Winter Quarter 2014

David L. Jaffe, MS and Professor Drew Nelson Tuesdays & Thursdays   4:15pm - 5:30pm Thornton Center - Classroom 110

Students' Comments - Winter 2013

In response to the question: Why do you want to take this course?

I am interested in this class as another opportunity to work in teams and tackle a design and engineering problem.

I have checked out the course website which convinced me to take the class! I first heard about it when I received a flyer in one of my classes. I'm currently a senior majoring in BME, and I'm interested in the medical device field. However, when I think of medical device design, I typically think of equipment used in the hospital environment and not of equipment that is used to facilitate a senior's day-to-day activities, so I thought it would be good to get exposure to this area of it. Unfortunately I have a busy schedule next quarter though, and I won't be able to take the class for 3 units. I'm looking forward to hearing the guest lecturers!

I learned about ENGR 110 while looking for classes to add to my Human Biology major's area of concentration. I'm currently pursuing a Human Biology major and an Mechanical Engineering minor to give myself an opportunity to either go to medical school or co-term in mechanical engineering. ENGR 110 seemed like an ideal class to begin learning about assistive technology and prosthetic design.

I found out about the course through explorecourses. I was looking for one more course for my final quarter at Stanford (I am finishing my masters in EE) and Perspectives in Assistive Technology struck me as a very interesting topic and I really liked the project aspect of the course.

I am a member of the group Power2ACT, a student group that creates safe spaces that foster discussion for students who are differently-abled or who are allies of the differently-abled community. Last year, we talked about this class and so this year I decided to enroll and take the course.

I found out about the course through speaking with a staff member in the Haas Center. We were chatting about the upcoming quarter and when I mentioned I was interested in product design and medicine, she handed me a ENGR110 flier. As a freshman, I'm quite undecided about what major I want to pursue and what my interests are. Since I'm taking a lot of basic science courses next quarter, I wanted to take a couple 1-unit classes that would open me up to different fields. ENGR 110 seemed like a hands-on way to explore assistive technology.

My name is Emily and I am indeed a freshman. I heard about this class in two ways: 1) through searching the keyword "disabilities" in Axess and 2) in a flyer at the OAE. Learning disabilities - partially because I am interested in how the brain works and partially because I, myself, have learning disabilities - fascinate me. In fact, at the current time, I am looking into doing HumBio with some emphasis on LDS. But, classes on learning disabilities for undergrads are rare. So, when I read that your class had no prerequisites, I was thrilled and signed up for it.

I am taking this course because I am strongly considering a career in medical devices. I really enjoy the design process of engineering, but I am also interested in non-profit work / activism. As a sophomore, I am still struggling to figure out my niche. I think that this class will be a great introduction to the field of assistive technologies, and a class where I can directly apply my learned skills.

I was one of the students in the OAE welcome video. I haven't done a project like this before and I am excited to be creative and come up with an actual prototype that can be helpful to people. I found out about the course through a mass email sent out to the Power2Act mailing list. A student who had taken the course recommended it. I've always been interested in inventing things and this class is right up my alley as I have a few ideas of small inventions I want to someday turn into a reality and this class is a great way for me to learn about the process of inventing. The topic is also completely engaging to me because my brother and I have been active in promoting accessibility and disability inclusion abroad with Mobility International USA and in our communities. Disabilities play a large role in our family because we know from having invisible disabilities what a world of difference accommodations can make.

I'm currently in ME 294 and have been planning to take ENGR 110 since freshman year (I'm currently a senior in mechanical engineering). My interest in mechanical engineering is in its applications to help others, so I'm trying to take as many classes about assistive technology and medical devices as I can. I think I found out about this class when looking up the different ME depth classes and found this on this class on the list.

I found out about the course from ME 294 last quarter. I am looking forward to all the great lectures and tours.

From students' course comments:

As a student who is unable to attend this class [physically], I like that it is set up in a way that it is still easy for me to follow along [from material posted on the course website]. The speakers have all been engaging and I look forward to the rest of them. Projects were all done well and, I think, was a good way of preparing students for their final presentations.

From students' individual reflections:

This course has done a great job of introducing me to a large and ever-growing population of highly capable individuals who experience a disability. Conversations with these individuals about how they get up an extra hour early to prepare for school, or how they have devoted their time to designing devices for individuals who are diagnosed with similar disabilities as themselves have truly inspired me and opened my eyes to a population of hardworking individuals who really could use some support and just want to reach an equal playing field as everyone else.

