Hello everyone! Our team spent this semester creating a smart vertical garden. We were inspired the Growing Local Community project posted on Ultimaker’s website in which the challenge was to design and incorporate 3D printing into vertical garden. We decided to take this challenge even further and design a vertical garden that would be tailored towards college students as often times college students do not have access to a location that they can grow their own produce or flowers and therefore are less likely to eat healthy and participate in gardening in general. In addition, college students also are incredibly busy and do not have time to constantly monitor the status of something they are trying to grow so making this garden “smart” would make it even easier for students to be involved in growing their own food.

This idea led our group to the How Can We statement of “How can we give college students a convenient way to grow their own produce, leading to a healthier diet and lifestyle”. We decided to move forward and attempt to solve this problem because we are all college students and understand how busy our lives can and how constraining it can be to live in campus housing such as a dorm, apartment, or rental house. We were also interested in creating a vertical garden that was cheap and easy to maintain and was also easy to replicate. The idea is that any regular college student can walk into a maker space, such as the Maker Lab, and recreate our project without having any prior experience in 3D printing or small electronics at all.

Design Sketch

We started off our design process with a simple drawn sketch consisting of 2 planter boxes and some support beams with a box next to it to hold the electronics going into the garden. This sketch ended up really guiding our design as we began to model it in fusion as it gave a clear understanding of what we wanted our vertical garden to look like. We then began the process of prototyping our design by printing our a smaller scale of our first garden box. Needless to say, it did not go very well as we learned that we would need a brim to keep the print flat on the printer and that our design would need some changes so that it would print correctly. At the same time, we began tinkering with the sensors that we wanted to include in the garden by figuring out how to connect soil moisture sensors to an Arduino Uno and getting them to read values in real time and also connecting an LDR ( a sensor that detects light) and getting it to display values on the computer as well. The original concept of the smart aspect of this garden is that it would connect to the internet and send a text message to the user whenever the garden needed something but we soon found out that it would not be possible to acquire one in our given time frame and we had to adjust our plan. As we printed out the second version of our planter boxes, we connected a simple red LED to the arduino so that if the garden needed water or sunlight, the red light would illuminate. With that, it was time for user testing.

We decided to test out our prototype with 2 University of Illinois students since they were our primary focus. We showed the test subjects sketches of our design as well as the models we had created in fusion as well as demonstrating how the Arduino technology works. Both test subjects were impressed with our prototype and stated that they would use a finished version of our vertical garden if possible. The biggest take away from the user testing was that they both expressed interest in a display that told them more information about the status of the vertical garden instead of the simple LED. With that suggestion, we decided to add a 3 digit seven segment display to our garden that would display if the garden needed water, sunlight, or a combination of the 2. With the knowledge gained from user testing, we were ready to create our final product.

Seven Segment Display Test 

Final Prototype of Vertical Garden 

This entire process led to the creation of a 2 tiered vertical smart garden. Our final version came out to be 6in by 6in and 4in deep with an overall height of around 12 in. This size is perfect for a desk or window sill but this design can also be scaled up or down and be printed out at whatever size the user desires and can include more planter boxes if desired. The smart features of the garden include 2 soil moisture sensors, 1 LDR (light dependent resistor),  and a 3 digit seven segment display, all powered by an arduino uno. These sensors allow the garden to display to the seven segment display if it needs water (H20), sunlight, (Sun), or a combination of them (All). If all variables are satisfied, the display will be blank.

We hope that in future versions of this project we can include the things we learned throughout this process and things that we did not have time for. Some of these additions would include a WIFI Shield to make it a true internet of things device,  using a pcb to make the electronics alot more organized, a bigger seven segment display so that we can display more information, and a better enclosure for the electronics.

The process of taking an idea and turning it into a functional prototype was very rewarding for us. We learned that prototyping really is an iterative process and that a project will come together step by step over time. We also learned that the maker community is incredible. All the knowledge that we used to create our garden was found online through people who documented their own journeys of creation. Lastly, we learned that 3D printing is the future. Over the course of this process we became familiar with just how powerful this technology is and understood the scope of how many problems 3D printing can solve.

