Reflection 9

I am trying to figure out what to use for my next blog post will be. It will probably be about important dates to remember for the process. I will have to do a lot of searching to find these dates because the NCAA doesn't make them very public. I heard different dates from different recruiters so I will have to find them on the website. Wish me luck!

Reflection 8

There is not really much for me to write anymore in these reflections because it is now the time where I apply everything that I have learned and write my blog posts. This weeks post was about making the colleges want you. It was about how recruiting is not just about your on field play. On field play gets your recognized, grades and good conduct gets you scholarships. This was told to me by all of the coaches I spoke to about this project. Reflection nine will be coming soon.

Animal Tracks 9

So me being the derp I am, I overlooked the fact that two of the 4 sanctuaries/facilities have parts of their websites up on the info that I need.
I still got a lot out of actually talking to the people and I got a feel for how much they care about what they do.
Here's one such site: http://www.wildanimalsanctuary.org/mission/animalcare.html
It has a lot of info that I could really use.

I'm really excited to finish and present my sanctuary to you all!

~<3

Reflection 7

The process of contacting coaches has continued. I am trying to find dates of deadlines. These are hard to find so I am going to ask some coaches to send them to me. It is a very complicated process. I ask everyone to please view my blog. There is some awesome stuff on there. But I will need to research more dates to add to the blog. Thats all for this reflection! Enjoy your day.

Animal Tracks 8

So! I need to write a reflection.
And to be honest, I haven't really spent much time on this. What with school and college and everything, this project kind of got put on the back burner.
But now that I have time, so I think it's time to start putting my presentation together.

The major topics I'm going to talk about are:

Area: what type of land I would want to optimize the different kinds of animals I take in and treat, and how large I want my facility to be

Animals: the animals themselves are a big topic to be discussed. Do I want to take in domestic cats and dogs? Or tigers, lions, and bears?

Cost: this is a big factor. How much is the land I choose going to cost? How much does feeding and housing cost?  How much does it cost to start up?

I'm also going to talk about the 501 (c) (3) charitable organization and what it takes to become one.

Is there anything else you guys think I should bring up?

Ready, Set, Go!

To whom every it may concern:

My 20 percent Porject is off to a great start! I began making plans to start implementing my experiment. In this experiment I hope to obtain a better understanding of the best way a student learns: Listening vs Seeing. Is it accurate for a teacher to just say information, without writing it on the board? Do the students retain the information? Do students need books? These are the type of questions that I will try to form a detailed explanation. I have organized to implement my experiment on History Teacher--Mrs. Carmichael's class and Mr McCurley's Fitness Class. Thinking about some more classes to do.... If anyone has any suggestions feel free to let me know! I have made a list of 20 numbers to recite three times to the class!

I got'cha back

Don't Put Lizards in Your Ears ;)

Chantlea Thomas <3 

@fulltime_baller

To whom every it may concern:

My 20 percent Project is off to a great start! I began carrying out my experiments to see whether students learn better through listening or through seeing. My first subjects was Mrs. Carmichael's Period 7-8 History Class. Her freshman class was very eager to participate and followed my directions correctly. There were about 30 students in the class. When I got there I introduced myself and introduced the experiment. I read them the number three times and after I finished I had them write down the numbers they recalled on a sheet of paper. (ORDER DOES NOT MATTER)
As I was looking over the paper, I noticed that some students in this particular class got a majority of the numbers correct, while others did not. But I can not form any conclusions based on the greater population because the sample size of the 30 students is to small. I still need to do implement other experiments on the other classes. I have formed a hypothesis and have began starting a complete set of questions that I show in my next post and of course discuss in my Ted Talk



I got that Justin Bieber Please Believe It ~ Lol
Don't Put Lizards in Your Ears ;)
Chantlea Thomas

Reflection 6

Class, I posted my first blog tip this week. My first blog tip was about patience in the recruiting process. I offered tips and suggestions on how to market yourself as a player who has abilities and as a player who may not be the best. While I know these posts are important, there is no audience viewing them. Can someone please give me tips on how to get my blog views. I am considering switching to an actual website instead of a blogger page because it registers more direct google results. Maybe I should change the name? I do not know how to get my page out there. Again, please please please leave me a comment on how to do this. I learned this week that the knowledge I have about this process is very valuable information and will be very beneficial. I am looking into potential websites that I can set up. Also, can someone tell me how to set up a website? I am sorry for asking for so much help, but I have drawn a blank. Thanks again.

