Design Requirements
The solution, when implemented and used correctly, will meet all safety guidelines for the specific instance in which it is being labeled for use.
This is a disqualifying specification. If any of our ideas or prototypes do not meet this specification, they will be thrown out or worked around, and not considered for use again. This specification is highest on our list because if we do not adhere to this principle, then we are not creating a true, viable solution in the real world. The solution must make a desk that is safe to sit in without a cause for concern due to bodily harm or malfunction when used properly.
The solution, when implemented in learning environments and used according to specifications, will promote healthy posture by fixing the problems with current school desks outlined in the problem statement.
If the solution does not promote healthy posture, then our attempt to revitalize the school desk in a positive way has failed. The solution must, when implemented correctly, promote healthy posture and ergonomics through a range of different options explored below and in our problem statement.
Proper posture is defined as a bodily position that places “the least strain… on supporting muscles and ligaments during movement or weight-bearing activities,” and is able to “keep bones and joints in the correct alignment, decrease the abnormal wearing of joint surfaces that could result in arthritis, decrease the stress on the ligaments holding the joints of the spine together, prevent the spine from becoming fixed in abnormal positions, prevent fatigue because muscles are being used more efficiently, and prevent strain, overuse problems, backache, and muscular pain.” (The Cleveland Clinic)
The solution, when put on the market for a range of school systems and learning institutions, will be available for purchase to a range of economic backgrounds, and will not be a desk exclusively for private or affluent schools.
If the solution is not available to a wide range of students from all kinds of economic backgrounds, then our goal to provide students everywhere with an effective desk for learning has failed. The solution must cost under $300 in order to appeal to a wide range of school systems and suppliers.
Our price was determined from looking at the current costs of school desks that offer the same features as we plan to add in our solution, prices which range from the upper $500 to $600 range. We aim to at least half that number in order to make desks more affordable and accessible.
The solution, when implemented correctly, will offer a wide range of adjustability options in order to support ergonomics and posture, especially on the arm and back areas of the chair.
The solution needs to be adjustable in order to promote ergonomics; if the arms, back, or legs cannot be comfortable, learning can be impeded and pain can ensue. An adjustability feature would prevent these types of problems that currently plague the market.
As referenced in our problem statement, the measures of desks could be off for some students for up to 34 cm, providing for an uncomfortable, inefficient learning experience. An adjustable system offering all combinations of displacements to be reached within several standard deviations would promote healthy posture and allow all students to be comfortable in their desks.
The solution, when implemented correctly, will be portable, either through the use of wheels or other means of transport, and will allow students and teachers to easily rearrange desks without strain or stress.
The ability to move the desks around should be a facet for learning and safety. As shown in our problem statement, injury due to moving desks can be rather common. Being able to easily move these desks would reduce the risk of injury. Also, moving the desks in between groups and rows and other orientations can be used to improve learning.
The solution, when implemented correctly, will promote comfort, and allow sitting for long periods of time without undue soreness, strain, or any kind of pain being caused to the student.
Dr. James Levine says that “Sitting puts more pressure on your spine than standing, and the toll on your back health is even worse if you’re sitting hunched in front of a computer.” High School students are hunched over desks for already 7 hours of their day; the average American adult spends an average of 9 hours a day sitting in front of a desk. High schoolers still need to go home, sit in front of a desk, and do homework adding another 3 or 4 hours to their time sitting. Our solution should try to encourage proper posture in order to reduce soreness or strain to the body to counteract the health hazards of sitting too long in one day.
The solution will retain the ability to last for several years while under the strain of day to day wear and tear from being used and moved in the classroom.
It is important to the schools that the desk will last for several years. The desk could be the most affordable possible, but if it only lasts for one year, the schools will not waste their money on the desks. The desk should be able to last for at least for ten years. No matter how well the desk fits the other criteria, if our design is not durable, schools will not buy it.
The solution will contain a tabletop workspace large enough to be used for a wide range of classroom activities without requiring stacking or moving of things already on the desk, in order to maximize efficiency and space usage.
