Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Our Guiding Questions

These below are our guiding questions together with some of their answers. The other answers will be posted later after the research:


1) How do we ensure that the toy that we create is safe for the children?

We must not use small parts in the toy like dice or have small detachable parts. The toy must have all internal components sealed so that they are not exposed and will not pose a risk to the children.

2) Should we build or include small parts in the toy? Why?

There should be small parts if necessary but with have to put warning signs at the cover box of the game to let the parents take note.

3) How to ensure that the toy is not too challenging nor too simple for children to play?

We must check the P1 and P2 maths textbook and make sure that the questions are similar to the questions. The number must have the same decimal space as the maths textbook to make sure that it is just nice.

4) What should there be in the toy that can help the children in playing it?



5)  How do we make the toy in such a way that it can be linked to the subject and topics we are targeting at?



6) At the end of the day, what is our main purpose and main things for the children to learn from the toys?


The main purpose of the toy is to make the children learn how to add and subtract.

7) How to ensure that the children can easily learn what they need to learn without any help?



8) How to make sure that the concept that the children will learn is suitable for them to learn?



9) How to ensure that the children will understand very much what they are learning?



10) How to allow the children to know how to play the game in the first place?

There must be an instruction manual and there must be colourful pictures so that children easily know how to play the game.

11) How do we attract children to come and play and at the same time, buy our game?

ADMT Updates Of Our Project (Making of Toys)

These below are the questions and notes which we should take note of when we are deciding what toy are we going to make as it is very important. You will have to redo if you do wrongly:

1) Board Games are actually not toys, so we cannot think or do up a board game when designing the toy.

2) These toys, as we had chosen, may be related to subjects like Maths, and we would have to work on the topics of money, addition and subtraction. You may refer to the previous post for the information.

3) We must be able to think of the toy's name when we want to design a particular toy.

4) Take note that the toys can be any type of toys except board games and card games.

5) Take note of the essential questions at the previous posts and the answer to them as they are useful.

You may also want to change your idea but together with either the topics or the subjects. We will change when we feel that we are stuck at one end with this idea. So far, we are able to design games too, though board games are not toys. But the note is that these games must include toys. We have been researching on the guiding questions. The next post will be on the guiding questions.

Research:

Hi all. Here are some items that we have research:

What is a toy?


A toy is an object that can be used for play. Children and pets are usually associated with toys but it is not unusual for adults and some other animals to play with them many items are designed to serve as toys but goods produced for other purposes can be used. For example, a child can pick an household item and ‘fly’ it like an aeroplane. Some toys are made of collection purposes.


Toys, and play in general, are important when it comes to growing up and learning about the world around us. The young use toys and play to discover their identity, help their bodies grow strong, learn cause and effect, explore relationships, and practice skills they will need as adults. Adults use toys and play to form and strengthen social bonds, teach, remember and reinforce lessons from their youth, discover their identity, exercise their minds and bodies, explore relationships, practice skills, and decorate their living spaces.



Put down your research on the 5-8 years old (the targeted audience) here:


Children at that age like toys with bright colours like red, yellow orange(general colours) for unisex(both sex). Blue, Green and red. Girls like pink, purple and turquoise. Maybe RPG? I love them when I was younger. For maths, we can use simple operations or fractions as they would learn it in P1 and P2. Science simple classification or stages of life?

Source for the Dinosaur toy Picture: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2GAsxLDZsGjByMAtyjwOCvIOcY53ASfHXA7KEIPb3eXPvAsCL5ScEhGqGqxf1gMNTeXLRZGxffVYcs9TAUj5Fk19opDqxLNKN4iL6tzA2QlBt6SdZ-cKv-gCCbvWFx7Xd7EWGssLX_dk/s320/knex_dino_pals_1.jpg


Toys are objects that can be used for play. They are usually associated with children and pets, or in other words, they are mostly made for children and pets. However, it is not unusual for an adult and some other animals to play with toys. An example of an animal playing with a toy is a dolphin being trained to nudge a ball through a hoop. Many ideas are designed to serve as toys, but goods produced for other purposes can also be used. Examples of toys are remote-controlled flying aeroplanes, soft toys and even water guns.


Below is more about toys:

  1. Toys, and play in general, are important when it comes to growing up and learning about the world around us.

  1. The young use toys and play to discover their identity, help their bodies grow strong, learn cause and effect, explore relationships and practice skills which they will need as adults.

  1. Adults use toys in another way. They use it to form and strengthen social bonds, teach, remember and reinforce lessons.

  1. They use these skills to conduct in youth, discover their identity, exercise their minds and bodies, explore relationships too, practice skills such as skills which they will need to decorate their living spaces, or in other words, their homes.


Process of making a toy(How to make a moving toy):


This is how you make moving toys; It lever is the most important thing as it helps it to make its movement, or in other words, helps it move. If you are able to make it well then making of a moving toy will not be a difficult task for you. Making of the lever of a moving toy is a very intricate process and you can make it by fitting things in such a way that the lever is being pressed when the toy makes its movement.


When you want to make the lever of a moving toy, then you will have to first take some card and cut it nicely in such a way that it forms the shape of the animal you want to make. The shape of the animals and the lever should be made separately and then with the help of paper fasteners, as when every time you want to make something you will need some joints. Then the job will be done. This is just for a simple moving toy.




Thank you.

Essential questions ( Answers )

Hi all. Here are the answers to our essential questions:

What are the usefulness of toys? How can toys help us in our daily lives?


