Jekyll2024-01-09T08:28:16-08:00https://kootsoop.github.io/feed.xmlPeter J. Kootsookos’s GitHub Sitepersonal descriptionPeter J. Kootsookospeter@kootsoop.comhttps://kootsoop.comRobot Feet, Part 22024-01-09T00:24:00-08:002024-01-09T00:24:00-08:00https://kootsoop.github.io/robot/feet/@kootsoop/robot-feet-part-2<h1 id="robot-feet">Robot Feet</h1>
<p>I’ve been playing with robot dogs at CT State Middlesex. They’re fun! This is the second post about my learning about robot feet.</p>
<h2 id="what-next-read">What next? READ!</h2>
<h3 id="thesis-fredriksson"><a href="#fredriksson">Thesis: Fredriksson</a></h3>
<p>The first thing I read about robot feet was a masters level thesis by Scott Fredriksson. Scott was kind enough to quickly respond to my questions about his project. The key interesting thing about the work is the use of a foot that is not just a toroid or a sphere.</p>
<h3 id="paper-catalano-et-al"><a href="#catalano-et-al">Paper: Catalano et al.</a></h3>
<p>This paper was the first one I found that talked about how to think about robot feet. They have four items that need to be considered:</p>
<ul>
<li>Mechanical complexity</li>
<li>Modeling complexity</li>
<li>Control complexity</li>
<li>Weight</li>
</ul>
<p>which led me to thinking about their priority for our robot dogs.</p>
<p>Because the dogs are small, weight will be of prime concern. Then, I think we need simple feet so mechanical complexity is next priority. Then, because the robots are only currently controlled using an Arduino-like device, control complexity should be of concern. That modeling complexity being the least priority.</p>
<h3 id="paper-shi-et-al"><a href="#shi-et-al">Paper: Shi et al.</a></h3>
<p>The mechanical complexity item from Catalano et al. was highlighted in this paper. This paper shows, in its figure 1, an extremely complex foot that “allows the quadruped robot to adapt to terrain and receive the robust ground interaction state data.”</p>
<p>This paper convinced me that I want to look first at “passive” feet rather than “active” feet.</p>
<h3 id="paper-käslin-et-al"><a href="#kaslin-et-al">Paper: Käslin et al.</a></h3>
<p>This paper also uses a quite complex foot (see its figure 2). Very interesting, but not where I want to go first.</p>
<h3 id="paper-pollayil-et-al"><a href="#pollyil-et-al">Paper: Pollayil et al.</a></h3>
<p>The paper by Pollayil at all was one of the first I cam across that used passive feet that were not simply toroids (like our dogs’ feet) or spheres.</p>
<p>The authors describe their foot as “mechanically intelligent”.</p>
<p>The paper decomposes the foot into:</p>
<ul>
<li>an ankle</li>
<li>two arch links</li>
<li>two roll links</li>
<li>the sole.</li>
</ul>
<p>This gives me a framework for moving forward in the design of feet for our dog, given how unsuccessful the first attempt and modifying the dog foot design was.</p>
<h3 id="thesis-baldassini"><a href="#baldassini">Thesis: Baldassini</a></h3>
<p>I posted the first one of these posts to the IEEE CT Section discord server in the robotics chat, and Kevin Huang responded with a link to this thesis (thanks, Kevin!)</p>
<p>The prime contribution of this thesis was to use foam as the material for the feet, in an effort to smooth out the terrain the robot is walking on.</p>
<p>The key finding is:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Although there may be robots for which foam feet could fall in those regimes, foam feet do not appear to be a useful modification for a Minitaur-type robot.</p>
</blockquote>
<h3 id="paper-angelini-et-al"><a href="#angelini-et-al">Paper: Angelini et al.</a></h3>
<p>After reading the preceding papers and the discussion with Kevin, I wondered at the next step: what is the robot going to be used for? In addition to the previous design parameters mentioned, the uses to which the robot is to be put are also key.</p>
<p>Angelini et al. was one of the first papers I came across with robot quadrupeds that talked about use cases.</p>
<p>While their use of exploring different terrain for climate information is interesting, it’s not what our dogs will be doing.</p>
<p>One sentence in the paper that stuck with me is the following:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The robot proprioception is demanded to an inertial measurement unit (IMU) and to joint encoders.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>because I’d never come across the word “proprioception” before.</p>
<p>Proprioception apparently means the self-sense of motion of the moving thing.</p>
<h2 id="and-now">And now?</h2>
<p>Now, I have to decide on some of the parameters mentioned above:</p>
<ul>
<li>Foot weight</li>
<li>Foot mechanical complexity</li>
<li>Foot material</li>
<li>Foot control</li>
<li>Foot modelling</li>
<li>Use cases of the robot</li>
</ul>
<p>Then… I have to do more reading, which means more chasing down references. Watch this space.</p>
<h2 id="references">References</h2>
<ol>
<li>
<p><a name="fredriksson"></a> <a href="https://ltu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1588775/FULLTEXT01.pdf">Scott Fredriksson, “Design, Development and Control of a Quadruped Robot,” Engineering Physics and Electrical Engineering, master’s level, Luleå University of Technology Department of Computer Science, Electrical and Space Engineering, 2021.</a></p>
