Tangible Electronics for Teaching and Learning
Week 4
Participatory design of technology for inclusive education: A case study
“Nothing about us without us
These two readings made me think a lot about my work at ITP and the general design climate here. From what I’ve seen accessibility is mostly discussed in classes that are specifically about accessibility, which is fair and important but if we want to have successful work in the real world, it has to be accessible and culturally aware. When showing a project only to other creative technologists you lose so much, because they all know exactly how to approach a project and view things from a very specific lens. It wasn’t until Spring show that I snapped out of the ITP bubble and realized that having people from the greater community was so educational and more rewarding when parts of the project do work.
Makerspace Training
I did the main makerspace training for the 3d printers, and then one for the Objet printer and another for the Tormach metal CNC machine. I’m very comfortable laser cutting and have been experimenting a lot with 3d printing. I’m excited to add to my fabrication repertoire. I want to figure out how I can 3d print things with a squishier material or that amber resin. The Tormach is really cool but kind of a big undertaking for someone who has never CNC’d anything before. It might be a long time before I’m ready to do anything with that tool.