Easy DIY projects for kid engineers | Fawn Qiu

譯者: 杨 安琪 審譯者: Wang Leung Lee

我設計工程項目

I design engineering projects

for middle school and high school students,

為初中和高中學生，

often using materials that are pretty unexpected.

經常使用意想不到的材料。

我的靈感來自我日常生活的問題。

My inspiration comes from problems in my daily life.

For example,

例如，

有一次我需要一套 出席漫畫大會的服裝，

one time I needed a costume to go to a comic convention,

但我不想為此花費太多金錢，

but I didn't want to spend too much money,

so I made my own ...

所以我自製服裝……

with a light-up crown and skirt.

配襯發光的王冠和短裙。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Another time,

另一次，

I was devastated because my favorite mobile game,

我非常傷心， 因為我最喜愛的手機遊戲

Flappy Bird,

「笨鳥先飛」，

從應用程式商店下架。

was being taken off the app store.

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So I was faced with the dilemma

所以我當時面對兩難局面，

to either never update my phone or never play Flappy Bird again.

不再更新我的電話， 或是不再玩「笨鳥先飛」。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Unhappy with both options,

不滿足於這兩個選擇，

I did the only thing that made sense to me.

我做了自己認為唯一合理的事。

I made a physical version of Flappy Bird

我製作了實體版的「笨鳥先飛」，

而它不會從應用程式商店下架。

that could never be taken off the app store.

（笑聲）

(Laughter)

（音樂）

(Music)

(Beeping)

（嗶嗶聲）

（音樂）

(Music)

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

我的幾個朋友也頗著迷於此遊戲，

So a few of my friends were also pretty addicted to the game,

and I invited them to play as well.

我邀請他們一起玩。

(Video) Friend: Ah!

（影片）朋友：呀！

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

（影片）朋友：甚麼事？

(Video) Friend: What the heck?

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

And they told me that it was just as infuriating as the original game.

而他們告訴我 這如同原版遊戲一樣容易使人發怒。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

所以我在網絡上載了這遊戲示範，

So I uploaded a demo of this project online,

and to my surprise it went viral.

意想不到的是它竟迅速走紅。

It had over two million views in just a few days.

短短幾天裏 有超過二百萬觀看次數。

（笑聲）

(Laughter)

And what's more interesting are people's comments.

而更有趣的是人們的留言。

A lot of people wanted to make it their own,

很多人想自製，

or asked me how it was made.

或是問我如何製作。

因此這有點支持了我的想法， 就是透過一個創意方案，

So this kind of confirmed my idea that through a creative project,

we can teach people about engineering.

我們能夠教導人關於工程的知識。

With the money made from the viral video,

運用那段走紅的影片帶來的收入，

we were able to let students in our classroom

我們能夠讓學生在我們的課室

all make their own game in a box.

各自製作他們的盒子遊戲。

Although it was pretty challenging,

雖然這頗具挑戰性，

they learned a lot of new concepts in engineering and programming.

他們學到很多工程 和程式編寫的新概念。

而他們全都渴望學習， 這使得他們同時能夠完成遊戲。

And they were all eager to learn so they could finish the game as well.

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So before Flappy Bird Box,

在「笨鳥先飛」盒子之前，

我已想透過創意工程方案 來教導學生。

I had the idea of using creative engineering projects to teach students.

When I was teaching at a middle school,

當我任教於一間初中時，

we asked our students to build a robot from a standard technology kit.

我們請學生運用 標準的技術套件來製作機械人。

And I noticed that a lot of them seemed bored.

我注意到 他們中的許多人看起來覺得很沉悶。

Then a few of them started taking pieces of paper

然後有幾個學生開始拿著紙張

and decorating their robots.

並裝飾他們的機械人。

之後更多學生開始動手，

And then more of them got into it,

而他們變得 對那設計方案更感興趣。

and they became more interested in the project.

So I started looking for more creative ways

所以我開始尋找更有創意的方式

to introduce technology to students.

來把科技知識介紹給學生。

What I found was that most technology kits available in school

我發現在學校找到的 大部分科技工具包

look a little intimidating.

看來有點嚇人。

They're all made of plastic parts that you can't customize.

它們全都由 你不能客製化的塑膠部件組成

On top of that, they're all very expensive,

除此之外，它們全都非常昂貴，

costing hundreds of dollars per kit.

每套售價數百美元。

So that's certainly not very affordable for most classroom budgets.

所以這當然不是大部分 課堂預算很能負擔的

Since I didn't find anything,

因為我當時找不到適合的教具，

I decided to make something on my own.

所以我決定自己製作一些東西。

我由紙張和布料開始。

I started with paper and fabric.

到頭來， 我們兒時都曾玩過這些東西，

After all, we all played with those since we were kids,

and they are also pretty cheap

而且它們也都頗便宜

and can be found anywhere around the house.

