Crunch TIme!

Its getting down to the wire and our group is barely finished. We are currently waiting to receive our TTL reader so that we may start to wire and put our prototype together. Right now we were recommended by Mr. Blake to prepare and get the other things ready such as the magnetic stripe and the id cards so that when the TTL reader arrives we will be ready to test everything out. We have found local vendors that have id cards with magnetic stripes on them. Today Makana made a call to them asking them for the price of the cards and how many they sell at a time. The business man told us that they sell 500 cards per purchase. Unfortunately we only need around 20 so luckily they told us they will give it to us for free. As preparation for this project undergoes we still wait for our TTL reader to arrive. Its getting close to our presentation day and we still haven't received our most important piece. Hopefully we will make our prototype date but for now all we can do is prepare and wait.....

GRRRRRR!

Sorry bout it Mr. Blake, but your request for genuine pictures of our group's progress, looks a little something like this. Lots of different tabs opened on various sites in search of the knowledge we seek. Admittedly, we haven't began construction, so we've busied ourselves trying to learn what knowledge and advanced materials we need for our finished project. Today was a somewhat small, surely late advance in our groups project, by getting our order for our TTL reader approved and sent off! Unfortunately, we don't know how long this process of getting our ordering being approved by "the big guys up top" is going to take, let alone be shipped in. That being said, our group needs to come together and really tackle our issues. For one, the ID cards (with a magnetic stripe & compatibility to our TTL reader), where are we going to get these things?!-We can't make them obviously. And lastly, a downloadable software that will decode said ID cards. At this point in the project, things are getting worse and more difficult, who would've guessed? This weekend I contacted local businesses that could've possibly helped our group, only to be let down with no capability to assist, or a negative response in general (more straightforward than negative). But our group needs to get our things together and quickly. I'm tired of procrastinating and not pulling together. Clearly.

On Another Note

http://goo.gl/r6DBl

     I wanted to show this in my other post earlier but didn't really see how it would tie in to what I was talking about. So I thought I might as well make another one. Usually, when I go on the internet, I roam through the articles on the Yahoo! home page. Today I came across this one: http://goo.gl/AiU2F. The video link above contains the jist of the article. It's about a newly designed soccer ball that contains a metal coil and a magnet inside. When the ball is kicked, the magnet going back and forth generates energy which is stored in a capacitor. The capacitor is then connected to an outlet which you can use. 

     This article was really inspiring and relatable. Although the people involved were Harvard college students, they were students nonetheless. Students who were assigned a project for an engineering class just like how we were assigned a project for our high school physics class. The fact that they were able to do something that can help benefit people all over the world is simply amazing to me. They looked a problem and created a solution. It just goes to show how far an idea can take you.

What Else Do We Have To Do?

http://goo.gl/eW8F     

     I hope everyone's having a fun four day weekend so far. Even though I just posted a little while ago, I thought I might as well get this weekend's post done now. So why not talk about what we have to do still-- just for a mental organization.

#1 - have our TTL Reader ordered as soon as possible so we can start building.
#2 - figure out how we're going to acquire magnetic striped cards for each person in our class (whether it be ordering some online or modifying the ID cards we have now somehow)
#3 - find a program that we can download that will translate the data on the magstripe cards
#4 - start constructing our magnetic stripe reader once we get our TTL Reader
#5 - test out our design and make sure everything works smoothly
#6 - peer assessments (due 3/28)
#7 - work on our proposal / detailed design
#8 - collect data around campus by asking teachers and students their opinions on how we think the mag stripe reader can be used (will it be useful or a bigger inconvenience?)

     This is just sort of my own mental list that I haven't necessarily run by the rest of my group but hopefully they would agree with me. If we're going to be presenting this to the administration, I think that it'd be good to have some sort of visual along with our product. Like a poster board for example, showing some stats and how our product would be implemented. But that's just a few thoughts I have.

