The Building
I have never been to DRES before, so it was great to have the opportunity to visit. Seeing the training facilities and all the different chairs downstairs gave me a small glimpse into the life of a wheel chair athlete, and how it has changed over the years with all the iterations of the wheelchairs. It was cool to see how the athletes were working out on their machines, and I wonder if these athletes train in the ARC/CRCE as well or have everything they need to use in this facility.
The People
It was great to be able to sit down and hear each of the experts stories, because they were all so unique and different. Here are a few things I got from each of the experts:
A quote that I got out of this meeting that I believe Ron said was:
How do you use what you have to make something better?
I think this in away makes the idea of designing something a lot less intimating because it is a humbling reminder that we don’t need to create anything new. We already have so many resources, we just need to be creative in thinking about what else their usability could be. The added benefit to using what already exists in the world comes means there is a greater chance of low cost and accessibility since no new technology is required.
I thought it was really eye opening to hear about Ryan’s experience playing in the parade and the different adjustments that needed to be made to make that happen. Playing an instrument while in a wheelchair during a parade is something I have never thought of before.
After hearing all the stories and learning more about the experts I am most interested in working with either Jenna or Ryan on their student experience. Since I feel I can relate to them on the struggles of being a student, I am curious to learn more about what can add joy/value to their student life. I was a little nervous to ask any questions because I didn’t want to ask anything off putting or sound offensive or knowledgeable. It is a little intimidating to ask questions in a group setting especially because I wasn’t 100% sure on what was appropriate to ask. Going forward I hope to share ideas with my group and build the confidence to ask the experts more about their life.
Hi Saloni – great reflection! I completely agree with your sentiments around not creating something new. A lot of the incredible stories we heard utilized something for a use that hadn’t been thought of before. I don’t have the greatest “manufacturing skills” either, so the idea of making usable things is intimidating. However, keeping in mind that we can utilize what already exists to help such wonderful people makes this intimidation much less inhibiting!
Hi Saloni,
Great reflection. I was wondering the same thing about the athletes in terms of where they train beside the faculty at DRES. I think it’s very important to use existing things in ways we never thought of before, Ron’s a living testimony of that. I think we can derive a multitude of opportunities from the experts stories. We can design and create an experience for these users unlike any other.