The workspace is essential to making the desk. Without the workspace, students just have a chair and nowhere to work. The workspace must be large enough to provide the space to work for the student, but small enough not to take up too much space in the classroom. Our design should balance these two problems to make an efficient size.
The solution will contain a storage compartment large enough to effectively hold several books or school materials, and securely keep them in the storage in order to not clutter space in the classroom.
Under the desk storage is extremely important for high school students. The smaller counter-tops don’t allow more than one textbook and the paper the student is writing on. This storage will provide placement for extra materials to keep the counter-top as clean and clutter-free as possible. Our design should also look at solving the problem of keeping backpacks off the floor in order to avoid any fire and safety hazards.
The solution will be lightweight enough to be easily transported by students of many ages and sizes and should be able to be carried without strain.
In today’s classrooms, group work has been pushed more by teachers. In an article by the EdTech Review, they list the top ten characteristics of a “modern classroom.” One of the characteristics they state is active learning which means that “...students are actively engaged in what they learn. Students participate in more active learning by working in groups or on computers and complete projects… that help them discover new skills… (Saxena).” It is important that our design is lightweight and can be moved around in order to encourage more group work.
The solution should be pleasing to the eye and able to look appealing and professional in a classroom setting.
A clean and modern classroom that’s sleek and aesthetic can help students and teachers think and feel better while learning material. The more professional the feel, the more professional the mood. An essay, The Effect of Classroom Environment on Student Learning by Ryan Hannah from Western Michigan University, says, “When a student first steps into a room they will make a judgement about the type of class they are going to be taking. They will look to see how desks are arranged. They will notice what is hanging on the walls.” Hannah writes that this initial moment is a nonverbal communication of how the class will be run. Therefore, it is essential that we give our design an appealing and aesthetic look in order to facilitate better learning.
This is a disqualifying specification. If any of our ideas or prototypes do not meet this specification, they will be thrown out or worked around, and not considered for use again. This specification is highest on our list because if we do not adhere to this principle, then we are not creating a true, viable solution in the real world. The solution must make a desk that is safe to sit in without a cause for concern due to bodily harm or malfunction when used properly.
The solution, when implemented in learning environments and used according to specifications, will promote healthy posture by fixing the problems with current school desks outlined in the problem statement.
If the solution does not promote healthy posture, then our attempt to revitalize the school desk in a positive way has failed. The solution must, when implemented correctly, promote healthy posture and ergonomics through a range of different options explored below and in our problem statement.
Proper posture is defined as a bodily position that places “the least strain… on supporting muscles and ligaments during movement or weight-bearing activities,” and is able to “keep bones and joints in the correct alignment, decrease the abnormal wearing of joint surfaces that could result in arthritis, decrease the stress on the ligaments holding the joints of the spine together, prevent the spine from becoming fixed in abnormal positions, prevent fatigue because muscles are being used more efficiently, and prevent strain, overuse problems, backache, and muscular pain.” (The Cleveland Clinic)
The solution, when put on the market for a range of school systems and learning institutions, will be available for purchase to a range of economic backgrounds, and will not be a desk exclusively for private or affluent schools.
If the solution is not available to a wide range of students from all kinds of economic backgrounds, then our goal to provide students everywhere with an effective desk for learning has failed. The solution must cost under $300 in order to appeal to a wide range of school systems and suppliers.
Our price was determined from looking at the current costs of school desks that offer the same features as we plan to add in our solution, prices which range from the upper $500 to $600 range. We aim to at least half that number in order to make desks more affordable and accessible.
The solution, when implemented correctly, will offer a wide range of adjustability options in order to support ergonomics and posture, especially on the arm and back areas of the chair.
The solution needs to be adjustable in order to promote ergonomics; if the arms, back, or legs cannot be comfortable, learning can be impeded and pain can ensue. An adjustability feature would prevent these types of problems that currently plague the market.