So Much To Do, So Little Time

http://goo.gl/h9a3Q

Looks like we missed another post again :( 

     We really should've planned out a schedule by now for the blogposts for the rest of the year because obviously the system we have now isn't working. Although some things that are working is our class productivity rate. It seems like we've been getting a lot done in our class time. Whether it be working through construction/material problems, conferencing with teachers, or just sending emails, we've been working pretty hard lately.
     At first glance, our project seemed pretty easy. It felt like we just needed to acquire the materials that our previous website source (http://makezine.com/01/magstripe/) listed and then building would be simple. Then, as we did more research, we realized this wasn't going to go quite like we though. The first thing we realized is that we didn't have a computer to hook up our magstripe reader to because the joystick connector we would be building wouldn't attach to a laptop like we wanted. We thought we could hook it up to the Dell computer in the back of the class but it wouldn't fit there either. So then we thought we should get a connector for the joystick and our laptops. But as we researched prices we found that it would cut into a hefty portion of our budget as well. So then we found a new website that showed us how to make a magstripe reader using a USB wire which COULD connect to our laptops. So we decided to go with that.
     After corresponding with Mr. Massad, the department head of Business and Technology, we learned that we could make use of some of the tools in the engineering lab. Except we can't begin working until we get the TTL reader in. The problem with that is that we have to order it online and it could take at least a week to ship. Being high school students with no jobs, paying for it ourselves is not exactly at the top of our wish list; but if we use the school's money it could take even longer to get here because of all the paperwork that has to be approved. The final challenge is that we still need personalized magnetic stripe cards for all the students in our class. Which we might have to order online as well. All in all, we know what we need to do. We just need the tools to do so.

Off We Go!

http://www.kestronics.com/catalog/images/omni.jpg

Though, it might've been somewhat late notice, as you may have read below, Mr. Massad, Head of the Business and Technology Department here at Kamehameha, relayed to us that all of our materials can be provided by the Electronics Lab except for the TTL Reader (pictured above.) Mr. Blake came to the rescue and said he will assist us in ordering the TTL Reader, which is a VITAL piece to our project, from an online source. In the meantime, our group is going to have to pull together and figure out how to exactly wire the reader, as well as develop a way to place the stripe onto our classmates IDs, and also make that readable by the TTL Reader once that is completed. We've made the decision to experiment our prototype within our class. We will do this by setting up our prototype within our classroom and having students swipe their IDs instead of taking role. Eventually we hope to get this idea on a larger scale, but for now, we strive to devise a working system that would save time for teachers and teach students responsibility

Monday: April 18, 2011

http://www.collegetocareers.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/deadlines.jpg

Since we missed a post on monday, hopefully this will make it up.

Deadlines are starting to get closer and closer and the pressure is building. We've got a lot of work to do still but it's mostly acquiring materials. Today, I emailed Mr. Massad one of teachers in tech building to see if he could help us with our problem. He says that he has everything we need EXCEPT the TTL Reader. However, that piece is a key part in our construction. Without it, we can't start any work. Therefore, we need to put in an order for one ASAP and hope for the best. Ideally, we'd like to get it by next week but it could take even longer than that because we have to order it online. We've also noticed a problem of keeping up with the blog posts as you can see here but I'm sure with better communication amongst us, that can easily be solved. In the mean while, the most we can do is the written requirements and possibly collect data via surveys and interviews with teachers to see if they'd be able to implement our device.

On The Right Track

http://www.computercablestore.com/images/products/No%20Manufacturer/1-DB15FSCW.jpg

Today has been a rollercoaster of a ride! During class, our group was having a difficult time locating where we would purchase a DB-15 Male Connector (pictured above). We basically spent a whole class period struggling to find a connector within budget and that could be locally bought. After all of this, come to find out we don't even need a DB-15 connector to complete a Magnetic Stripe Reader! On http://www.ehow.com/how_7936305_build-magnetic-stripe-reader.html , it tells us that a USB wire would suffice. This website is going to be the starting point of our project, as it gives us a ten step approach in constructing a magnetic stripe reader. We are thrilled that we are able to use a USB wire, since a DB-15 connector requires a game port on a computer, which neither of us knows of or about. Currently, our group is scrambling to speak with Mr. Massad, Department Head of Kamehameha's Technology & Business Division. Needless to say, our group is slowly gaining confidence that we are headed down the right track.

Card Swiper?

http://goo.gl/NLvsB

With the previous workday, our group figured out that we wanted our bar code reader to be a product that you slide your ID through rather then having it read by a laser. The card swiper would be much cheaper to make and it seems like it would be more efficient because it would be much faster then a laser scanner. We know the materials needed to make the card swiper and the directions to create it correctly. There are many websites where you can order the materials for cheap prices and finding the tools needed should be simple. Hopefully creating this “card swiper” wont be too difficult.

