Well its come to that time of the year again when its time for bluesky! I have now been doing bluesky for many years actually since grade eight so I have a wide experience at this point. In grade eight we were told that we could do anything all we had to do was solve a problem. However as the years have gone on each year our topics have been narrowed down. Grade nine we were told that we had to fit in a specific age group and this year we were assigned to a group to help solve one of the United Nations sustainable living goals. These goals created by the UN are there way of trying to help the country as a whole. The problems they are hoping to solve range anything from poverty, economics and even the environment. So with this inspiration it was time to get started!
As through previous years we followed the LAUNCH cycle. This stand for Look, Listen and Learn, Ask tons of questions, Understad the problem, Navigate ideas, Create (a prototype), Highlight and fix. So with this in mind we were then told what goal as well as what group. I was assigned the goal of economic growth.
This goal was explained as “Goal 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all“. I found this a difficult idea to think of something that I could solve in two weeks and so did the rest of my group. My group consisted of Michael, Aiden and Kate. As a group we cycled through many ideas and weren’t sure what to do. We were really struggling and didn’t have any idea what to do even though we were starting to have less and less time. That’s when our teacher said that we could do any topics out of the other groups. So with that in mind I got the inspiration to look into the seycove garden.I had herd about a few celebrities and chefs who are truly invested in this idea. Here is the research I did on them:
Garden Influencers:
Currently there are a few people who have influenced School gardens. These people feel that there is a reason why school gardens should be put in place in all schools. Some of the benefits that people recognize is that first it is good for the environment. Gardens in general are helping air pollution, peoples health as well as bringing the community together. Also the food that is produced through the garden will go to students or teachers who want fresh produce as well as donating the Food to the food bank so the less fortunate ones get to experience amazing food and be a part of there community. Another reason why you should volunteer in the garden is because it is actually a very enjoyable experience. I got the opportunity to help out at the seycove garden as well as at my own garden at home and you do get a calming experience out of it. These are just some of the reasons why huge influencers such as Jamie Oliver support school gardens worldwide
Jamie Oliver is primarily known throughout the world as an amazing chef. However he also believes that school gardens are an important part of the curriculum. Jamie called for a notion that “Every School should be a Growing School”. Meaning every school should have the opportunity to experience a garden
Is founder of the Edible Schoolyard Project. This a program where school gardens are encouraged and it is the students who enjoy and want the garden. On the website they state there mission as this “The mission of the Edible Schoolyard Project is to build and share a national edible education curriculum for pre-kindergarten through high school. Edible education connects the experience of school to the real, lived experience of our students. It prioritizes access to the healthy food that underpins all other efforts to give children a strong start at school and in life.” They believe that across North America we should have an edible education as it will help us in the real world. The edible schoolyard also has a great example of a thriving garden in California. King Middle School has over an acre and all cafeteria food is made from that food. Overall Alice Waters is an amazing advocate and inspiration
As you can see these people are truly invested and these are only two people! So imagine if we got many students involved at seycove.
At first I thought there was no garden and that there should be and then I talked to my teachers and they said there already was one. That was when I thought that if I didn’t know about it would others? This was the section of the launch cycle when I was Look, Listening and Learning. I looked into what the seycove garden was as well as what other people knew about it. I did this process by talking to Craig. Craig is a teacher at school who has taken the responsibility of the garden helped to get it started. I recorded this interview and then made it into a podcast. Here is that podcast:
This interview helped lead me through the next two steps of the launch cycle as well. Asking tons of questions and understanding the problem. Once I fully understood what the seycove garden was and where it came from I could then go and ask fellow students if they knew about the garden and then finding out what would cause them to be interested in the garden. I did this by creating a survey asking these questions: Do you know about the seycove garden?
Would you want to volunteer to help out at the garden during the summer?
If you got service hours would you volunteer?
What would you most like to see improve in the garden?
Should there be a garden club?
I found out through this google survey that more then 50% of the students did not know what the seycove garden was. So with that information I could step into step N, Navigating my ideas.
Navigating my ideas at first I wasn’t sure what I should do but then I realized I was looking at it to widely. So I began to narrow it down to an attainable goal. The first step I took was creating a poster that could be put up around the school to inform students that there was a seycove garden. Here is what that ended up looking like and this is also part of stage C Creating a prototype:
Then I realized I would have to do more in order to truly make an impact so I looked through the answers to the questions I got and realized that students are more interested if they got volunteer hours. So I set up a meeting with Mrs.Craven (our principal) to see if it would be possible to allow students get volunteer hours when they help out. What she said what’s that this was actually a great idea and that this could definitely happen next year as well as a garden club.