</li>
<li>
<p><a name="catalano-et-al"></a> <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9478068">Manuel Giuseppe Catalano, Mathew Jose Pollayil, Giorgio Grioli, Giorgio Valsecchi, Hendrik Kolvenbach, Marco Hutter, Antonio Bicchi, and Manolo Garabini, “Adaptive Feet for Quadrupedal Walkers,” in IEEE Transactions on Robotics, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 302-316, Feb. 2022, doi: 10.1109/TRO.2021.3088060.</a></p>
</li>
<li>
<p><a name="shi-et-al"></a> <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10011981">G. Shi, C. Yao, W. Wang, Z. Zhu and Z. Jia, “Adaptive Planar Foot with Compliant Ankle Joint and Multi-modal Sensing for Quadruped Robots,” 2022 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics (ROBIO), Jinghong, China, 2022, pp. 52-57, doi: 10.1109/ROBIO55434.2022.10011981.</a></p>
</li>
<li>
<p><a name="kaslin-et-al"></a> <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8593875">R. Käslin, H. Kolvenbach, L. Paez, K. Lika and M. Hutter, “Towards a Passive Adaptive Planar Foot with Ground Orientation and Contact Force Sensing for Legged Robots,” 2018 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), Madrid, Spain, 2018, pp. 2707-2714, doi: 10.1109/IROS.2018.8593875.</a></p>
</li>
<li>
<p><a name="pollayil-et-al"></a> <a href="https://i-rim.it/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/I-RIM_2020_paper_95.pdf">M. J. Pollayil, M. G. Catalano, G. Grioli, A. Bicchi, and M. Garabin, “SoftFoot-Q: A Novel Adaptive Foot for Quadrupeds,” </a></p>
</li>
<li>
<p><a name="baldassini"></a> <a href="https://faculty.washington.edu/sburden/_papers/Baldassini2017ms.pdf">Jacob Baldassini, “An Examination of the Effects of Deformable Foam Contact Surfaces on Robotic Locomotion,” Master of Science in Electrical Engineering University of Washington 2017.</a></p>
</li>
<li>
<p><a name="angelini-et-al"></a> <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10177938">F. Angelini et al., “Robotic Monitoring of Habitats: The Natural Intelligence Approach,” in IEEE Access, vol. 11, pp. 72575-72591, 2023, doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2023.3294276.</a></p>
</li>
</ol>Peter J. Kootsookospeter@kootsoop.comhttps://kootsoop.comRobot FeetRobot Feet, Part 12024-01-02T12:37:00-08:002024-01-02T12:37:00-08:00https://kootsoop.github.io/robot/feet/@kootsoop/robot-feet-part-1<h1 id="robot-feet">Robot Feet</h1>
<p>I’ve been playing with robot dogs at CT State Middlesex. They’re fun!</p>
<p align="center">
<img src="https://kootsoop.github.io/images/robots/dog_underside.jpg" height="400" width="400" alt="Picture of the underside of the robot dogs, with the new feet." />
</p>
<h2 id="the-bluedog-app">The BlueDog App</h2>
<p>Because we have ten of these dog robots, I wanted to see about getting them to all work in unison. For some reason, the code that comes with them doesn’t connect to more than four or five at a time.</p>
<p>So I wrote <a href="https://github.com/CT-State-Middlesex-Kootsookos/BlueDog">an app that I called BlueDog</a> because it uses Bluetooth to talk to the dogs.</p>
<p align="center">
<img src="https://kootsoop.github.io/images/robots/Icon180.png" height="200" width="200" alt="Blue colored robot dog head as icon for the app." />
</p>
<h2 id="what-next">What Next?</h2>
<p>The next thing I wanted to do was see if we could change the dog’s head. Petoi, the company that makes the dogs, <a href="https://github.com/PetoiCamp/NonCodeFiles">released all the CAD as open source</a>, so I downloaded it. I wanted a different head and thought it would be funny to add a Baby Yoda (Groku) head to one of the robots.</p>
<video src="https://kootsoop.github.io/images/robots/baby_yoda.mp4" controls="controls" style="max-width: 730px;">
</video>
<h2 id="why-feet">Why feet?</h2>
<p>As you can see in the video above, the robots walk quite nicely on smooth surfaces. Unfortunately, they tend to get caught up when walking on carpet, even very smooth carpet.</p>
<h3 id="part-1-make-feet-bigger-and-smoother">Part 1: Make Feet Bigger and Smoother</h3>
<p>My first thought was to make the radius of curvature of the feet bigger and to remote the corrugations on the surface. So I did that, as you can see below.</p>
<p align="center">
<img src="https://kootsoop.github.io/images/robots/dog_legs_comparison.jpg" height="200" width="200" alt="Side by side comparison of original dog leg (black) and 3D printed version (red/black silk filament)." />
</p>
<p>Unfortunately, that didn’t help the dog’s ability to walk on carpet.</p>
<h3 id="part-2-how-to-design-feet">Part 2: How to design feet?</h3>
<p>My initial attempts to find out how to design robot feet met with not many good results.</p>
<p>Eventually, I found <a href="https://engineeringdesignfair.ucalgary.ca/mechanical/multifunctional-quadruped-robot-feet/">this project</a> by Kaela Arts, Lochlan Cuthbertson, Mackenzie Gavin, Qass Huffington, Zoraak Magsi, and Shelby Rawlusyk.</p>