Overall, we enjoyed learning so much in this class and we would like to thank you all for a wonderful semester!

– Team Money Makers

Instructable Link: https://www.instructables.com/id/3D-Printed-Smart-Vertical-Garden

Presentation Link: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1IDzFDHrQp4gE23HTlMCCMBqrQyKVJB0DUkna7VQseQ8/edit?usp=sharing

Our team, 3Dream, has had a lot of fun this semester going through the iterative process of ideation, design, prototyping, and testing a new product. During the ideation phase of this project, we thought of several different ideas however when we started discussing interests among our team, we found a common theme of the environment and plants. From there, we took this interest and started thinking about common problems among people our age in order to come up with a good “How Can We Statement”. We were drawn to the idea of a smart vertical hydroponic system as it solves a few common issues: rising air pollution in cities and stuffy apartments as well as providing a source of fresh produce or herbs in a small space (rather than needing a large yard to garden). We came up with three main guiding questions that we based most of the decisions in our project on.

• How can we improve the quality of life for city dwellers?
  • From this, we came to a gardening system to improve the apartment atmosphere by improving air quality and hopefully reducing air pollution as well as providing psychological benefits such as improved mood, higher creativity and to de-stress the user
• How can we make it easier for young people to grow fresh produce or herbs within their apartment?
• How can we make this system affordable for the target market?

From these How Can We Statements, we developed a “smart” vertical hydroponic drip system. There are three main components that we focused on and divided up amongst the team. The Structure, which ended up being composed primarily of PVC piping and joint units with a 5 gallon bucket as the base and tubing for the water to run through within the PVC piping. The design for the main structure of our product was heavily dependant upon the available resources we had. As mentioned above, one goal was to keep this project very affordable and therefore we mainly borrowed or used scrap parts we were able to find (Specifically for the PVC piping, this was leftover in the basement of the FabLab and therefore we did not have to pay for it). The second main component of the project was how the plants were going to attach to the structure. We decided on a voronoi patterned bottle cage holder in order to be visually appealing. A voronoi pattern transforms a simple structure into a interesting, organic looking model and would provide nice design for the otherwise plain structure. The third and final aspect of the product was incorporating sensors into the system in order to make it a “smart” system. After much debate, we decided to incorporate a water level sensor into the bucket since the pH sensor was too expensive for our budget ($50) and the air quality sensor we had considered did not benefit the user as much as the water level sensor.

Prototyping:

The final prototype changed drastically from the initial sketch of our idea. 3Dream decided to make changes after user testing and group discussions about the practicality of our design. In the first sketch you can see that there were initially two main support poles and an external water basin. 3Dream concluded that having one main support would be more stable than two. For the base of the system, we initially wanted to 3D print a stand in a similar design to a Christmas tree stand with a water basin within however we did not realize at that point in the design phase that PLA printed products do not do well with water over time. We also believed that a connected water basin would be more stable, especially once it was filled with water and therefore this changed to be a 5-gallon bucket. There were several changes for the sensors, as mentioned previously. We initially wanted to be able to test the pH of the water in order to reduce the risk of poisoning plants with too many nutrients however due to the high cost of the sensor, we decided to incorporate a water level sensor instead so that the user would be able to tell how full the water bucket was and when to fill it with more water or turn off the pump (if the water was too low). Lastly, we reduced the amount of plants the system could hold so that the system would be more compact. While most design changes were motivated by pursuing different goals, the design was also highly dependent upon the materials 3Dream was able to gather. We kept costs extremely low by repurposing scrap materials and recycling consumer products. Our prototype would likely differ had we purchased all the materials from a store.