Then as it got closer to the end of the school year it was also time to think about how we were going to present this at the exhibition. I was put into the sustainable cities and communities group. This was made up of Ethan, Simon, Spencer and Adam and myself as the grade tens. The grade nines were Melanie, Tamara and Adlih and then the one grade eight was Annika. We all had differing topics though it was based around community and cities so we had the idea to makeour area into a city and have each project be a “shop”. I was happy with this idea as it was simple but then at the same time effective for a short prep time. Also as we had to have food and a game or activity we chose a lemonade stand as that is a way for kids to realize what goes into making a community and a board simply asking what you would like to see happen in your community and how you could improve it. Leading up to exhibition on short notice I feel that we didn’t overdo it however I do feel that we should have done more as it was fairly bare. Here are the pictures of the process of setting up as well as when we were done:
We created a skyline of Vancouver on the whiteboard
Making the sign
This is what you saw when you walked into our exhibition
Our lemonade stand and sign
This was my table
And a closer look at the poster I created
Overall I was happy with how Blue sky went this year in the short time we had to get everything together. However I do feel that I should have gotten more of a physical model together and I could have done that by simply gotten my ideas together sooner. And if this is my final year I am happy with the evolution of how my bluesky has evolved since Garde 8. When I was in grade 8I wasn’t sure what I was doing and now that I have done it a few times I know understand and I feel that they have gotten more or less better every year. All in all I am happy with how this years Bluesky went and it was also a good reminder of the LAUNCH cycle and how these simple steps can help in so much!
The lord of the flies is such an influential book that has been studied by students, philosophers and more. For years Lord of the flies has been a book that people look up to and in school grade ten students have read it. So it was then time for the Grade ten PLP cohort to begin the Lord of the Flies journey.
Starting the book I had heard about the book from my mum however did not actually know what it was about. However before I could find out as a class we first had another assignment we had to complete before we started the book. We were told that we were going to being doing the final project in groups however our teach Mrs.Maxwell was not going to be creating them. Rather it would be us as a class creating them and what a daunting task that was. We were left as a class in our PLP classroom without a teacher to determine our groups. What an experience that was. At first we had decided that we were first going to creat “group leaders”. This meant that we would have a base for the group however those selected people would not specifically be in charge. Once we put six names down and had six groups we then had to decide who would be making up those groups. There was one person writing down all the names and groups on the board while the rest of us discussed who would be paired with who. We had planned to first be organized instead of simply yelling at each other, we also were told before we were sent to do this assignment that everyone had to be happy with what group they were in. By the end of this assignment everyone was in a group and we were happy with how they turned out however the process of getting there was not the correct way. We ended up yelling at each other and even at one point a classmate stood on a chair and yelled to get peoples attention. Looking back we should have handled it in a different way however if you have read Lord of the Flies you know that these two are weirdly connected. After that activity we had to do a reflection and this is what I wrote:
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Lord of the Flies Group Dynamics Reflection Sheet
Directions: Think about the group assignment you and your classmates just completed. Answer each question as completely and accurately as possible to describe the class group activity. The purpose of this is only to help provide me with a sense of how the group dynamic unfolded in class.
Do you think the class was successful in completing the assignment? Why or why not? What happened? How did things get done or not? How did people act?
During this assignment I feel that as a class it took us time to figure out how to create the groups as well as who would be in groups. However by theme I do think we successfully completed the task and the groups are even.
What was the biggest challenge in completing the assignment? Why?
The biggest challenge doing this task was sorting people into groups. This was difficult because if someone didn’t agree we would then have to change it and then at the same time everyone was yelling and talking at the same time.
Do you think the class acted typical of human behavior? In other words, is this how people act when confronted with a group dynamic such as this? Explain your answer.
I feel that as a class we acted as a large group would in an unfamiliar situation. That was shown in communication between everyone as well as how there was an urgency feel to get things done.
How did the class break into groups, either formal or informal? Describe some of the ways people naturally organized themselves? (You don’t have to necessarily give names, but can describe the types of groups formed, their actions, etc…)
The class organized groups in a way where leaders emerged for each group and then we went and paired everyone up with the leaders. While we were deciding where everyone was going personalities came out in that some people were leaders, others were flexible and some simply had a say in what was going on.
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After that activity it was then time to start reading the book as well as start the other aspects of this unit. We were told that the groups we had created were going to be our teams for a debate we would have at the end of the unit. I was on a team with Kate, Alex and Simon. Back to the idea of debating we were going to have a debate the end of the unit based around a Lord of the Flies idea and these debates would be against another team or rather “island”. So we started looking into debates!
