What?
Going into BADM357 — Digital Making — I didn’t know what to expect. I took the class with little to no prior experience in terms of 3D printing, modeling, coding, laser cutting, and fast prototyping. I registered for the class just because, as an accountancy & information systems student, these topics interest me. With a learning-by-doing structure, I have learned so much on these topics. By actually going through the rapid prototyping process, I have gained knowledge and confidence in terms of how to use these tools/technology.
At the beginning of the semester, we started off by learning about different 3D printing technology and how to make 3D models with Fusion 360. In order to 3D print the model, we learned how to slice the 3D models with Cura. With numerous activities and small assignments, I learned how to make simple models, assemble them, and actually print them with 3D printers. Seeing and playing with 3D printed pieces created by myself, gave me a tremendous amount of motivation to keep learning more. I was so proud of myself that the class helped me to go from zero experience to printing my own designs in a couple of weeks. Then, we moved on to the product design process. We talked about human-centered design. We went through the process of researching, interviewing, generating how-might-we questions, and ideating. I was familiar with the human-centered design process because I took a UI/UX class the previous semester. Going through these ideas again gave me a good review of the important ideologies. After that, the class introduced me to various campus locations that provide relevant tools for our project, for example, the FABLAB and the shop in the SCD. By going to these places, I had my first experience with tools like the laser cutter, soldering station, resin printers, etc. At FABLAB, we got to make a simple light-sensing box. It gave me first-hand experience in coding and laser cutting. Experiential projects like this simple box gave me the confidence to proceed with our final project later on.
In the middle of the semester, with the skills we mastered and the knowledge we gained, we started to work on our project. My team decided to focus on finding and solving problems with the school gym. We conducted interviews right outside of the arc and went through the ideation process. In the end, we decided that we will make a hand sanitizer dispenser that provides incentives for students to use. Basically, students will be able to scan their i-card to enter a raffle for using the hand sanitizer. We faced many difficulties going through the product design process, especially in coding a Raspi. We were able to get help from Arthur who is on the other team for the coding part. We were able to get the code to work with the scanner at the very last minute. I personally did a lot for the laser cutter box. With a simple generated box file from boxes.py, I was able to learn Illustrator and use the app to make modifications to the box. I went through a couple of iterations of the box and I was happy with what we had in the end. In general, thanks to this experience. I really enjoyed the project and learned a lot through it.
So What?
After this class, I really appreciate the learning-by-doing structure. I learned so many things that can help me to become an IT auditor. By trying to figure out things by yourself instead of learning in a classroom setting, I gained the confidence to face obstacles and unfamiliarities. By doing iterations of the box, I learned how to use illustrator and the laser cutter. This is going to help me adapt to new tools/apps/processes/policies faster when I go into my career. Because we had a lot of trouble with the code, I spent a lot of time looking up code online whether it’s on GitHub or StackOverflow. By doing that, I am more capable of coding than I thought. This is encouraging me to learn more about coding which will be important for an IT auditor to act as a bridge between the technical side and the business side of the company. By having a flexible class structure, working in teams felt like how it should be in a professional setting. This will help me to become a better leader in a professional setting. Overall, I learned so many things from this career that will be beneficial for me in the long run.
Now What?
With the end of this class, I would like to continue my learning for some of the topics. First, I would like to keep learning more about coding. Coding and different computer languages are such important things for companies today. I am going to go through lessons on Coursa to develop my coding ability. Second, I would like to learn more about the product design process. Having this project, encouraged me to consider positions like product management. With new technologies like 3D printing and laser cutting, the prototyping process is fast and interesting. I will be looking into taking more classes about product management in the future.
In conclusion, I plan to continue learning about many ideas and things after taking this course. Post-graduation, I will be looking into positions related to IT audit to utilize both my accounting knowledge and my information system knowledge. The confidence I gained was the most important thing I take away from this class. I am ready to take on new challenges and new ideas as we are in an environment where technologies change faster than we are prepared for.