<p>The key part, for me was their innovation:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The design is innovative in its simplicity. It combines the wheel and foot into one mechanism for ease of use. Rather than having an attachable wheel, the wheel was integrated directly into the design and can be easily switched to the ‘foot engaged mode’ by hand. The design is user friendly and can be swapped over in under three minutes.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>However, I wanted to dig a bit more.</p>
<p>That digging led me to <a href="https://ltu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1588775/FULLTEXT01.pdf">this masters thesis</a> by Scott Fredriksson.</p>
<p>A picture of Scott’s quadruped is below.</p>
<p align="center">
<img src="https://kootsoop.github.io/images/robots/different_feet.png" height="200" width="200" alt="A picture of Scott Fredriksson's robot." />
</p>
<p>The thesis didn’t seem to have much information about the feet, so I emailed Scott and he was kind enough to respond quickly.</p>
<p>He said he just thought about how hiking sticks have particular shapes. The feet were obtained from Amazon.</p>
<p align="center">
<img src="https://kootsoop.github.io/images/robots/feet_on_amazon.png" height="200" width="200" alt="A screenshot of Amazon selling the feet for walking poles." />
</p>
<p>Even better, Scott also gave me some references to follow up on.</p>
<p>The bottom line is two things need to work together:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>The shape of the foot and</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>The gait of the robot.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>One thing I noticed with the robot on the carpet is that its standard gait doesn’t seem to raise its feet very high. So those are the next things to look at.</p>Peter J. Kootsookospeter@kootsoop.comhttps://kootsoop.comRobot FeetFirst semester at Middlesex CC2022-12-13T00:50:49-08:002022-12-13T00:50:49-08:00https://kootsoop.github.io/mxcc/@kootsoop/first-semester-at-middlesex-cc-2022<h1 id="first-semester-at-middlesex-community-college">First semester at Middlesex Community College</h1>
<p>As we are in finals week for the Fall 2022 semester, I thought it would be a good time to review my first semester as a full-time faculty at Middlesex Community College.</p>
<h2 id="why-im-here">Why I’m here</h2>Peter J. Kootsookospeter@kootsoop.comhttps://kootsoop.comFirst semester at Middlesex Community CollegeVegan Cookies2021-08-01T05:39:49-07:002021-08-01T05:39:49-07:00https://kootsoop.github.io/recipe/@kootsoop/vegan-cookies-2021<h1 id="vegan-peanut-butter-cookies">Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies</h1>
<p align="center">
<img src="https://kootsoop.github.io/images/vegan-cookies.jpg" height="400" width="400" alt="Picture of the vegan peanut butter cookies that I made." />
</p>
<p>A friend is going vegan for health reasons, and I wanted to bring some baked goods to their place, so thought I’d try this out.</p>
<p>Most commercial peanut butter chips use milk products, so I decided to make my own too.</p>
<p>I started with <a href="https://minimalistbaker.com/double-peanut-butter-chocolate-chip-cookies/">this recipe</a>, and then modified it a bit.</p>
<p>These turned out more like a museli bar or granola bar than what I think of as “biscuits” (Australian version). I want to revisit this recipe and try to get more “snap” into them. The peanut butter bits are yummy.</p>
<h2 id="ingredients">Ingredients</h2>
<h3 id="vegan-peanut-butter-bits">Vegan Peanut Butter Bits</h3>
<ul>
<li>4 tablespoons coconut oil</li>
<li>1/2 cup of peanut butter (smooth probably best here)</li>
<li>1 tablespoon of golden syrup</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="vegan-cookies">Vegan Cookies</h3>
<ul>
<li>1 cup of peanuts</li>
<li>1 cup cut up dates</li>
<li>1/2 cup mashed banana</li>
<li>2 tablespoons peanut butter</li>
<li>1 cup almond flour</li>
<li>1 cup rolled oats</li>
<li>1/4 cup peanut butter chips (see recipe)</li>
<li>1/4 cup dairy-free semisweet chocolate chips</li>
<li>Sprinkling of salt</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="method">Method</h2>
<h3 id="vegan-peanut-butter-bits-1">Vegan Peanut Butter Bits</h3>
<ol>
<li>Prepare a sheet of parchment / waxed paper on a board with shallow sides.</li>
<li>Melt the coconut butter in the microwave until runny.</li>
<li>Mix in peanut butter and golden syrup until smooth.</li>
<li>Smooth the mixture over the parchment until it is even.</li>
<li>Freeze the sheet until it is solid.</li>
<li>Score and cut into good-sized pieces.</li>
<li>Store in freezer, if not used immediately.</li>
</ol>
<h3 id="vegan-cookies-1">Vegan Cookies</h3>
<ol>
<li>Place peanuts in food processor and process until sandy / very small pieces.</li>
<li>Place dates into a food processor and process until it’s in small pieces.</li>
<li>Add mashed banana and peanut butter. Blend again.</li>
<li>Add almond flour and rolled oats and process until a dough forms.</li>
<li>If dough is still wet, add a bit more almond flour and/or rolled oats.</li>
<li>Move dough to a mixing bowl and add peanut butter chips and chocolate chips.</li>