The first aspect we looked at was the actual structure of a debate. In class we talked about it but we also listened to a podcast called Intelligence Squared that was a debate. I found it helpful to hear this debate as it was a great example to thrive towards. Also for the debate we would record it so that it eventually becomes a podcast, so it was good to hear what it could sound like. He next activity we did was called pass the buck. This was when one person was taken into the hall and given a topic that they then had to talk or do a speech about. Then when our teacher stayed pass the buck that person then handed the “buck” to whoever they wanted to in there group. This taught us that no matter if you don’t really believe in what you are talking about you still have to be involved. This also taught us to be on our feet and be ready to talk. The same day we did that activity we also did an activity that was basically simply telling a story. We went around in a group and each person said one word and then next person contributed. This taught us that we have to stay on topic while we are debating otherwise it wont make sense. We also did that same activity except with the whole class, which was an interesting story.
It was then time to start actually looking at how to publicly speak and debate. We did this by watching a ted talk about the seven secrets to public speaking. Here are my notes I took while watching the video:
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Richard Greene
teddy Rosevelt, shared tipping words that influenced the way we live today
Franklin Roosevelt a few years later then had a speech that was a huge topping point for the world
If your afraid of public speaking your along with half of the world
Speeches can make the world a better place, and to break through creating a tipping point
Seven Secrets:
Understanding that words can be the best but they only impact 7% of a human, words, voice tone and body language, 38% impact voice tone, 55% body language, 7% words
Word choice
Tone, variation
Body language, looking into someone’s eyes or not connecting
The lasers, compelling message. What is the one thing you want to leave people with
Communication. 41% of the world is scared of public speaking because we don’t know the true definition. Is nothing more then have a conversation from your heart, don’t be an actor. Never give another speech but rather have a conversation. Share and people will love you and feel you
Four languages of human communication visual, auditory, auditory digital, kinaesthetic. Speak all four and you will be amazing because then everyone can connect to you. Stories, analytics, the connecting thing that is the most important thing
Authentic passion. What is just so interesting that it compels you to have a conversation
Lou Gehrig
baseball player
He had so much gratitude
Winston Churchill
the world would have been different without his conviction
“Put flesh and blood in”
John F Kennedy
he proved his speech
His authentic passion to put a man on the moon
He commits himself at that point even though he doesn’t know how to do it yet
He goes into so much detail and it shows he really cares
“You are not alone” Berlin
Martin Luther King
have of his speech he ablibd
His last speech before he died the next was one of the biggest tipping points in history
Connecting to people
Supporting people
Barbra Jordan
he words shook the world and categorized against Robert Nixon
Barack Obama
his speech changed America
Albert Einstein
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While we were learning all of this though there was yet another component that was mixed in. In the groups or teams that we had formed in the first activity we were then having a competition or point tracking system based on our class participation. This meant if we were late we would lose a certain amount of points however if you did something like pick up garbage or push in a chair you could gain points. Another way you could also earn points would be to get a 100% on the Lord of the Fly team quizzes we had every week. These quizzes were a way to see if we were understanding the book. My team the “Py Rose” got nine out of ten on every quiz we did, which was both good and frustrating.
Another aspect to the unit that we also learned about was government. Since in Lord of the Flies they do try and form a government we then had to learn about what our government was. In the book Ralph is democratically voted in and we have a similar system of election. However recently in British Columbia there has been talk of a change in the way we elect the people in office. Here are some pictures explaining them as they can get very complicated and I’m not very good at explaining it.
Along with learning about the electoral system we also learned other aspects of the government. For example Who everyone is in the Canadian government, here is the information i gathered on this topic:
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Name: Sovereign, Gov. Gen, PM, Lieutenant G, BC Premier
Federal: Where is the House of Commons? Who sits there? Name 3 ministers.
Provincial: Where is the Legislative Assembly? Who sits there? Name 3 MLA’s.
Sovereign: Queen Elizabeth II
Gov. Gen: Julie Payette
Prime Minister: Justin Trudeau
Lieutenant General: Janet Austen
BC Premier:John Horgan
Where is the House of Commons? Who sits there? Name 3 ministers.
The House of Commons is located on parliament hill in Ottawa. The parties of Canada sit in the House of Commons as well as the ministers of Canada. Carolyn Bennett, Navdeep Bains and Scott Brison.
Where is the Legislative Assembly? Who sits there? Name 3 MLA’s.
The Legislative Assembly is located in Victoria. The parties sit in the BC parliament building as well MLA’s making up 87 seats. Darryl Plecas, Selina Robinson and Anne Kang.
