Peer feedback and reflection on design challenge
Over the past week I have received feedback on my completed design challenge from group members in the Wiki page who have accessed both my Wiki postings and blog postings about the challenge. I was overwhelmed with how positive the feedback was and how much they liked my design. They commented on how they enjoyed understanding the concept of upcycling and that from my blog it was clear I had thoroughly researched into the topic before deciding on taking this approach. Another group member commented on my decision making matrix and how they felt it was easily displayed for both adults and children to view and understand the benefits or disadvantages of the materials quickly. Two members also gave me some constructive criticism which I greatly appreciated as it assisted me to critically think about my design and how it could be improved in the future if completing the activity again with children. The comments were regarding the glass fish tank garden and whether or not it was attached to the ironing board as they feared it may fall and smash in stormy weather. This was something I had considered myself after I created the garden however I could not drill holes into it to thread through wire or string as it would smash. It is however quite heavy and I have left it out in recent rainy and windy weather and it has not fallen or broken and I think this is largely due to its weight. I then decided that possibly there were benefits to it being removable as if a severe storm was to occur it's not too heavy to lift carefully and place on the ground in my undercover area so that the height is removed and it cannot fall and smash ruining all of my hard work. Upon reflection, this type of garden bed would be better suited to an indoor window sill to eliminate the hazard of it falling and breaking and if completing this activity again with children in a classroom environment I would advise not to use glass products for the outdoor environment as they are more fragile and not as durable in all kinds of weather conditions.
Upon overall reflection about my design I also decided that glass was not necessarily suited to enhancing plant growth as I was unable to drill holes into it for waker leakage to take place and instead have had to be very careful that I do not over water the herbs as to not waterlog the plants. Although they have been growing, this would be something to consider for a child's design as they may overwater the plants and have nowhere for this excess water to escape to, in turn possibly killing the plants.
Finally, the use of stainless steel items in the form of the tea pot and pan were challenging to place holes into as you could not use the electric drill and instead were required to use a hammer and metal hole punch which required much more effort and precision. This was challenging to complete alone and I did require assistance. Therefore, if completing this project again with a class of children I would opt for more fabric and metal based resources such as the shoes and cupcake tray to upcycle into garden beds for convenience.
Overall I was very happy with my final design challenge and if completing it again I would only need to make some minor alterations to the materials used in order for it to be more convenient to create and durable in all weather conditions.
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