<li>Preheat oven for 10 minutes or to to 175 C.</li>
<li>While oven is heating, put the dough in the refrigerator and prepare parchment paper on baking trays for cookies.</li>
<li>Once oven is at temperature, scoop out 1 tablespoon sized blobs of dough onto parchment paper. This made about 30 cookies for me. <a href="https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/ymmv">YMMV</a></li>
<li>Bake cookies for about 18 minutes. I needed two trays for the cookies, so I swapped the shelves the trays were on in the oven at 9 minutes.</li>
<li>Sprinkle a little salt on them.</li>
<li>Transfer to cooling rack and let cool for a bit.</li>
</ol>Peter J. Kootsookospeter@kootsoop.comhttps://kootsoop.comVegan Peanut Butter CookiesVegetable Lasagne2021-07-03T06:53:49-07:002021-07-03T06:53:49-07:00https://kootsoop.github.io/recipe/@kootsoop/vegetable-lasagne-2021<h1 id="vegetable-lasagne">Vegetable Lasagne</h1>
<p align="center">
<img src="https://kootsoop.github.io/images/vegetable-lasagne.jpg" height="400" width="400" />
</p>
<h2 id="ingredients">Ingredients</h2>
<h3 id="bechamel-sauce">Bechamel Sauce</h3>
<ul>
<li>2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour</li>
<li>45g / 2 tablespoons of butter</li>
<li>1 1/2 cups of milk</li>
<li>Salt, Pepper to taste</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="lentil-sauce">Lentil Sauce</h3>
<ul>
<li>1 onion</li>
<li>3 cloves of garlic</li>
<li>olive oil</li>
<li>1 teaspoon dried oregano</li>
<li>1 can chopped tomatoes</li>
<li>1 tablespoon of tomato paste</li>
<li>1 bag of Trader Joe’s black lentils</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="lasagne">Lasagne</h3>
<ul>
<li>3 zucchini chopped in half, then cut lengthwise into 4 or five flat pieces</li>
<li>2 cups raw, uncut spinach leaves</li>
<li>9 pieces lasagne sheet pasta</li>
<li>1 cup grated parmesan cheese</li>
<li>1 cup sliced cheddar</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="method">Method</h2>
<h3 id="zucchini-preparation">Zucchini Preparation</h3>
<ol>
<li>Lay out cut zucchini on a baking tray.</li>
<li>Place under grill for 8 minutes until some <em>small</em> parts are blackening.</li>
<li>Flip zucchini pieces and grill for another 5 minutes for more <em>minor</em> blackness.</li>
<li>Set aside for construction.</li>
</ol>
<h3 id="bechamel-sauce-1">Bechamel Sauce</h3>
<ol>
<li>Melt butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat.</li>
<li>Mix flour into butter until an even paste forms.</li>
<li>Keep heating for another two to three minutes. Do not let the past boil.</li>
<li>Add warmed milk to paste. Mix well.</li>
<li>Keep heating until milk just boils and mixture thickens.</li>
<li>Remove from heat and set aside for construction.</li>
</ol>
<h3 id="lentil-sauce-1">Lentil Sauce</h3>
<ol>
<li>Finely dice the onion and saute it in oil with finely diced garlic until it is fully cooked (onion should be clear, but not browned).</li>
<li>Add can of tomatoes and tomato paste.</li>
<li>Stir in oregano.</li>
<li>Boil mixture until it’s fully warmed.</li>
<li>Add black lentils. Lentils are already cooked, so only leave on heat until fully warmed.</li>
<li>Set aside for construction.</li>
</ol>
<h3 id="construction">Construction</h3>
<ol>
<li>Use a 9 inch x 13 inch x 2 inch baking dish.</li>
<li>Get 3/4 cup of lentil sauce and cover base of dish.</li>
<li>Place three pieces of lasagne pasta across dish.</li>
<li>Place four pieces of blackened zucchini across each piece of pasta.</li>
<li>Sprinkle spinach leaves liberally across zucchini.</li>
<li>Spread bechamel sauce across spinach leaves.</li>
<li>Place two slices of cheddar on each piece of pasta.</li>
<li>Repeat steps 2 through 7.</li>
<li>Repeat steps 2, 3, and 4.</li>
<li>Cover top layer with parmesan cheese.</li>
</ol>
<h3 id="baking">Baking</h3>
<ol>
<li>Cover dish with aluminium foil.</li>
<li>Bake dish for about 35 minutes at 220C (425F) in a regular oven. Adjust time / temperature if you’re using a fan-forced one.</li>
<li>Take foil off dish and melt / burn cheese under grill for 5 to 10 minutes.</li>
</ol>Peter J. Kootsookospeter@kootsoop.comhttps://kootsoop.comVegetable LasagneOpen exams and brackets2021-05-22T04:17:49-07:002021-05-22T04:17:49-07:00https://kootsoop.github.io/reflection/teaching/@kootsoop/open-exams-and-brackets-2021<p>Recently, I was told by a senior academic that I should ensure that only about 25% to 30% of the students in my class should be awarded a grade of <code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">A</code>, that 40% to 50% are awarded a <code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">B</code>, and that the remainder should be <code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">C</code> and below. This started me wondering: what is the right proportion per grade? And, once we decide that, how does a teacher achieve it?</p>
<h2 id="harvard-the-most-frequently-awarded-mark-is-an-a">Harvard: <em>the most frequently awarded mark is an A</em></h2>
<p>Back in 2017, <a href="https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2013/12/3/grade-inflation-mode-a/"> Matthew Q. Clarida and Nicholas P. Fandos</a> wrote an article in <em>The Crimson</em> that quoted Harvard’s Dean of Undergraduate Education Jay M. Harris saying: <em>the most frequently awarded mark is an A</em>.</p>