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While we were learning about the government we then took a quiz to see what party we would be fit under. I found out that on the scale I am 44 so more left wing meaning more conservative. I was surprised and not surprised at the same time as I don’t know a whole lot about the government. Here is that quiz:
Another aspect to the unit since this is humanities was also writing. We were assigned to write two concept paragraphs during this unit. This would help us to truly understand what the concepts of Lord of the Flies were as well as practice writing. The first paragraph (Humanity and Imhumanity) I did I feel was not my strongest however I feel that for my second (relying on a leader) it got better, here are those paragraphs:
We then got our topics for the debate that we were going to have. Our team was assigned that in order to survive you must be savage and we were the pro side. I was happy with the topic we got as well as being pro we just had to get researching it. From the beginning we knew that drawing upon Lord of the Flies would be a huge advantage as that was a huge aspect of the book.so we got right to researching!
Here is a picture of the research we did:
At this point we had also finished reading the book which I found was very interesting and I had never thought of this in the perspective that the book put things in. As we finished the book we also had to worksheets to show what we learned, here are my worksheets:
It was then time for the actual debate in the morning I was nervous however felt that we were ready and prepared to debate. Then the debate happened and though we may have not won, I was still proud of how as a team we communicated and were able to push back against the other team. I was in charge of the closing statement and overall was really happy with how I ended the pros as I felt it was a strong conclusion.
Here is a picture of the notes that our teacher took while listening to our debate and eventually led her to the vote that she decided to cast:
As I mentioned before we also forming this into a podcast and so here is that podcast:
Overall I learned so much through this unit in many ways. I found it so interesting learning about Lord of the Flies and how that relates to humanity and is a reflection of human nature and fear as well simply how humans act. I also learned a lot about debating and how public speaking is such an important tool to have. And though the “Py Roses” may not have won the Lord of the Flies competition (we actually lost) I was happy with how we worked as a team supporting each other and all working hard. So as this blog post comes to an end I truly have learned so much and know that it will help me in my future!
Recently in class we had the opportunity to look into space. Now that doesn’t mean simply looking up into the sky at night but rather in groups each researching a specific area, whether it was star life’s, the Big Bang theory and more. We started off this unit by first looking at an app called Star Chart that allows people to use there device to look around and actually see where the stars in our Galaxy are. I found this really interesting to see in real time what was right above our heads! We also then had to fill out a chart:
Then it was time for our main project. We were put into groups and at first I was partnered with Kate however we soon realized that she would not be here to finish the project so I switched groups to be with Izzy and Sydney. Our subject was star life cycle and I knew a little bit about this subject but not enough to give an informed answer. So learning about this project really helped me learn.
Our group decided to look into how the star life cycle relates back to Black Holes. I did not know anything about how these two topics relate to each other however by the end of the project I truly did. I learned that a black hole is actually one aspect of the star life cycle.
We then had to decide. How we wanted to present this project as part of the criteria was showing our project to the class. As a group we decided to create a slideshow and so without further ado here is that slideshow on star life cycles:
Our group was the first to present to the class however our work was not done yet. We then had to create a mind map showing how everyone’s different topics relate to each other’s, here is mine:
After and during the process of this project we told our teacher what we wanted to be graded on. Meaning we could choose out of 6 topics and we had to choose four. Our group chose Evaluating and processing, applying and innovating and more. The five topics we chose I feel we were all able to succeed at. Overall this was a really interesting unit and I learned a lot about the star life cycle and how that relates to a Black Hole!
It’s come to that time of the year again when I get the opportunity to reflect on what has gone right this school year, what I could have done better and what I want to improve upon for next year. This year the driving question is:
Why do you feel you are ready to advance to the next grade level?
To start off this presentation I would first like to thank you for coming or reading if anyone reads these blog posts. The first subject I would like to talk about is math. I have always struggled with math and this year I even got a tutor even though that didn’t work out he still did help me. The project I will be showing as an example of my guy growth as a learner is the math board game we had to create based around the idea of algebraic solutions.
I was partnered with Hannah for this project and I feel that we worked well together however creating an idea that would fit the project description we found was a challenge. We came up with a few ideas and then when we pitched them to Mr.Gross he showed us what was wrong with them. At this point I was discouraged because we couldn’t come up with an idea however we kept trying. This shows that no matter what challenge I face I am determined to succeed. This work ethic is also similar to blue sky, as this year and the past few years I have struggled to think of a problem to solve. However I feel that my determination and strong work ethics show that I wont give up. At the end of the math project I was proud of the finished product we came up with and was happy with the teamwork skills me and Hannah were able to cultivate over the coarse of the project.
