100 Comment Thread

Education
1

Hi Everyone,

Last night while at the space I heard that we are going to put a computer lab in the Fortress or solitude (aka the Pillar room).

From what I’ve been able to discern, We have a donation of 20 laptops and these will be the computers for the computer lab. Brooks is currently getting Kingston locks for these, so it does not sound like they will be movable once installed.

I feel that computer labs are limiting with all the restrictions on software licensing, and the machines being lock in the room limits the uses of the room. I’d suggest an alternative set up where we have 2 or 3 standing charging racks that hold the laptops. That way the uses are more flexible, they can be grabbed and used around the space by members, and if needed for a large class be an impromptu computer lab at the drop of a hat.

Also, gaining the flexibility of space would allow the Ping Pong table to be able to stay at the space. Currently there are 3 members actively teaching and playing Ping Pong (or Table Tennis) at the space. They are Tom, Ross, and Noah. I’ve been learning from them as well as a few other members at the space. We were in the process of putting together a class on ping pong and better equipping the space with nice paddles, better balls, and possibly a serving robot, all of which would be able to be stored in the compacted form of the ping pong table and easily rolled into a corner keeping the room usable for many purposes.

Tom, Ross, and I would be willing to build the charging stands for the laptops in order to keep ping pong at the space. Tom is an accomplished carpenter and 3d modeler, Ross and I would serve more of a role of extra hands and free labor.

This seems like a win-win situation, and would allow both groups (computer lab and ping pong) to co-exist.

Update

The pillar room is under Classroom committee (thanks Lisa for the ino). @Gus_Reiter could you please help us with a solution that could fit both groups.

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2

Sounds like a good approach, I would be willing to donate some towards getting a decent ping pong table(that might last more than a few months) instead of the one that was there. Does the pillar room fall under Ops’ domain currently?

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Hi Brandon ( @Brandon_Green ),

The Fortress of Solitude (aka: Pillar Room) falls under the Classroom Committee (Gus is the Chair).

The Computer Lab is being set up by Brooks.

Thx!

:slight_smile:

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I would donate to get a good table that could fold up as well.

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I would also be willing to donate towards a better table as well.

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Actually, if someone wants to take over the pillar room, go for it.

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Re: License, If they are Dell machines and you want the original O/Ses, you can use the Dell O/S disc and it won’t require a license to be entered in.

I have some items in bins in the Pillar room for the Archive Subcommittee. I would love to organize this stuff somewhere where people can use it.

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Maybe I am alone here., but I think the ping pong table should go. I think it takes up a lot of valuable real estate and I don’t see it being beneficial to the space, the mission or anything makery…

I do have some suggestions for the pillar room but I haven’t fully fleshed them out. I am open to suggestions and think other people should speak up as well.

Put the Vinyl cutter in there.
Set up a few computers for the computer lab or the checkout system. Honestly either sounds fine.
Set up a sewing machine and maybe even put any non messy arts equipment in there. The drafting table, Large format photo printer.

Then make the current arts room in to the mess room. Paints, Mold Making, Silk screening if it fits.

I am sure there are other things that would fit into this scenario. Maybe bring the glass cutting equipment and such into the mess arts room… Even the pottery spinning wheels, they would have better access to water.

These are just ideas and I am not saying we should do them, but the pillar room is under utilized.

-Alex

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I would like to the see at least the vinyl cutter moved into there, so we can get back the small conference room.

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Alex beat me to it. The ping pong table has nothing to do w/ making anything, I don’t understand why we have it.

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I’m sure there is at least some utility / benefit to having DMS be a place people want to come and work on stuff while also having the ability to relax / take a break, which might include going to the kitchen to get a snack or activities like ping pong.

That being said, I like Alex’s suggestions of better using the pillar room floor space, which may not leave room for an extraneous ping pong table.

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So another angle of thought, @bgangwere and @AlexRhodes

what would it take to make ping pong fit your view of the makerspace?

Current statements being:

&

Currently there are members actively pursuing ping pong in the group. So as to not put these members down how do we find room in the group for their interests and not just our own?