並能輕易在家中找到。

And I prototyped a project

我製作了試作的設計方案，

where students can create a light-up creature

讓學生創作會發光的生物，

using fabric and googly eyes.

運用布料和活動眼睛等材料。

他們在課堂上互相幫助，

They were all helping each other in classrooms,

and were laughing and discussing the project.

並有說有笑地討論設計。

And most importantly,

最重要的是，

they were able to insert their own creativity into the project.

他們能夠把自己的創意注入設計當中。

So because of the success of this project,

因為這設計方案的成功，

I continued to create more engineering projects

我繼續創作更多工程方案

to challenge my students.

來挑戰我的學生。

And I also started to take these workshops outside of school

我也開始把這些工作坊帶出校園

and into the community.

而進入社區。

And something really interesting happened.

然後一些很有趣的事發生了。

I noticed a lot of people from very diverse backgrounds

我注意到很多來自不同背景的人

started coming to our workshops.

開始參加我們的工作坊。

And specifically,

而更具體地說，

比我預期中有更多女性和少數族裔參加，

there were a lot more women and minorities than I expected,

and that you wouldn't usually see at a traditional engineering workshop.

而這情況你不會在 傳統的工程工作坊裡看到。

Now take a look at this employee report at a major technology company in 2016.

現在看看一間主要科技公司 於 2016 年的僱員報告。

Women make up only 19 percent of the technology workforce.

女性只佔科技人員的 19%。

And underrepresented minorities make up only four percent.

而少數族裔只佔 4%。

This statistic might look familiar

這數據可能看起來很熟悉，

if you walked into a high school robotics club,

當你走進一間高中的機械人學會，

或一間學院的工程課。

or a college engineering class.

Now, there's a wide variety of problems

現在，有各種各類的問題

以致科技人員不夠多元。

that contribute to the lack of diversity in the technology force.

Perhaps one solution could be

也許其中一個解決方法是

to introduce technology to students through creative projects.

透過創意方案向學生介紹科技。

I'm not saying that this could solve everything,

我不是說這能解決一切，

但它能把科技介紹

but it could introduce technology

to people who originally wouldn't be interested in it

給原本因為學校的教導和呈現方式

because of how it has been portrayed and taught in school.

而對科技不感興趣的人

So how do we start to change the perception of technology?

所以，我們如何開始改變 他們對科技的觀感？

Most students think that it's boring or unwelcoming,

大部分學生認為 科技是沉悶或不易應用的，

so I have always designed projects following three principles.

就此我總是依照三項原則來設計。

First is having a low floor,

第一是低門檻，

and that means this project is easy to get started.

即是這個方案容易開始。

看一看這教程。

So take a look at this tutorial.

The first project we asked students to learn

我們請學生學習的第一個方案

是在紙上連接一個閉合電路。

is to make a circuit on paper.

正如你所見， 它不需花很長時間學習，

As you can see, it doesn't take very long to learn,

and it's pretty easy even for beginners.

對於初學者也頗容易。

And having a low floor also means that we're removing the financial barrier

有著低門檻也意味著我們移除了

that prevents people from completing a project.

防礙人完成設計的財政屏障。

So with paper, copper tape, lightbulb and a battery,

運用紙張、銅線、燈泡和電池，

people can complete this project for under a dollar.

人們便可以低於一美元來完成方案。

So second principle is having a high ceiling.

第二個原則是高上限。

This means that there's a lot of room to grow,

這意味著有很多成長空間，

and students are constantly being challenged.

而學生持續接受挑戰。

At first it might just be a light-up creature,

首先它也許只是個發光生物，

但之後你可以加上 感應器和微控制器，

but then you can add sensors and microcontrollers,

and start to program the creature to interact with its environment.

並開始編寫程式， 讓那生物與環境互動。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

而最後，

And finally,

the third principle is customization.

第三個原則是客製化。

This means that we can make this project relevant to anyone.

這意謂我們能夠 讓這計劃與任何人相關。

That's the beauty of using everyday materials;

這就是運用日常物料的好處；

it's very easy to customize using paper and fabric.

我們非常容易運用 紙張和布料來進行客製。

因此即使你不喜歡「笨鳥先飛」，

So even if you don't like Flappy Bird,

you can still make your own game.

你仍可自製遊戲。

(Video) Student: So our game is about Justin Bieber,

（影片）學生：我們的遊戲 關於賈斯汀·比伯，

because he's been speeding,

因為他一直超速駕駛，

and the object is to prevent him from getting caught by the LAPD --

而這物件是避免 他被洛杉磯市警察局逮捕 —

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

（影片）學生： 對呀，但他在改變 —

(Video) Student: Yeah, but he's changing so --

we're a part of his posse.

我們跟他是一夥的。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）