As referenced in our problem statement, the measures of desks could be off for some students for up to 34 cm, providing for an uncomfortable, inefficient learning experience. An adjustable system offering all combinations of displacements to be reached within several standard deviations would promote healthy posture and allow all students to be comfortable in their desks.
The solution, when implemented correctly, will be portable, either through the use of wheels or other means of transport, and will allow students and teachers to easily rearrange desks without strain or stress.
The ability to move the desks around should be a facet for learning and safety. As shown in our problem statement, injury due to moving desks can be rather common. Being able to easily move these desks would reduce the risk of injury. Also, moving the desks in between groups and rows and other orientations can be used to improve learning.
The solution, when implemented correctly, will promote comfort, and allow sitting for long periods of time without undue soreness, strain, or any kind of pain being caused to the student.
Dr. James Levine says that “Sitting puts more pressure on your spine than standing, and the toll on your back health is even worse if you’re sitting hunched in front of a computer.” High School students are hunched over desks for already 7 hours of their day; the average American adult spends an average of 9 hours a day sitting in front of a desk. High schoolers still need to go home, sit in front of a desk, and do homework adding another 3 or 4 hours to their time sitting. Our solution should try to encourage proper posture in order to reduce soreness or strain to the body to counteract the health hazards of sitting too long in one day.
The solution will retain the ability to last for several years while under the strain of day to day wear and tear from being used and moved in the classroom.
It is important to the schools that the desk will last for several years. The desk could be the most affordable possible, but if it only lasts for one year, the schools will not waste their money on the desks. The desk should be able to last for at least for ten years. No matter how well the desk fits the other criteria, if our design is not durable, schools will not buy it.
The solution will contain a tabletop workspace large enough to be used for a wide range of classroom activities without requiring stacking or moving of things already on the desk, in order to maximize efficiency and space usage.
The workspace is essential to making the desk. Without the workspace, students just have a chair and nowhere to work. The workspace must be large enough to provide the space to work for the student, but small enough not to take up too much space in the classroom. Our design should balance these two problems to make an efficient size.
The solution will contain a storage compartment large enough to effectively hold several books or school materials, and securely keep them in the storage in order to not clutter space in the classroom.
Under the desk storage is extremely important for high school students. The smaller counter-tops don’t allow more than one textbook and the paper the student is writing on. This storage will provide placement for extra materials to keep the counter-top as clean and clutter-free as possible. Our design should also look at solving the problem of keeping backpacks off the floor in order to avoid any fire and safety hazards.
The solution will be lightweight enough to be easily transported by students of many ages and sizes and should be able to be carried without strain.
In today’s classrooms, group work has been pushed more by teachers. In an article by the EdTech Review, they list the top ten characteristics of a “modern classroom.” One of the characteristics they state is active learning which means that “...students are actively engaged in what they learn. Students participate in more active learning by working in groups or on computers and complete projects… that help them discover new skills… (Saxena).” It is important that our design is lightweight and can be moved around in order to encourage more group work.
The solution should be pleasing to the eye and able to look appealing and professional in a classroom setting.
A clean and modern classroom that’s sleek and aesthetic can help students and teachers think and feel better while learning material. The more professional the feel, the more professional the mood. An essay, The Effect of Classroom Environment on Student Learning by Ryan Hannah from Western Michigan University, says, “When a student first steps into a room they will make a judgement about the type of class they are going to be taking. They will look to see how desks are arranged. They will notice what is hanging on the walls.” Hannah writes that this initial moment is a nonverbal communication of how the class will be run. Therefore, it is essential that we give our design an appealing and aesthetic look in order to facilitate better learning.
Design Proposals
A. Design Proposal #1 (Ben)
This design offers a padded chair for comfort, a base for adjusting the position of the chair, and an expandable table top and effective storage area.