<p>Now, Harvard is one of the premiere universities worldwide, so one would expect the students to all be top notch.</p>
<h2 id="criterion-referenced-assessment-vs-norm-referenced-assessment">Criterion-referenced Assessment vs Norm-referenced Assessment</h2>
<p>After digging at this idea a little, I found that there is a distinction between teachers who <em>grade to a curve</em> and those who expect mastery of the material by their students.</p>
<p>Mastery of the material means that the teacher has laid out for the student all the things that the student has to know or be capable of doing before they can pass the class. A student who can do all of them can achieve an <code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">A</code>. One way to do this is to use what is called <strong>criterion-referenced assessment</strong>.</p>
<p><a href="https://tophat.com/glossary/g/grading-on-a-curve/">Grading to a curve</a> means that, regardless of the assessment content, the students are ranked from strongest to weakest with the top fixed percentage achieving an <code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">A</code>. This approach is called <strong>norm-referenced assessment</strong>.</p>
<h3 id="criterion-referenced-assessment">Criterion-referenced Assessment</h3>
<p><a href="https://www.teaching-learning.utas.edu.au/assessment/criterion-referenced-assessment">Criterion-reference assessment</a> requires that the teacher enumerate the required knowledge and skills areas that the students required, as well as the required levels to achieve the different grades. The easiest way to do this is to use rubrics: matrices with each row indicating the required knowledge or skill and each column indicating the level (<code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">A</code> through <code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">F</code>).</p>
<p>Such tests are often used in the civil arena. Driver’s license tests are one example.</p>
<h3 id="norm-referenced-assessment">Norm-referenced Assessment</h3>
<p><a href="https://www.theedadvocate.org/norm-referenced-test/">Norm-reference assessment</a> aims to compare the students with each other, or with an overall average.</p>
<p>Such tests are used for entrance into colleges and to identify specific abilities or disabilities.</p>
<h2 id="taking-extremes">Taking extremes</h2>
<p>In many areas, I like to think about what would happen if an idea is taken to its extreme.</p>
<h3 id="extreme-criterion-referenced-assessment">Extreme criterion-referenced assessment</h3>
<p>Many of the students I teach do not have English as their first language. Also, my English tends to fall on the British (Australian) side of the divide, and I’m teaching in US institutions. Sometimes, this has led to misunderstandings of exam questions during standard exam conditions.</p>
<p>The pandemic has led me to move my exams to being oral exams taken online via Zoom, Discord, or Teams. This allows me to correct these misunderstandings at exam time.</p>
<p>However, more recently I’ve moved to publishing my exam paper before the exam (making it “public” to the class). I generally include far more questions than can adequately be covered in a given oral exam, but I make it clear that only a subset of the stated questions will be asked of the student. I generally release the exam two weeks before the exam period.</p>
<p>I do this because publishing the actual exam questions gives students a clear idea of the task ahead of them. Also, because it’s published and I will answer questions about the paper before the first student takes the exam, I can correct any misunderstandings before the students take the exam. Questions and answers must be public to the class as a whole.</p>
<p>This approach allows me to state the things I’m looking for in an <code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">A</code> student:</p>
<ul>
<li>correct answers</li>
<li>clear answers</li>
<li>detailed answers</li>
<li>concise answers</li>
<li>no incorrect information</li>
</ul>
<p>which starts the formation of rubrics for each skill or knowledge area.</p>
<h3 id="extreme-norm-referenced-assessment">Extreme norm-referenced assessment</h3>
<p>I am not a fan of norm-referenced assessment, but I think some aspects of it might help students to learn.</p>
<p>I haven’t implemented this yet, but my idea is that we can take a leaf out of the <a href="https://www.ncaa.com/march-madness-live/bracket"><em>March Madness</em> NCAA Basketball Tournament</a> and line the students up in brackets to see which student performs the best.</p>
<p>Rather than take place over the whole semester, I see this as working on a weekly basis. Answering more questions, more accurately, more quickly might be a way to gamify education as a way of engaging students.</p>
<p>Of course, for those students who are averse to competition, this approach might not be the best. So I don’t see it working for all students.</p>
<h2 id="it-works">It works</h2>