User Testing

Some of the improvements to the prototype design are directly attributable to user testing. 3Dream spent ample time drafting the testing protocol in hopes of constructive feedback. Test subjects were asked various questions regarding their knowledge and opinions of hydroponics. Next, the test subjects assembled the prototype with as little direction as possible. During this time the test subjects responded to more prepared questions about design aspects and consumer demand. 3Dream realized the prototype looked more like a science project than commercial products in stores. The feedback the team received definitely confirmed that idea, as well as the belief that this product would serve a smaller, niche market. The user testing helped to determine a few different aspects of the project (such as the amount of plants or the sensors incorporated) however we mainly used the feedback gained to lead into things we could improve on for future prototypes and the final product if it were to go to market.

Future Improvements

User testing shed light on the path towards future improvements. First and foremost, aesthetics was the most obvious improvement. The tricky part is that ideal aesthetics vary drastically from consumer to consumer. 3Dream has several ideas to address this issue, which include: adding felt coating around the bucket, painting the pvc pipe, and printing a comprehensive Arduino box to showcase the LCD display while hiding the electronics components and arduino. Varying consumer tastes demonstrated that customers desired more customization. To better align the prototype with those values, 3Dream will develop multiple variations of the drip system. Some customers might want taller systems so that they can grow more plants. Other customers may want wheels on the bottom of the bucket for mobility or wall attachments to hang the system. Carrying the prototype from the FabLab to the classroom showed 3Dream how difficult moving the hydroponic system currently was. Adding air quality and pH sensors would drastically increase the cost, but experienced growers could find these features improve the product. Many people, including the test subjects, might be turned off by these features and the complexity they would add. Multiple product variations give 3Dream the versatility needed to satisfy both groups of customers.

Cost and time restraints prevented 3Dream from attempting to grow plants. Plants would automatically improve the prototype’s aesthetics. 3Dream identified 2 types of plants a user of this system may consider: air purifying plants and garden herbs. Depending on the primary objective of the user one may by the system to increase air quality while another may only want the system to grow herbs and vegetables. In terms of air purifying there are three top plants that grow well hydroponically while simultaneously cleaning the air. The first plant is the garden mum, which is the air purifying champion according to NASA. It should be planted at the top because it needs direct sunlight. Next up is the boston fern, which also excels at purifying the air. It doesn’t need as much direct sunlight as the garden mum, so it can be grown in the middle of the system. Last but not least is the peace lily. This plant is shade loving, so grow it in the first pot up from the ground.

Takeaways

Building this comprehensive prototype has taught our team many lessons, the first of which is to utilize resources on campus. These resources were essential when dealing with the challenges that arose each step of the way. We saved hours of time that otherwise would have been spent researching by asking the right people the right questions. One employee at the FabLab, Brandon, gave 3Dream potential solutions for the functional requirements of the prototype. Humans have learned to solve many problems throughout the years. You should utilize this progress instead of reinventing the wheel when problems arise. It’s always a good idea to leverage resources when available.

User feedback is another area that should be leveraged to create a product that users desire. Designing the testing protocol forces you to evaluate prior assumptions in a more objective manner. Using this as a basis, your questions will yield better results. Your mindset should be focused on continuously improving your idea, not validating your beliefs. Finally, this project allowed our team to expand our knowledge of several different systems. We were able to improve our Autocad skills designing the plant cages, acquired electronics skills programming an Arduino and LCD screen, while also learning about hydroponics systems and what it takes to design and create a working prototype.

Link to presentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1cobksQYS-JXenx-w7A9ZiX_uKf4AMBK-8y2yNzubJXo/edit?usp=sharing

Link to Instructable:

https://www.instructables.com/id/Smart-Hydroponic-Vertical-Garden

I had a blast learning Digital Making and 3D printing this semester. This course was far more hands-on than any of my previous learning experiences. My experiences with emerging technology to date had been almost exclusively on a screen. Unquestionably, I now have a different understanding of what 3D printing can do for the world around us than I had prior to the course. It was really cool to take Digital Making Seminar at a time when 3D printing is beginning to take off in mainstream society. As the semester unfolded, I became more and more comfortable with making.

