Happy Holidays

So this blog has been a bit neglected. I had great hopes for it at the beginning of the year, but I have not tended to it as I should have. Perhaps some of my students could say the same about their academics. . .but I digress. One of my New Years Resolutions is to be more active here. Hopefully, this will result in more traffic and a bit more back and forth discussion. I am again turning to TED for this post. I was blown away by how revolutionary a simple redesign of a product could be. Watch the video to see how making some simple, yet vital changes to a wheelchair changes the lives of so many.

http://www.ted.com/talks/amos_winter_the_cheap_all_terrain_wheelchair.html

This reminds me of something my older brother was fond of saying. "All engineering should be directed towards pampering the end user as much as possible." Yes, he was a bit of a snob when it came to the products he purchased and rarely settled for second best in anything. However, I think that drive in him made him an awesome engineer and moved him to only produce his best and expect that from those around him. I ask you to think about the items you rely on every day. Do you think they were designed with you in mind? If not, what drove the design process? Are there any that could be better engineered for the end user (you)?

Inspiration

Inspiration: 1. the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, esp. to do something creative 2. a sudden brilliant, creative, or timely idea

For those of you who have been in the FCS room, this should sound familiar as it is posted on the bulletin board behind my desk. Inspiration is my word for the year. I choose inspiration as I was thinking about this school year and how going 1:1 would shape how we go about our day to day activities. I am so excited about the possibilites the technology has opened up and the equal playing field we are creating.

One of the sites I return to often for inspiration is TED.com. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design. TED holds an annual conference and invites outstanding minds to share their vision of a new world. The talks are recorded and posted online at TED.com. There is a huge wealth of ideas on almost every topic. I encourage anyone reading this to check out the site. Be careful, it might just change your life.

On a recent visit to TED.com I watched a video (click here to see it) about an artist in New Orleans. There is an abandoned house in her neighborhood that she passed daily. Because it was such a sad sight, she decided to change it for the better. Watch the video to see the amazing transformation. Afterwards, leave a comment that finishes this statement:

Before I graduate from HPS I want to . . .