Our Reflections

Dear all,
Our Reflections can be viewed under the page 'Reflections', located at the right hand side of this site, below 'Home'.

Yours truly,
Team Plantplat

Work Progress: 7th August 2011; Two weeks from Projects Day Finals

Date: 7^th August 2011

No.	Discussed
1	Web report ·       Completed on www.wix.com and sent to IS teacher who has agreed to help us convert to html file
2	New Prototype ·       Akira has made a new prototype made of acrylic which is very strong and sturdy. It is also transparent. ·       We have decided to install our add-ons to it and present it in the Finals
3	Water sensor ·       We have bought 1 water sensor for $3, some batteries, battery connector and a box for a total of $7.20 ·        The water sensor is installed in the second prototype and it works well
4.	Rims ·       Have came out with a few rims for various sizes of plant pot ·       We will be creating more rims so as to ensure that PlantPlat can be used for all sorts of plant pots
5.	Customizable skin ·       We have created a few designs of skins which can be easily fixed on the prototype and also can be removed easily ·       Different patterns and designs of skins has been created E.g. Nature background, flowers etc.
6.	Finals presentation ·       As this is the Projects Day Finals and most probably the last chance we are going to present and promote the PlantPlat, we decided to think of a unique and different style of presenting our Prototype ·       The discussion is still ongoing

       On completing our Web Report, we felt that we are very much closer to success and completion of our project. Of course, there are still some work to do such as creating more rims, designing the customizable skins and most importantly preparing for our Finals presentation. We look forward and anticipate the Projects Day Finals, which is like…about two weeks from now. Tsk…Tsk. We are making ourselves nervous. Nevertheless, we shall work hard and hopefully, if we have a chance, we may enter the Projects Day Grand-Finals.

Project Meeting 12: Preparation for Finals

Date: 17^th July 2011

Time: 1400 - 1430

Venue: Outside Staffroom

Members : Gary, together with project Mentor

No.	Discussed
1	New suggestion: Water sensor ·       Purpose: To remind owner of plant pot that the water collected in the PlantPlat had already reached a high level and the drawer needs to be emptied ·       Initial idea: Mechanical Image: ·       Confirmed idea: Electronic device
2	Prototype 3 ·       Decided to continue upgrading on previous prototype instead of building a new one ·       Improvements: Water sensor, more aesthetical value
3	Customizable Skins ·       Decided to create customizable skin to increase the varieties of designs for PlantPlat ·       Aim: Allow customers of PlantPlat to choose any colour or design they like for their PlantPlat ·       How it works: A cardboard or plastic skin that can be fit over the PlantPlat and easily removed to replaced a different skin
4.	Rims ·       During Semi-finals, judges and audience has commented that our PlantPlat can only be used by limited number of users because our rims cannot fit and secure different sizes of plant pots ·       Decided to work on customizable rims that can be fixed and removed from the PlantPlat easily to ensure that different kinds of plant pots can be used

       We were pleased and delighted when we learnt that our group has passed the Projects Day Semi-Finals. Despite the busy schedule we are having for Term 3, our group decided not to give up on our project. Since we have come this far, why don’t we continue to achieve better results and levels? Don’t you agree? After all, there is no harmful consequences or effects in achieving a higher level. Therefore, our group has come together for brainstorming sessions to think about what else should we add on to our invention in order to serve the society and the users better. We aim to reduce the amount of faults as much as possible. Our main tasks now are to find small water sensors that can work for our PlantPlat, work on customizable skins and lastly work on the rims. If possible, we hope to make more prototypes we can add the “upgrades” on. We hope to pass the Finals with flying colours. 

