Grants/ElectricalWhat: A tool for students, teachers, makers, hackers, and diy'ers
Describe the project you are proposing as clearly as possible in just five sentences.
Frustrated by the difficulty of searching schematic symbols through long lists with little information led to the creation of Electrical What !?, a database of electronic components. Electrical What !? displays all electronic components in a easily scanable and cataloged format. However what truly sets Electrical What !? apart from your average reference book is the ability to search by appearance. Using these tools Electrical What !? hopes to make looking for electronic symbols a breeze. This site I hopes to gather all electronics symbols and make an open reference for the students, teachers, makers, hackers, , diy'ers and anyone getting into electronics.
Detail the tangible project output (e.g., paper, blog post, written materials, video/film, etc.; this would be in addition to the final written report that successful grant recipients will be expected to deliver to CC at the conclusion of the project).
This grant will fund will go toward improved site functionality to the site and content creation. New functionality will include: the ability for site users to contribute to main articles and the ability for site users to add photographs to articles.
Describe the community you are targeting. How would the project benefit the community?
This project targets anyone wanting to learn or teach electrical circuits. This resource would be invaluable to educators wishing to give there students a reference guide in which to learn electrical components and schematics. This project will also help electronics makers or hackers without access to educational institutions.br />
Currently I am a student at the Arts, Media and Technology program at Parsons School of Design in New York City. There is a vibrant community of electronics hackers and DIY'ers. While learning about electronics myself I saw the need for such a reference guide. While in school I have learned about web design and the necessary back-end elements needed to complete the project.
How will you measure and evaluate your project’s impact - on your main participants? Other contributors? On the larger community?
Site impact can be measured through user contributions and site analytics such as page views and average time on site.
How many participants do you expect to be involved in your project? How will you seek and sustain their involvement?
The initial participation in the project will come from the site designer as he/she will create functionality in which will allow user contributions. Once there is a way for users to contribution the focus will be on finding an individual qualified to contribute content.
Describe how your project will benefit Creative Commons' mission to increase the amount of creativity (cultural, educational, and scientific content) in "the commons".
This project benefits the commons by creating a free central location in which electronics symbols can be referenced. This site will also serve as an archive of symbols no longer used. This reference will enhance understanding of electrical schematics and anyone wishing to gain a better understanding of electronics.
Describe what technologies and tools your project will use. What kinds of technical skills and expertise do you bring to the project? What are your technical needs?
The site will be built upon the MediaWiki and Wordpress platform. Custom plug-ins will be integrated into both for management of photos. I bring intimate knowledge of both platforms.
What challenges do you expect to face, and how do you plan to overcome them?
I expect there will be challenge finding a qualified individual in which to employ to add the initial content to the site. (Currently much of the content is sourced from wikipedia.) This challenge will be addressed through contacts within the educational community. These contacts will provide references in which publicity can be provided.
How do you plan to sustain your project after the Creative Commons funding has ended? Detail specific plans. How do you plan to raise revenue to continue your efforts in the future?
Revenue can be sustained with the publishing of print material. Print material such as books and posters can be sold to educational institutes. These print materials can be given or used by students in classroom where direct access to the internet may not be available.
Funding may also be provided by referral links on individual articles to where one could buy an electrical component. A referral link not only provides revenue for the site but also may be useful information for anyone looking to build an electrical schematic.
How can this project be scalable, or have a scalable impact?
Users will add symbols to the database creating an forever expanding flexible database. Once a viable system is in place in which user can contribute symbols the site may be expanded to include entire electrical schematics.
What resources and support do you expect Creative Commons to provide to your project to ensure its success (if any)?
This project does not expect Creative Commons to provide any resources to ensure success. Recommendations regarding qualified individuals for web design and management are appreciated.
Describe how your organization currently communicates with its community members and network partners. (100 words)
Currently I have received feedback from NYC RESISTOR a collaborative technology and hacking space in Brooklyn, NY. NYC RESISTOR has recommended it for use in there classes and have sent me feedback regarding the site. Since the first site launch I received emails regarding feedback and suggestions for site improvements. This site has I also communicate with fellow students on how they feel the site can be improved upon.
Legal
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