An-IDEA-a-DAY: Desktop Stand/Organiser

A desktop organizer inspired by the humanistic influences, the idea here is to use the 2-dimensionality of the standing position shown of a human to iterate possibilities of organizing the desktop.

Though it's main use is on work tables, possibilities for its use are endless.

I can envisage it being used to just organize about everything else...e.g. placed on the dining table to hold the dining set and napkin, bookshops using them to make the promotional books stand out from the other books on sale, etc.

An-IDEA-a-DAY: Umbrella-stand

A redesign of the umbrella stand, this idea looks at how the stand can be made to be more adaptable to varying umbrella and any other similarly-sized objects.

The use of a heavy base that acts as a stabilizer and collator/air-blower would enhance the experience of using this stand too.

An-IDEA-a-DAY: Modular Traffic Lights

An idea inspired by changes in the traffic directions and conditions near my place, the modular approach to the traffic design above takes its leaf from the idea of Lego-connections. This allows for ease of connecting and reconfiguring.

The programmable nature of each of this cubic units also allows for interchangeability, and minimizes downtime when repairs or maintenance works need to be done.

Experimenting with Doodlecast Pro app

My initial experiment with the iPad app Doodlecast Pro.

One of the things that I did not realise was its ability to record sound, which was rather a good thing actually!

I envision using this later on for my future lessons and being able to record them and upload to YouTube within the same hour or day.

In the sample clip on the site, there are lots of possibilities, hence I'm kind of excited to see what other possibilities would this app be able to pull off.

An-IDEA-a-DAY: Curver blades

Redesigning the blades of a fan, and adding greater curvature to allow for greater coverage angle. The proposed ball-and-socket design aims to give a greater degree of motion capability, for those occasions when it is needed.

An-IDEA-a-DAY: 2-way container

Redesigning the humble container access points, to take into account the fact that one would usually do a refill even before the current supply runs out. The use of a 2-way filling-in points enables the user to still access the 'old-stock' of his supplies.

The design also uses a square cross-section for ease of storage, and flushed bottom caps to help with stacking should there be a need to. Definitely something worth considering for those who loves their kitchen to be neat.

An-IDEA-a-DAY: the Holey Chopping Board

The chopping board design takes into account the motion of users chopping on their raw food products, with the idea that the separation of the chopped pieces should be a one-flow motion. The use of the jigsaw-puzzled hole adds to this convenience. With the ability to add an attachment for cups or containers to hold the chopped food items, this will add another layer of convenience to the users.

The detachable nature of the holed section allows the user to vary the hole size, to fit and suit the sizes of the chopped food items that they are working on.

The final touch of using a wood-based material adds a little bit of nostalgia to users, who are more inclined to feel the warmth and earthiness of having a wood-based chopping board, compared to a plastic version.

An-IDEA-a-DAY: the iProcessor

The idea of the iProcessor is to remove the clutter of a regular food processor, and to give it a more minimalistic look and feel. The swinging out aspect of the food bowl gives added space to the food processing experience, with a possible attachment that makes the internal space hemispherical for a more atypical food-processing experience.

The hidden controls and handle also adds to the degree of minimalistic look and feel, with the idea of making the use, operation, wash-up and storage of the entire iProcessor unit more pleasant and a worthwhile experience.

As a final touch to aesthetics, the usual colours are offered, so that users can mix and match the colour of their iProcessor, with those of their other current utensils.

An-IDEA-a-DAY: The Tiltable Umbie

Drawing my bad experiences of using the umbrella during the monsoon rain season, the tiltable umbrella design above takes into account the shifting wind directions in a typical rainy situation, to allow for maximum protection of the user against getting wet.

The off-centred design allows the user, especially those who are tall, to still be able to keep themselves relatively dryer, compared to current designs. The proposed wind/moisture sensor at the tip of the umbrella allows the user to have greater control and knowledge on the shifting wind directions, especially when on the move. It allows for a pre-emptive change of the cover to happen, to offer better protection.

When being Innovative is more important than being Creative

I had some time to think things through this 'debate' the last couple of days, on what makes somebody creative or innovative. And perhaps the debate on whether it is more important to be creative, or innovative. The debate seems to stem from the idea that I had that there should be a balance between the two, especially in my approaches towards teaching my charges this idea of 'creativity versus innovation'. But could there really be only one thing that one should focus on, in order to give that sense of value-addedness? 

I was reminded the other time about how Apple is not necessarily the most creative company in the world. A case in point was that they were NOT the ones who invented the portable digital music player, nor the mouse, and neither the tablet. But what they did to the idea of

• how a portable digital music player should be part of an 'ecosystem', 
• how a mouse should operate buttonlessly and 
• how a tablet should look like and be experienced with multi-touches and gestures...

now...these are indeed examples of innovation. Yes they were not original ideas, nor their overarching concepts of working totally original, but the very fact that they have managed to leverage on an existing design concept, and work on how to transform these elements into a 'disruptive' tool to the current status quo...now that's innovation at its finest.