The next topic I would like to talk about is the science project I did on Generating Power in science a few weeks ago. This project was about us figuring out how a generator works and then actually creating one. I was in a group with Will, Kyle and Izzy and I feel that we worked well together. As a group we were able to asses what we needed to get done however we did not instantly succeed. We came up with many drafts and changed our project many different times. I think this shows that no matter what even if i hit a road bump I am able to overcome it and find a different path to go. However I would have liked to improve our groups final product as I found that it was fairly messy and could have been cleaned up. As a group we could have tried to get our ideas together sooner and then planned out the project timeline better. That is one thing I would like to improve for next year, is simply time management. I know that next year as it gets harder and busier I will need to know how to plan my time so I can create effective, good projects and products.
Another project i would like to discuss is the Percpectives of WWII project I did in humanities. Overall I found this to be a really interesting unit where we learned about what happened during World War II and the differing aspects each country had on the war. There were nine countries in total and we each had our own section of the website to look after. Most of the countries were in groups of three or four people however I was independent and did the project on my own. I was in charge of Australia and at first was very nervous as to how I would get everything done by myself. However I feel that I stepped up to the challenge and took responsibility.
Throughout the project I was checking in with Mrs. Maxwell and was on top of what I had to get done. I feel that the push of being by myself made me stride to do good as I knew that if I did not succeed it was all on me. I learned lots about myself, the war and even my family as I’m Australian and was in charge of Australia meaning I got to learn more about where my family came from. I would be proud to show this project to anyone if they asked what work I was most proud of.
The next and final aspect as my growth as a learner I would like to talk about is in my Maker class. The project I will be talking about is Destination Imagination. As you know I have been doing DI since grade eight and its had its ups and downs. Since grade I have always struggled with figuring out a way to organize the team I am in. In grade eight being the only girl and not entirely knowing the group I was not confident in myself and therefor did not have a loud voice in the group. In grade nine our group struggled to agree on an idea and wether our topic was socially acceptable. This year I had neither of those problems however another problem arouse. This time it was coordinating when we got things done, relying on people to get them done as well as not planning effectively. I was in a group with Kate, Izzy, Spencer, Sam and Calum. My team was the technical challenge and we were supposed to create a vechil that moved through a maze. At the regional tournament our team did not have a working “rover” and therefore came in second out of two against the grade nine. It was helpful having the completion at seycove though. And then at the regional tournament though our rover did not completely work, we did do a lot better and came in first out of two! Overall in this project I was happy with how I have improved over the years however would have liked to made myself to take more responsibility to get things done in time.
Through this current school year I feel that I have grown as a learner in a postive way. I have showed my responsibility, work ethic and team worker. However a goal that I breifley mentioned before and would like to improve upon for next year is planning my time effectively. I know this will be a key component next year as I get busier and will need to keep my grade and work ethic up. Overall I am proud of what I did next year and therefor feel that I am ready to advance to Garde 11!
Having to decide what I want to do for the rest of my life can be a daunting task. That’s why being given the opportunity to job shadow is an amazing opportunity. I chose to job shadow a mechanical enigineer named Karen. Karen has been a mechanical engineer for many years and I found my day very interesting. In order to job shadow I first had to ask and see if I could actually do it. Karen works with my dad and is actually my teachers sister so though I wanted to call and ask my dad actually mentioned it in a phone call. I then emailed her to verify the time and date and thank her for allowing me to get this opportunity. I then created questions I wanted to know and ask her, these are those questions:
How did you get into this line of work?
What is it like being an industry that is so men dominated?
What aspect of mechanical engineering do you work in?
Would you say that you have to be good at math in order to succeed at your job?
What experience did you have with schooling to become a mechanical engineer?
The construction and building industry is and always has been growing and has not slowed down would you say that there will continue to be job opportunities in your line?
I then went into “work” on Monday May 7th. Karen works at MCW an engineer consulting company. This company is located throughted Canada and even has an office in London. The Vancouver office is located downtown on Granville street. On Monday morning I arrived at the office at 8:30.
Getting my morning coffee with Karen!
She then took me around the office and introduced me to her co-workers. I found out that she is the head of her team as in the office there teams of people who work on projects as it is easier to coordinate then all working together.
Karen explained to me that as your become more experienced you actually do less mechanical engineer and more communicating and coordinating with others as well as simply problem solving. Problem solving I quickly realized is a huge component of being a mechanical engineer. I could relate to this as PLP is all about being given a problem and then finding a way to solve it, I found this a really interesting aspect of the job. The problem she has to do day to day is anything from if a client doesn’t like the way something looks, if the building mechanics fit the building code and even just talking on the phone with contractors.
