As the group leader, I feel that this project would not be successful without the effort and hard work of all the group members. We begin our invention project having the intention of helping plant keepers and reducing dengue cases in the society. Now, we have a couple of almost perfect working prototypes.
Ever since we have our aspiration, we have been having a number of meetings together to brainstorm about the designs, features or any new improvements that can be added into our initial idea. Throughout our learning journey, there were times when we faced difficult problems like the materials to used and whether to install this or that. However, group meetings often solved our problems and we had managed to emerged smoothly from the semi-finals.
Our greatest challenge was in building the prototype. First of all, we need to ensure we have the most suitable materials used, accounting the different qualities of the materials listed down. We also have to make many measurements, because we have decided to build the prototype ourselves. In the end, we finally came out with a large wooden prototype which really impressed and surprised me. We had not expected to build such delicate and beautiful structures when we first began our project. We then further improved our prototype and came out with a few more varieties and designs.
If our group has more time for preparation before the finals, we would come out with more accurate shapes and sizes for the PlantPlat. We would also be upgrading on the improvements such as customizable skins and rims.
Boning:
I had a lot of fun doing this project with my teammates. When we started this project, we wanted to do something simple but innovative. Something that is truly useful and beneficial to the society. During the construction of our plantplat, we did face some problems with constructing our first prototype. We had a hard time trying to seal up the corners so that we can make it waterproof. But that was solved in our next few prototypes because the corners were already sealed.
Although it was hard work having to participate in project meetings weekly and finding time to meet up during weekends to construct our prototype, I have enjoyed working together with my group members. Together, we have learnt many valuable lessons about teamwork and keeping on task. During some of our group meetings, we might unkowningly go off topic but we will keep reminding ourselves to keep on track and we can always reach our target at the end of the day.
I have also learnt that doing a good project requires a lot of commitments. Since all four of us come from highly time consuming CCAs auch as Media Tech, Track and Field and Band and we all have our other jobs and commitments, we usually do not have a time where all four of us can meet up. Therefore, everygroup member does his part on time and we also have to sacrifice our weekends to meet up and discuss our project. Even though it was not easy. I still had fun and have learnt many things from my groupmates!
Haoyu:
We did not search very far for our project ideas. It was a common household problem and it takes little effort for to notice it. After several brainstorming sessions, we decided to work a solution for the existing plant pot plate due to its disadvantages of inconvenience and the possibility of becoming a breeding ground for Aedes mosquitoes. It was quite a smooth sailing journey for us, because our invention is rather straightforward in tackling the problem. We had a lot of suggestions and new ideas on the way, many of which were rejected after a discussion, but many features were considered and they were proven to be beneficial in one way or another. Our greatest setback was the discovery of the existing solution in the market. Just the day before Preliminaries, we found out that there was a simliar product in the market, so it was really a period of uncertainty for us. We had a really short meeting about our situation and encouraged each other to move on. After we managed to clear Preliminaries, we came togeher again to discuss about our future plans. We seek improvements to make our prototype useful and unique. We made progress and continuously upgrade our product to make it even better. We are capable of meeting deadlines, a key factor in our teamwork. We are able to depend on each other, hence working together as a group has been a joy. Our journey up till now has not been very difficult but we still did meet some obstacles on the way, but the group's strong bond has allow us to progress with our invention process. We will constantly improve our project to make our invention truly beneficial to the community.
Akira:
I feel that this project has allowed me to gain alot, in experiences and also in learning to work as a team. When we first embarked on the project, we were thinking of finding a solution to a common problem : Dengue Fever, and the breeding of Aedes mosquitoes. We have noted that plant pot plates were exposed, and the water on it was stagnant, thus attracting alot of breeding. Therefore, Planplat is a solution to this problem.
Probably the most tedious process of the project was the construction of the prototype itself. However, to ensure that time is used efficiently, our team thought of different ways to ensure that the making of the prototype wasn't too hard. For all of our prototypes, we recycled drawers (wood or plastic) to make it easier to construct.
One of the biggest problem was actually finding time to meet to discuss.
For the beginning part of the project, we had trouble finding time to meet. This problem was worsened by the fact that we were very prone to digression to totally unrelated topics. However, we managed to solve this problem by keeping our meetings short and many. For example, whenever we have come up with a new idea, or discovered a problem, we will meet up right after school and before CCA starts. This way, we don't need to worry about commitments hindering the process of our project.
In any case, I do feel that the project worked out quite well. For example, our communication is quite efficient, with constant use of email and text message, and our fast response to them. Tasks were allocated well also such that no one needs to do too much work.
Overall, I feel that our group benefited most on teamwork skills and time management skills. This would help alot in future life, so is quite a big learning experience.