Creating the Solution

http://www.clker.com/clipart-2424.html

Well it seems like the hard part is done, figuring out a physics solution and finding the right problem to solve, but from here on it only gets harder. Our team has figured out a way to create our solution by making a bar code scanner and creating a magnetic strip on the back of peoples ids. The hard part is using our budget the best. We don't have much money to spend and need to figure out a way that will give us the best materials with spending the right amount of money. Given 100 dollars is also a challenge because we also need to find materials to create our scanner and also we need to find out how to use these materials so that we can create this project correctly. With miss wiring or mistakenly doing something wrong our scanner could not work because of a small mistake. Also we are creating a plan on how to create this scanner the right way. So even though we have found the problem and the solution the hardest task for our team is to create this project. We look forward to the challenge and hopefully we may come out success full.

Solved!

http://goo.gl/4F1jn

Our group has finally established a problem that the teachers we interviewed all discussed about; students not being allowed enough independence. Hopefully with our ID Scanner product, it could help solve this concern by allowing us the use of going off campus during school hours but with some restrictions. Of course leaving campus, the student(s) will only have a limited amount of time or they will possibly get detention! The ID Scanner will perhaps be useful for lockers so that no one will be able to take other peoples lockers. It could save time because we only have to scan the ID. Hopefully this could encourage students to carry their ID around more often so they have the benefit of being allowed off campus and quick locker use. If a student somehow loses their ID or it is stolen, they always have the option to deactivate it so that shouldn’t be much of a problem. With anticipation, my group will find more possible solutions to any drawbacks with the ID Scanner.

Working on the Solution

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/clipart/clip/ani_thinkingcap.html

The solution to our problem was creating a bar code on the back of our ids. This solution will give us independence as students and give the teachers more time to teach as i said in this proposal. The physics behind all of this is creating a magnetic strip to make this "bar code" and creating a device similar to a credit card one so that we may swipe our ids. This solution seems very difficult, but hopefully the resources we get will give us a wider range on how to create these items. Today we proposed our topic, many problems were brought to our attention such as people stealing other peoples ideas which would give them control over that persons schedule and free time and such. During the process of creating these items we will provide better solutions to the overall picture that our fellow classmates have. But first we should focus on creating the bar code. Another day of hard work is ahead but our group is persevered and determined to accomplish this task. Time to put on those thinking caps!

Our Finished Proposal

If you would like to see our proposal / project idea, click on the link which will lead you to our google document. It talks about our problem, solution, and upcoming plans. Enjoy! (:

http://goo.gl/vfqv7

The Proposal

Today we conversed with each other trying to find out a problem that would have a physics related solution. A lot of the problems given to us by the various teachers we interviewed were very helpful to us but were very hard to find a physics related solution. As we talked we came up with many great ideas, p.e storage system online so it would be easier for the students and teachers to access, a student bar code system on a students id to give more independence to by letting students off campus for example, and many more. To our group the solution that stuck out the most that could be solved using physics was creating a a bar code type of thing on our ids so that it could give us students more Independence and help also the teachers with attendance and such. Using this "bar code" solution with give the teachers more time to teach instead of wasting all that time in the beginning of classes and gives students freedom to go off campus during school hours. This website will help us create this "bar code" and give us the resources we need http://makezine.com/01/magstripe/. Hopefully this solution will not only help us as students but the school as a whole.

Problems?

http://goo.gl/Ds405

Its been very tough during the last few days searching for possible solutions to physics related issues at Kamehameha Schools. Finding a predicament that needs to be looked into has been difficult because some of the teachers that we have interviewed have struggled to think of a problem physics related. Mr. Kamalu had issues related with teachers treating us as children rather than young adults. Mrs. Gusman mostly had troubles with the schools traffic and parking, so she wanted a parking structure here at upper campus. With all the construction currently going on it would be hard to do that. Lastly, Kumu Auliʻi faced similar problems as Mr. Kamalu pertaining to our teachers not having much trust for the students and that teachers need to form better relationships with their pupils. Hopefully our group will find a solvable problem soon.

