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. 

Wicker - Course Reflection

AE410 has exposed me to many technologies and ideas that will become increasingly prevalent in my field of work in the coming years. As a college graduate it is important to make yourself as valuable as possible in an attempt to land that first post-grad job. Being able to introduce new and innovative ways to complete tasks to any workplace is one of the best ways to do just that. In engineering design, computer programs have become the standard tool for all projects. Even the most basic projects require multiple users to be able to use various program so being able to learn a new program quickly will be valuable as they continue to evolve.

I enjoyed learning how to use Revit and Access the most in this class. These are two programs I had little experience with but the instructional videos gave me enough knowledge to be able to work with them and start figuring out more complex features on my own. Learning Revit has also helped me at work since we receive architectural drawings for project all the time. Being able to identify building outlines, facades, and overhangs helps to give everyone involved in the projects a good idea of the overall goal. While I am not sure if I can use BIM technologies at my current job I can surely incorporate them into my senior design project. Experimenting with new programs will help us to create a unique project that solves common problems in innovative ways.

The weekly blog posts helped me to research and learn more about topics that I wouldn’t regularly read about. It also created talking points for communicating with other people in the class. The only improvements I could suggest for the class would be to have more assignment similar to the Revit one. I know it would be difficult, but if there could be multiple mini assignments that each utilize a demo version of a new program that would be a great way to learn about new software. Overall it was a good experience and I am glad I choose to take this class.

Responses:

Maita,

I also signed up for AE410 because it was a professional elective that fit my schedule and much like you I ended up really enjoying the class. It really put into prospective just how many different technologies exist and how they are evolving to solve modern problems. Just knowing that these technologies are out there gives us an advantage but having a basic understanding of some of them (BIM, Revit, Access) will be very useful going forward.

Wahbeh,

I also found this class interesting.  The connections drawn between technology and various professional fields were fun to learn about. I also plan to try an incorporate some of these technologies into my future projects.

Johnson,

I didn’t appreciate the freedom that we were given for the final project until after reading your post. Few classes allow you to choose your topic and even fewer allow you to explore that topic in any way you want. It made it easy to find something that we were interested in which always makes these types of projects more interesting. I also agree that the ability to continue to adapt to changing technologies will be increasingly important in the future.    

B7 Course Reflection - Gibson

After going through the course AE 410- Intelligent Buildings, I have found a new passion for future technologies that are going to play key factors in my work field. I relished the use of new programs and learning about how we can fine tune our skills to become the most efficient engineers we can be. The new software I used in this class were Microsoft Access and the incorporation of Grasshopper as well as Rhino into Revit. The weekly blogs become a tradition for me as I got to reflect on the lectures from class and understand how my peers are thinking about these new topics too. Although, my favorite part of this course I would have to say would be the guest lectures.

During the guest lectures I found some real connections between all the new technologies discussed throughout the course and the design/construction industry as a whole. This gave me a first-hand experience from professionals on how they use each of the technologies or how they would use their databases to optimize the project timeline. In addition, this helped me to see what I want to do in the future as I am new to the idea of intelligent buildings and upon graduation.

Comments:

Wicker:

I enjoyed reading your post as I too have similar interest as you. This class really opened my eyes to the applications that Revit and Access can be used for as well as the amount of information each can produce.

Bach:

After reading your post, I see you as well favorited the guest lectures. As it made us feel connected to the real world and see specific ways these technologies are used out in the field.

Strohl:

I too agree with you without the deep intellect that Professor Mitchell has from working in the field so long and working with many students he delivered a great message to incorporate these new technologies.

Thach-Course Reflection

Overall, I really enjoyed the class. The purpose of the course was to have students become more comfortable with the technologies that make a building an intelligent building. Also, to make students aware of the different databases that designer and owners use to collect and find data. I believe that this was accomplished by Prof. Mitchell. After the class I am not more comfortable using Parametric Design applications like Revit and I now have an understanding of how it can be used more in the industry. The Revit project was a great project to help students who never used Revit before get a simple introduction and for students are experienced a chance to get more practice with it outside of work.

I really enjoyed the concept of the blog post as it forced students to research different topics that all fall under the category of intelligent building. This includes artificial intelligence, sensors and networks. Adding the part where students comment each other’s work seemed like a lot of work but it was helpful because it allowed us to learn from each other and understand people’s perspective on the various topics. I believe that this class has taught students a lot about topics we were not aware of before, thus making students more prepared for the future.

My favorite component of the class was the videos and the guest lecturers. I think they were very helpful and insightful. The topics that were discussed were interesting and the lecturers made students very comfortable. For students who were on fringe about entering that specific field, it helped guide them to the right field. In terms, of things I did not like, I just wish that we were given a bit more time to complete the individual projects. I felt rushed at times and felt that it was one of the reasons why some of my projects lacked detail. In conclusion, I think I learned a lot from this course and I am happy that I had the opportunity to take before graduating.

Comments

Dee Dee:

I agree with you because the guest lecturers were one of my favorite parts of the class. I think that they brought their expertise to each lecture. I too think the new overwhelming movement of robotics and AI is worrisome just because I’m afraid that it will lead to the demise of the human race but it can be because I am paranoid.

Lauren,

I really enjoyed you personal input about the applications you use at work and how you were able to tie it into the things that were covered in class. Your thoughts about sensors was really good and you made some really insightful points.

Brad,

I really enjoyed you blog post, I think it was very insightful and you summarize the benefits of the class very well. I like how you were about to tie in your other classes into post. INFO 210 did teach us about the theory of database but it was helpful that this class had us actually create and edit our own database using something other than SQL.

B7 - Maita

I, initially, enrolled into AE 410 because it was a professional elective that fit my schedule and seemed to be interesting and somewhat relevant to my major. After ten weeks, this course has been a lot more than I thought it was going to be. It was a course that was sort of based on getting out of it what you put into it. Professor Mitchell presented the class with a lot of information on the topics covered and at some times that information was overwhelming. But it was presented in a way where it could be easily understood and used in the in-class assignments. Although we covered some topics that I thought I was familiar with (Revit, BIM, etc.) other topics like databases and even some aspects of Revit and CAD, like Dynamo, that I had no idea existed. One aspect of the class that I really enjoyed were the blog posts. Although they seemed somewhat repetitive and tedious, it was informative to read other students opinions and thoughts on the topics we were learning in class. The blog post format was also set up that depending on what group you were in, you researched different topics. I think I learned a lot more about these topics from reading student’s interpretations than I would have by reading the articles myself.

I think that Intelligent Buildings was a really great class that provided me information that I probably would never have learned if I never took the class. Being an AE with a structural concentration, my major tract never really touches on many of these topics in depth. I think that AE 410 provided relevant information even though it was not directly related to my concentration. Going forward in the rest of my time at Drexel and in my profession career, I would want to learn more about the topics of intelligent buildings. The field is ever changing as technology becomes more and more advanced and it can be used to improve buildings from every aspect, including the design phase and the implemented technologies.

Comments:
Dee Dee: I agree with your point about the guest lecturers; I think that having someone come in and explain and show how all the technology and things we were learning in class are used in industry added to the class.

Sarah: I think also that the Revit project was one of the more enjoyable parts of the class. I do not have a great background in Revit so it was cool to learn how to do some of the more technical things like making a family.

Brad: I agree that the way the scheduling of the class was set up was beneficial to learning. It gave Professor Mitchell a lot of time to go over the topics he was presenting in full without having to rush through anything.