Toys can help people in reducing stress, for entertainment, for fun. People play toys, including adults because they wanted to stay away from the problems or homework that they are facing in work or school. They will also play toys because they feel bored and wanted something to do.


Some educational games which may also be considered as toys may help people improve in their education. Such educational games are also considered to be creative and a few examples of them are:

  • Scrabble which can help people improve in their vocabulary
  • Maths Warriors which can help people improve in their Maths(calculation or strategy)
  • Monopoly may also help to improve our Maths calculation.
  • There is also these Science Games and Puzzles which will help us improve in the understanding of the concept of digestion(digestive system) in Science.
  • Geography Games and Puzzles helps us to understand the topics of Geography better.
  • Bingo, Sudoku and IQ games(Guess Who?) are also good for education.
  • Strategy games may also be included in these and they are games such as One Up and Maths Warriors, as mentioned above.
  • Risk is a board game with a world map, Geography.
  • One more, the Chinese chess and the chess will improve our thinking.



Actually, there are more educational board games then we think. Likewise, there are also educational card games. Now let’s examine educational card games. They are:

  • Conversation cards, flash cards and playing cards
  • Time’s Up can test your brain and how you think of possibilities against time
  • In flash cards, there may be action words, though some may be for younger children, it can still give us ideas on words to be used and may be useful in English Composition
  • Scattergories(the card game) can help us by making us think of combinations of words and the possibilities to group the letters(like scrabble) against time.



As we can see, most of the games on top requires us to race against time which will “squeeze our brain juice” and help our brain in thinking faster for ideas.

Sources for the Pictures: http://www.educationallearninggames.com/

http://www.educationallearninggames.com/card-games.asp


What kinds of stuff is fun and interesting for children aged 5 to 8 to learn from toys?


As mentioned above, children who are from the age range of 5 to 8 years old like to play with fun toys. They can learn about the different shapes and also about the sizes of the shapes, as some of this toys include them to fix something using the concept of shapes. They can also learn how to construct things(for more advanced toys).


How would the toys attract the children who are 5 to 8 years old?


They will attract the children who are 5 to 8 years old by giving them the idea that they are fun or letting the children have the idea that toys are fun and they will like to entertain themselves with it. Toys have special features and qualities like having colours to attract the children, having different and movable objects on it to make the children think that they can move them.


For example, toys like remoted control cars and aeroplanes, moving robots can let the children feel like playing with them. Some toys are not remoted and they can be controlled, like water guns, and children at this age will think that they are fun to play with as they will think they can use it to spray water at others.


What does it means by fun and entertainment?


Fun means to enjoy, have pleasure and can make children and people happy and smile. It is describing an activity that people like. It can be through games, learning or recreational activities. Fun also means that there is a time for you to cheer up yourselves and forget or put the problems you have in school or work at a side first so that you will not be unhappy.



Entertainment means having amusement or enjoyment, recreational activities, games, television shows and things you do doing free time that you like and enjoy can be considered entertainment. One example of this is to go to the fun-fair and play or enjoy the activities over there, the tryouts, and another one is to take part in voluntary work or other donation drives to help the needy.



Source: Apple MacBook Dictionary.


It is essential for toys to have these two elements so that it will attract children 5 to 8 years old to play.


What can children learn through toys? Can they learn something meaningful?


They can learn how to deal with different and various strategies for subjects or topics which they learnt in school, like Maths or even innovation and enterprise. Some educational toys or games may even help them to learn about the history of different countries, together with looking at the different countries’ culture and may also help them in Geography. One example of such educational games is the Geography games and puzzles. Yes, of course they can learn something meaningful.


What makes toys fun? Why do children like to play with toys?


Toys are fun as they are enjoyable and entertaining, it give children the enjoyable feeling. It will attract the children and they will want to play with it more. When children are free, they are bored and want to find something to do, that they would like, must be enjoyable. So our toy must b enjoyable and at the same time, enforce some learning into it.


Why are toys said to be associated with children and pets?


Toys are said to be associated with children and pets as there have the main features and qualities which will attract them, especially children. For example, if some toys are specially made for children, which most of them is today, there will most likely have colours on the toys and maybe also the ergonomics and anthropometric of the toy must be able to fit the size of the children’s hands, legs or even the head.


How can the user learn something through fun when they are using the toy?


They can learn the while using the toy, as it might require some thinking skills, like while trying to play the game, solving the problem, they have actually learn something educational. Like a mathematics game, or a creative thinking game and problem solving game that requies critical thinking.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Essential Questions

Dear all:

These are our essential questions for our toy:

What are the usefulness of toys?

What kinds of stuff is fun and interesting for children aged 5 to 8 to learn?

How would the toy attract the child?

What does it means by fun?

What can children learn through toys?

What makes toys fun?

Why are toys said to be associated with children and pets?

How can the user learn something through fun when they are using the toy?


Thank you.

ADMT Things to be done

Dear all, this are the things that need to be done for this semester:

Class Test: Electronic + mechanism - 20 %

Working Model - wood, plastics, styrofoam and card board.

A3 size poster - Isometric projection plus rendering
- 1st angle orthographic projection + dimensions
- exploded view
- Product description

Group based Design Journal

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Our ADMT Blog

Dear All,

This will be our ADMT blog for the 1st semester of 2011.

It mainly will be about toy design.

Our group members are:
Brendon, Akhil, Hao Ming and Bevan.

Thank you.