The Task
My STEM group, Daniel, Ethan, Chris, Diego (who came later), and I, were assigned the task to select a problem plaguing the world and figuring out a solution to it using the Engineering Redesign Cycle. Our world problem we selected was the debate over net neutrality in the US.
The Process and the Engineering Redesign Cycle
Throughout the project we heavily relied in the Engineering Redesign Cycle. Our process adhered to the cycle. This is what we did:
Identify Need - We decided to choose net neutrality as it's a major topic in US politics and networking being debated.
Research Problem - Each of my teammates were assigned to read, annotate, and summarize 3 trustworthy websites on the topic. We were lucky because net neutrality is everywhere in the news, so finding articles wouldn't be too difficult. I focused on how the loss of net neutrality would affect the US public and its pros and cons. These were my sources:
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/net-neutrality/story?id=48596615 - This link explains net neutrality in general and how it works.
https://www.wired.com/story/heres-how-the-end-of-net-neutrality-will-change-the-internet/ - This link explains how the loss of net neutrality would affect businesses and the people.
https://vittana.org/13-pros-and-cons-of-net-neutrality - This link explains the pros and cons of net neutrality.
Develop Possible Solutions - After researching, our team created a list of possible solutions while brainstorming. Every idea was listed down, no matter how absurd or questionable. This is the full, unedited list:
Eliminate net neutrality
Keep net neutrality
Create one national ISP funded by government
Increase government funding towards all ISPs, no need to charge for internet
Start a petition to build our own ISP
Fix it with nutella, via throwing nutella jars at ISP managers
NO INTERNET, READ BOOKS
Create 2nd internet
Publicize the dark web
Get rid of Pai
War
Create adware that redirects every web search to nutella.com
Add extra benefits for Republicans in a bill that would bring back Title II and net neutrality
Communism
McDonalds wifi is the only ‘open internet’
Have “internet blocks” available to public, pay for personal
The Matrix
Pay of internet, but not in blocks
Use supreme court to reinstate Net Neutrality
Leave the US
If Daniel can guess your card, you must bring back net neutrality
Canada isn’t real
Move to Canada, if it’s real
Play a basketball game for net neutrality. Like Space Jam.
If Canada is fake, bring back net neutrality.
Select the Most Promising Idea - After a lot of idea removing and thinking, we ended up choosing a government compromise between the ISPs, the public, and the government that would make all sides happy.
Construct a Prototype - Our prototype was to create a bill that would split internet control between ISPs and the government. The government would create "internet blocks", which are public areas with free internet access. In order to get funds for this, the government would tax ISPs by 20%. To compensate, ISPs will increase subscriptions for private internet access by 20%. The public will be free to access the internet blocks or pay extra for private internet access.
Test and Evaluate Prototype - We couldn't really "test" our bill, but a way we could figure out if the numbers would work is by doing calculations. The final calculations didn't make it into the presentation, but they worked. Comcast, for instance, would actually have a higher total profit (assuming if no one unsubscribed) even with the higher tax.
Communicate Design - We showed off our bill by creating a presentation about it.
Redesign - If we got to this part, we would begin fixing any loopholes in the bill and add more specific numbers for taxing and subscription increases.
Identify Need - We decided to choose net neutrality as it's a major topic in US politics and networking being debated.
Research Problem - Each of my teammates were assigned to read, annotate, and summarize 3 trustworthy websites on the topic. We were lucky because net neutrality is everywhere in the news, so finding articles wouldn't be too difficult. I focused on how the loss of net neutrality would affect the US public and its pros and cons. These were my sources:
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/net-neutrality/story?id=48596615 - This link explains net neutrality in general and how it works.
https://www.wired.com/story/heres-how-the-end-of-net-neutrality-will-change-the-internet/ - This link explains how the loss of net neutrality would affect businesses and the people.
https://vittana.org/13-pros-and-cons-of-net-neutrality - This link explains the pros and cons of net neutrality.
Develop Possible Solutions - After researching, our team created a list of possible solutions while brainstorming. Every idea was listed down, no matter how absurd or questionable. This is the full, unedited list:
Eliminate net neutrality
Keep net neutrality
Create one national ISP funded by government
Increase government funding towards all ISPs, no need to charge for internet
Start a petition to build our own ISP
Fix it with nutella, via throwing nutella jars at ISP managers
NO INTERNET, READ BOOKS
Create 2nd internet
Publicize the dark web
Get rid of Pai
War
Create adware that redirects every web search to nutella.com
Add extra benefits for Republicans in a bill that would bring back Title II and net neutrality
Communism
McDonalds wifi is the only ‘open internet’
Have “internet blocks” available to public, pay for personal
The Matrix
Pay of internet, but not in blocks
Use supreme court to reinstate Net Neutrality
Leave the US
If Daniel can guess your card, you must bring back net neutrality
Canada isn’t real
Move to Canada, if it’s real
Play a basketball game for net neutrality. Like Space Jam.
