DJ Dalen Austin Video Proj

My group members were Dalen, Dj, and Myself.


http://youtu.be/JQQVfI0ozX4


Disclaimer: Our video is meant to be funny.  It is not offensive since we advocate meeting different kinds of people in it.  

Grad Video Invite

Grad Invite Video
Link.

http://youtu.be/k8PaVRnzNoY

My capstone booth and How I Felt About My Presentation

Here is my capstone booth:

I attempted to keep my booth as simple as possible.  I used two boards, one with my poster, the other with my issue and information about the concepts it addresses.  I tried to keep a consistent color scheme of black and white.  I didn't want to overwhelm people with information or pictures, as what I had to say to them was much more important to me and fielding their questions would prove more informative for them (especially given how my project is centered on individual interests. )

I feel like my project went very well.  I didn't have many visitors to my booth because I was on the farthest end on the Thunderduck side of El Paso, so I didn't get a chance to practice presenting to Juniors.  That being said, I was not nervous and didn't stumble.  I think it went quite well.

Website Address

Here is the address to my website:

http://aus200.wix.com/capstoneproject

Mobile site:


http://m.aus200.wix.com/capstoneproject

Capstone Presentation Ideas

Capstone Presentation Idea

For my presentation, I will try to deliver as much information as possible through speaking. On a tri-fold science project display board, I will attempt to convey the main idea points in neatly organized blocks. I will add attractive visuals in between this information to help further draw the eyes.  Brochures will also be available for people to take and look at.  I will also have a laptop open to my website for judges and viewers to test out.  I will set all of this up on a nice black table cloth.   I will also display little business cards with my website link for people to take.

PSA Video

 This is My Public Service Announcement Video

I kind of threw this together on my own and it's really not that great.  My PSA video is complete(ly terrible) and if I had the chance I would change a lot of things about my video in order to make it better and communicate my message in a more effective way. Still, I guess it's not entirely horrible and I did it and turned it in on time...

What I was hoping to accomplish with my video was to show users was that most activities that people enjoy require electricity (even the most simple or basic ones.)  So I put videos of me enjoying the things I enjoy and then posed the question of whether or not electricity could be done in a cleaner and less expensive way.  Then I put the link to my website for more information.  I was hoping to equate electricity with good times, and then tell people their good times could be less expensive.  I'm not much of an advertising guy, but I tried.

I'd like to redo my video over the break and (hopefully) be able to add someone else to it and do a more focused message that actually makes some sense.  I was thinking of trying to do something funny, but I'm not too funny.  Either way, I know I can improve it over the weekend.
.....

UPDATE: This is my new video!  I decided to use Prezi because I lack friends and my sister refused to help me out by starring in my video.

http://www.screenr.com/dp67

What I learned today 3/8/12

When Dr. Manes came to class today, I was terrified that their would be an additional assignment or an announcement that we all have to start over again because our projects are terrible. However, Dr. Manes' visit was very helpful.  I was very unsure as to how to include my service learning in my paper because I thought it was completely unrelated to the my topic.  Dr. Manes cleared this up for me, and I understand now that I have to connect something I have learned in service learning to my project.  For example, I can talk about how important correctly implementing design is in power generation, just like it is in building a home.  I also learned that our end product does not have to be flawless, which is a life saver.

PSA Blog

Public Service Announcements

 Examples of PSA Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-8PBx7isoM
This video is an emotional one, depicting a happy family, and a man in an accident.  The imagery of the family acting as his seat belt is moving and really tugs at the viewers heart. The video is not necessarily targeted at anyone (families perhaps) and its message could easily be received and understood by all viewers.


 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWQgktBR6-w
This Star Wars themed PSA is aimed at younger viewers.  Showing the characters of the incredibly popular Star Wars movies talking about how smoking is bad is an effective way to reach out to the intended audience.  This is because Star Wars characters are very recognizable to children, and may even be considered role models.