HomeMade Bundles of Love (6)

With lots of busy schoolwork, extra curricular activities outside of school, volunteering, and work, I feel extremely overwhelmed with everything. I won't lie. I haven't worked on anything for this project since my last post. I guess you can say I forgot what my motivation was. I went back to look at my first blog and saw why I was excited for this project. This project wasn't to accomplish some selfish need or to make money. I wanted to show people I cared about that they can accomplish goals. I began to realize the reason I began ignoring these posts were because I wasn't motivated to write about anything. This goes back into my first post where I wrote, " I plan to end up working with women who sew, knit, and crochet..." I haven't really tried to talking to any of them and seeing what they would say or recommend.  I feel that actually talking to them more would motivate me to make some time for this project.

The other thing is I'm not so crazy about the whole writing a complete analysis about my previous blogs. You can probably tell I don't go into much detail about the work I did do. It would be so much easier for me to video blog. It would be so much more practical for me because something I'm honestly on the move a lot and I tend to work on my work on my phone in the car, on the way to different locations, and even during my break at work. Vlogging would fit into my schedule so much better.

In the end, I KNOW my goal is achievable, but the due date? I'm not so sure. I know I can do this, I just have to learn how to manage my time better. I'm promising myself to make more time for this. This project is making me realize the importance of time management and dedication.

Animal Tracks 7

So! I have actually found out a lot of information thanks to Maria Rodi at KittyKind in NYC, Lauren Butcher for The Raptor Trust, and Stacey Weiss from the soon-to-be Wild Adventures Zoo. They've all given me information on how they were inspired to create or join their organization, how they're funded, and what kind of animals they have.


I've decided on trying to make my sanctuary a 501 (c) (3) charitable organization. What that means is I can get money from the government to fund my project. It's a pretty lengthy and involved process, (you have to incorporate as a nonprofit organization at the state level in NJ and then file for 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS at the federal level) but once everything is up and running, it will be well worth it!

Now, you may notice that the title has changed.
I've finally decided on a name for my sanctuary! For a while I was going back and forth, trying to think of a name with meaning and a name people would remember.

With my sanctuary, I hope to make more tracks in the world. More footprints and paw-prints and claw-prints. I want to help. And that's what I'm going to do.

Week 5: The Safety of Makeup

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFYxSVpYSG9SVjZHUEoxOU5lQkN3bUE6MQ#gid=0


^^^^^^ This will link you to the makeup survey I have created. Take 5 minutes and fill it out please!
Now to my progress. Truthfully, I'm behind on my project. I wanted to have the survey done before now, but now it's done and i can move on. Next, is combining all my research and deciding exactly what I want to cover in my video. Also, my week of no makeup starts next week.

HomeMade Bundles of Love (5)

So here's what's going on with the website. I need to start looking up codes and formats (Youtube) because it's looking pretty plain. Additionally, since all my photos were on my phone (and my phone broke), I have to retake the pictures. This kinda places me behind. I already have several people interested in buying the hats though which is really exciting because that means consumers :D! Anyways I took a break during Thanksgiving, so now I will go back to doing work during the week. I was wondering if anyone in the class wanted to be a part of my project. Just email me for info!

Last week was a great week to work on my twenty percent time. I pretty much finalized what I need to do and how I am going to do it. I asked permission to use the classed of Mr MuCurrley and Mrs. Carmichael. They both said yes. Mr. McCurley teaches the sophomores and the freshman. Mrs. Carmichael teaches the freshman class only. I plan on using random sampling, which is pretty much randomly separating the classes into two group. One block will be listening while the another block will be seeing.

Reflection 5

I was able to add a background and font colors to my blog this week. As I previously stated in my last post, I am looking for ideas on how to make my page more visually attractive. Let me know if you have any ideas. I have also finished formulating some of the posts. 