I really enjoyed this class and the opportunity to work on an assistive technology product. I thought the lecture presentations and trips were very interesting and thought provoking and I the project was really a unique design opportunity to work closely with end users to create a beneficial and helpful product.

The course gave me the unique opportunity to implement my ideas into functional prototypes to solve real-life problems. No longer did I merely ruminate on hypothetical paper designs. The student projects, including mine, had stakeholders: people who can actually benefit from our creative, yet thoughtful ideas. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the ENGR 110 course, and more importantly, I learned various notions about assistive technologies as well as myself.

Taking "Perspectives in Assistive Technology" was a multi-faceted learning experience. In some respects, the course solidified my choice in pursuing a career in prosthetics because I wanted to incorporate my passions for design and helping people live their lives more fully, as I wish for anyone. I have an increased admiration for the world of assistive technology, which has proven to be intellectually-interesting, socially-rewarding, and necessary.

[The course] was a fantastic learning experience and I learned a great deal in terms of how to design with others in mind, in addition to becoming more worldly with respect to the problems that much of the world still faces to this day. I hope that many others will take this class and see for themselves the amount of work and opportunities available in this field.

Upon completion of the class, I think the most valuable contribution it's made to my education is that it made me empathize and gave me a new perspective not only on engineering and design but also on the world and people around me. This class continually reminded me to 'walk in another person's shoes' or 'sit in another person's wheelchair' and see what life would be like. It was a humbling experience and one that I am glad I went through. Overall, I am glad that I took this class. It has helped me become a better designer as well as a more informed and sensitive student and individual; there is life outside of Stanford and beyond the able-bodied world I have been raised to see.

I first want to say that I really enjoyed this class. It was a refreshing break from the tedium of the numerous problem set classes that ME majors have to take. It was great to be able to step away from that for a little bit each week and tackle real world problems. It gave me greater purpose in the class to know that what I was working on was going to directly benefit someone else who needed it. I also learned a lot about myself, and my career interests and goals. I would definitely recommend this class to other people interested in assistive technology and helping others.

This class was one of the better design experiences I have had at Stanford. I was able to really apply all the tools and techniques I have learned in other design classes to attempt to create a useful device. I had the chance to work with users, brainstorm, do background research, and fabricate a prototype device.

This course taught me how to hone my design and needfinding skills and how to work with people whose work styles differ from my own. The best part of this class is the satisfaction of making a product that you designed and built that will help someone in the future.

Perspectives in Assistive Technology stood out to me as I shopped classes because of the opportunity to develop my need-finding skills, to apply my design skills to make a positive impact, and to listen to and meet some community members doing incredible work. As a mechanical engineering undergrad, we do not get nearly as much experience as product design students in the user-centered design process. Additionally, none of our required coursework involves product realization in collaboration with users (113 is close, but more corporate). As such, this class was a fantastic opportunity. In short, this is a fantastic class that I would recommend to friends, especially those in CS who might not hear about it as much, interested in developing such beneficial technologies. I will take with me the stories and lessons shared by the fabulous guest speakers and those from my own experience as I continue to design and think about future careers.

From students' online course evaluations:

[The instructor was] always available for consultation

The instructor definitely encouraged us to provide feedback, which was really thoughtful.

Dave puts a ton of effort into making this a fantastic class. He has a well-organized course website and syllabus, sends out weekly informational emails, and does a great job organizing speakers and field trips.

[The instructor was] concerned about how and whether students learn. Made himself available outside of class. Brought in different speakers which was good to see and from whom we could learn.

The assignments were appropriate for the class, and the requirements were outlined pretty clearly.

Good to have a project based class to learn to work with assistive technologies and people with disabilities.

I really enjoyed the course because it allowed me to learn about various disabilities, and the people involved in the world of assistive technology (persons with the disability, clinicians, researchers, non-profit organizers, etc.).

I also appreciated the hands-on and open-ended nature of the projects, where we all got to connect with our project interests. Speaking with the community members also interested in assistive technology was a refreshing experience.

Great class with excellent guest speakers, field trips, and community interaction.

From students' and community members' emails:

Previous years' comments

2013  2012  2011  2010  2009  2008