Karen then had a small meeting to talk about the up coming week with her co-worker Ray. They discussed a particular building that had to be improved and I was actually going to go to the job site with her that afternoon! They also explained to me a program called Revet that is like a 3D blueprint and is very helpful and is the future.
It was then lunchtime, we had lunch at a Thai place call the Pink Elephant. Karen invited Graham Lovely, an electrical engineer (the hardest engineering field) who also works at MCW. He talked to me about the school aspect to the job and what is needed in order to become an engineer. He told me that he struggled in his school Sialkot because he didn’t try and yet how important and helpful it can be to get ahead in high school and then you wont struggle as much when you get into university. However when you are in university it can be very challenging no matter what both of them said they were good at math and even they struggled to understand the first year. I then asked Karen what its like being a women in such a male dominated industry and she responded saying that in school there were three other women in her coarse she took. That at certain times you do realize you are the only women in the room but the men respect you and don’t look down on you as they have in the past. Graham then expressed that there are so many opportunities and you have to take them and it will then open up new doors however if you do want to become an engineer have a general idea what type you want to be as certain parts can be hard to transfer into if you want to change. Over all this lunch was very helpful and it gave me a lot to consider, I am so thankful that Karen brought in Graham as he taught me so much over a delicious meal!
After lunch it was then time to head back to the office and then we went to an actual job site so Karen could inspect that everything was going according to plan. The job site is called Station Square and is located next to metro town. Here is what is planned to look like:
I find it amazing to think that someone I now know helped design this building and I was able to help look around the building while it was not yet finished and was still getting safeting inspections and even being built! However before going on the job site I got a safety briefing, a hard hat, steel boots and safety goggles.
Once on the job site we were able to go up to the top level which gave an incredible view of Burnaby and Vancouver. Not only did I see the view but I also saw that Karen will take pictures of what needs to be fixed so that she can then take them back to her office to notify the builders that some things need to improved.
Here are some of the key components of a day as a mechanical engineer:
Overall job shadowing with Karen was such an amazing opportunity and gave me so much to consider. I had always thought that I couldn’t become one because I have always struggled with math however talking to her and Graham showed me that if I work hard enough I could become an engineer, just maybe not an electrical one. I’m so grateful to Karen for giving me this opportunity and who knows what it will lead to!
Recently in class we had the opportunity to compare three different phone companies. This project taught us about linear equations and graphs as well as algebraic solving of equations. I was partners with Kate for this project and we decided to compare virgin mobile, Rogers and bell. In order to compare these companies we first had to create algebraic equations. We then put it into graph form. I feel that throughout this project me and Kate worked well together as we knew what we had to get done in the time we were given and then we had the self determination to finish this project.
‘These were the graphs we made:
Through these graphs we decided that the best plan if you did not go over data would be virgin and if you did go over a large amount of data Bell would be the best cell phone company.
‘We also wanted to show what we learned in an interesting way so we made a keynote. Overall through this unit I learned about linear equations and algabric solving of equations. I also learned about problem solving and how to effectively communicate with my partner!
Technology based careers is the fastest growing industry today. That means that the youth of today such as myself should be prepared for the future. Well the BC tech summit did just that! Last Wednesday in downtown Vancouver at the convention center over 2000 students came to learn about the tech industry. Here is a short video introducing what the BC tech Summit Youth Innovation day is:
While we attended the tech summit we didn’t simply get to listen and enjoy, we also had tasks to do. First off we had to research two people who were speaking that day so that we had a background on what they did and the type of people we would be listening to. I chose to research Paulina Cameron as well as Brent Bushnell.
Here is the previous research I had done on these two interesting people before we attended:
Paulina Cameron is the author of the best selling book Canada 150 Women. She is the Director of the BC and Yukon division of Futurpreneur Canada. She strongly believes in gender equality in the workspace and in the tech industries. She also won an alliance for the top 100 international women’s awards.
Brent Bushnell is the CEO of Two Bit Circus. Two Bit Curcus us an indoor tech amusement park, meaning there will be VR, augmented reality and much more. This is excel ted to open in Los Angels in the next few months. Brent Bushnell has worked on multiple different projects such as the Ok Go video that went viral. He also supports the stem and steam learning system.
Heading into the day of BC tech summit I felt I was prepared and ready. The day started off with us being the first school to arrive, we were just so eager! We wander around looking at some robots and even a 3D printer. It was then time for the conference to begin, the first speaker was Premier of British Columbia John Hogan. He talked about how tech is not simply one sector but rather many that are driven by innovation. And how he is creating a stem curriculum for BC. Stem or Steam and even Steamed stands for Science, Tech, Engineer, Art, Mathematician.