1. Patience in the process is key

2. Offers mean nothing until they're in writing with you letter of intent 

3. Honesty throughout the process is the best policy

4. Highlight tapes should reflect how well you play between the whistles. No classless actions should be included in the film. 

5. Recruiting camps will help offers come in faster. 

These are just a few of the points I plan to touch upon. I will go into greater detail when making these posts and make them thorough so it gives insight to the athlete and his/her parents. I would like every post to be about a paragraph or two with pictures to make it attractive and interesting. Let me know if you guys have feedback. Until next classmates. 

Reflection: Week 4

I began formulating more thoughts this week for my tips. I have decided to go forth with the idea of the "Recruiting tip of the Week." I am also planning on making various other tips every other day to improve athlete's highlight tapes, health, and football abilities. I feel like my blog is a little boring so if anyone has any ideas as to how I could "jazz it up" please tell me. I hope to formulate all of my posts and will begin posting within the next week. I dont know how long each post should be, so please leave me a suggested length. Everything I have learned while doing this project will be reflected in my blog posts.

Coding HelloWorld.

Hey, readers. I'm back with some more news, more progress and a couple photos. So I know that I left you guys (and girls) a bit confused with my last post but I'm back to rectify that.

So assuming that you guys have managed install Java and set up the variables (see my previous post if you haven't), we begin the process of coding. The first thing to be done is to create a place to store the code.

 In the event  you can't read that, here it is:

C:\Users\Justin G> C:

C:\Users\Justin G>md\JavaProjects

C:\Users\Justin G>cd\JavaProjects

C:\JavaProjects>md session1

C:\JavaProjects>md session2

C:\JavaProjects>cd session2

You won't have to type in C:\Users\(Your account name)> every time. That comes up automatically.

So now what you have done is that you have a create a space to store the program and run the compiler.

The next thing you are going to input is: notepad HelloWorld.java (it doesn't have to always be HelloWorld. It is the name of the program that you are going to compile then run.) This will open up a new file in Notepad. This pop-up is where you will be where you write your own code. Now, for Hello World, the code is fairly simple.

                      *Note that my program is called Welcometomyworld.java and that I have ("Welcome to my world...") instead of HelloWorld. That is fine. You can set the program to print anything written in the ().

 Make sure that this code is input EXACTLY as seen or the program will come up as an error.  Please note that it is necessary to SAVE your text. This is something I had to learn the hard way...namely by glaring at my computer for about a while.  Moving on...

Next go back to  Command Prompt. Type in  <javac HelloWorld.java>. Note that <> simply mean what you are inputting. You do not need to type < nor >. This compiles the program. Now you maybe be asking what a compiler does. Simply put, a compiler changes the programming text into a language that the computer understand. For a more in- depth description, see here: Compiler.

 Now that the program has been complied, you can run it. Just type in <java HelloWorld>. Congratulations! You just coded your first program on Java!

As to why this important to my project, this is the beginning of programming. It's a good introduction to the  syntax along with all the programming.

Well that's all for this post. Bye!

HomeMade Bundles of Love (4)

So here's my consent form guys. I basically looked around websites from here, here, and here. I sent it off to the lawyer and she's going to see what needs to be fixed, etc. I also talked to her about how processing and payment should work. She told me she would look into the fastest and easiest way for me to get started.

I feel like I'm missing something though? I would love to hear your help guys :)!

Here's another reflection. (Animal Tracks 6)

So I haven't gotten much done because of the internet being out and me just being generally busy.
However! In class, I emailed 2 establishments I think would greatly help me in my creation of a sanctuary.
I need to see about whether or not I should stay in Jersey and open a small reservation/general shelter type thing, or go all out and get a large plot of land.
A large plot of land does mean more animals can be saved, but it also means a lot more money has to be involved.
A big question I have for these organization holders is this: Where does the money come from?! Is it all donation, or did they save up in a piggy bank? These people spend a lot of time at the shelter, so I don't know when they have time to work.
I was also thinking of opening a savings account for this project. I've been meaning to do it for a while, but this will really be a big step forward.

