Kuest Bike

In my STEAM class, Design and Engineering, we recently finished our second unit called “Farther”. In this unit we focused on a lot. For example, simple machines, specifically wheels and pulleys. This led to our studies of circles and ellipses. We focused on graphing these shapes and finding the area and circumference of them. We also studied weight, mass, speed, velocity, and acceleration. We also focused on graphing, functions, and slope. Lastly, we studied bikes, how they work, and how they can make an impact on someone's life. We found that all of these concepts connected to find the idea of designing a new bike. The class gained a lot from having several FE's that really brought what we were learning to life. For instance, we went to one of our classmates mom's bike shop, and got to explore the space and get on the bikes for the hands on action. We also had an in-house FE where we made prototypes with the help of a designer from Dyson. The concepts we learned in class and the FEs we did all came in handy for this Action Project. This project called for the class to design a bike based on a unique persona. My partner and I worked hard to create a bike that met the needs of our unique persona, which actually represents a bigger population of people with a similar situation. Below is my presentation of this project, I hope you enjoy!

Coming into this unit I didn't have a lot of knowledge on the fundamentals of bicycles so everyday was something new and exciting. If I were to pinpoint two things I learned from researching existing bikes would be how certain bikes are design for certain activities. I learned how rode bikes are designed for riding on paved streets. Hybrid bikes are great for urban areas and a nice stroll to enjoy. Last but not least mountain bikes, these are the tough machines that withstand hearty measures. All in All these aren't the only designs that exist but these are the basic types of bikes when looking for a bicycle of your own.The second thing I learned in this unit are gears. The fundamental of gears and the purpose is strongly connected to the first thing I learned which is the type of bike. gears are sets of toothed wheels that work together to alter the speed of what drives (bicycle crank) and the speed of the driven part (wheel).

I found this project to be challenging due to being a "newb" at bikes. However, I am happy with the end results and the knowledge I have learned to create a better bike. Having a partner made this experience a lot easier. My partner and I ran into some small issues, such as the 3D printer malfunctioning and settling on a concrete design. However, we were both able to effectively find solutions to all of the small problems. This project has taught me a lot about bikes, patience, and empathy. If I were to do this project again, I would do more research on the material as much as input I we put on the structure.

Super Digger

In my STEAM class, Design and Engineering we just finished the first unit called “Stronger” where we focused on the idea of tools by learning and analyzing strategies from history, present, and the future. We studied the three main simple machines; lever, wedge, and inclined plane. Lastly, we studied volume, surface area, work, force, and vectors. We found the connections between all of these concepts, and we found how they can apply to a design process. We then experienced and brought these concepts to life. To do so, the class traveled to Home Depot. At Home Depot we had the opportunity to test out different gardening tools to get a sense of what goes on when picking/designing a tool. As we dove deeper into learning about our tool we started to think for our targeted audience and taking into account the accessibility, the “easy to use”, safety, comfort, reliability, and appeal. By doing so we start to enhance our tool for the better for all people not just the “average person” by looking at the problems elderly people might be facing on the day to day basis with these so called built for everyone/easy to use inventions. The reasoning behind this is to simultaneously create empathy in a way that you put yourself in someone else’s shoes to understand the needs the tool should fulfill for the benefit of all people.

In order to apply empathy and to design an effective tool, research needs to happen. We researched tools and the elderly, in regards to gardening. Our research was done through online resources, interviews, and field work. We even had the opportunity to go to Home Depot where we were able to experience the tools we would be redesigning. This experience was very effective because we also spoke to experts that helped us along the way of getting to know our tool. We then researched the setbacks that the elderly may suffer through because of aging, and how this can affect their ability to garden. There were many online resources that gave advice and tips to the elderly on how to make gardening easier that also aided our new design ideas. Knowing this information and using the tools ourselves was a solid foundation to redesigning an effective tool for the elderly. This gave me a sense of how to approach a new design by going on a process of elimination strategy to create the design to the best of my ability.

The purpose of this assignment is to create an effective gardening tool for senior citizens. We started researching the targeted audience gardening tools tend to be made for. Interestingly enough the majority of gardeners are senior citizens, yet a majority of the gardening tools being sold are not built for the, being that tools are designed for the young and strong. This is unfortunate for senior citizens because with aging comes setbacks when it comes to the things one is able to do. That is why it is a must to apply empathy when redesigning a tool. Empathy is putting yourself in another person’s shoes to understand and share their feelings or experiences. This will ensure that the tool is close to perfect for them.

My partner and I decided we wanted to redesign the pole hole digger that was displayed at Home Depot. One of the changes we made was the “digger” itself by creating a screw like feature with the idea of the corkscrew. The screw is a simple machine that converts rotational motion into linear motion allowing you to use less physical force.

I found this action project to be a great opportunity to work with a new student and share good ideas all around. I found the process pace perfect, I didn't feel overwhelmed in this term because of the accessible sources we had. Overall I learned a lot about the technical and creative process of design and how the audience plays a big part on creating the purpose of the product.

