Salutations

A long time ago, on a planet far far away I reflected on the Humanities portion of our “Story Strikes Back” project. The premise of this project was to study the hero’s journey, and to wrap up all of our knowledge in a bow by creating and executing a story of our own, set on a planet in the movie franchise ‘Star Wars’. You can visit this blog post by clicking the totally unassuming link here:

L

Look, Listen and Learn

The first section of our launch journal, the ‘L’ phase, helps us discover what sparks our curiosity by looking, listening and learning. This could mean anything observing the world around us to talking to different people. In this section of the journal, I recorded how I looked, listened, and learned about my product for my section of the hero’s journey. In short, I thought that I could have done more with this competency. To elaborate, I went into the project knowing what I wanted the final outcome to be, meaning that I did not get to experience the same level of interaction with my surroundings. Last time we did Blue Sky, I would have considered that this aspect of the process was a strength of mine. I still did interviews, yet they were with my parents and friends rather than strangers who would have not been susceptible to bias. The milestone that tested our skills was the ‘How Might We’ sheet. The idea behind this is to develop a deeper understanding of the subject at hand, by compressing all of your ideas into several “How might we” statements. The best statement that I wrote was a summary that encompassed the big idea: How might we use Star Wars technology to show the development of post-war Endorian technology. This question went through multiple phases, including critique from my teachers and peers. Eventually, it went from illegible to showcasing my entire final product in one sentence. I personally believe that I could have achieved more when it comes to looking, listening and learning. I set a goal for myself, that going into the A phase that I would remain open-minded.

A

Ask tons of questions

Luckily, that goal became a reality. I decided to dispose of my idea all together, which in the grand scheme of things does not seem like a smart move, yet in retrospect was one of the best decisions that I made. I developed an entirely new project idea overnight, using the same question. This forced me to use my creativity, which after many months of doing things in the exact same formulaic routine, was refreshing. I loved it. Would I do it again? No. The idea was reckless, and forced me to rush. Yet, it did teach me an important lesson, to switch things up once in a while. Recently, I have noticed a difference in my final products. Enough of that. I am going on a tangent. The second phase is A, in which we asked a ton of questions. I LOVED this part of the process. Since the very first moment that I learned of this project, a million questions have been racing through my head. Getting them on paper, and being given the time to think about each and every one was enthralling, giving me a new enjoyment for the work that I was doing. As for the milestone, our Product Pitch Form, all in all things went well. My performance in this milestone truly did reflect the fact that I asked the hard questions. I both identified criteria for success and constraints, while also identifying potential users and their requirements for a chosen a design opportunity. A good example of this was the timeline that I created. I used my knowledge of the constraints, and developed a personalized timeline that fully acknowledges my work habits, my demographic and my project outcome.

U

Understand

The third phase is U, which means to understand the process, while also being an innovative designer. The curricular competencies that we were assessed on were understanding the process, and our innovation. We presented these competencies in the third milestone, which happened to be an export of our journal. Let’s begin with the good news first. I thought that I took many creative risks, stepped out of my comfort zone and created a short Launch presentation that I am incredibly proud of. I spent a ton of time including visual, and audible reflections in a nice mannerism that not only shows the work that I put into this milestone, but the innovation in my presentation form. Unfortunately, not everything went this well. When it came to understanding the process or problem,  I did well at choosing an idea to pursue, and keeping other potentially viable ideas open. This can be seen through the extensive research that I did. This ties into the next competency, identifying and using sources of information. When it came to critically analyzing competing factors, I could have been stronger. Although I do have a good understanding of the competency, I failed to show it through my work, which is why I do not believe that I deserve a great mark for this competency.

N

Navigate ideas

It was mini-video time! I was very excited for this mini-video, because as you may know by now I love the chance to create a creative reflection. This milestone tested our abilities in the following competencies:

• Generate potential ideas and add to other’s ideas
• Screen ideas against criteria and constraints
• Develop a step-by-step plan that identifies key stages and resources and carry it out, making changes as needed
• Identify and use appropriate tools, technologies, and materials for production

What did I do well? I generated ideas quickly and efficiently, screened my ideas using online tools that show the process, and I developed a step-by-step plan as seen in my detailed timeline. I could have done a better job when it came to identifying and using the appropriate tools. Most of the work that I did was in my head, which is why I had trouble iterating my ideas physically. I could improve this by doing all of my brainstorming on paper, or on my iPad. This way, I would be able to import all of the thoughts easily throughout my journal, and beyond to other apps. As for my mini-video, procrastination was my worst enemy in this situation. Despite this, and two deleted as a result of a glitch projects later, I handed in a video that I really enjoyed.

