B7 Final Course Reflection - Tangari

Over the past term this course has helped to create a starting foundation for understanding various systems and programs which are commonly used by engineers. I thought it was a great start to beginning by looking at different topics such as BIM and robotics and researching how they are going to evolve and change with the future. Using a program such as Evernote which I had never used before I was able to access different articles while learning how to use this tool. Another key aspect was being able to look at BIM and understand its purpose and how it functions. How there are so many different tools out there that enable engineers to be able to study a buildings function and performance. By gaining an over sight of some of these has helped me to understand how every company has their own preference when it comes to using different tools and programs but that being able to self teach your self these skills and programs will give you a competitive edge in the work force as well as strengthen your skill sets. 

Another great part of this course was the ability to be able to use different programs to learn new skills. Having used Revit briefly in the past it was helpful to be able to use it again and be focusing on a specific aspect of it such as families. Having the tutorials to follow was extremely helpful in being able to complete the project. The database project I felt was a great addition to the course content as well as it introduced me to a program I had never used, Access. From having very little experience in what a database was and what its components were, lead to self directed research which helped to complete the project. Having an idea and a starting point on how to operate these programs will be a very useful tool in future occupations. Even if these programs are not utilized at future jobs, it will be easier to be able to understand how to self teach a program to oneself because of how we were able to do so using tutorials and such in this course. 

Comments:

Sarah, 
I as well enjoyed doing the Revit project. I feel focusing on creating families was a great way of understanding how Revit has many different tools that can be used to make designing easier and more efficient. 

Andrew,
I like how you discussed how reading the posts furthered your understanding of different topics. I too felt that by reading other students thoughts I was able to understand topics better especially when it came to databases where I did not understand their purpose until looking at others posts. 

Jacob,
I like how you mentioned how now you see that you will use BIM in any job you find your self in. I agree, having not understood before what BIM really was this class really helped to further my knowledge of it as it is greatly in the engineering world. 

Sarah Hollis - Reflection

Firstly, a number of skills have been gained which, as well as being CV worthy, will help directly with future employment; these are Revit and Databases. As well as this we have learnt about AI and Robotics which has helped me to predict the future. Predicting the future is not just an interesting topic of conversation. It can help when choosing which job to go for, or which programs to spend time learning. With the world seeming to be switching to 3D, one can predict that Revit is still extremely worth while learning, whereas AutoCad is getting dated and may not be around for much longer. This is not to say that all technologies which are not brand new are worth throwing in the bin. Databases still have a use in todays world. They provide a mechanism to organize, locate and change huge groups of data with ease.
Learning how to create a family was one of my favorite and worthwhile tasks in this module. Whilst being helpful for future employment, it also showed how Revit works with reference lines and grids. This knowledge can be applied to many more tasks on Revit to get a successful outcome.

Andrew,

I agree that this is a course that I would not normally have chosen and it covered topics about the future which I had never really thought about before. It has definitely given me some useful knowledge which could definitely impress future employers.

Dee Dee,

I also really enjoyed the guest speakers. It was nice to hear about their experience in the industry as well their opinions about the future projections for the construction industry. It was a different approach as we do not tend to have guest speakers in my other modules but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Week 10 - Course Reflection - Nay Ye Oo

AE 510: Course Reflection

I came into this course with no knowledge about what the term Intelligent Building means at all. And I expected to learn more about what makes a building intelligent and how technology is applied in the field of civil, architectural and environmental engineering. As a BSMS student, I talked to some seniors about to complete the program and they recommended me to take this course because there were some principles and projects that would help out in future classes. Now that I have taken this course, I do see the value in the projects assigned in this class and how useful it is - database project.

I always liked excel and would use it as much as possible in any type of project during my Drexel life as a student and being exposed to Microsoft Access was an eye opener. I might not have been able to complete achieve a full understanding of the program's capability but now I can pick it up whenever I have the time to explore its full functionality better and be able to apply it in my future career.

My favorite parts of this class would be the lecturing videos that feature any type of innovative technology or application of it in the construction industry and the guest lecturers that Professor Mitchell brings to class. I always categorized the CAEE engineering as the most archaic type of engineering, at least when comparing to similar engineering branches such as computer, electrical and mechanical. Personally, the videos shown in class are a bit stretched out in the sense that using AI in construction is plausible but not efficient enough in terms of cost. But give or take a couple decades and we might just be seeing an actual impact of technological advances in construction. The more palpable improvement we can see is in the design phase. Software such as AutoCAD, Revit, Naviswork, Rhino, Grasshopper and more have all definitely made our lives as civil and architectural engineers easier and more efficient.