My PSA:
I will try to emphasize the key areas of environment, economics, and reliability.  In order for visuals to be appropriate for my video, they will need to be high quality and relate to my key points.  Being on topic and basic will help my video to communicate its message in a more effective manner.  My images will also need to create a positive association with the technology that my capstone focuses on.  As for audio, a simple background music will work fine.  A voice over would perhaps be more effective, but is not necessarily a requirement for my video's purpose. 

2/11 Website Ideas Post

Website Plan

   

My website will feature several different pages that will address the key points of my capstone essay.

• Home Page- This page will welcome visitors to the site and act as a central hub that users can use to navigate to other pages.  It will also provide a site overview.
• About Page- The about page will detail what my project is and why.  This page will discuss the state of energy today along with the political situation surrounding alternative energies.
• Technology Page- This page will provide more detailed information on the various options for microgeneration, such as pros and cons and how they operate.
•  Cost Page- This page will describe the expenses associated with microgeneration- both financial and environmental.
• Microgeneration Page- This page will discuss why microgeneration is an important concept and link to sources and successful examples of microgeneration being used today.

Capstone Poster Idea

Capstone Poster Idea

 My poster will probably not be too serious.  I feel my project is very technical and it will be easier for people to approach it if I take a lighter tone with them.  I have absolutely nothing prepared for my poster yet.  I need to find images still, as well as a quote.  As far as design goes, my poster will be dark in the background, with important points or images in brighter colors so that they stand out.  I imagine that I will use the larger poster size as it will be easier to read and make my display stand out more than the smaller one. I will try to use professional fonts and keep my poster clean and as simple as possible.

Capstone Idea

My Capstone Project is an engineering project, centered around microgeneration in homes.  Microgeneration is a term for energy generated on a small scale. An example of microgeneration in homes would be the use of solar panels to power a fan.  While the best known way to generate power on a small scale is solar energy, there are many more effective ways to generate energy within a home.  Technologies such as micro-combined heat and power units could allow for home owners to reduce carbon emissions, save money, cut strain on the electrical grid during peak consumption hours, and not jeopardize safety or structural stability. Furthermore, they are able to not only power a home, but to heat and cool homes as well, meaning that they can handle the two most strenuous and energy consuming tasks in a home while generating electricity at the same time.
Micro-combined heat and power units are, essentially, highly efficient natural gas engines that can be used to generate electricity.  The greatest byproduct of this operation, heat, can be used to heat water for the homeowners, or can be used to create steam in yet another generator. By combining these technologies with an electrical storage device (such as a lead acid battery), any unused electricity generated during the day can be accessed later, or can be sent back into the power grid, which would result in a cut to homeowner's energy bill.  My end product would be a website to spread awareness of microgeneration and serve as a guide to interested individuals looking to purchase some form of microgeneration.
While installing microgeneration technologies into a home is not a fix all in terms of environmental concerns or expenses, it is a viable way for individuals to reduce their own carbon emissions, electrical expenses, and prevent power outages or blackouts.  In essence, these technologies are supplementary, but could be very impactful if adopted on a larger scale.
My capstone proposal did not pass.  The committee wanted to know if my project was hardware or software.

Poster Research

The five most important aspects of poster design are:

1.  Making sure your poster is readable.  Whether it be size, quality, or font a poster needs to be easy to read.
2. Know your audience and make sure to adapt your poster to best fit this audience.
3. Poster need to have a layout that is well organized and not distracting or hard to follow.
4. Information on posters needs to be as concise as possible while still conveying the important messages
5. Posters should be visually appealing with easy to read font colors and texts and an appropriate design for their purposes.
www.ext.colostate.edu/staffres/poster.pdf
 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1876493/

Here are some good examples of Poster Design:
 
 Image Source:
www.mathaware.org

  
Source:   collider.com

These posters are well laid out, contain just the right amount of text (which is easy to read) and convey their message concisely and efficiently.