No More "Mamamia" with Diarrhea

For our second unit in our STEAM class Cure, we learned about different treatments and medicines. We studied how different substances affect the body. Medicament is a term that we learned referring to just the drug that is taken, but medicine can refer to the whole practice. For one of our FE days, we did a miracle berry lab. The miracle berry is a berry that blocks the sour taste signals in your tongue, so sour food can taste sweet. We tried different food like salt and vinegar chips, pickles, and my favorite mustard. For this AP, we had to choose a symptom to study. I chose diarrhea because it was symptom so common yet a lot of people are not aware of the prevention you might take. To find out more check this snazzy project out!

Rotationplasty... a 180° difference

The First unit of our new Sophomore class, Cure, we explored the impact of surgery throughout the years. This unit was very exciting, the range of subjects we learned in this unit was was mind blowing to explore. From the method of healing in Western medicine to understanding of the different anatomic systems, organs and tissues. Our class visited the International Museum of Surgical Science to study the history of surgeries where we got a closer look into the trials and tribulations medicine has gone through. This led us to doing our own research on surgeries we were interested in; that's when I chose Rotationplasty as my final action project. Hope you enjoy!

Stimulate the Mind

In our second Unit of our STEAM course Disease, we learned about mental disorders. This Unit we learned about different kinds of mental disorders, learning disabilities, and mental illness. We also learned about different brain waves and when they distinct. With this information we learned how to plot these on a graph and solve a piecewise function. Another thing we learned about was the DSM-5 This is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition. This is a manual of many mental disorders that have criteria used to diagnose people. Although we didn't have any field experiences in this unit, we did have lots of class activities and discussions. For this project, we had to pick a mental disorder. I chose False Memory Disorder. We then had to create a lesson and simulation to try to get our classmates to feel the effects of the disorder. We also had to graph the brain waves that we thought our lesson would evoke. We then graphed these as a piecewise function. We filmed the lesson so we could document the experience. I thought this action project was awesome. This action project led me to see an aspect of the medicine field I wasn't exposed to before, this made me curious and want to learn more about neuroscience which I think is extremely interesting field to dive into. Well I hope you enjoy!

The False Memory Syndrome Foundation describes the condition as a person's identity and relationships are affected by memories that are factually incorrect but that they strongly believe. In other words false memory disorder is a predicament in which a person's identity centers on a memory of a traumatic experience that is false but that the person strongly believes occurred.

Signs of false memory disorder included in the DSM-5:

• Significant memory loss of specific times, people and events

• A sense of detachment from your emotions, or emotional numbness

• The person must be distressed by the disorder or have trouble functioning in one or more major life areas because of the disorder.

I wanted to dive in deeper with a person who struggles with false memory disorder in order to make my simulation as accurate as possible. So I watched a video of a person who deals with this disorder. Rebbeca Suger was 20 year old woman who dealt this disorder and has gone to court with a serious accusation that wasn't true. When she was 14 she accused her father of sexual abuse later to find out it was all made up. One thing that spoke to me was when she said, "the mind creates your reality". This made me realize how reality is made up of people imagination and beliefs which I found very fascinating.

Brainwave is an electrical impulse in the brain, they are the root off all our thoughts, emotions and behaviors. Specifically looking at a brainwave graph we have different types of brain waves that are associated with different states of consciousness, like being asleep or awake or even meditative states. In a brainwave graph we have: Gamma waves that is hyper brain activity, which is great for learning, Beta waves are your thinking waves where we busily engage in activities and conversations, Alpha waves is a relaxed state of mind seeping into meditation, Theta waves are the creative waves that drifts you into daydreaming down into sleep, and lastly delta waves that occur in deep dreamless sleep engaging in nothing but deep sleep. Everyone goes through there daily life engaging in these brain waves, but people who are diagnosed with false memory disorder tend to use some more than other in long periods of time. False memory disorder is mostly effected by Gamma waves, scientists observed electrical activity in their brains to determine whether specific brain waves were associated with successfully storing and retrieving memories. Researchers found that a fast brain wave, known as the gamma rhythm, increased when participants studied a word that they would later recall.

This is the lesson plan I wrote to simulate False memory Disorder with my classmates, I include a video to demonstrate the process in order for anyone to understand and try it out themselves.

 

This is a video demonstrating the simulation I presented that stimulates their mind (hence the tittle). This video is a "brain game" that takes them into a staged robbery to figure out who were the culprits. In order to solve this case as a witness its very important to remember every detail, but as we find out its very hard to remember certain events even if it was just seconds ago. This shows how False Memory works in a way that your mind makes up certain actions thinking they actually happened.

Here is a graph of the presumably measure of the brain waves my classmates might feel throughout the activity.

GA, "Brainwave Graph", 2018

This Flyer spreads the word about False Memory Disorder.

GA, "False Memory Flyer", 2018

Works Cited:

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/jan/14/truth-about-memories-jarrett

http://www.fmsfonline.org/?ginterest=ButItIsInTheDSM

https://youtu.be/5HdF-hexNjc

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/brain-sense/201307/remembering-something-never-happened

Pneumonia

In the second STEAM class of my sophomore year, we are learning about the body. This class is called Disease, the first unit is called Body. We learned about cancer and how that affects the body. We also learned about each organ system and the organs included in them and what they do. We also learned a math concept called completing the square. This is another way to solve quadratic equations. For this action project, we were asked to conduct an interview. It had to be anonymous but we had to find someone with a disease and interview them about it. We then had to write up their profile and classify their disease in accordance with what we learned in class. I  decided to interview my sister who had pneumonia. This presentation will teach you about the symptoms, treatments, cause and affect of pneumonia and how it effects you and your body. Enjoy!