<p>The last two semesters I’ve published my midterm and final exams at least a week before the students are required to take them. Believe it or not, students still fail.</p>
<p>One thing that open exams does is it takes away excuses for students not performing well on exams due to the surprise element.</p>
<p>Where it doesn’t work is heeding the advice of that senior academic. For some topic areas, this approach seems to yield the suggested distribution. For others, it doesn’t. And I suspect that this is more to do with my mastery of the relevant topics than the students’.</p>Peter J. Kootsookospeter@kootsoop.comhttps://kootsoop.comRecently, I was told by a senior academic that I should ensure that only about 25% to 30% of the students in my class should be awarded a grade of A, that 40% to 50% are awarded a B, and that the remainder should be C and below. This started me wondering: what is the right proportion per grade? And, once we decide that, how does a teacher achieve it?Why is writing hard?2021-03-29T01:40:49-07:002021-03-29T01:40:49-07:00https://kootsoop.github.io/reflection/@kootsoop/why-is-writing-hard-2021<p>I’ve been trying to write each weekday morning this year. Things started off well, but now I’m finding it hard to find the time to write and even harder to find the topics to write about.</p>
<p>One thing that I’ve though I should write about is the recent reporting about anti-Asian violence in America. I thought that the words would flow. But they don’t.</p>
<p>I think the reason they don’t flow on such an emotive and current topic is because of the emotion it evokes. The violence is the <em>cherry on top of the compost heap</em> as one former Australian prime minister called the incumbent. There’s much more to unpack about the Asian experience in America and Australia.</p>
<h2 id="my-greek-grandfather">My Greek grandfather</h2>
<p>My Greek grandfather, Jacabo Antonion “Jack” Kootsookos, went to Australia from his home in Kastellorizo, a little island off the Turkish coast. The story goes that he brought his mother with him, she hated Australia, so the first thing he had to do was to earn enough money to send her home again.</p>
<p>Jack was literate, as many from Kastellorizo are because of the many different languages swirling around that end of the Mediterranean. One thing that I found a few years ago in the Australian archive Trove is a series of letters to the editor that Jack wrote in conversation with a James Williams. The letters are interesting because James was insistent that Greeks were <strong>Asiatics</strong>“** and Jack wanted to disabuse him of this idea <em>because of the negative connotations that this seems to have.</em></p>
<p>Jack passed away in 1944 or 1945, so I never met him. I only heard some things about him from my father, Anthony Kootsookos.</p>
<p align="center">
<img src="https://kootsoop.github.io/images/Letter-01-1919-04-07.png" width="200" height="400" />
</p>
<p align="center">
<em>Jack Kootsookos's letter to the editor.</em>
</p>
<h2 id="my-australian-grandfather">My Australian grandfather</h2>
<p>My Australian grandfather, Robert “Bob” Simpson, was born in country New South Wales near Fifield and Parkes. Bob fought in World War II, and spent time in the Middle East and Papua New Guinea / Bougainville. It is because of this time in PNG, I believe, that he had a bad opinion of the Japanese. The only time I can recall this coming out was when Holden (the General Motors brand in Australia) decided to start using Japanese engines in its larger cars: Bob decided he wasn’t going to buy Holden again.</p>
<p>Bob passed away in about 1989, and it was only after this that I found out other things about my Australian grandfather.</p>
<p>Mum’s and Dad’s wedding pictures show them both, as well as my grandmother (Henriette Eliza “Et” Higgs), but Bob is nowhere to be seen. Apparently, my mother wasn’t marrying someone of her race, so Bob avoided the wedding.</p>
<p>It wasn’t until I was born, a blond-haired (yes, my hair has darkened), blue-eyed baby, that Bob started talking to my parents again.</p>
<h2 id="bigotry-is-rife">Bigotry is rife</h2>
<p>Given this background, I think I see now why it’s hard for me to write about the bigotry on display today. It’s hard for me to disentangle myself from it.</p>Peter J. Kootsookospeter@kootsoop.comhttps://kootsoop.comI’ve been trying to write each weekday morning this year. Things started off well, but now I’m finding it hard to find the time to write and even harder to find the topics to write about.Starting projects2021-03-22T01:49:49-07:002021-03-22T01:49:49-07:00https://kootsoop.github.io/life%20skills/@kootsoop/starting-projects-2021<p>This semester, I’ve been taking the Capstone I students at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) through their paces.</p>
<p>The course follows the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-Model"><strong>Design V</strong></a> for projects, shown below.</p>
<p align="center">
<img src="https://kootsoop.github.io/images/design-v.png" width="500" height="300" />
</p>
<p align="center">
<em>The design V.</em>
</p>
