IDS Critical Reflection

The IDS project was definitely a learning experience for us. We learned how to

manage our time and leave buffer time in case anything goes wrong. It took us a while to get

the parts that we needed for the portable charger, which delayed our project a bit. However,

we worked hard and were able to get back on track. The best conversation that we had with

someone was when a young boy came to our booth. We enjoyed talking to him because he

was genuinely interested in hearing about our IDS project. He asked us questions such as

what inspired us to do the project. He tried using the portable charger while we explained

how each part worked. Getting people especially very young kids interested in our project

was the most challenging part of the IDS fair. Some kids would only go to booths that had

candy. Trying to lure kids to our booth without candy was a bit tough. We tried talking to

kids and showing them visual pictures of what we did because we thought it would be more

interesting for them compared to written work. We also let kids spin the hand crank and see

how it worked. We enjoyed presenting to people because we enjoyed explaining how the

portable charger worked. We were often asked questions. One part of the IDS Fair that can be

improved next year is the auditorium. The auditorium looked gloomy compared to the

cafeteria. More lights and banners in the auditorium or presentations in the hallway just

outside of the cafeteria would have helped solve this problem.

Our inquiry question was “how can we make a electric powered portable charger and

a portable charger that uses a renewable source of energy by the time of the IDS fair?” We

accomplished almost all of our goals. Our goals were to enhance our knowledge of

electronics, step outside of our comfort zone and try something new, learn new practical
skills, to share what we have learnt about electronics with others, and build two working

portable chargers. We met all of our goals except for one. Instead of building two different

chargers, we built one charger that combined the features of both. We separated the input of

the energy sources. We built one charger to use fewer materials because many of the parts

needed for the chargers were the same.

We found out the answer to our inquiry question by working very hard throughout the

year. We planned how we were going to build the charger. We also spent a while making

schematics, deciding what energy source to use, and building the charger. We considered

building a solar-powered portable charger. However, after researching the prices we realized

that it would be very expensive and also fairly simple to make. We wanted to do a project

that would challenge ourselves, so building the charger using a hand crank was the best

option for us.

To incorporate the core competencies into our project we worked together

(Communication) and showed people how the portable charger looked before we added the

hand crank. We explained how the charger worked to them. We also took some pictures of

the oscilloscope to explain how the energy changes in different parts of the circuit (Creative

Thinking) to explain the project simply to other people. We had to troubleshoot and figure

out how to solve the problems that we ran into many times while building the charger

(​Critical Thinking​). We were always aware that we had to finish our project by the time of

the presentation and planned to get it done early in case anything went wrong (​personal

awareness and responsibility​). This helped us because the IDS Fair was moved to an earlier

date. Lastly, we positively impacted the environment since we used a renewable source to
power our portable charger and educated others about why sustainable energy sources are

important (​social responsibility​).

We learnt how to build basic electronic devices. We learnt about circuits, electronic

parts, and how electronics work. We also gained hands-on experience by building the

portable charger and soldering. Another skill we learnt is that we must communicate well

ahead of time to get work done, especially when working in a group. We practiced managing

our time because this was a huge project for us, as we knew little about electronics prior to

the project. It took longer than expected for all the parts to arrive and we had to work around

that problem.

We got hands-on experience and learned how to build electronic devices. This

experience will help us feel more confident to fix electronic devices in the case of an

emergency. This project also helped us explore our career options. It was a unique experience

that also allowed us to practice and develop our skills of time management, communication,

and planning ahead. We also learned about different energy sources that a portable charger

can use, and how the energy can be transformed in a portable charger. It was very interesting

to learn about this topic. It is helpful to know about electronics because it has become an

important part of our everyday lives. This was a very interesting project, and we definitely

enjoyed it.
Personal Portion:

I learned a many things about myself during this project. One of the things that I

learned about myself is that I am a very hands on person. I enjoyed building the charger and

using tools and machines to build it. I also noticed that I enjoy problem solving. While some

people get frustrated when they are faced with difficult problems, I enjoy it because it

encourages me to think harder to solve the problem. I also realized that I am interested in

electronics. I didn’t have much of a passion for electronics before the project. I had chosen to

build a portable charger because it would be a new and challenging experience, it would be a

hands on experience, I would learn a lot, and I would be able to incorporate my passion for

the environment in the project. I wanted to have a renewable source of energy because it

would be better for the environment. I am going to be an engineer when I am older, so this

project was definitely a helpful experience.