So to conclude, I am glad I took this class as my grad elective as it is an eye-opener for me to remind me that the engineering path I chose still has a lot of more room for development. It is just a matter of time and resources.


Comments

Johnson
Good point on talking about the applicability of this class in our future profession. I definitely got exposed to naviswork and software that are 'next-level' to that of Revit. And since I am planning to pursue a career in design, I think it is very helpful to have taken this class. For your final project, 3D laser scanning sounds like an interesting piece of niche knowledge to pick up on so I am glad this course was also helpful to you too.

Odorizzi
It seems that we picked up interesting and beneficial nuggets of information from this class. Databases was completely new to me so it was great to have another tool to add to our belts of engineering knowledge. Unfortunately, I did not have as much prior Revit experience to expand on that front. So kudos to being able to take the extra mile with the Revit project and even making your Final project about it. Hopefully I get to watch you present on Thursday.

Tufano
It is nice to be able to meet with fellow BSMS students in our undergraduate classes because it gives us a chance to work with 'like-minded' people. Also majority of the class is based on class discussions, online discussions and group work where everyone gets a chance to collaborate and discuss. I think this sense of non-traditional way of teaching really shines out compared to the more traditional approach of lecturing and listening because I get to work with a group of people who have such different ideas and opinions that the learning experience is exciting and informative.

B7 - Course Reflection, Odorizzi

AE 510 fostered discussion about the future and new technologies that I had not taken time to consider carefully before. It was refreshing to gain awareness of how new technologies are integrating into the construction industry and project how these developments will impact our future professions. I think it was useful to break down some of these developments at a fundamental level to help build our understanding of the topic, namely with BIM and databases. Having worked with Revit in the past, I was able to expand upon my previous knowledge of Revit through our family assignment, as well as by diving into depth with an interdisciplinary model for the term project. Databases were a topic I had never pursued in the past. I found the discussion of databases very interesting, and it was a useful tool to gain exposure to for future uses.

Another aspect of the course that I enjoyed were the blog posts. As annoying as they often are to complete, I enjoyed reading through other classmates’ posts and seeing their thoughts. Fo topics such as the introduction to databases, I found it a great way to compile information about the topic without reading in depth about each topic ourselves. The in-class blog posts that we did early in the term felt forced and I did not like those - but the weekly blog posts were enjoyable.

With regard to the course’s impact on my profession and future, it has definitely motivated me to investigate the technologies and software at the forefront of the industry. For example, Dynamo is in-built feature of Revit 2017 and I would be interested in spending some time exploring its capabilities. Other facets, such as impact detection software, would also be super interesting to learn. Gaining a knowledge of these niches may be advantageous in industry to set myself apart from other engineers, and would likely be a source of increased efficiency if I am able to gain proficiency in the software. AE 510 gave a very interesting overview of the concept of intelligent buildings and the technologies arising today to make these types of buildings possible.

Comment to Lauren Kujawa

I echo your comment that many of the topics and discussions we had in class were new to me - and I also enjoyed thinking about technology and aspects of intelligent buildings that I had never considered before. I would challenge your statements that both databases and sensors are not applicable to your career. Without knowing your concentration, I feel like databases and sensors have become integrated into our regular usage that we don’t recognize all of them. Perhaps you will not need to know the inner workings of the sensors like Professor Mitchell pushed us to explore, or need to craft a database from scratch, but I would be very surprised if your professional career was entirely void of databases and sensors.

Comment to Malik Anibaba

After reading your post, you made me think about “what did I expect of this course when I started,” and I think you articulate well that AE 510 encompassed a much broader scope with big-picture ideas that I was anticipating. I also discussed in my post the benefit of the blog posts to help the class collectively cover more content. I thought many of the topics we discussed were very interesting, and I agree that these discussions will help prepare us for the professional world.

Comment to Alyssia Deutsch

The classroom in the cadlab is ALWAYS cold - it’s absurd. I like how you discuss the blend between your technical knowledge and the real-life application of that knowledge that we discussed in AE 510. I think that is a key benefit to the course - it builds awareness of the technology being integrated into our profession. Now you know that you may need to read up on some AI applications for CMU design. I similarly felt that the course offers motivation to learn about these new software, like Dynamo, and continue to read and remain aware of the technologies associated with an Intelligent Building.

B7 Course Reflection

Taking intelligent building has been an interesting choice for me this term; walking in into the course, I did not know what to expect because the concept of intelligent building was somehow new to me. As we started to get into the weekly subjects, the knowledge that I have gained during this term have influenced my area of interest for future career goals and studies.

