I included Leonardo DaVinci, a modern tank and a modern helicopter in my tryptych.  Leonardo DaVinci designed, basically, the first tank and helicopter. While Leonardo valued peace he also valued design.  Humanism in the Renaissance meant advancement in science along with other things. My triptych shows how Leonardo’s designs led to modern war machines.

 

Helicopters, tanks and gunpowder impact us today because they have help us win many conflicts. If these advancements weren’t here then wars would probably turn out a lot different. If the Renaissance never happened and scientific progress wasn’t a part of Humanism  the Ukraine there wouldn’t be bombings and tanks rolling up every five minutes.

 

My renaissance triptych

 

During this project I learned  several skills in SuperimposeX including;

• How to import photos
• How to add layers & colour
• Changing the size of images
• Cutting out unnecessary clutter
• Un-cutting clutter
• Merging layers

 

MPOL

High school is a lot different than elementary school. The amount of work is crazy!  The work is hard for me and there is a lot of it.  In elementary school Ms. Carla helped me with my work.  Her job was the make sure I didn’t fall behind.  Ben and Shawn help me the social stuff but I think I need more help with the work.  Trying to figure out when things are due and where things are in Showbie and Basecamp is a bit difficult.  However I got sorted out with Basecamp and found more things by January but taking the time to click everything and look around.  I think I am getting the hang of it.

 

 

In elementary school I was in class a lot less than I am now.  In grade 8, I am in class a lot more. This means I hear more of the lessons.  This means I can finish my assignments more efficiently.  I feel like that means I am growing as a learner.

 

 

I am growing with my group work because I am now volunteering to come to meetings and actually paying attention.   I know my group members are good people so when I finally asked for help they gave it to me.  I wish I asked sooner.

 

 

In my Learning Plan I talked about how I need to ask for help more.  I think I’ve been doing that.  Since I now have an LAC block I can catch up on homework with Ms. Brady.  I think this will make a difference.

I am grumpy most of the time in class (minus LAC, PE & Drama). This doesn’t help me with my learning because when I’m grumpy I often don’t pay that much attention.

I personally like it when things are on track & completed ✅.  If I can see a clear list of things to do then I do a better job on the assignment.

I’m taking LAC in semester 2  to catch-up with my work, and sometimes I do homework with my mom. She makes lots of lists and it helps me.  My mom types for me sometimes if I need help so I can just think.

 

Maker

I got better at following directions for the homework. I could have contributed more in class.

I don’t think I did well on DI (Maker) because it is very confusing (especially the finer details). I could have done better by documenting what I learned.  if I had done that I could have easily remembered the steps of DI.

Humanities

I got better at following keeping up with my assignments. I could have practiced more for The Outsiders tableau.

The Outsiders Reflective Post

Scimatics

I got better at my understanding with science (especially learning about lazars). I could have shared my ideas more during class discussions.

Lazar Laws (Scimatics) was really enjoyable because, I learned so much about Lazars. For example, I learnt that lazars can get stupid powerful (10 million billion watts powerful).

Scimatics Lazar

PE –

I got better at stretching. I could have brought my gym strip more often.

My highlight for PE is golfing

When I am retrying work half the time I’m flexible, half the time I’m not.  It doesn’t really matter what my mood is or subject it is.  I don’t know why my flexibility is … flexible.

When I’m working with a group I’m good at listening to people’s ideas. I need to share my ideas more. Also, sometimes I get stuck & need a break (Especially if the group is loud or if their ideas keep changing).

When I’m stuck, I ask my teacher/EA for help.

Thank you for listening, any questions?

My DI journey so far has been unknown because I have a very bad memory. Combine that with the fact that my group has really left me out when it comes to DI I find myself in a bit of a pickle. I knew I was in a DI group and that was about it. 

I am currently trying to fix that problem by interacting with the group. I made a schedule for myself, I checked Basecamp more carefully and added things that were missing.  For example, I added my contracts, inventory and a research article. We tried to have a meeting Sunday but everyone was busy. We decided to reschedule for Monday. At the meeting I will ask them to help me get up to date and what I can do as Idea Manager. 

I want to participate but I’m not quite sure what’s holding me back. I believe Ben or Shawn can help interact with my group members. I always get nervous talking to groups. I should talk to the group about my nerves. 

I am most concerned about as I have a history of messing things up. I don’t do it on purpose. My natural instincts get the better of me. That means I shut down. This project is a very big challenge for me.

Before I learned about lazars I thought it would be boring. I usually think something that I don’t understand will be boring. Before I this class I thought lazars were sci fi only, like death rays you see in action movies. Boy, was I wrong about being bored and death rays.

Overall the project was really fun. I like science and math anyway and this was both. I was surprised that lazars were actually a real thing. I was worried that if looked at the lazar a certain way I would go blind. I was careful with the lazar when I was experimenting with it and setting it up.

If I grow up to design or repair locomotives, lazars might be useful for welding.

2)  (I am having trouble loading the picture of my web.  I will need help.  It is on Showbie)    

3) Write about each curricular competency

Questioning and predicting: I demonstrated a sustained intellectual curiosity about a scientific topic or problem of personal interest by :

I demonstrated curiosity about the topic. I asked several questions during the project and eventually got them answered.  For example, I asked can lazars cut through anything. The short answer is no. I really thought lazars would be able to cut through ANYTHING! I am glad I asked the question.