So perhaps creativity does have its place in the whole scheme of things, but in order for things to get really moving, and exciting, the innovative piece of the puzzle must also be present, and in order. And then perhaps...just perhaps, things could move along along a more 'disruptive' mode!

iPad-ifying my classroom...

I had an opportunity to conduct some experiments with some iPad apps this year, but I guess due to the exigencies of time, space, and resources, have only managed to do so intermittently and superficially. But on hindsight, there were several apps that I do find promising, especially in my areas of Art, Design and Media.

I don't claim to have used all the following tools ubiquitously, but I can assure you that I have thought through about its possibilities of usage in the classroom, especially in a classroom of the future. Here are perhaps, my top 20 (or so) tools, that I would continue to try, and would like to explore a little deeper in the coming academic year.

A) Sketching & Visual Graphics:

1) Sketchbook: Sketching ideas (USED)

2) Sketch Rolls: Horizontally-long digital paper, allows for storyboarding and could be a replacement for the whiteboards

B) Online Sync:

3) DropBox; Box.net: use for digital/cloud storage (USED)

4) Evernote: Use for notes sync

C) Comments, Feedback & Peer collaboration:

5a) Twitter: use for collation of ideas and feedback

5b) TweetDeck: use for collation of ideas and feedback; good for collation-type of modus operandi

D) Video & Multimedia:

6) iMovie: editing video clips

7) Photos: consolidating photos

E) Photos, Storyboarding, Ideation:

8) Comic Life & ComicBook:: Creation of storyboards from photos (USED)

F) Portfolio, Visual Graphics:

9) Corkulous: used for consolidation of photographs, ideas, clips, sketches

G) General Works:

10) iWorks suite (Pages, Numbers and Keynote): Keynote specifically useful for delivery of lesson materials

H) Note-taking:

11) Storyist: Creation of storybooks by chapters

12) Penultimate: As an alternative to sketching papers, have a sketchbook instead; able to use for text too

13) MaxJournal: use for journaling and note taking (my mainstay notebook for meetings)

I) Ideation & Visual Presentations:

14) Popplet & (15) iThoughtsHD: Used for mindmapping; Popplet more visually appealing but iThoughts have slightly more functionality (USED)

16) 123D Sculpt: Useful for 3D idea generation; digital clay

J) Blogging, Collaboration:

17) BlogPress: Used for on-the-go blogging

K) Geography:

18) Google Earth: Used for Geographical-based lessons, specifically for Basic Architecture lessons

L) Mechanisms:

19) TinkerBox: Useful for Ruth Goldberg type of mechanisms

20) Cogs HD: Useful for mechanical-type of lessons that leverages on the use of gears

Would iPad 2 revolutionize education?

It has been about 3 weeks since I had my iPad 2, and I must say it has been a value-adding experience for me. But rather than just to use it to read books, entertain myself with games and video clips, and perhaps take notes, I do believe that the second version of this tablet has truly more potential that is still untapped. And I believe nothing is further from the truth when it comes to the main reason why I bought this...to see its potential in education.

Some online articles mentioned about the revolution that the iPad 2 would bring into the classrooms. Well after having tried it, I think more than just about the iPad 2, the true revolution would come when a teacher actually uses it to enrich the learning (and teaching) experiences. I applaud the idea that the iPad 2 can be a catalyst, but I would also like to hold my horses back and say that the evolution and revolution in the classrooms must be seen as more than just about the emergence of A product, and for that matter, any products at all. At the end of it, IT IS about how a teacher can masterfully weave the tool, into his or her teaching experiences, and get the students to really learn.

Yes, perhaps I'm just being a wet blanket, but the truth be told, teaching is all about that added human touch by a teacher, about how he or she can skilfully and effectively encourage the students to learn...and more importantly UNCOVER the intended, or sometimes even unintended knowledge. Much like how the great innovative companies have a 20% work time policy that allows employees to work on something non-work related, I truly believe that sometimes it is that 20% of what is not the intended knowledge, that sometimes could make that difference between making a lesson, good...or GREAT!

So am I still a firm believer in using the iPad 2 to revolutize my teaching. More than just about revolutionizing, I am more of a believer in 'evolutionizing'. Yes, there is still learning that needs to be achieved, but with the tablet on our side, I believe that it just added one more tool to our arsenal, and what an arsenal it is so far!

I am still having my share of fun with the apps and possibilities available in this second variant, and my first order of the day for a real evaluation would be to 'field-test' it for my learning trip to Vietnam. The media angle definitely opens up to a wider possibility with the addition of a camera/video capability, but how can I then leverage on this to deepen the learning experiences would be something that I am looking at, thinking of, and would definitely experiment on, during the trip. But alas, there's only so much that a single mind can think of, so if you think you can help me out with apps or possibilities that I can try out during an overseas trip, please do give me sound out, be it in the 'Comments' section on this blog post, or to my email.

Cheers...