<p>The left-side of the diagram shows some of the steps used to figure out what project we are doing. This starts with nebulous student ideas about what they want to build, and gradually reduce the uncertainty until we have projects that are feasible.</p>
<h2 id="concept-of-operations">Concept of operations</h2>
<p>The <em>Concept of Operations</em> starts the process. Here, I try to get the students to specify some high-level statements about what their project should do. Who does it help? What does it do for them? How well does it need to do it to be useful?</p>
<p>The idea is to frame the project.</p>
<h2 id="requirements">Requirements</h2>
<p>Once the project has been framed, I get the students to think about the requirements. I get them to think about these in two ways:</p>
<ul>
<li>Shall statements: direct, unambiguous statements of the system’s function and performance.</li>
<li>Use case diagrams: indicating the external actors that will interact with the system, as well as the high level functions of the system.</li>
</ul>
<p>### Shall statements</p>
<p>I find <strong>shall</strong> statements useful for deciding the scope of the project. If the students can state their project’s objective in unambiguous language, then that gives some clarity on where the project needs to go. Contrariwise, if the students <em>can’t</em> do that, then we need to talk more.</p>
<p>I prefer to use only the verb <strong>shall</strong> in these statements of requirement. Some people use other works like <em>may</em> or <em>will</em> or <em>should</em> or <em>must</em>.</p>
<p>I prefer to be unambiguous about what the system will do. If a stakeholder expresses a concern with conditional words like <em>may</em> or <em>should</em>, then I disregard the concern. I do this specifically to draw out a reaction. If there <strong>is</strong> a reaction, then we can have a conversation and I can wordsmith a shall statement that captures their concerns. If there is no reaction… the statement was never a requirement.</p>
<p>Requirements statements tend to be very stilted language. Direct, unambiguous language tends to be different from most writing.</p>
<h3 id="use-case-diagrams">Use case diagrams</h3>
<p>The other way I get CCSU students to capture requirements is via use case diagrams. These diagrams are simple stick-figure diagrams that capture:</p>
<ul>
<li>The functions (use cases) that the system will perform.</li>
<li>The actors or roles that interact with the system.</li>
<li>The system boundary that defines what is in the system and what is not.</li>
<li>The connections (interfaces) between the actors and the system functions.</li>
</ul>
<p align="center">
<img src="https://kootsoop.github.io/images/use-case-diagram.png" width="500" height="300" />
</p>
<p align="center">
<em>An example of a use case diagram.</em>
</p>
<h2 id="architecture">Architecture</h2>
<p>Before we step off into more detailed design, the final step is to start thinking about the architecture of the system. This should include all the important pieces of the system: the hardware, the software, and the network components that glue it all together.</p>
<p>One of the questions I ask all students is: what is architecture?</p>
<p>Mostly, the answer I get back is “the structure of the system”. I tend to agree, though I usually say: architecture is the <strong>important things</strong> in your system.</p>
<p align="center">
<img src="https://kootsoop.github.io/images/deployment-diagram.png" width="400" height="300" />
</p>
<p align="center">
<em>An example of deployment diagram.</em>
</p>
<p>Once these things are written down and have solidified (are not likely to change much), then we can begin the next stage: <strong>Preliminary design</strong>.</p>
<h1 id="starting-a-project">Starting a project</h1>
<p>Starting a project means we have decided <strong>what</strong> we are going to build. The next steps are:</p>
<ul>
<li>To define <strong>how</strong> we are going to build it (Preliminary design),</li>
<li>To build it (Implementation/Development), and</li>
<li>Then tell whether we built it correctly (Quality Assurance).</li>
</ul>Peter J. Kootsookospeter@kootsoop.comhttps://kootsoop.comThis semester, I’ve been taking the Capstone I students at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) through their paces.Embrace cancel culture2021-03-08T00:21:49-08:002021-03-08T00:21:49-08:00https://kootsoop.github.io/life%20skills/@kootsoop/embrace-cancel-culture-2021<p><strong>Cancel culture</strong> is getting many headlines recently, so I thought I’d add my two cents worth to the discussion.</p>
<p>When an 4$$h013 spouts off about their repugnant views. They’re cancelled. Unfriended on Facebook, blocked on Twitter. I don’t have the time or the energy to engage with people who find my existence offensive. It’s usually people who dislike immigrants. <em>I are one.</em></p>
<p>My personal view is that what is being called “cancel culture” is an integral part of the capitalist system.</p>
<p>When I get mistreated at a store, I no longer give my custom to that store. It’s cancelled.</p>
<p>When I get mistreated by my internet service provider, I no longer give my custom to them provided I have an alternative. They’re cancelled.</p>