If Canada is fake, bring back net neutrality.
Select the Most Promising Idea - After a lot of idea removing and thinking, we ended up choosing a government compromise between the ISPs, the public, and the government that would make all sides happy.
Construct a Prototype - Our prototype was to create a bill that would split internet control between ISPs and the government. The government would create "internet blocks", which are public areas with free internet access. In order to get funds for this, the government would tax ISPs by 20%. To compensate, ISPs will increase subscriptions for private internet access by 20%. The public will be free to access the internet blocks or pay extra for private internet access.
Test and Evaluate Prototype - We couldn't really "test" our bill, but a way we could figure out if the numbers would work is by doing calculations. The final calculations didn't make it into the presentation, but they worked. Comcast, for instance, would actually have a higher total profit (assuming if no one unsubscribed) even with the higher tax.
Communicate Design - We showed off our bill by creating a presentation about it.
Redesign - If we got to this part, we would begin fixing any loopholes in the bill and add more specific numbers for taxing and subscription increases.
The Final Product
This is our presentation. We first explain how the internet works before explaining net neutrality. We explained what all the sides wanted (democrats, republicans, ISPs, and the people). After, we explained our thought process, how we limited down or around 25 ideas to 3, the pros and cons of the 3 ideas, and the final idea. This was the government compromise. We went through the bill and explained its pros and cons. At the end we explained what we would do with the bill in the future.
Other Concepts Used in Project
Network - A "link" between two endpoints that allows transmission of information and communication between the two points. For instance, two computers that can communicate with each other are connected by a network.
Router - A device that sends data between computers. This creates a network between nearby computers, creating a local area network (LAN).
Modem - A device that connects a router to the internet. The Internet is a term for all the computers connected together in the world. As a result, any computers connected to the same router is now connected to the internet.
Internet Service Provider (ISP) - A company that provides internet access to modems. These include companies such as AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint. ISPs can control what goes to the modems and what doesn't.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) - A government agency that is in charge of interstate communications via radio, internet, and cable.
Net Neutrality - The policy that forces ISPs to treat all content on the internet as equal. In layman's terms, ISPs can not block or slow down certain websites. For example, Comcast can NOT slow down Netflix to encourage people to use their streaming program under net neutrality.
Router - A device that sends data between computers. This creates a network between nearby computers, creating a local area network (LAN).
Modem - A device that connects a router to the internet. The Internet is a term for all the computers connected together in the world. As a result, any computers connected to the same router is now connected to the internet.
Internet Service Provider (ISP) - A company that provides internet access to modems. These include companies such as AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint. ISPs can control what goes to the modems and what doesn't.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) - A government agency that is in charge of interstate communications via radio, internet, and cable.
Net Neutrality - The policy that forces ISPs to treat all content on the internet as equal. In layman's terms, ISPs can not block or slow down certain websites. For example, Comcast can NOT slow down Netflix to encourage people to use their streaming program under net neutrality.
Reflection
At this point, we have done five projects. This is the first one that did not involve physics. Despite this, I believe that this was my strongest performance to date of all the projects. My strengths were leadership and productivity. I took a significant role in keeping the group moving forward. I helped the group figure out which idea we would pursue. From there, I divided up the work and everyone was able to contribute. When Diego came, I made sure he could understand our research and led him through the rest of the project. This was also the most productive I have ever been in a project. I contributed a significant amount of research and data into the product and propounded several ideas. I created the pros and cons of the major ideas, figured out how the internet works, and helped design our final bill.
With so much strength in certain aspects, I did lack in others. Some of my problems were "too much leadership" and being unable to keep my teammates on task. I was a primary leader in the project. However, I took so much power that I sometimes forgot to let my teammates take control at times. I was somewhat of a "control-freak" during this project, which is something I don't like. Whenever I did assign tasks, my teammates would sometimes goof off. When they did, I was unable to get them back on task. I wish I emphasized productivity towards my teammates more when leading the group.
Even with the minor problems, I had a stellar performance during this project. I hope to keep this up in the next project.
With so much strength in certain aspects, I did lack in others. Some of my problems were "too much leadership" and being unable to keep my teammates on task. I was a primary leader in the project. However, I took so much power that I sometimes forgot to let my teammates take control at times. I was somewhat of a "control-freak" during this project, which is something I don't like. Whenever I did assign tasks, my teammates would sometimes goof off. When they did, I was unable to get them back on task. I wish I emphasized productivity towards my teammates more when leading the group.
Even with the minor problems, I had a stellar performance during this project. I hope to keep this up in the next project.