For instance, with the various assignments, I was able to first learn more about blogs, and database which was at the time a concept that I was studying, and it was presented in a different view that had allowed me to understand better what I am studying in a different course. Then, the couple assignments on Microsoft Access had given me the basics that I need to further use this program because even though I have use it extensively before, the concepts behind the relationships among the tables were new and challenging at first. Also, during the research for my final project, I was able to gain more knowledge on green building and intelligent building.

Prior to this course, I had never thought of sensors and robotics as tools that would impact greatly the construction industry, and known that intelligent building is a dynamic and responsive architecture that provides every occupant with productive, cost-effective and environmentally approved conditions through a continuous interaction among its basic elements: places (fabric; structure; facilities); process (automation; control; systems); people (services; users) and management (maintenance; performance) and the interrelation between them.” (Architectural Science Review, Volume 59, 2016, Issue 5), or green building involves the creation of structures using processes that are environmental friendly and efficient throughout a building life’s cycle such as siting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and deconstruction, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Overall, I would say that I have truly enjoyed this course, and the way many subjects were introduced during the lecture; This process makes the time worthwhile and has increased my curiosity about multiple subjects within the construction industry. I can wait to use some of the concepts that I have learned in this course, and I am looking forward to see how the evolution of technology would influence this course and the future of our industry.

Comments:

Malik,

I like your approach about the course reflection; first I agree with you by saying that most of us had different opinions about the course, and our expectations were totally outside of the scope of the course. Also, your opinion about the weekly blog posts is well-expressed because every student had posted something unique every week which makes it interesting to read about the many subjects covered in class.

Alyssia,

It was interesting that you have mentioned the many technological concepts  learned during this course, and your opinions about the classroom and some of the things that we could improve in this course is truly appreciated.

Johnson,

Most of us would agree about your opinions on this course; it is true that the class is a reflection of one’s work, time, and effort. I found your final project interesting, and the correlation that you have drawn between this course, the construction industry and the future is worth looking into.

Course Refection - Da Costa, Marino

This probably one of the most interesting classes I have ever taken at Drexel. Besides its fun and interesting, it also gives a lot of information about building technology. The most enjoyable assignment was the final project. I never thought I was going to design an underground building using Revit. There were some difficulties but the Revit assignment helped me and my team partner, Bach, to finish the final project successfully.

 I took info 210 and learnt a lot about database but I didn’t get a chance to learn how to use Database Access a lot since the professor from info 210 more focused on the Oracle Database program. The database assignment definitely deeper my understanding in database relationship between 1 to many better. Database allows you to think and break complex information into groups that have relationship with each other.

Furthermore, it was really fascinating to learn from two guest speakers about sensor and BIM. I personally gained a lot of information from both speakers. I never thought of sensors whenever I entered any building in the past but now it’s weird that whenever I go to a new building I am always curious to find out what time of sensors are in that building and where they are located.

Another interesting thing about this Intelligent building class was having an opportunity to learn and share knowledge between students in class. Some students have more or deeper understanding about intelligent building and technology and the fact that they share what they know with others is truly amazing. The blog assignments are definitely better way to connect the students with each other in class.

All the feedbacks that the professor Mitchell provided after students submitted their work assignments are very useful. The professor took his time to write all his feedbacks as clear as possible so the students can take and learn. I have experienced writing or working final projects and later submitted but never get very useful feedback in the past from some other classes. Therefore, I really appreciate that professor Mitchell has a unique way of teaching his students.

This class offers lots of information about intelligent building and technology. I am curious to see and find out about the new technology in the next 5 to 6 years. I never thought it would possible to have a 3D printer to print steel bridge in the air but hey there is one now!. This class allows you to think possible what about is going to be next in the future. It makes you think crazy about the world but I believe if you think crazy about things that never exist before you might be the next Elon Musk.

Alisson,

Thanks for sharing your reflection of this class. I am glad to hear that you gained some great knowledges from this class. I also think that database assignment was interesting even after we took the INFO 210 together. It really challenged us to crease sensors database with the real existing building. I also agree that this class is one of the best required classes for a Digital Building concentration.

Thomas,

I really enjoyed reading your reflection from this class. Especially when you talked about how BIM will impact on everything you do in the future. I also feel the same and I am glad that we learned how to use Revit in class. It was my first time learning Revit from Professor Mitchell in the previous course but I am glad he made one assignment from this class about design a building using Revit.

Lovett,

I was going to write about how the technology will affect engineers in the future as you did but I wrote quite a lot in my reflection so I didn’t. Anyway, I am glad that you brought up this topic in your reflection. I think even new technologies can be scared for us as engineers since they might take over our jobs but I think it’s good since they will help us to make the world to be a better place. We can finally design and building things that we thought impossible before.