<p>Ultimately, the only leverage I have with companies that I do business with is <em>not to do business with them</em>.</p>
<p>Sure, I can give them a bad rating. And I have.</p>
<p>First, I try to resolve the issue with them. I try to follow the “if you’re happy, tell everyone, if you’re unhappy tell us” approach to customer service.</p>
<p>But, apparently, some companies don’t want my money.</p>
<p>So I don’t give it to them again.</p>
<p>The capitalist system uses the <em>creative destruction</em> of markets to change what is being produced to match what is needed or wanted by consumers. I use whatever minor purchasing power I have to remove revenue from companies I don’t like so that, one hopes, they can no longer make enough money to survive.</p>
<p>Do I actively plot their destruction? No.</p>
<p>Do I wish for their destruction? Also no.</p>
<p>I wish them to improve. And the best signal I have to get them to improve is their bottom line.</p>
<p>Years ago, my father used to fly domestically in Australia for business. Back then, the airline business in Australia was a duopoly: Ansett and TAA. My father joined the business club of whichever of them he was currently with. But, every so often, they’d piss him off. And he’d cancel his membership, and start to fly the other one. This happened several times, so he flip-flopped between Ansett and TAA.</p>
<p>TAA eventually merged with QANTAS, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ansett_Australia">but Ansett is now defunct.</a></p>
<p>And do you know what?</p>
<p>When I’ve cancelled companies, I’m happier.</p>
<p>My most recent example is when I needed new hearing aids. I didn’t have time for an appointment, so I needed to get some supplies to fix the aids I had. So I tried my usual audiologists. I called them, and they said they had the supplies I needed. So I said I’d be right over.</p>
<p>When I got there, they confirmed that they had the supplies… but that they couldn’t sell them to me because I wasn’t an audiologist. These supplies were plastic tubes that connected my hearing aids to the moulds that fit into my ears.</p>
<p>I tried to understand what they hadn’t understood about me asking for them and saying I’d be right over to get them. To no avail. All I got was a rude rebuke.</p>
<p>So I ordered the tubes from Amazon Prime and they arrived the next day.</p>
<p>A few weeks later, I had time for a full audiologist appointment and selection of new hearing aids. So I went to a new provider. They were <strong>much</strong> easier to deal with.</p>
<p>I’ve been with them for two or three years now, and they’ve been very attentive to my hearing and ensuring my hearing aids keep on working.</p>
<p><strong>Cancel culture works.</strong></p>Peter J. Kootsookospeter@kootsoop.comhttps://kootsoop.comCancel culture is getting many headlines recently, so I thought I’d add my two cents worth to the discussion.Meat loaf2021-02-26T00:21:49-08:002021-02-26T00:21:49-08:00https://kootsoop.github.io/recipe/@kootsoop/mean-loaf-2021<p>I started with <a href="https://www.food.com/recipe/really-good-vegetarian-meatloaf-really-33921">this recipe</a>, but wanted to use fresh green leafy vegetables instead of the dried ones. I also wanted to give it a bit more bite, so I added some fresh green chiles.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.food.com/recipe/really-good-vegetarian-meatloaf-really-33921">
<img src="https://kootsoop.github.io/images/meatloaf-1.jpg" width="200" height="200" /></a></p>
<h2 id="ingredients">Ingredients</h2>
<ul>
<li>2 cups water</li>
<li>1 teaspoon salt</li>
<li>1 cup green lentils</li>
<li>1 small onion, diced</li>
<li>1 cup quick-cooking oats</li>
<li>3/4 cup sharp cheese</li>
<li>1 egg, beaten</li>
<li>4 1/2 ounces pizza tomato sauce (I had this left over, but a similar amount of reduced tinned tomatoes works)</li>
<li>1 teaspoon garlic powder</li>
<li>1/2 cup frozen fresh basil</li>
<li>1/2 cup frozen fresh parsley</li>
<li>1/2 cup fresh chopped chiles</li>
<li>1/4 teaspoon seasoning salt</li>
<li>1/2 teaspoon black pepper</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="method">Method</h2>
<ul>
<li>Bring salt and water to boil in a saucepan.</li>
<li>Add lentils and simmer covered 25-30 minutes. Lentils are cooked once all water has been absorbed and the lentils have started to split and are soft.</li>
<li>Remove from heat.</li>
<li>In a bowl partially mash lentils and allow them to cool.</li>
<li>Once lentils have cooled, mix in chopped onion, oats, egg, tomato sauce, garlic, basil, parsley, chiles, seasoning salt and pepper.</li>
<li>Line a loaf tin with parchment paper.</li>
<li>Spoon into the lined loaf tin, ensuring that the top is smoothed flat.</li>
<li>Bake at 175C (350F) for 40 minutes or until top of loaf is dry, firm and golden brown.</li>
<li>Cool for 10 minutes, and then turn load out onto a serving platter.</li>
</ul>Peter J. Kootsookospeter@kootsoop.comhttps://kootsoop.comI started with this recipe, but wanted to use fresh green leafy vegetables instead of the dried ones. I also wanted to give it a bit more bite, so I added some fresh green chiles.