If we stick to only the educational aspect, these members are actively teaching other how to play the game. Also, they are working on a formal class to teach the rules and starting techniques. That falls under education, They teach sports and games in many schools.

They also fit under our mission in the effect that they are building social collaboration within the group, by having a place to actively interact with others. This is one part of our mission I believe is great over looked with the space.

It is also an active thing that you can do at the space an I’m sure much of our membership would benefit from more physical activity, I know I would.

Ping Pong can also interact with many of the committees within DMS. There were plans to build cases that would mount to the legs of the table and would hold all required components to play. These would be made custom in our wood shop. As well as possibly building 3D printed paddle, or better full wooden paddles that would be comparable to many expensive options on the market with custom wood laminates.

I just ask not to be too near sided and please help in the discussion.

Here is a link to our mission for any that care: Mission Statement - Dallas Makerspace

Thanks,
Nick Sainz

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DMS is about making, or at the very least, repairing things. We are not the YMCA. If you want to learn ping-pong there are better places to do it. I don’t read the “social collaboration” clause as a catch-all. And I may be wrong, but the argument that we can replace parts of the ping pong table w/ custom made components seems specious. I’d love to build an air-hockey table, and a snooker table. But I don’t see putting either one of those at DMS as valid either.

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I have played a few rounds of ping pong and really enjoyed myself. If we can make the room accommodate both, why not? I understand that there is no “direct” maker relation but a little fun is always nice. If our view is that the only purpose of DMS is to make and repair things, then many of our classes are also outside of that view. I feel confident that we can accommodate a single folded up ping pong table somewhere in our facility while people are using it.

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@Kluper, I was stumbling threw those same thoughts and just couldn’t put it together well enough to respond thank you for being so eloquent.

For me DMS is a Social and Maker/Education. I joined in on the camping trips organized at the space. the Taco Tuesdays, the funding of crazy projects that will never work but some how do (example “Lets get a HAAS mill and teach idiots like ME to use it”) and the late night trips to waffle house with a group of dorks sitting around talking about life, and how bright our techie future will be.

I’m not saying that the social part of DMS is a catch all, instead I’m saying that at this point the Ping Pong table has become big enough to fit the social side of things. Thus, qualifying for consideration.

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If you want it to fall under the “take a break” idea why not try to figure out how to put it in the break room? We certainly don’t need a wire rack for cookies.

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Good point, while we could fit an air hockey table or other smallisher item in the break room, there is not enough room there for a ping pong table(that’s where I tried first when initially brought it up there), need about 20x10 feet and the room is not 20 feet wide, putting it long ways would mean no room for the tables currently in there.

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Obviously, we need to replace the tables that are currently in there with a multi-use table that can serve for food most of the time, but fold into a ping-pong table at other times. That sounds like a good project for the wood shop. I don’t know what you would do if someone wants to eat at the same time that someone else wants to play ping-pong.

We have two tables in the break room now. Do we need both of those to be food tables?

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I agree with your point, but I’m flexible. After all, I’m just along for the ride at DMS, and I try to fit in. I will say that the collection of classes offered at DMS sometimes seems like an interesting goulash that seems to include just anything that people could teach, and not what I would have expected to find in a Makerspace. I’ve wondered a few times if I should push the boundaries, say by setting up a Bible study or maybe even a full-out church service.

@Nick I have mixed feelings about the new proposal. Someone was using the Pillar Room for video production a few weeks ago, which illustrates that it currently is a flexible space. Of course, we have the Green Room, too, for that. It’s nice having the flexibility, though. So, I’d rather we kept the flexibility of the room, but found a way to have the option of a full computer lab. The computer lab would make my HDR class easier to teach, if everyone had access to the software on the computers. That might be true of programming classes, too, though I guess most people bring their personal laptops for that purpose.

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@PearceDunlap Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll put some thought into it and see if there is any way it could work with out wrecking the use of the room as is.

Also, if we could stay in the pillar room and work on a system where the ping pong table is shrunk down and put way when not in use, that may be a good solution as well, We could probably fit most of the computers on one side and ping pong and folding tables on the other. The pillar serves as a pretty good divider as is.