Premiere John Hogan
Next up on stage was Brent Bushnell, and as he was someone I was interested in learning more about I was sure to pay attention. Through listening to him I found out how he got into the tech industry. How he created one game that was very simple however everyone enjoyed if he brought it to a party. After he saw this he then began to challenge himself to make something new every month. He was also a camera man for an ABC home design TV show. However he wanted to do more so he helped and became a production company. Some of his most known work currently was the cloud of tequila, a car commercial and a music video or rather Rub Goldberg machine he did with Ok Go.
He then went on to talk about how technology is changing the world in ways that we could have never imagined but how important it is to think outside the box as that is what got us here. How in the 20th century it was “learn to read so you can read to learn” where as in the 21st century it is “ learn to make so you can make to learn”. This plays into do things that interest you and do things that make yourself think outside the box. And how in today’s tech industry we have so many tools and opportunities to learn. It truly is the best time to be a nerd. At this point I was truly interested in what he had to say and it made me realize that I really am a nerd as all of this interests me. He finished by saying something that I connected to it was “What does the world need? You. Be creative and an inventor.”
After Brent Bushnell we had two other tech speakers talk to us and then it was time to start to actually talk to people who work in the tech industry. I got the opportunity to talk to Tej a software engineer who works for Microsoft. I was able to recording him while he answered a few of my questions and I made a podcast out of the information he spoke about. Listen down below as he explains a vital part to tech and education.
I found what he was talking about very interesting and I can’t wait until it becomes a reality. It was then time to start looking at post secondary schools and the programs whether tech or not that they offer.
I first talked to Kwantlen University, who has a very cool medical program. Plus they gave me a pair of sunglasses, an ice pack and a charging station!
I also looked at the University of Victoria campus and got to try out a machine that shows your brain nerve activity!
As you can tell I am interested in gong into a medical related post secondary school. Seeing all of these options showed that I can take it where every I want to.
After looking around it was lunch time and then time to head back in and listen to some more speakers. The first idea was being bold and was Paulina Cameron interviewing to other women entrepreneurs and talking about what its like. She talked to Valerie Song the CEO of an organic company and Nicole a girl who does aboriginal subscription box’s. Overall they talked about what its like being an entrepreneur, and how to become one as well as what it’s like being a women in the tech industry. I was very motivated by this interview.
Overall I truly did enjoy the tech conference, it made me realize how big of a nerd I truly am! It also showed the opportunities that come with getting into the tech industry which is the fastest growing industry and that 85% of all industries will involve technology. Plus you get paid better then others which is alsways a plus. This made me realize that I have to start considering actually going into a tech industry and that it would truly be an interesting job.
World War II impacted the world greatly and changed how we live today. However what countries were involved and what roles did they play. Well recently in class we had the opportunity to look into each country and the perspectives they had on the war. That did not mean that we all briefly looked at the countries but rather were split up into countries. In total there were 10 countries. There were groups and then also independents when students went by themselves instead of in a group. I was an independent country so I researched Australia by myself.
To start off this project we read a WWII book I read All the Light we Cannot See. You can about that in this blog post:
After reading the book it was then time to start the website!
We started to ask questions about what we wanted to know about World War II so as a class we created a Google Doc and we put in all the questions we wanted to know. These questions ranged from what role did women have in the war to how did it impact the world after the war. Our teacher then took all of this into account and created the ideas that we would have to talk about on our website.
These were our questions:
It was then time to start actually looking into the war. We watched a documentary called History of World War II this taught us a lot about well the history of World War II. How Germany was such a huge power during WWII and how Hitler became the leader.
After learning about how the War began it was time to look at the battles! We first looked at the evacuation of Dunkirk because this played such a huge role in the war. I found this really fascinating as to how this battle happened. And how so many men in small fishing boats came from England to help save soldiers.
While we were learning all of this history we were also learning about citations. Citations are the references as to where you get your information from. I though this would be simple at just be copy and paste a link. I was wrong however. There is so much information needed in a citation as well where and how to place that information. Owl online Writing Lab helped our class majorly as to what to do.
We also looked at the battle of the Blitz and how it could have actually been an accident but Germany decided and had to carry on with what was started. This showed me how Great Britain was so brutally attacked.
Yet another battle we learned about was the battle of Barbarossa. To get our interests sparked in this topic we created a human timeline of the war.
In the midst of all of this we also got the chance to talk to a German World War II veteran. Helmut Lemke is a truly amazing person and to be able to sit and listen to his stories for an hour was amazing. While he was talking we also recorded the entire thing so that we could then create podcasts around him. Here is mine:
Meanwhile as we were learning citations and the war we were also researching our countries perspectives of World War II. And as I was by myself I found this very stressful. This was the research I collected.