Communicating and Representing: I represented mathematical ideas in concrete, pictorial, and symbolic forms when I:

I used Pythagorean Therom to figure out the dimensions of our triangle for our lazar display. It helped us figure out where to place the mirrors. The angle of triangle was the angle of the lazar. That was our concrete triangle. If we got the math wrong our triangle would have been messed up and our triangles would have gone all over the place. I used the website Mr. Gross gave us to plan out the laser display. We used symbolic triangles to show where our lazer triangle would be at on the website

 

Applying and innovating: I co-operatively designed projects when I:

I helped one of my teammates hot glue details onto our display. I helped get materials for the display. I suggested the theme of the display.  It was Underground Scientist Laboratory.  I was very happy the group chose my idea. I helped position the lazar. The other kids helped me. It felt satisfying to have a great project come to a great end.

 

Like anything, train can & will have catastrophic events. Here are just a few:

– The 1993 Big Bayou Train Wreck. The Big Bayou Canot rail accident was the derailing of an Amtrak train on the CSX TransportationBig Bayou Canot Bridge near Mobile, Alabama, United States, on September 22, 1993. It was caused by displacement of a span and deformation of the rails when a tow of heavy barges collided with the rail bridge eight minutes earlier. Forty-seven people were killed and 103 more were injured. To date, it is both the deadliest train wreck in Amtrak’s history and the worst rail disaster in the United States.

– The 2008 Chatsworth Train Collision. The Chatsworth train collision occurred at 4:22 p.m.  on Friday, September 12, 2008, when a Union Pacific freight train and a Metrolink commuter train collided head-on in the Chatsworth neighbourhood of Los Angeles, California. The scene of the accident was a curved section of single track on the Metrolink Ventura County Line just east of Stoney Point.

– The 2015 Frankford Junction Wreck. On May 12, 2015, an Amtrak Northeast Regional train from Washington, D.C. bound for New York City derailed and wrecked on the Northeast Corridor near the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Of 238 passengers and 5 crew on board, 8 were killed and over 200 injured, 11 critically. The train was traveling at 164 km/h in a 80 km/h zone of curved tracks when it derailed. Some of the passengers had to be extricated from the wrecked cars. Many of the passengers and local residents helped first responders during the rescue operation. Five local hospitals treated the injured. The derailment disrupted train service for several days.

– The 2017 Dupont Train Derailment. On December 18, 2017, Amtrak Cascades passenger train 501 derailed near DuPont, Washington, United States.The lead locomotive and all twelve cars derailed at 7:33 pm  while approaching a bridge over Interstate 5. The trailing locomotive remained on the rails. A number of automobiles on southbound I-5 were crushed and three people on board the train died. The train derailed a short distance from where the new route merges with the previous route. Preliminary data from the data recorder showed that the train was traveling at 126 km/h, nearly 80 km/h over the speed limit, when the incident happened.

and these kind of things still happen.

Like many things, steam engines are seen in media. (Here are some examples)

• The Railway Series (The Railway Series is a series of books about the railways of the fictional North Western Railway. The books were created by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry and his son Christopher Awdry)

• Thomas & Friends (Thomas & Friends (previously known as Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends) is the name of the tv series based on the Railway Series. It was adapted for television by Britt Allcroft & David Mitton)

 

• Chuggington (Chuggington also known as Chuggington: Tales from the Rails since Series 6 is a British animated tv series aimed at toddlers, produced by Ludorum PLC during Series 1–5) and Herschend Entertainment Studios during Series 6)

 

• The Polar Express (The Polar Express is a 2004 American animated Christmas film co-written and directed by Robert Zemeckis, based on the 1985 children’s book of the same name by Chris Van Allsburg, who also served as one of the executive producers)

 

• Harry Potter (Harry Potter is a film series based on the novels by J. K. Rowling. The series is distributed by Warner Bros. and consists of eight fantasy films.

As you can see, steam engine are very famous (in more ways than one)

In 1923 the 120 Railways of Britain were combined into the ‘Big Four’ Consisting of the London, North Eastern Railway, the London, Midland and Scotland railway, the Great Western Railway and the Southern Railway. After WW2 in 1948 the Big Four were united into British Railways. During The 1950’s-60’s steam was withdrawn and replaced by Diesel and Electric engines.

Here we see a diagram of a American Electric Locomotive. Diesel Engines work almost Identically (they just burn oil)

 

We recognize steam engines today as heritage units but, it wasn’t always this way. The first idea of steam power was thought of in the 1st century CE (Common Era). However steam power didn’t really take off until the Industrial Revolution (1733-1913). In 1802 the first rail-steam engine was built in England, thoughout the early 1800’s various locomotives were built, including the famous Stevenson ‘Rocket’. Now you may be wondering; ‘But how do these things work?’ Well I’ll tell you!

 

 

 

 

 

This is a diagram of a American tender engine, as you can see they work similarly to kettles. Tank engines work almost identically, (They just don’t have a tender). As you can see, steam engines are a force to be reckoned with. (I mean do you really want to mess with that thing)