Discoveries

3D printing

This semester, I had the opportunity to 3D print a wide range of objects ranging from an ice scraper to our final project steering wheel attachment. We learned about 3D printing in the news about everything from the military use of 3D printed smart, soft-robots to a 3D printed bus that communicates with its passengers. I think the most intriguing aspect of 3D printing is its versatility. 3D printing can improve every part of our lives. It can help us get places faster, it can help us defend our country, and it can help us be safer. I have been blown away by everything 3D printing can do for us.

Towards the end of the semester, we learned the seamless act of 3D scanning which allows us to easily recreate objects in the real world. This technology led me to wonder about an application that would take a 3D scan of an individual and create a working digital image of themselves. Then, that person could use their 3D scanned image to create a better online shopping experience by visualizing themselves in the clothing they are about to buy. The process of scanning is so simple that even the least tech-savvy person can perform it with ease.

Overall, 3D printing presents us with endless opportunities to make our world more efficient, customized, and useful. I’m grateful to have had the opportunities to explore its possibilities this semester. But as much as I can learn about 3D printing on my own, there are no people better than the guest speakers who shared their endless knowledge with the course.

Guest Speakers

The most engaging guest speaker that I learned from this semester was undoubtedly Jeff Ginger at the Fab Lab. Jeff’s passion and enthusiasm for digital making will propel the future of the industry and undoubtedly create several entrepreneurial ventures for others. Jeff represents the sharing culture that is living within the digital making space. Most notably, Jeff talked about the idea that for 3D printing to work, we need people to discover the endless possibilities that the subject can offer. In order to get those people to discover those possibilities, the space of 3D printing must be as free and open as our libraries.

Beyond Jeff’s teachings, we had the opportunity to learn from many other wonderful speakers. The entrepreneur in me loved learning from Arielle, who created 3D printed custom gloves for wheelchair racers. Her gloves help racers save hundreds of dollars and achieve a more comfortable ride.  Anytime I see a product that saves people money and improves their experience, I see a winner. It is yet another example of how digital making is going to change the world.

End products and speakers aside, we were given a plethora of tools to enlarge our interest and knowledge in the making space.

Tools

Beyond the Champaign Fab Lab, we had the opportunity to learn multiple different software programs and websites that would ultimately make 3D printing less intimidating and more actionable for me. Some of the resources I found most engaging this semester included, Fusion 360, MeshMixer, Inkscape, and Thingiverse.com. In learning Fusion, we found the quintessential software for digital making. We used Fusion to make our initial Ice Scrapers and smartphone holders which were among the first of our 3D printed creations. Later, we would go on to use MeshMixer in our final project, Inkscape for a laser-engraved box project, and Thingiverse for inspiration for new ideas.

Working with these technologies made 3D making a fun, achievable endeavor. These software applications combined with our guest speakers and hands-on learning were an amazing introduction to digital making.

Key Takeaways

Coming into the semester, I was a bit nervous about digital making seminar as I felt like I didn’t possess the skills required to create some of the things I saw in the Maker Lab on the first day. I’m certainly pleased to say that I feel confident about my understanding of digital making today.

Digital Making Seminar blew away my expectations – I could not have imagined reaching my current level of understanding by the end of my group’s final project. But if there is one thing I will take away from this course it will be my eyes opening up to the infinite possibilities that digital making offers to the world.

I came into this class extremely excited to learn how to make things. My original course plan left me without the ability to take this course but, like most plans, things did not work out and I was lucky enough to have the ability to enroll in Digital Making Seminar. I had originally thought that this class would focus mostly on 3D printing and getting hands on experience through structured assignments that maybe let us explore different technologies a little. What I did not expect was how much this class would teach me about the entire process of making something from simply coming up with a concept to turning it in to a functional object and the wide range of skills that this class would leave me with. My experiences in this class definitely exceeded my original expectations

My favorite part of this class was all of the things that I learned. To start, I was able to refine my skills with 3D printing and become familiar with a more powerful modeling tool than I had ever used before. As I described in this post, Fusion can be an incredible software to use once you have mastered all of the tricks that come along with using it. In the future I definitely hope to continue refine my skills in modeling in hopes that I can eventually design my own replacement parts for my cars and my professional audio equipment. I also learned about design thinking and how creating something is an iterative process. I enjoyed the class activity that I described here because it showed how it is possible to take a problem and work through it to come up with a solution and especially how creating a How Can We statement helps you stay focused on the problem you are trying to solve.

