Erin Vozzola
Class of 2008
Major: Mechanical Engineering with a Concentration in Biomechanics and Design
Project Center: Melbourne, Australia
Interactive Qualifying Project: Adapting Hands-On Science Programs for Children With Disabilities
Melbourne, Australia
Erin Vozzola
Past Student Blogs
Erin's London Entries
April 27, 2007
Step 7: Finish Strong!
The Project:
Yet another exciting week for our project! The three of us are so passionate about this project and have been working SO hard to make it the best that it could possibly be!!
We spent this week finalizing our matrixes, particularly the mobility disability specific matrix. We got some information from a Physiotherapist about what tasks are difficult for students with various limited abilities and what adaptations are often used.
We also had several of the people that we interviewed look at SAM (our matrix) to get their feedback. They gave us some valuable suggestions and lots of great feedback about how well the information is presented and its user friendliness. We get so excited when we receive these emails back because we have had overwhelmingly positive responses from everyone! We have a great group of people supporting our project and they have been tremendously helpful with everything; they have given us the guidance to develop SAM (Student Accessibility Matrix) and have given us continual encouragement and feedback to make our project as great as it can be.
We have spent many late nights finishing up our paper and it was such a relief to hand in the final project today. We have written an extensive literature review, methodology, findings, interview notes, observation notes, universal design suggestions, a complete SAM for each disability, and future recommendations.
All in all, we have almost finished a project that we are all VERY proud of it and we know that it is going to have a lasting effect once we leave. All we have left next week is our final presentation. We have a lot of great people coming to see our presentation and we're REALLY excited!!
Footy:
One of the qualifications of going to Melbourne is that you become an avid footy supporter. You must pick a team and barrack for them no matter what; win or loose, you wear your team's scarf with pride! People in Melbourne are CRAZY for footy and it is contagious!
I am a Richmond Tigers fan for life! (My sponsor supports the Tigers, so naturally, I had to follow in his footsteps). I love going to games and cheering my heart out with thousands of other Melbournians!
Surf's Up:
I'll be honest with you - surfing is addictive and I am completely hooked! Luckily, a few other WPIers are just as hooked, so we drove down to the surf coast on the Great Ocean Road again this last weekend to surf all day on Saturday! It was SO much fun! There were 5 of us surfing on the waves and we're basically pros now!! We can stand up on every wave and we love every minute of it!!
Didgeridoo:
I'm officially Australian - I have a didgeridoo! I went down to the Victorian Markets and went to one of the Aboriginal stands and took forever to pick out the perfect didgeridoo! If you don't know what a didgeridoo is, it's an aboriginal musical instrument and they're pretty awesome! I picked out a sweet one and the guys spent a while trying to teach me how to play, but I can barely get a sound out of it, haha. We're going to try back this weekend because they said they would give us another lesson!
Great Food!
A whole bunch of people from the group headed down Lygon Street for some delicious Italian food!! Lygon Street is basically the "Little Italy" of Melbourne. The food was delicious and it was so great to be with all of the WPIers while eating some great Chicken Parma (which they put ham on, too, which is different then I'm used to, but I like it!). Afterwards, we went and got some of the most delicious gelato, too!
Things I've Learned So Far:
- Knackered = Really Tired
- "Being Booked" = Getting a Speeding Ticket (but don't worry, I didn't get one!)
- "Heaps" means "a lot" and it is used in every sentence possible. (It's HEAPS better!)
- In aboriginal culture, women are not allowed to play didgeridoos.
- Vanilla cake mix tastes like corn bread when you make it.
- Everyone calls each other "mate" or "love."
- Longer surf boards are easier to catch waves with.
- Anzac Day is a public holiday commemorating the people in the military and it's on April 25 every year.
- It does not snow in Australia during April like it does in Colorado.
- The kangaroo stands for joy and happiness in aboriginal culture.
April 18, 2007
Step 6: Work Hard, Play Hard!
This was another exciting week for our project. We only have a few more weeks to finalize our framework, so we have been working extra hard to get everything finished so we can start getting feedback from different teachers.
April 10, 2007
Step 5: Hit the Road, Jack!
This was a short week working on the project because they have a four day Easter Break; Good Friday and Easter Monday are both public holidays, so all of the WPI students had a four day weekend to explore other areas of Australia or relax and enjoy Melbourne for a few days. Myself and 8 other WPI students road tripped along the Great Ocean Road and had a GREAT time!
April 4, 2007
Step 4: Learn the Melbourne Shuffle!
My team partners and I did a lot more interviews and program observations this week. We have been learning so much from everyone that we interview. Whether it be a school’s Assistant Principal, Integration Coordinator, or Science Teacher, they have all given us important and interesting perspectives.
March 26, 2007
Step 3: Kiss a Kangaroo!
This week has been such a great week in Melbourne!! We have done so much work for our project and are learning SO much!! We have met some incredible people and made friends with some Australian animals! Life in Australia is NEVER boring!
March 20, 2007
Step 2: Get to Work!
My project team and I started work at CSIRO officially last Tuesday. We spent our first day touring the facility and meeting the staff. We have an "office" in one of the science labs at the Education Centre with a computer and desk for us to work on. We spent last week doing some more research and finding Australian contacts at specialist schools for us to interview while we are here. We are planning on interviewing as many special education teachers and coordinators as we can during the next two weeks so that we can get the most insight about necessary adaptations for students with disabilities.
March 14, 2007
Step 1: Get There.
While in Australia, I will be working with Lynn Worobey and Nick Simone, both of whom are Juniors pursuing degrees in Biomedical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering respectively. The three of us will be working with CSIRO, Australia’s National Science Agency in their Education Centre in Melbourne. They have asked us to adapt their existing hands-on science programs for students with disabilities. The underlying goal of the project is to develop a set of adaptations that can be utilized by any hands-on educational science program across the globe. Incorporating inclusion and universal design into these programs is an important and challenging goal for our project team.