Project Meeting 11

Date: 4^th July 2011

Time: 0800 - 1000

Venue: Haoyu’s House

Members : Gary, Haoyu, Boning, Akira

No.	Discussed
1	PlantPlat prototype ●       The PlantPlat is fully covered with the white PVC and is very complete ●       The PVC is waterproof ●       All gaps and openings between wood planks are fully water-tight ●       Slope is secured and there are no gaps found at the edges of the slope
2	Aesthetic design of the drawer ●       White PVC sheet is shiny and pure white ●
3	Water-proofing the prototype Leaks are impossible with PVC and silicon
4	Presentation slides ●       Have rehearsed once ●       Must add the reflections
6.	Inventor’s Log ●       Reflections are to be added

The prototype looks complete and beautiful. There’s only the Powerpoint presentation part and the Inventor’s Log left. Hopefully, we can complete them in time. We also have a mini-sized transparent plastic prototype which has a water sensor in it. I think we are quite well-prepared for the Semi-finals presentation. We will try our best for it.

Project Meeting 10

Date: 2^nd July 2011

Time: 1700 - 1830

Venue: Online

Members : Gary, Haoyu, Boning, Akira

No.	Discussed
1	Slope inside the drawer ●       Akira will be working on it
2	Aesthetic design of the drawer ●       Covering with white shiny PVC sheet as skin colour ●       Old piece of wood at the back of the PlantPlat needs to be replaced
3	Water-proofing the prototype PVC sheet is water proof Small gaps and openings along edges of the drawer are to be covered with silicon to prevent leaking
4	Presentation slides ●       Things to take note: ●       Must elaborate on the improvements made since the Preliminary Round presentation ●       Further elaborate on some of the qualities of the PlantPlat which is not included or shown in the prototype ●       Haoyu will be working on the Presentation Slides
6.	Task allocation 1.      Slope of drawer (Akira) 2.      Design of PlantPlat (Akira) ●       Aesthetic design of whole PlantPlat / outer portion ●       Smoothening of wood ●       Change of wood plank(s) 3.      Testing out of PlantPlat ●      Wednesday 4.      Presentation Powerpoint (Haoyu) 5.      Inventor’s Log (Gary)

The prototype is now very close to completion and we all look forward to it. The Semi-finals round is drawing near. We have to start reheasing for our presentation as soon as the slides are done. We would also be meeting our mentor about one or two more times to show him our powerpoint slides and our PlantPlat. I hope the completed PlantPlat would work well.

Project Meeting 9

Date: 28^th June 2011

Time: 1345 - 1415

Venue: Outside staffroom

Members : Gary, Boning, Akira, Teacher Mentor

No.

Discussed

1

PlantPlat prototype ·       Gaps and holes between wooden planks must be covered (with silicon) ·       Akira came out with another small plastic prototype ·       Decided to put the include the water sensor in the plastic prototype instead because it is transparent ·       Decided to raise the slope using a recycled plastic board ·       Gary to stick the slope on ·       Boning to smoothen the sharp and rough surfaces and edges of the PlantPlat

Finally, the prototype is produced. However, there are many faults found in the prototype that can be improved on. We were glad that Akira managed to produce a mini-sized PlantPlat which allows us to include the water sensor in. One more thing that we have to settle with is the colour of the PlantPlat which is dull and brown. Semi-finals is just round the corner. I hope we can complete the prototype in time to try it out.

Project Meeting 8

Date: 08^th June 2011

Time: 1200 - 1400

Venue: Clock Tower Benches

Members : Gary, Haoyu, Boning, Akira

No.	Discussed
1	Water Sensor ·       Together, the group brainstormed about using a floating ball as our water sensor. A stick will be punctured through it and fixed vertically in the drawer. When water level rises, the float rises with the water until a level which marks the maximum height.
2	Checking on progress of prototype ·       Haoyu has just began to trim and saw the pieces of wood to get ready to assemble them ·       Brainstormed about whether we should include water sensor in the wooden prototype as it may be a little tedious
3	Project Synopsis ·       Began to start typing out the synopsis ·       Gary to complete the synopsis and submit it at computer lab after the meeting

 As our group members had very tight schedule and many external programmes since the last meeting, not much progress could be make to the prototype. However, we managed to brainstorm for various ideas for the water sensor. We then eliminated the other choices and came to a final choice that may still receive further improvements. We also submitted the project synopsis early to prevent any rushing in future. After all, it is one less thing to worry about. However, we are glad that Haoyu has already began the piece out the pieces of planks together. 

