Good morning, Good afternoon, and Good evening.
Wherever you are, welcome to my fourth In-Depth Post! My In-Depth Project is about how we can design buildings so that they are fully accessible to anyone with a disability.
Project Progress Report
This week I started moving towards the final project for In-Depth. I started planning the final project which is to build a scale model of the school and make it so that every room is accessible. Annerieke and I talked about the different materials I could use to build the model.
We talked about the different options that I had as to how I build my model. I originally thought of making it out of cardboard as I had made models out of cardboard for other projects.
Annerieke suggested making the model out of Foam Core, which is a lightweight board that she uses for her models. It would be easier than using cardboard because I could make interlocking boards to use as the walls and so I wouldn’t have to glue anything.
Another option that Annerieke suggested was to do make the model in a modeling software called SketchUp. By using SketchUp I could make the building to full size as there wouldn’t be any physical materials used. SketchUp is a bit complicated, but I had an introduction to using it a few years ago so I think it might be a viable option.
No matter which option I pick I am going to have to make a list of all the unique rooms at Gleneagle so that I don’t have to make the whole school. I will just make one room that is the classroom because the classrooms are all the same. But I will make one music room, one home ec room, and one science room as there is only one of those rooms in the school.
Annerieke and I also talked about talking to some of the Education Assistants who work at Gleneagle and seeing what they think about our school from an accessibility standpoint.
We also talked about talking to Ebba about her experience in high school. It would be better if I talk to someone with a disability who goes to Gleneagle, but if I am unable to, I will talk to Ebba.
Report on Mentorship Experience
- What has been your most difficult mentoring challenge so far? Why?
The most difficult mentoring challenge so far is trying to find a time to meet that works for both Annerieke and I because we both have so many things happening during the week. I have T.A.L.O.N.S after school some days and other days I have soccer. Annerieke has lots of meetings about designing new buildings so that makes specific times that work for both of us.
- What is working well? Why?
One thing that is working well is having good quality conversations about accessibility. We have conversations about what could be built better, what I can show in my In-Depth posts, and how to be economical in building buildings.
- What could be working better? How can you make sure this happens?
Something that could be working better is my communication about setting up our next meetings as Annerieke has a busy schedule and sometimes it is too late to schedule a meeting. I will make sure that I work on this by sending my emails with times for meetings earlier in the week.
Until next time,
Matthias