Saturday, March 29, 2014

Computer Aided Design

   One of our Upper School Computer Science electives is Computer Aided Design.  As stated in our curriculum guide:
     This course is open to all students in grades 9-12 who are interested in learning computer-aided design for school-related assignments or personal projects. Architects, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, landscape designers, interior designers, genealogists, forensic scientists and a host of other professions have used CAD in recent years to plan, organize, and visually communicate their ideas to colleagues and clients.
     Students in this class will explore design principles and the production process needed to produce high-quality CAD renditions. We will examine diagrams of electrical schematics, architectural designs, floor plans, landscape layouts, mind-mapping, etc. Along the way, students will also learn how to use today's digital equipment: computers, scanners, digital cameras, DVD-burners, etc. A variety of computer software programs will be utilized and learned.
     Working both individually and in groups, students will develop an understanding of the technology and related design principles needed to produce a variety of CAD-based projects on their own in the future.
   Recently, the Computer Aided Design (CAD) class has been utilizing SketchUp, CAD software developed by Google.  SketchUp is a 3-D modeling tool used to present geometric concepts.  No doubt you've seen the results of a SketchUp project (or similar software) in the popular media.  Some advertisement companies utilize the software. Tech savvy automobile ads, for instance, will often show a schematic of a new design and then rotate it in space. Science fiction films often use the same effect.  This ability to work and navigate in a 3-D environment is at the heart of SketchUp. The software puts a premium on a broad skill set. Students need to think creatively, precisely and analytically.   
    Irv Taylor, the class teacher, has been integrating SketchUp into the curriculum for years.  He's assembled an interesting array of projects that allow students plenty of creative license while being sure to develop their modeling skills. One of the assignments students undertake is to use SketchUp to accurately render the Hockenbury computer lab serving as their classroom.  Accuracy in objects and proportions is important, as is attention to detail.  Here's an example of one student's work:
On the student's computer, this image could be rotate in a variety of ways to allow the student different viewing perspectives.
   The objects that might be rendered are limitless.  But no matter the choice of object, students will need to be creative, precise and analytical in approaching the work.  Below, a gallery of some student work.
A boat on the water, awaiting the rower.
A dog house.
A schoolhouse.
This drawing was designed to serve as a working model for a wood shop project to follow.
Each student designs a house. The project begins with floor plans and continues through a final rendition.
  

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Data Mining

   I've been getting interested in data mining lately. I'm beginning to understand just how pervasive the practice is, and how data mining now plays a fundamental role in commerce. It's always helpful to understand terms. Here's dictionary.com on data mining: "the process of collecting, searching through, and analyzing a large amount of data in a database, as to discover patterns or relationships." But if you want a fuller, more nuanced explanation, try this UCLA site. You'll find out that data mining is as important to supermarkets as it is to the NBA.  If it's a contemporary venture of any significant size and it's engaged in commerce - not to mention national security -  data mining is of interest.
   My curiosity about data mining was deepened as I finished reading The Circle by Dave Eggers. The novel takes place largely on the campus of a fictional company named The Circle. It's scope and mission seem to parallel Google to a remarkable degree.  The Circle makes all sorts of products that help the consumer be more "social." (Of course their definition of "social" might be a bit different than yours or mine. To The Circle, being social means sharing interests, concerns, travels, relationships, etc. with others, both friends and strangers.) The cameras, personal recorders and software products are not only technologically advanced and elegant in design; they also gather data. The Circle's core mission is to become the world's repository of personal data. There are characters to follow and story lines to grab your attention, but beneath the narrative is an understanding that companies today, most especially Google, Facebook and Twitter, have become masters at gathering and utilizing personal data. (The Circle was reviewed in the NY Times on 11/1/13.)
   Google, Facebook and Twitter are interesting for two reasons. One is their success. They have become hugely profitable and important in large part on the basis of data mining. What helps them stand apart from so many other digital companies is they not only gather data; they also sell it or use it themselves.  Most other companies - and here we're talking about thousands, tens of thousands of companies - gather data and sell it to data aggregators.  These are companies that gather, combine and analyze data from multiple sources. 
   Recently (3/9/14), 60 Minutes did a story on these data aggregator companies. These data companies were termed "data brokers." It's a sobering look at the degree to which virtually all of us relinquish personal information unknowingly. Take a look if you have about 15 minutes to spare: The Data Brokers: Selling Your Personal Information. It's a very interesting story.
   Want to know more about how your data is being mined? Then you'll be interested in this story about Acxiom, one of the big names in the data mining field. Tools are available to allow yo to see for yourself how your web browsing and other online behaviors are being quantified for potential profit.