Project Meeting 7

Date: 12^st May 2011

Time: 2100 - 2130

Venue: Online

Members : Gary, Haoyu, Boning

No.	Discussed
1	Confirmation of design ·       Water sensor is workable ·       Confirmed that the design is suitable and to proceed on with building the prototype
2	Method of Construction for Prototype ·       Decided that we try out with our own cheap and available materials ·       Art teacher has also agreed to lend us some pieces of wood to work on the prototype ·       Choose only wood which are water proof
3	Materials to use for the prototype ·       Trial: wood and metal sieve, nails and hammer, saw and tools to cut rings ·       Actual: Plastic if we are capable of doing so
4.	Time to construct Product ·       Haoyu will help to work on the prototype first since he has many wooden planks in his house

 We feel that we are making quick progress. But we decided not to slow down our pace as any problems could crop out after we have completed our prototype. Semi-finals is two months away. We will be meeting up with each other often to discuss on the prototype and to check on its construction progress. However, we are also constantly thinking of new and better ideas to improve our invention. In the mean time, we are still pondering what materials are required for different components of the prototype and how can we ensure that the drawer is easy to use and how we can prevent future problems from appearing once we have our prototype.

Project Meeting 6

Date: 12^th April 2011

Time: 1440-1455

Venue: Outside Staffroom

Members : Gary, Teacher Mentor

No.	Discussed
1	Introducing a new idea: Water Sensor ·       Suggested using a mechanical water sensor to mark the maximum level of water the drawer can hold ·       Water sensor to be added at the front of the drawer (water level can be seen below the handle) ·       Continue brainstorming for ideas on how the water sensor should be like
2	Building of prototype       ·        Each Member to check if they have spare materials at home for building of       prototype       ·        Decided that would and plastic are most suitable to build the prototype:             + Both are cheap and easily available             - Wood may not be waterproof             - It is not easy to mold plastic into our desired shape
3	Inventor's Log ·       Continue updating the inventors Log as we proceed to semi-finals

After this short discussion, we discussed together as a group and aimed to complete building the prototype by the June holidays. However, we have to decide if we will be asking external vendors to build our prototype or building it ourselves with suitable materials that we may find in our homes.

Project Meeting 5: Powerpoint Slides (With teacher mentor)

Date: 22^th February 2011

Time: 1425-1440

Venue: Outside Staffroom

Members : Gary, Hao Yu, Boning(CCA), Akira(CCA)

Mentored by: Teacher Mentor

Discussion and consultation on Prelims PowerPoint Presentation

No.	Discussed
1	Slide 1-Addressing of Group Members and Introduction of Project ·        To add in an image of the PlantPlat in the first slide
2	Entering scenes? ·         Is there any deas to attract audiences’ attention?
3	Need of a Plant Pot Plate ·        Explain clearly why roots need to breathe (Include some pictures) ·        State an example (e.g. Mangrove tress)
4.	Disadvantages of Plant Pot Plate ·        Lifting the pot is inconvenient. How so? à Heavy, back straining ·        Dengue Fever Show related news articles showing that such mosquitoes breeding areas can cause outbreak of dengue.  ·        Some types of plant pot 'dish' is inconvenient because it is difficult to lift the plant pot
5.	Structure of Plant Plat ·        Explain how the drawer works, in details, how the water is emptied (animations)
6.	Advantages of Plant Plat ·        Explain how it can be more convenient ·        How can it reduce dengue cases ·        In what way is it more convenient to empty it as compared to plant pot dish
7.	Others ·        Consider more aesthetic designs (interest of the consumers are very important) ·        Prelims à Show our basic idea (intended product), advantages and how it is better than plant pot plate (state evidences) ·        Semi-finals à  Prototype must be done, choose the right materials

 During this meeting, our teacher mentor gave us many useful tips for improving our Powerpoint slides. We then continued to work hard on the slides and gather more relevant information to include in the slides. Our group then think of more ideas to improve our presentation.

Task allocations:

Haoyu: Work on slides

Akira: Work on scripts

Boning and Gary: Search for related information or articles