It was then time to start compling all of this into our website. We created the website using Weebly a web designer. I found it difficult working on the iPad through this website as it was very glitchy, however on computers it was great. So after all the hard work here is the Perceptives of WW II website!
Overall through this project I learned a lot. From the history of World War II as well as how to effectively plan out my time and work independently. If I were to change the project I would learn more about the other countries involved in WWII as I truly did learn a lot about about Australia but would have liked to learn more about others.
Recently in class we had the opportunity to learn how to create a working generator. We started off this unit by simply asking what a generator is. I found out that the description of generator is a “dynamo or similar machine for converting mechanical energy into electricity“. So from there we asked ourselves out How we can catch rentable energy in nature. Our teacher showed us an example of a hand crank generator.
It was interesting to see how such small turns and little power could generate one or more LED lights. Then we were put in groups my group consisted of Izzy, Kyle and Will. My teammates then went on a field study to a water dam however I was away for this aspect of the project. Then it was time to start generating ideas (haha). We first wanted to create a water wheel, and we planned on that. We created the wheel and even made a house like box but when it was time to put it in the water it fell apart. So it was onto the next idea!
Our teacher had shown us an example of a generator at the beginning of a flashlight that lit up when magnets moved back and fourth in a container while the container was wrapped many times in wire. So to be different as the rest of the class did water wheels we decided to take on this challenge. And what a challenge it was! We came up with two drafts of this and then we decided that since it had to be an environmental charge it would work if we attached the flashlight to a mountain bike. These would work because as you are going down the hill the trail will move your bike this causing the magnets to move and turn on the LED light. We also had to create an ad so here is ours:
Overall this was an interesting project and I did learn about generators.
Recently in class we got the opportunity to pick a WWII book. We had three options Code Name Verity, Unbroken and All The LIght We Cannot See. I chose all the light we cannot see because I had heard about it and was drawn to the story.
We were given the book before spring break and had until the end of spring break. I was away and found this an easy read because it interested me so much. When we got back we were told that we had to write a book review about the book we read. Our teacher gave us some great examples such as this New York Times book review on Little Brother a previous book we read.
So with this in mind here is my book review on all the light we cannot see, hope you enjoy!
All The Light We Cannot See
Anthony Doer
Book review: Isobel DeVille
If you are looking to start reading a book about fear, danger, strength, love and perseverance then you should read All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doer. When you first start the book you realize that it is set during World War 2 and about two teenagers. Werner Pfenning is a German soldier who is in a cellar at the Bee Hotel after the threat of Austrians attacking. After a shell hits they are trapped and terrified. Five blocks away is Marie-Laure a blind French girl who is also trapped but in a different way. She is hiding in her attic terrified and hoping she won’t get shot by the Germans. Though this is a lot this is only within the first few chapters and it continues being intense, meaning this is a very intense book. The book continues on by showing some background to each of the characters, it does this by changing perceptive from every character every chapter. This gets confusing in the beginning simply because sometimes you don’t know who’s perspective it is.
We go on to see that Marie-Laure lived with her father who is a locksmith for the Museum of Natural history in Paris. When she is six she becomes blind and her father helps support her. He makes a miniature replica of there neighbourhood so she knows where she was going at all times. Then every year for her birthday he makes a puzzle that has something hidden in it that she has to figure out. Later on in the book you will realize this is a crucial aspect of how the story turns out. Doer is able to express Marie-Lauren’s feelings as she wakes up on her birthdays to figure out these puzzles in such a way that it makes you feel as if you are there with them. She then moved to Saint-Malo with her father as the threat of war becomes more evident. Little does she know her father could possibly be carrying the Sea of Flames, a stone that is priceless and yet has the potential to kill everyone you love according to the legend.
Then there is Werner Pfenning. He grows up in a mining town in Germany as an orphan with his sister Jutta. At one point a finds a radio and decides to fix it. He becomes so intrigued in building and fixing radios that he is soon considered for the Hitler Youth. Once a gets to the Borodin school, which is very intense and difficult mentally and physically he is then sent on his next task. He has gotten so good at fixing radios and transceivers that he is enlisted to help find the enemies. He goes in a journey with a few other Germans tracking the enemies by there broadcasts.
As you follow the two characters you see how throughout the book they start becoming more connected. It may be confusing at first but then there characters build up and you can start fitting together the pieces of this in-depth puzzle. Anthony Doer does an amazing job writing this book that always keeps you turning the page. That is why it won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the 2015 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction. Doer’s amazing book will always have you wondering what is going to happen next and keep you up all night reading.