9:23

In our last elective class Rocket Science, we learned about space exploration. We learned about the people that made the space mission possible whether it be pre or post-launch. Throughout this term, we created our own fire rockets, looked into aerodynamics, and created our own water rockets as our final mission. In order to prepare for our launch, we took everything we learned and compiled it into one presentation. This includes all the work I have done over the term which as you will find out quite a bit. I hope you enjoy!??!?!?!?!?

Capture the Moment

On our final project, we talked about the preservation of species. Most importantly, why it is important to preserve animals and the type of method we choose to preserve them. On one of our FE’s, we all observed our own owl pellet which are small leftover rodents, birds, and bugs an owl might have eaten. This experiment was interesting as I was able to find all these cool looking bones and teeth to try and figure out what its last meal was. Surprisingly my owl ate a lot of rodents. This unit felt like a wrap up of the whole course as it summarized how important population is. This course showed me different ways to view the term population than just an old picture of the “evolution” of humans. I was able to understand the meaning of evolution from the beginning of when they first existed from ancestors all the way to the end where they may become preserved. I can honestly say I had no major struggles in this unit everything moved at a good pace making it possible to understand the math and science part of this course.

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My Heroes!

For our last unit in stories, we analyzed the journey of heroes. The purpose of this unit was to apply Joseph Campbell’s hero mono myth to our own real and fictional heroes journey. The main guiding question of this unit was how do you analyze a hero? One of our major concepts that lead to our guiding question was Joseph Campbell's hero mono myth this made it possible to analyze the character journey more profoundly to make connections on their journey.

In our final AP we compared a fictional heroes journey and a real persons heroic journey. In my slideshow I analyzed Nacho Libre journey with my dads journey and made connections throughout their experiences. The reason I choose Nacho Libre was because my family grew up with this movie. Nacho Libre was a real person that just cared for the kids and that really just connected with my dads call to adventure. Nacho Libre and my dad had similar characteristics that helped them with their journey. Nacho and my dad did not give up completely during there abyss and showed strength from the positivity they have as a person. Overall Nacho Libre has a lot of heroic symbols that are seen in real people  just like my dad. My dad and Nacho both went through trials with the help of god as a supernatural mentor, allowing them to persevere.

IndependANT Environment

For our second unit of our fall term class called population, we took a longer time than usual. The reason for this was to really grasp this unit and overall understand our organism through evolution. We learned about standard deviation, statistics, permutation and combination, box and whisker plot, and most of all evolution. Throughout this unit, I can honestly say I have enjoyed learning the math concepts and how they tied in with our organism. For this Action project, I decided to stick with my organism from my first project of this unit which was black ants. I wanted to learn more about black ants since we see them in our everyday lives. In this AP I will be showing you how black ants do in my environment and how it will affect them in the future.

GMOs are the Way to Ho!

On our third unit of Food we did a debate on GMOs. In this presentation I show the reasons on why I am pro GMO including the reasons on why you should too. A challenge I faced doing this action project is the rebuttal. Finfing a strong argument on how GMOs does not cause health benefits

My M.A.G.I.C. Plan

In this elective term M.A.G.I.C. I learned several qualities of "successful people and the "successful" journey I will take. In the begging of this class, we identified what success means to us and my definition of success would be being sustained and fulfilled. Throughout this class we had multiple people come in and talk about their journey of the profession they have whether it was a UIC women's soccer coach, politician, life coach, a mentor, or a poet. I grasped a lot of information from the people and put it in terms of what I want to do for my personal journey. My Influencer was Stephen King who is an author of several horror novels. The reason I choose him as an influential person because his skill to bring word to life in a thrilling way is admiring. Last but not least my M.A.G.I.C. plan is being a film director.

Sherbet Ice cream is the best in the Market

In my opinion sherbet ice cream is the best flavor in the world. It has this fruity sensation you cant say no to. The day I tried sherbet ice cream i was not aware it was sherbet. Basically i found my soulmate without knowing.

Foodporn. "Rainbow Sherbet Ice Cream Pic.twitter.com/xN9P7EnI." Twitter. Twitter, 2012. Web. 30 Nov. 2016.

I Am Malala

This course was about gender inequality. The purpose of this assignment was to reflect what we are learning throughout every course and connect it to Malala. I learned to take gender inequality more serious and important. Nothing was challenging about our lesson personally as it was easy to take in. I am mostly proud of all the debates about serious topics we were able to have within each other.

New York City Weather

For our third action project in our H2O course we are taken at closer look in clouds. The purpose of this assignment was to investigate your chosen city and see the type of climate change that affects it. I learned a lot about the severe climate change we are dealing with. The challenging part was piecing all the information I learned in a way it tied all together. I am mostly proud at how much I learned in all of this course.