B. Design Proposal #2 (Gayle)
B. Design Proposal #2 (Gayle)
This design is a separate desk and chair; however, they are two halves of a whole meaning that when the chair is hooked underneath the desk, they become one desk that can be easily moved around for group work. I've also incorporated a design that's a "sitting to standing" desk to counter health problems that hours of sitting has. The chair itself is made to "cradle" the back in order to be coherent with more expensive ergonomic desks.
C. Design Proposal #3 (Zachary)
C. Design Proposal #3 (Zachary)
My design is more similar to the regular school desks and chairs with some key changes. There is padding on the back and seat for comfort of the student. Also the back's shape is changed to a S-type shape to help the students posture; The back can also be moved up or down. This is a more realistic design rather than the others.
II. Decision Matrix
II. Decision Matrix
III. Decision Matrix Justification
A. Design #1 (Ben)
1. Comfort (5/5)
This solution offers padding on the neck, lower back, and buttocks portion of the seat, conforming to the opinions expressed in our survey where several of the surveyed requested padded seats and backs, and gives the solution a comfort rating of 5.
2. Lightweight (3/5)
This solution will likely be made of a very lightweight plastic, but still has many components on it and will likely weigh upwards of other solutions with less additions, while still being much lighter than traditional school desks, giving the solution a lightweight rating of 3.
3. Aesthetic (4/5)
This solution is designed in part to look nice in a classroom setting, and accomplishes the goal with a sleek, folded design for the work space expansion and an attractive base that disguises the adjustability measures, giving the solution an aesthetic rating of 4.
4. Storage (4/5)
This solution offers a storage bin underneath the desk that is roughly the width of the chair, and can hold backpacks, notebooks, and other classroom implements with plenty of space left, giving the solution a storage rating of
5. Adjustability (5/5)
This solution has a disguised adjustability system under the chair that controls how far up and down the chair is from the base, how far back or close it is from the desk, and how far the armrests extend outwards, accounting for all areas in which discomfort due to cramping was reported in studies and giving the solution an adjustability rating of 5.
6. Work Space (5/5)
This solution offers a medium sized tabletop, that can be extended through the use of sleek folded flaps on either side of the tabletop in order to accommodate most table top projects, including those that cannot fit on current school desks without stacking or moving, giving the solution a work space rating of 5.
7. Portability (5/5)
This solution offers wheels on the bottom of the chair that lock into place when the chair is being sat in, but unlock when no weight is applied in the chair bottom, enabling students to move the chair around easily in a classroom setting for a wide range of activities and giving the solution a portability rating of 5.
8. Posture (5/5)
This solution promotes good posture through the use of a rounded chair back with padding and an aforementioned adjustability feature that encourages students to sit up straight in order to best allow the desk to adjust to their proportions, encouraging healthy posture and giving the solution a posture rating of 5.
9. Cost Efficiency (3/5)
This solution will be relatively low price in the market (we are aiming for $200-$300), which will be more than average school desks but also about half the cost of current market designs that offer the same features as our solution, giving the solution a cost efficiency rating of 3.
10. Durability (3.5/5)
This solution will be made of a lightweight, hard plastic that is designed to
not fracture or break, and will be built to engineering standards to support
the weight of a range of body sizes, giving the solution a durability rating of 3.5.
B. Design #2 (Gayle)
1. Comfort
My design was created with the person who would be using it the most in mind: a high school student. There are many school regulations concerning fire safeties that might cause problems, but I believe that my design will follow these safety codes. Because the chair is specifically designed to hold on to backpacks, this will remove any clutter from the floor. The base of the desk is made wide to account for stability and counteract any possible tip overs.
2. Lightweight
The reason that this design has wheels is specifically for younger students to not have to carry their desks around anymore. The desk and chair have wheels that will make this movement easier for students and teachers. In addition, the materials used--aluminium and recycled wood-- will also make the desk more lightweight in order for it to be carried without strain.
3. Aesthetic
The sleek design of the finished wood on the table top will make the student feel professional and more able to complete the work given to them. Additionally, the curves and straight lines combined on the legs of the desk give it an aesthetic look and provides structure. The chair’s curved back and padded seat give it the look of comfort that a student will readily want to sit and begin the tasks given to them.