Interview #2 & #3

In the last week, our group was struggling to find a (physics-related) problem, let alone solution on campus. However, on thursday we started to really kick-off our project by actually being productive and interviewing Mr. Kamalu down the hall (See Interview #1). Also on Thursday I had the opportunity to interview my math teacher, Mrs. Gusman. She had really general concerns i.e. traffic and parking up at the school. And though this does affect many, if not all people at Kamehameha during school hours, it's not "physics appropriate", nor can it be remotely possible for a group of teenagers and their enthusiastic physics teacher to construct a parking facility on upper campus with the time constraints we're working with. Lastly, although we didn't get the opportunity to speak with Kumu Auli'i, a new teacher at Kamehameha, I had the chance to contact her briefly through email. She stressed that there has to be a greater sense of communication of all forms on campus, especially from administration to the staff below. Apart of this, she says has to come from improving relationships."If every one could have more faith in our students and teach them how to make/pick good choices than we could all benefit from their actions. As it stands now, I feel that we need to improve our relationships with one another. Our students can listen to teachers and the students would be more willing to listen to them in return." I feel that Kumu has a really great point that there needs to be a greater sense of trust with the staff and students, yet again, the physics criteria doesn't fit into this problem.

Interview #1

http://www.vectorstock.com/royalty-free-vector/220548-lightbulb-vector

Today we took action and went out into the classrooms looking for teachers to be interviewed and find out there perspective of problems that they see with our school, students, etc. Today we interviewed a well known physics teacher Mr. Kamalu. While interviewing Mr. Kamalu we found many problems that occurred with the education and independence of the students. Also problems with treating us as kids and not young adults. Although these are great problems to converse on we still havnt really found a physics related solution. We are trying to figure out whats the best problem that we can solve and have a physics related solution to it. Many things like off campus privlegas, no homerooms and having the urge to learn inside of a classroom instead of HAVING to be there where great problems that we would like to solve. But yet no solution can come to our minds at this moment.... so as the days past we will hopefully find a solution that would help this wonderful school get better. To find the right solution we need to find the perfect problem... Back to the drawing board we go!

Not Much Has Changed :(

http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/greal/llc/germanwq/Germ670_AYASalzburg/images/Interview.jpg

     Nothing has really been accomplished today. Our group hasn't discussed anything since there wasn't class so hopefully we'll be able to get a lot done tomorrow when we meet. Pua set up some interviews for us with different people on campus that could possibly help us find problems that have a solution relative to physics. She emailed one of the staff members to set up an interview. We think that the staff members other than administration and teachers will probably have the most problems or things that they want to change that can be solved through physics. Other than that, our problems still remain the same. We still need to make additions to our bug list with specific problems rather than problems that will "save the whole world."

Problems

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QYJ10xupJNo/TRN-20BdQAI/AAAAAAAAAFw/VoOdniEUhjg/s1600-R/Cute%252520Baby%252520girl%252520looking%252520frustrated.jpg

      Today, we learned that this project may be harder than it seems. Though our bug list has a number of good problems, they're too complicated. Then we thought of a specific problem: the PE filing system which is disorganized and inconvenient could be easily solved by going paperless and converting everything online.  Unfortunately, this solution isn't related to physics enough. So now our challenge is to find a specific problem that has a solution that can be related to physics and remain within a reasonable budget. Our next step in this project will be interviewing someone of the Kamehameha staff about what they think could be changed here. Hopefully, we can find a problem soon and begin working on a solution. 

Nā Nīnau Ma Mua, A Laila Nā Pane

          Lanyards. Administration requires them and students despise them. Yet there is a logical reason for each of these statements. Lanyards or IDs are required in order to enforce school safety by supposedly ensuring that a student wearing a lanyard is a student of Kamehameha High School. However, lanyards are a nuisance for students to wear because it seems they're only necessary in providing students with detention if not wearing one. Lanyards don't actually ensure the identity of a student because someone could easily be borrowing a lanyard from someone else and it would go unnoticed. 

          My group proposes that if lanyards could be used around campus more resourcefully, students would feel better obligated to wear them. By using scanners specified to the barcodes on the bottom of each student's ID card, we could make this a possibility. For instance, lockers, though assigned, are easily taken by other students because of convenient locations and are also broken into on some occasions. By electronically modifying lockers, these problems could be fixed. Those who ride the school buses are probably familiar with a scanner system already but it can be equally beneficial on campus grounds.