Christian McGonagle

January 21st, 2022

Truss Bridge – Using drawing tools to design a 2-D

Truss Bridge

Initially when I began this assignment, I thought that this assignment was going to be very easy. The
more that I looked at the assignment, the more that I would think I would struggle as I have never
done anything like this on a computer. I soon considered to go to the store and buy an iPad to help
me draw this Truss Bridge but I realized that I didn’t have any time and so I told myself that I can do
this on my computer. I designed my Truss Bridge on Microsoft PowerPoint, and I ran into many
problems in the beginning. I had many problems with drawing straight lines and realized that I was
drawing as if I was painting. I had to look up a YouTube video in order to show me how to correctly
insert lines but once I got that down, I was able to design my Truss Bridge much faster and efficiently.
Halfway through the assignment, I no longer was finding this assignment frustrating, and it began to
become very enjoyable, surprisingly. Once I finished the project, I was pleasantly stunned with how it
came out. I had no idea that I would’ve reached the result in the time that I did once I got things
going. Who would’ve known that I would enjoy this assignment despite of all the frustrations that
came in the beginning.

Standard #6 6a: Students choose the appropriate platforms and tools for meeting the desired
objectives of their creation or communication.

The designing process of this assignment can be very rewarding once done but even more rewarding when
the project comes to life. I can see this assignment be done in various types of classrooms to be able to teach
various valuable lessons. Id imagine that building an entire bridge by yourself can be more challenging for
most students so working with a partner/partners are ideal. This is great to be able to build teamwork skills
which is valuable to build as everyday we encounter situations where cooperation is needed. The learning
styles that I can imagine will benefit most from this assignment are those who are kinesthetic learners as they
are actively using their hands to create a 3-D model of a Truss Bridge. The important thing to understand
though is that it doesn’t have to be a Truss Bridge that is being built. There are many different things that can
be designed and modeled during class instructions. In my computer science class for example, we had to
design a layout of a city as well as program this robot ball to be able to go through the whole city, traveling
through every street, and not running into any objects that is a part of the city. This is like designing and
creating a Truss Bridge, it is just approached at a different angle. The last point to hit, I think there are many
different things that can be designed instead of a bridge. The first thing that comes to mind is a side view of a
bunch of skyscrapers and buildings. This time you are working with a lot less lines compared to the amount
you would use on a Truss bridge but rather a bunch more of rectangle shapes. But apply the same ideas to be
able their specific goals.