Abstract

The purpose of this project was to design an outdoor math classroom for our client's representative, Beth Baker, at Catherine Zane Middle School. Mrs. Baker believes in outdoor class activities because she, along with many others, have realized that the traditional teaching methods aren't beneficial to all students. The Bluenotes delivered a teachers podium, a coordinate grid, and a number line to meet the criteria and desires of the client, Catherine Zane Middle School. There should be an image near the top.

Background

The Bluenotes, consisting of: Israel Duque, Jason Patrick M. Reid, and Roger Turlington, came together in Lonny Grafman's, Spring 2018 Engineering 215-Introduction to Design, class to delivere the components of the outdoor math classroom. Beth Baker, one of the math instructors at Zane Middle school, wished to engage in outdoor activities so she could pinpoint the students who were having trouble understand the material in a timely fashion and assist them so they could progress along with the students who have a better grasp.

Problem statement and criteria

Before meeting with the Bluenotes, Mrs. Baker owned and used a portable coordinate grid. She wished to redesign said coordinate grid because it didn't allow enough space for students to comfortably execute transformations. It also posed a problem because it proved to be difficult to set up due to its tendency to become tangled. The Bluenotes were also tasked with designing an aspect of the classroom that allowed Mrs. Baker to comfortably be the center of attention while giving instructions. The criteria and constraints were important when considering the final design. The criteria were weighted and used to make decisions about the design, while constraints were parameters that limit the criteria.

Citeria Weight (1-10) Constraints
Safety 9 Will not pose a health risk to students.
Durability 8 Maintenance less than 5 times a year.
Accessibility 7 Provides students with a learning outdoor activity.
Portability 7 will be able to row podium.
Flexibility 6 .Will be able to use the grid as first or four quadrants.
Cost 4 Will cost less than $425.
Environmental Impact 4 will not damage the environment.

Table 1.1

Description of final project

The coordinate grid is a rectangle with 13 gridlines x 11 gridlines. Each gridline is 4 inches wide and has a distance of 2 feet between it and the next gridline. When facing the coordinate grid, with your back turned to the classrooms, the north and west outer gridlines are painted white allowing Mrs. Baker to execute instructions that pertain to fourth or second quadrant. The south and east outer gridlines are painted green allowing Mrs. Baker to execute instructions pertaining to the first or third quadrant. The perpendicular gridlines located in the center of the coordinate are painted red. These lines allow Mrs. baker to execute instructions as if all four quadrants of a graph are present.


Include a how to use and maintain section. See the how to template below.

Prototyping

Costs

Quantity Material Source Cost ($) Total ($)
4 1"x10'PVC Pipe Ace Hardware 5.41 21.64
12 Tee 1"PVC Amazon 1.59 19.09
2 3-way elbow 1"PVC Amazon 13.76 27.52
1 1" PVC connectors - Straight Ace Hardware 0.69 0.69
40 10x3/4 dry wall screws Almquist Lumber .02 .80
16 pipe straps Ace Hardware 0.49 7.84
1 foam Tape Ace Hardware 3.99 3.99
1 PVC cutter Ace Hardware 13.99 13.99
2 3M PRO Grade 9x10 180GR Ace Hardware 1.79 3.58
2 SANDPAPR 9x11 GR80 ACE Hardware 1.79 3.58
4 Butterball Slide Formula Longboard Wheels clear/green core (75a) 70mm Tactics Skateshop 33.95 33.95
1 04BBI1/25X5 12MM Baltic Birch BB/BB 5X5 INTR Almquist Lumber 29.95 29.95
1 21CUTBOARD CUTTING BOARD PIECES MIXEDSPECIES Almquist Lumber 1.25 1.25
Total Cost 167.87

Testing Results

Upon the final testing, we found that the coordinate grid was effective, giving the teacher more time to work with math activity. The portable podium helped move and gain the students attention. While the number line had enough space to fit an entire classroom.

How to build

File:Cutting_measured_pvc.JPG
How to build a podium

Maintenance

Introduce this maintenance section.

Schedule

This is when to maintain what.

Yearly
  • Check on the bearing in the wheels.
Every 5 years
  • Sand down wood
  • Check wheel to see if replacement is needed

Instructions

File: Takingwheeloff.JPG
How to change the bearings

Troubleshooting

This is only how to troubleshoot basic operation. For complex issues, the solution might just say contact ________. It should be a table in this format:

Problem Suggestion
Example issue Example solution or suggestion
Does not turn on Make sure it is plugged in
Another issue Et cetera

Discussion and next steps

Suggestions for future changes

This is where to lay out suggestions for how to make the project function better in the future.


References

See Help:Footnotes for more. Template:Reflist

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