curriculum time, answer the following questions in your personal ADMT blogs (estimated lesson time: 30 min.).

1. What is RESEARCH? (Please use your own definition/s!)
2. Why do you think research is important?
3. How can we conduct good research?

Post the URL links of your answers to these questions in the Comment section of this post below. Your comment format should look like this:

• Your Name
• Your URL
• Any other comments/remarks that you might want to include

Deadline: By Monday, 25th Jan (6 pm)

Week 3 - Sketching: Basic Primitive Shapes

The 5 basic shapes from the previous lesson's homework will form the foundation of most of your sketches in the future. Take time to practise sketching these 5 basic shapes, and please do combinations of them where necessary. You might just be surprised at what you can come out with!

Here are some sample sketches for your references (sources taken from personal notes):

BASIC SHAPES & FORMS

OBJECTS BASED ON CUBE-LIKE DESIGNS

ELLIPSES

SPHERES

Class work/Home work:

Practise the other 4 basic shapes of Cones, Square-based pyramids, Cylinders and Spheres in your sketch books. Sketchbooks are to be submitted on Week 4 of school.

Week 2 - Lesson 2 (Part 1) - Environment

We live in a world where natural resources like air and water are being threatened by the onslaught of human activities. Pollution and industrialization have caused the depletion of Mother Nature’s reserves at an alarming rate.

• Will Man's selfish acts bring about the Earth’s doom?  
• What can we do to save the Earth?
• What are some of the problems that we can realistically and effectively be engaged in?
  

Submitting your work as a group:

• You are going to submit your thoughts to this ADMT class blog via email.
  
• You may include text, image(s) and/or videoclip(s).
  
• Put your name as the title of the email so that we know who submitted the post. e.g. ADMT Lesson 2 (Part 1) Environment - your name
  
• Send the email to irfandarian.admt2010s106@blogger.com
• Your work will be posted to this ADMT class blog.

Deadline: 18th Jan 2010, 5pm

For the 2nd section part of this part, each group is to brainstorm and do an initial research on either one of the following sub-themes, or create new ones where relevant:

• Conservation
• Pollution (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle)
• Innovative solutions for saving the Earth

One or 2 team members from each group will do a 5 to 7 min presentation on their initial findings and research on the given sub-theme/s above. Presentations will be done on Thur, 21st Jan 2010.

Week 2 - Lesson 2 (Part 2) - Sketching Lesson: Lines and Shapes

For this first exercise in your design journal, each student will be tasked to sketch out any one of the 3 selected items below:

• Pen
  
• Mechanical Pencil
• Stapler

Take about 15 minutes to do this in class and highlight the following in your sketch:

• General details and features of the product being sketched
• Some key specific characteristics of the product that you would like to highlight and may not be seen in your sketch
• Any other details that you might want to include

Homework (To be done in your Design Journal):
Draw the following 5 basic shapes on a single page of your design journal:

• A regular cube
• A cone
• A square-based pyramid
• A cylinder
• A sphere

Deadline: Before the next lesson

Week 2 - Lesson 1: Introduction to Art, Design, Media & Technology

1. What is Art, Design, Media and Technology (ADMT) to you?
2. Why is ADMT important?
3. What are the skills that you would want to learn in ADMT? 
4. Sketch how the world would look like without art, design, media and technology. Describe briefly your sketch. [Take a picture of your sketch and post it on your personal blog]
   

Submitting your work...

1. Create a personal blog for ADMT.
2. Post your response in the blog that you created. Give the title in your post: ADMT Lesson 1: Personal Reflection
3. Copy and paste the hyperlink of this particular post to the Comments section in this post.

Deadline: Monday, 18th Jan 2010