My time at the Fab Lab was also full of learning. Over the course of those 3 weeks, I got to experience three different ways of making things that I never thought I would have learned. The first of those was embroidery as I got to see how simple it was to take a concept and create a colorful piece of art. This is a skill I hope to teach to my mom as she’s always wanted to learn how to embroider. Laser Cutting was also really cool to learn because it was surprisingly easy to design objects to be laser cut and it was a great experience working with a machine that costs thousands of dollars. Getting to learn about e-textiles difficult but extremely rewarding. This was one of those skills that I had no idea I would learn about in this class but was happy to get hands on experience in. I will admit that although I have plenty experiences in sewing, adding lights on to the embroidery was pretty difficult as I was working with pretty small parts. I also hope to show my mom how this works as she enjoys arts and crafts.

Finally, one of the biggest skills I learned was how to work with Arduinos and small electronics. I have had experiences working with electronics in the past but the components that I needed for our final project was all new to me. I was excited to get hands on experience with Arduinos. I learned pretty early on that it is important to take working with an Arduino slowly and step by step so that you don’t get overwhelmed. I also discovered that the maker community has an incredible presence online that that everything I needed to learn was available. That being said, I also learned that it is incredibly important to really understand what a piece of code does or what a particular pin in a sensor or display does. Otherwise, you’ll be stuck trying to piece together other people’s work and will never truly learn anything useful. Getting to use what I learned about Arduinos to create a fully functional prototype of a vertical garden that let the user know if the plants needed water or sunlight was an incredible experience and extremely satisfying.

Overall, I think the biggest thing that I learned from taking this class is that I am more capable than I think I am. Having learned all of these skills myself, I have gained the confidence that I can pick up whatever knew skill or technology that I am interested in and drive myself to master that skill. This class will by far be one of my most favorite classes that I have taken during my undergraduate career and I am thankful for the opportunity to have taken it.

Hello again, everyone! I enjoyed meeting you and working with you throughout the semester.

I found it so refreshing to be in an interactive class with all IS/IT majors. I am also an Accounting major, and I feel that people tend to know each other a lot better in the Accy Track. This class allowed me to meet and learn from all my fellow IT majors! Additionally, I work with a lot of other majors (engineering, poly-sci, english, etc.) in my minor and organizations. So while I think I would have also benefitted from a more diverse class (in terms of majors), I am grateful for the opportunity to learn from those within my major.

Below are my final remarks regarding the course.

***

Expectations

When I signed up for this course, I expected to be 3D printing gadgets and learning about how 3D printing will “rock the world”. Maybe I just didn’t read the course description close enough, but I was surprised to learn we had (almost) total freedom when it came to our final project and learnings over the course of the semester. I was also surprised to learn that not all of the in-class speakers were specialists in 3D printing.

Surprised, but not disappointed! Vishal introduced me to the maker community and what it really means to create and share. I learned that 3D printing is just a small part of this huge maker community.

Speakers

To me, the most impactful guest speakers were Jeff Ginger and Dot Silverman. I have been involved in social entrepreneurship through Illinois Enactus and was interested in learning more about how 3D printing and the maker community are involved in it. Here is my post on Jeff. Here is my post on Dot. I really appreciated how Jeff works a lot in the local community, ensuring that the many underserved schools around us can get access to 3D printing and other important maker tools that contribute to STEM learning. Dot is studying to be a STEM educator and talked a lot about biohacking and how it can be used to teach science more effectively. I also admire how she talked about how biohacking may reduce costs and increase accessibility of certain medical devices or implants in the future.