4. Storage
Instead of underneath the chair like in the “wrap around” desks, the storage will be underneath the desktop itself. The opening is on the side, however, so when the students want to put the desktop at an angle when taking tests or working arduously over periods, they can safely store objects underneath without the books and other necessities falling out.
5. Adjustability
The design of the back rest was specifically created based on previous ergonomic designs. The curved arch of the backing is what provides support for the pelvic, lumbar, and thoracic sections of your back; this support can also be adjusted up and down in order for taller or shorter students to adjust it to their personal needs. The desk can be adjusted when sitting to accommodate for any discrepancies quickly and efficiently at the start of the class.
6. Work Space
The table top is a bit larger than the tabletop that are used in the “wrap around” desks. The 18” by 24” table top space has been voted on and has been more favored by students. Therefore, I've opted for this size.
7. Portability
The design has wheels on both the chair and desk, when put together it will make a four-square cart. This is so that when transporting or moving around in the classroom, the student or teacher does not have to move each one separately, they can take the whole thing with them in one trip saving time and effort. If the student or teacher wants to move just one at a time, they don’t have to pick up the furniture, they can just wheel it around with ease.
8. Posture
Every part of the desk was made with comfort in mind. The back of the chair was designed at an angle to cradle the three major points of the back and spine. The seat will have a durable padding add comfort to lower body. When the desk becomes a standing desk, this reduces the time the student is sitting. It will also alleviate soreness and strain on the back.
9. Cost Efficiency
We are really pushing our design to be the standard for the modern classroom. The node chairs and other types of ergonomic educational furniture have not been implemented into school classrooms yet because either they haven’t been advertised as much or they’re just too expensive. We are focusing on using lightweight but durable materials and composites on various aspects of the desk in order to reach our goal of less than $200 for our design. The desk must also be as durable and last at least 10 years before breaking down and not being as efficient in order for schools to have gotten the most out of their money.
10. Durability
The materials in this desk are made with the same materials of the traditional, current standard desks which is wood and epoxy tops. However, our team has decided to opt out the steel supports with aluminum supports in order for it to become more lightweight. The padding is made out of recycled cloths that are breathable and will also resist stains.
C. Design #3 (Zachary)
1. Comfort 4
This design will solve the problem of the cold, hard desk. The padding on the back and seat will provide most of thte comfort. The shape of the back should also prevent the student from ever being uncomfortable.
2. Lightweight 2
This design does not change much from the standerd school desk as regards to weight. The metal legs and laminated wood desk stay the same which are the bulk of the desk. The design does not fix the problem due to the weight of the desk.
3. Aesthetic 2
This design looks rather similar to the standard desk. The design does not improve and does not look as pleasing other designs, so the aesthetics for the desk does not do well when put next to other new designs.
4. Storage 3
The design has a underdesk rack to hold books or other supplies for the student. This gives the nessesary storage needed to the student. The rack would be welded onto the legs so the rack will not fall off or break before the desk itself.
5. Adjustability 2
The design has little in the matter of adjustablility, but the back is able to be moved higher or lower. This will help with those students who have diffrent sized torsos.
6. Work Space 3
This design has a good amount desk space for the studesns to use. The desk space is not huge, but also not too small. This gives the desk a fair amount of space to work without taking up too much room.
7. Portability 2
This design is not very portable. It does not have wheels or anything of the sort, so it must be picked up and moved. It does not help much further than the standard school desk.
8. Posture 4
This design is specialized for the posture of the student. The S-shape forms onto the back to improve posture.
9. Cost Efficiency 5
This design should be the most affordable. The materials are low in cost, and the desk has few complex parts to increase cost. The cost of the desk for how long the desk will last will be a very good deal.
10. Durability 4
This design is very sturdy and is made to last. The legs are metal to support the weight of the student. The desk is laminated wood which will last just as long if not longer compared the regular desk.