I worked on this second subject with Wouter. We study in two very different fields. I the communication and he the electronics, despite that, we managed to use our skills to realize this project. This week is dedicated to the concept of "plot party". The main goal of this project is to make a support with some questions in order to collect datas and opinions. In this case we want to learn more about the habits of the class people regarding collaborative work.

The first challenge was to find the most appropriate questions that would allow us to collect interesting data. We decided to keep only one question with several answers. But it was necessary to find a clear and relevant question and choices in which everyone could find their place. We have chosen to differentiate the field of each one to be able to compare after the results according to the fields of study. So, we chose the following question :

"Which area do you most contribute towards the team?"

MY PARTNER? 

Wouter

WHAT DID I LEARN?

TECHNICS:
- Bending/Packaging

MATERIALS:
- MDF 4mm
- Paper
- Paint gun

MACHINES:
- Laser cutter

INSPIRATIONS

In order to differentiate the different fields of each participant, we laser cut in an MDF board some pucks and after that we have chosen a color depending a study field. We also made boxes to arrange the pucks. We laser cut the name of the field on each boxe before bending them by hand. That was my first packaging making, so I made the mistake to forgot to scan the dotted lines in the machine to make it easier to fold the boxes in the right places. After that, we painted the boxes and pallets with a paint gun. To write the question and answers we chose to laser cut the text in an MDF board and stick papers colored on the back side. At the end the board was covered with paint as like the boxes.

For the answer grid, the same principle was used as for the power 4 game. Holes were cut in three lines on two wooden plates. Everything had to be measured and planned so that the pucks would slide along each line. To assemble the two boards, thin wooden rods were glued between each line of holes using a glue gun. Like the rest, the grid was then painted. When the grid was tested, it was discovered that the pucks were not sliding properly. Because the wood after being painted had very slightly warped. Each pallet was then sanded to refine it and correct this problem.

Finally, the students were able to test our question by each answering with a puck. It was quickly observed that the vast majority prefer to take part in the action part rather than the reflection part in group work. With more time and better collaboration, a technique could have been found to assemble the question with the answer grid for a better understanding.

For this second week, I looked for a lot of inspiration in the links and projects that Loes gave us. The projects are very complete and detailed so we could see the process we had to follow. We finally decided to take inspiration from a game for this project.

I worked this time with Wouter. We study in two completely different universes. He is the electronics and I am the communication. Sometimes this was an advantage, because we had two different approaches. He has more work on the technical side and I on the design and reflection. But before we left the tasks, we both agreed on the question and the answers. We interviewed several people to see if our choices were working. But sometimes it was harder for us to understand each other.

Once again we used the laser cutter mainly. I learned this week that it was not easy to find a single question with answers that everyone can find themselves through. Not everyone has the same logic, so you have to test it. I learned how to build boxes with the laser cutter, but I forgot to print the dotted lines so the result could have been improved.