C

Create

In this next phase, I created a prototype. In my case it was a digital outcome, as I made it using Sketches. My original plan was to also build a cohesive physical model, but I did not have enough time to execute it. The milestone for this project was our prototype revision grid form. The competencies that we were assessed on were computational thinking, and creating. When I say creating I mean to imply that we exercised this competency while building and reconstructing the product. This definitely came in handy while I was rebuilding the hologram. In the future, I would like to pay more attention to this competency as I believe that I did not dedicate myself as much as I should.

H

Highlight and fix

This was the competency that I may have had the most trouble with. While I did evidently identify sources of feedback, which can be seen through the milestone in the H phase, I conducted tests, collected and compiled data, evaluated data, and decide on changes and edited the design based off of feedback from critique, I put less effort into this milestone. At this point, everyone was exhausted and prepared to ruin their already deteriorating sleep schedules for a better outcome. This is why I made the somewhat questionable decision to take it easy. For this reason, not an ample amount of testing was done. For this design in particular, this almost came in handy as I had gotten time to regain my sanity before the exhibit. In the future, I need to continue to work on my stamina and inspiration for carrying this project through all the way through the process. In short, my performance in this phase is not worthy of congratulations, which is disappointing but can be changed in the near future.

This right here folks, as you see before is the epoch-defining ‘Launch Journal’. If this LAUNCH journal was a dish in Hell’s Kitchen, then at least in my opinion, it would be one of the few entrées that Gordon Ramsay would not make airborne throughout the competition, which in translation means that it is not half bad. I put a lot of effort into animating the step of each process, so that it would be comprehendible to everyone. This process helped me define clarity, and improve my understanding of the ideas themselves.

https://youtu.be/kXBGzta9oWQ

If I had the time to reiterate this assignment, then I think we would all know which course of action I would take first: STOP PROCRASTINATING! The final product itself was not impacted, but my emotional stability was, and the last bit of cordiality and respect the that I had for the exhibition evaporated faster than dihydrogen monoxide.

Curricular competencies

Innovative designer

Students use a variety of technologies within a design process to identify and solve problems by creating new, useful or imaginative solutions.

My idiosyncratic approach to this problem allowed me to make a final product that I am proud of. I fully believe that I mastered this competency, building off of my reflection from last year. The brainstorming pattern that I used was much clearer and more organized, allowing me to convey my ideas with efficiency. Last year, my throughout process was just about as clear to an onlooker as mud. This year, it was slightly watered down mud, yet clearer nonetheless. In the future, I would like to make this abundantly clear throughout the entire process so that others are able to acknowledge that as well. I could achieve this goal by becoming less sporadic in my work habits, and attacking each and every problem with the fervour of a 40 year old woman named Karen on Black Friday.

Computational thinker

Students develop and employ strategies for understanding and solving problems in ways that leverage the power of technological methods to develop and test solutions.

In order to solve the problems that I encountered while building both my hologram and the R2 – D2 model, I was forced to use technological methods that I did not even know that I had. It was confessing to these methods that I struggled with. If you had asked me to point to a hitch in the process that I solved using a technological method, then I would tell you that my hologram failed more times than I would like to admit, yet I overcame this predicament using cultivated research about mathematics and science, disregarding the best tool that I have at my disposal which is the iPad. Note to self: in the future, perhaps put the investment worth your entire piggy bank to use.

In summary, the moral of the story today is that I should continue to work hard on a project all the way through, rather than burning myself out at the very beginning. In this case, a more minimal amount of time spent refuting the hurdles was beneficial, but this may not be the case in the future. I developed a good set of skills along the way, and I am especially proud of my performance on the night of the exhibition. I articulated and conveyed my idea well along with a last minute stroke of genius that added to the final product. This R2-D2 model will be an everlasting cornerstone in my Blue sky career, cementing itself as the Rosetta stone of Star Wars models. Perhaps that is a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the point.

You can visit my peer’s blog posts here:

Rhiann, Kaia, Asha, Ryan, Liam and Ben

”Good morning, and in case I don’t see ya, good afternoon, good evening and goodnight” – The Truman Show