Rock out in Music Makers!

For the last unit of the course Rapid Prototyping we learned about different tools. For example, flathead screwdriver, phillips screwdriver, monkey wrench, hammer, hand saw, hacksaw, etc. We talked about the safety of using those tools and just safety in general. We also looked at lifehacks to make life easier and many ideas that people have come up with. From looking at that we got inspired to create a life hack for the new space we will soon be moving into. By looking at some examples in the Instructables website we found something we liked for the new space and we modified it the way we liked it. I decided to make a wall guitar stand, for a club that we have in school called the Music Makers. In the process of making it I had difficulty coming up with a creative way to make it possible in a short time.

Check out my Instructable in detail!

KIS. Guitar Wall Holder. 2016.

The project I made is a musical guitar stand on the wall. It holds the guitars when they are not being used, that way people won’t trip over them and they won’t get damaged. 

We went on an field experience to the Rebuilding Exchange where we met the owner of the place Briant William. The Rebuilding Exchange is a place where they reuse materials to create something of use or sell the pieces for someone else to build something new. An interesting thing that William sisd was “Stretch imagination and show the value of things.” I found this interesting because Music Maker right now have all the guitars in cases and the it takes time to take them out and it doesn’t interest other students to play music and jam out. That’s why I thought of this display to make the guitars appealing and easy to get without any struggles. I used my imagination to create this and I took into consideration the value of playing music and enjoy playing.

Looking at the Instructables website I saw something similar I liked which was a hand on the wall holding the guitar. I was inspired to have the guitar hangers screwed onto a music bar because it goes with music.

For my time lapse video I used my iphone. I never thought the option of time lapse would come in handy. When I got to the recording part of my project, I decided to take a different approach and record different part of the cutting process. If I recorded the whole process of the cutting it would be a long time, so I took clip of important part of the process. Using time lapse is like recording 1 minute, which equals 1 second. 

When using the jigsaw the blade are very sharp. That’s why one needs safety goggles to protect any flying wood getting into the eyes. Also the jigsaw itself has a safety switch, meaning that if someone tries to use it, it won’t function unless it’s off. Another thing the jigsaw has a metal in front of the blade, so if the blade breaks it won’t fly out because the metal stups it.

To put the final part of my project, I had to use a drill to screw two screws that connect the 3D print guitar holder and the wooden staff. In doing so the drill goes directly on top of the screw's head and with the electric power it turns the screws down into place. Using the power drill makes it more easier, faster and you know it’s tight. 

Making this project was a little overwhelming because I always go for something big, but in the process of making it and my family offering their help changed the way I felt about the project. I have never done anything like this so it was fun going to the home depot to get my supplies, to sketch it out and seeing how my idea comes to life. This project was big, simple yet complicated. If you are interested in making the same or similar project here are 5 suggestions:

1. Have a clear idea of how you want to make it and if you don’t have the tools then modify your idea, but if that's not the case then don’t change it.
2. Make sure the size of the wooden board is the one you want because the bigger it is the more work it is.
3. Safety equipment is always important
4. In small spaces or cutting in the middle, drill holes in the corner to make it easier for the jigsaw to cut.
5. If you are feeling creative think of adding color to it to give it a different look. More you, personalize it.

Reading is Power

In the course Book Bound there was only one unit where we studied our connection to reading, if digital reading counts as actual reading, what are good books, what makes them good, what is a canon, and what are criterias for literacy. We read the book The Great Gatsby and analyze it with the criterias of the canon and if it should stay in the canon. For this action project, we are putting together many mini projects that we did along the way like a storyboard of our early reading, making a video of a children's book, a group literary magazine, an essay on the book, a book for the canon slideshow and a reading poster. I choose to promote my storyboard, my group literacy magazine, canon slideshow and the reading poster. During this project I had some difficulty in managing my time to perfect my pieces.

Storyboard:

Made with Storyboard That

The Entertainment Channel:

I worked in a group to create this literary magazine. My partners were JM and JR. At first it was hard to pick a topic we all related to and that we felt inspired to write about. Then we all started talking about our favorite childhood tv shows out of nowhere and that just clicked, so we decided to use that topic as the theme of our journal. Some of the pieces talk about a tv show we really liked, while others compare old tv shows to new ones. Some are just visuals and one entry is a poem. As a group, we had difficulty getting our external submissions in the timeline and coming up with a creative title for the magazine. We tried to bring back memories of good childhood tv shows that many of our generation watched.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie:

A book I really liked that I read was The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. I liked this book because it touches on many important topics like identity, race and poverty. Also this book is interesting because it’s not a complete novel with no pictures, but it's not a comic book, either. It’s an Illustrated story and I enjoyed seeing the drawings of the main character. In making this slideshow, I had difficulty with the research because for some questions I had a bunch of information, but the others there wasn’t much. I am proud of how my slideshow came together and my presentation. I really enjoyed this book and hope you enjoy it, too.



The Great Gatsby:

Another assignment I did was to create an essay about the book we read--The Great Gatsby. The question I was asked to answer is whether this book should stay in the canon or not. This book is considered a classic and that is one of the reasons why it’s in the canon, but I argued that Fitzgerald novel should not keep its classic status. It was hard to decide if it should stay in the canon or leave and to get evidence to support my decision. At the end, I got my essay written and I am proud of it after all I went through.

Tagliatelle

In the third period class, I choose to learn Italian. We learned foods name, how to order food, how to say going, how to say I, we, they, etc. We also cook a pie from scratch and it was delicious. For our action project, we had to choose to describe our day, describe a painting or describe how to make an Italian dish. I chose to describe the process of making pasta. Hope you learn and encourages you to try it at home (the video voice over is in Italian).