Skills

This semester, I learned how to use Fusion 360, Meshmixer, rewire the 3D printers, operate a Kinect device, and much more. I printed my first 3D printed pieces out of PLA. Here is one of the creations I  printed (it’s in the same post that Dot is featured in)! I also became more familiar with Arduino, coding, and assembling a bread board through my group’s final project! And let’s not forget the FabLab. Laser etching and auto-embroidery are both awesome skills I picked up as well. Here is the link to my embroidery post.

Friends

As I mentioned above, I am so happy to have been able to spend more time in a smaller setting with my fellow IS/IT majors. My group (Shayna and Scott) were amazing as well! I couldn’t have asked for a better group to end my college career with. We all learned new skills together, and I was constantly astonished at how willing they were to work (we all have had those past group project experiences that have made us lose all hope)! Additionally, Norman was a huge help and inspiration. I learned a lot about just figuring things out yourself from him. This may sound small and silly, but my team wasted a couple weeks trying to cobble together instructables to complete our project. We spent that time not really being sure of what we were doing to our breadboard, but if we had left the instructables aside and just started learning what each connection did piece by piece, I think we would have understood how our motion detector worked much earlier.

***

I had a blast during this course. I appreciated the freedom, lack of formal assessments, and encouragement of learning. The maker community is an amazing place, and I will continue to find ways to be part of it in the future!

Thank you to Vishal and all the amazing speakers. And thank you to my team members and fellow classmates!

– Aubrey

This semester in Digital Making, I learned far more than I anticipated. Not only did I learn how to 3D print and use software like Fusion360 to design prints, which is what I expected to learn, I also learned how to do digital scanning, digital embroidery, wood cutting, laser engraving, and even a bit of coding and Arduino use. This ended up being my favorite class in my Undergraduate career, which is saying a lot because I actually hate waking up early. Below, I will summarize what I have learned in a few of my favorite areas.

Scanning:

I am choosing to talk about scanning first because my mini-Shayna scan gave my friends and me unlimited amounts of entertainment. I was surprised at how easy it was to scan someone using a simple add-on to an iPad. The scan was extremely accurate and looked exactly like me, as did the print that resulted. There was a slight mishap with my nose, which didn’t get quite scanned correctly, but the “fill” option on the software allowed me to fill in the missing chunk of my nose before printing.

I mentioned earlier that the print provided my friends and me with a great deal of entertainment. My friends all thought the scan of me was pretty funny, and thus dubbed it “Lil’ Shay,” insisting that Lil’ Shay come with us on our trip to Nashville that weekend. We documented all of Lil’ Shay’s antics and compiled them on Snapchat- I know this is not the most practical business use of a product but I thought it was fun and worth mentioning nonetheless. Below are a few of the photos we compiled, so I hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed taking them.

Digital Embroidery:

One of the things that was most surprising about this class was that we got to learn how to make embroidery with sewing machines that were equipped with digital embroidery capabilities. I decided to embroider the Chicago skyline and Duncan helped us find images online that would translate well into the embroidery software. He showed us how to clean it up to ensure the stitching would come out in the way we want. I wanted a very colorful embroidered piece but I failed to realize that this would mean I would be constantly switching out thread. I also didn’t realize that I could have had the machine stitch ALL of the thread that was the same color at the same time, leaving space for the other colors in between; this also contributed to how long the piece took, but if I were to use a machine like this again I would be better prepared to tackle the project. One thing I especially liked about this part of our learning at the FabLab was that I could see the real-life applications of this activity. I used to Irish Dance and the costumes we had to wear were all intricately embroidered, unique, and could cost up to a few thousand dollars to purchase. If I had the knowledge and capabilities to embroider back when I was still dancing, I could perhaps have made my own costumes! I have attached what I made in the FabLab as well as a photo of an Irish Dance dress for reference. 

Arduinos:

I was lucky enough to be put into a group with Scott and Aubrey, both of whom have technical experience- Aubrey is not only an ISIT major like Scott and me but is in the T&M program where she has used Arduinos before. Scott, on the other hand, has had some experience coding in R and SQL. They were great guides, as I am a pretty poor coder (SQL only) and had never used anything like an Arduino before. I was so surprised how much we were able to accomplish in just one class period per week- from conceptualizing our idea for a digital counter for people entering and leaving a space to the realization that this product may not be the most useful thanks to Google Analytics. When we came to this realization, we altered our prototype to register movement in different areas. This opens up the possibility of tracking what products or displays are the most interesting to customers based on the amount of time they spend in an area. I’m really proud of how well our project turned out, as well as how we presented. I think this is actually a viable business idea if we were to follow through with producing it.

