Design Challenge 2

Am I up for the challenge?

Tuesday, February 18

Debrief

Design Challenge 2

Debrief

Project 2: share out

Design Challenge 2

PART 1

Use the green ultrasonic RCWL-1601 (3.3V)
This is because it has lower voltage requirements than the blue 5V HC-SR04 (this works well with the Arduino Uno).

Use pin-socket connectors and alligator clips to connect the 4 pins of the component to the CPX:
- VCC to 3.3V
- Trig to A2
- Echo to A1
- GND to GND
TIP: be thoughtful of your wire and alligator clip colors to help you track what is being connected.
- By convention, we use: black/green for GND, red for VCC, orange/yellow/blue for communication.
Try out this sample program: Hello, Distance Sensor!

PART 2

You have 45 minutes to design and implement an interactive "Welcomer":

Use the distance sensor as the user input.
Decide what your output will be:
- external LED/fairy light
- onboard neopixel
- onboard "music"
  - if you type music. in makecode, it will give you options to fill in that include things like baDing, press another dot (.) and you should see play() as an option
  - you might also be interested in music.setVolume( val ), where val is a number between 0 and 255

Project 4 (due 3/4)

You will use the skills from class to create your own interactive project using the CPX as a "brain" for responding to user interaction sensed with the distance sensor.

Decide on your design; you may have been inspired from your peers during the Design Challenge!
Decide on what component(s) will be activated in response to the distance sesnor. You can use more than one, but beware they don't always play together nicely! Please ask the instructor and TAs for help :)
Design/sketch your circuit; you may wish to refer back to the Guide: Glowing Flower Pot for a sample.

The primary goal here is to for you to challenge yourself, to keep practicing the design process and to reflect upon the experience!

Push yourself to be just outside your comfort zone, depending on your prior experience with circuits and/or programming. This may mean trying to program the brain yourself, using different connectors (such as conductive thread or asking Fimbel staff to teach you how to solder) or a more complex design (e.g., 3-dimensional, using fabric/felt, working with Fimbel equipment like the laser cutter).

Requirements

On your web site, post:

(A) Documentation of your process, including successes and failures. You should include:

A design (sketch) of your circuit plan
Pictures/video of your process
A final video or collection of photos that demonstrates the final product

(B) A two-part reflection:

Reflect on the Design Challenges we've tried so far (the Marshmallow Challenge and the Distance Sensor Challenge) and this project. What role did the some/all of the topics we've seen thus far (self-efficacy, mindset, self-regulation, active listening) play in one versus another? You can choose to write the reflection (1-2 paragraphs) or record it as video/audio (1-3 minutes). You do not need to respond to all prompts or even use them at all; they are meant as a jumping-off point.

- Were there any similar steps during the challenges where you felt more/less discomfort in one than anther? What might have contributed to this difference?
- What was it like to have multiple perspectives in class? Did it change how you approached the challenges? How did/could it impact your personal project?

Challenge yourself to step back and think about any parallels you can draw to your learning journey at large, using the prompts below. You can choose a written format (2-4 paragraphs) or recorded video/audio (2-5 minutes).
- Think of an upcoming project or decision that is on the horizon. Maybe it is a large assignment in a class (it could be the Final Project in this one!) or a next step in your academic/career trajectory (declaring a major, searching for an internship/job). Reflect on the first/next steps for you in the context of some/all of the topics we've seen so far.

Topic refreshers

Here are some takeaways for the topics we've seen so far:

Active listening

When you engage in active listening, you are not listening to find weaknesses or ways to respond; you are listening to understand.
[Be open] Create space by pausing and slowing down to notice what you are feeling, and focus on listening actively instead.
[Practice mirroring] You can act as a mirror by clarifying what you heard. By asking “Can I repeat back to make sure I’m with you?”, we are not only signaling that we are listening, but also ensuring that we understand correctly.
[Seek perspective] We can try on other perspectives to gain a deeper sense of where they’re coming from. We may still disagree with what they’re saying, but the goal is to see the situation. Instead of immediately jumping to a conclusion or giving advice, take the time to reflect on their words and digest their point of view.
[Intention vs Impact] Consider the perspective of the listener and how our response might impact them. A well intended message can still come across otherwise.

Self-regulated learning

- The capacity to step back and study our own thought process is called metacognition. It is the foundation for an iterative process called the self-regulated learning (SRL) feedback cycle.
- Effective learners use this SRL plan/do/evaluate cycle to come up with a plan, try it out, and use feedback to revise a new plan.
- When coming up with a plan, we can be strategic: break a large challenge into smaller pieces, research what others have done for similar tasks, keep a log of what did (not) work, seek feedback from others.

Mindset

Perhaps you have found yourself thinking, "No way I can do this. I'm not a _____ person." or "This is totally up my alley! I've always been a _____ person." This self-talk is indicative of a fixed mindset.
Compare this with "I can't do this... yet." or "With practice, I'll be able to do ____." These phrases are indicative of a growth mindset.
When you believe that you can get better with practice, you are embracing a growth mindset instead of a fixed mindset.

Self-efficacy

- Your belief in your ability to succeed at a task is influenced by your current skills, past experiences and availability of resources. How do these factor into your self-efficacy for a task or activity?
- You can increase self-efficacy by noticing small successes. Can you imagine building upon them?
- Self-efficacy can be impacted by comparing yourself to other people. Are you making a fair social comparison?

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