Final Thoughts:

I loved this class and felt that I was able to learn more than in any other class because of the hands-on nature of each lesson. I thoroughly enjoyed producing physical products that I could be proud of and actually inspired a few of my friends to try out the MakerLab and FabLab spaces because of my not-so-subtle bragging about what I made. I hope to stay involved in the Maker World in some facet as I enter into my career, which shouldn’t be hard as there are many maker spaces in the Chicagoland area where I will be post-graduation. Thank you to Vishal and to my classmates for such a fun semester!

Link to my previous posts in this course:

https://publish.illinois.edu/digitalmaking2018/author/patt2illinois-edu/

Before I start, I want to say that I am happy I took this course. I loved how it was a small group so that we all were friends by the end. I think that made it special and we were all on this journey together.

I thought this class was going to be extremely hard for me because I lack a lot of technical skills. I was nervous that I would not be able to keep up with the pace of the class. I knew it was going to take a lot of work. Also, I do not consider myself very creative so I thought I would be bad at coming up with ideas for the project.

Looking back these expectations were not met! This class was all about learning at your own pace. Each workshop, guest speaker, and project gave me hands on opportunity to learn new skills. For example, Fusion took me a while to understand, but with practice and patience I learned how to create and print my own model. Also, our sessions in the fab lab gave me an opportunity to create a design step by step. I used the platforms to import my personal pictures and all the way up to the final stage of printing and sewing. This freedom at first was scary because I felt lost, but I was able to problem solve through my projects.

I learned that I have very low confidence in my tech abilities. Whenever we were introduced to something new I was easy to give up and depend on teachers or students for help. Usually I get the help I need, but in this class I was pushed to out of my comfort zone and forced to learn new skills on my own. It was then I realized I can take on the task, but my initial mindset is that I cannot do it. I am smarter than I know.

I also learned teamwork in this class. For the past month my team worked together to build an idea from scratch. There were a lot of opinions and ideas involved, but we worked together to create the best prototype we could. I think we all contributed and were dedicated to this class. I hope to utilize these teamwork skills in my next job!

Finally, in this course I learned A LOT! Walking into class was the first time I had ever seen a 3D printer, I did not even know how to turn it on! From 3D printing, to fusion, to the fab lab, the design process, and more I decided to reflect back on my previous posts.

We learned about “The Maker Mindset” which is starting to be integrated into the education system. I learned that everyone learns differently and grasps to ideas in different ways. Personally, I have struggled with a reading comprehension disability and school has always been difficult for me. It makes me so hopeful for the future of students who struggle form learning disabilities that they will be able to demonstrate their knowledge through different ways of learning.

I learned about the six-step process that Design for America taught us. This workshop not only set us up for the remainder of the course, but also for our future careers. This process is a way to take a step back and really break down the problem. It helps you dissect your thoughts, which leads to better outcomes.

Our week with Dan Banach form Autodesk taught me fusion. He showed me how to build our own ideas. Getting an understanding of this platform has allowed me to try other platforms. What stood out to me about Dan was he teaching style. He made it easy to follow along and learn. I really appreciate that because I feel like I learned more. I am very grateful for learning this tool because I know I will continue to use it.

My most recent blog posts have been about our vertical garden project. I learned how to work with fusion on a more specific level in terms of measurements and shapes. But I also learned the importance of persistence and adaptability. A lot of our project did not go our way, for example the WiFi shield. Instead of putting energy into that aspect, we adapted and used sensors. I am very proud of the progress my team made and happy with our final product.

Thank you again Vishal!! This was a great class; it was unique in the best way. I cannot wait to show off my technical skills next year in Chicago!