More updates to come!
Have some pictures of The Raptor Trust's success stories. Enjoy!

Vilma

Hootie

Thorny

Virgil

Week 4: Safety of Makeup

Time for an update! So the hurricane messed me all up, but now I think I'm back on track. I'm creating a poll on Google docs, that I want to share to the girls of the senior class. I'm getting some of my poll questions from online and from different people. I should have that done by Friday. It should end up being about 20 questions about daily makeup use. Also, I'm doing more research on the specific makeup brands I want to talk about and I'm trying to find out which one is the best. By best, I mean something that doesn't cost too much, healthy for the skin,and a brand that has a variety of makeup options to choose from. Hopefully I'll know which brand by next Wednesday. After this, on Thursday, the 22nd, I will start my "makeup fast" and not wear any makeup for a week, so I can transition to wearing the other brand.I have a lot to do in very little time! Wish me luck!

MAKEUP LOGOS! 

4th reflection

               Going to start focusing on the final product aspect of this project. In the last post I was dicussing that my project will give the steps on how to get a 504 plan and I, myself might consider/try to get my own 504 plan. To do this I will have to talk to techaers, guidance counselors, and even doctors. Ms. Varga has written down the basic steps for me on a piece of paper, the process is not something simple or to be taken lightly. To get a 504 plan one must talk to their doctor and request it. The doctor has to approve it and then a note showing this must be taken to the school. After the process is out of the doctor's hands, it goes into the school's hands. Guidance counsleors must notify teachers, nurses, and even document it with college board.
            I plan on making a bulletin board within school displaying my information/project. I think it would be cool to get phamplets from my doctor's office about learning conditions/disabilities, meidcations used for treatment, and even phamplets about what a student can recieve and get in school. Does this sound like a good idea? Or just unnecessary and a waste? Only one or two glued on. I think on my bulletin display I would like to tape up a folder with a little phamplet actually describing the 504 process (this being the bulk and actual final product of this project) Does this sound like too much or should my bulletin board cover all of this info. I was kind of picturing like the bulletin board focusing on common disorders, explaining them, medications, all of that and then phamplets explaining the 504 plan.

Some things to ask..(Animal Tracks 5)

So I have an interview scheduled with Mrs. Roy's sister-in-law, who has started up her own zoo.
Now I know it isn't the same thing, but it's to get a feel of how hard it is to start an organization like this.

Some questions I hope to ask:
How hard was it to start up?
How much did it cost? How much does it cost now?
Where is it, and how did you decide on the land?
What kinds of animals are you housing?
Are you rescuing animals, or are they donated/bought?

If anyone has any other questions you think are important, feel free to comment and let me know!

Wild Adventures Zoo

Reflection Week 5: Popular Literature

REFLECTION WEEK 5!

I spent this week both continuing my comparisons between my series books and looking for stand alone books to include in my project. I've decided to use the resources around me, students at my school, to find out some of the favorite books among them.

On top of this survey I've continued to look through the lists for the top books. One of the top books that keeps popping up is the classic To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. My dilemma is whether to include books written in only a certain time period, or to open up to any book ever written. My original plan was to include books written between 1990-2012, but I'm considering expanding those dates. I think I will wait for my final decision until I see what books people respond with in the survey.

I've almost completely finished analyzing my series books. My plan for the next week is to finish my notes on that and put a list of other books to include for the project. My third task for the upcoming week will be to return to the question I proposed in my third week post (http://twentypercent12.blogspot.com/2012/11/reflection-week-3-popular-literature.html), is there a way for a book to become a bestseller when the writing or ideas behind it isn't. 

Post any questions or suggestions below! If you have a favorite book you think should be included in the list, feel free to mention it!

Reflection Week 4: Popular Literature

REFLECTION WEEK 4!

Hello readers! Since last week I've been spending most of my time starting to analyze my two main series (Harry Potter and The Hunger Games) for what these best sellers have in common.

Without giving too much away I am willing to share some of my findings. While there are some obvious differences between the two, there are also many similarities these books share. A few of these similarities include:

1. A main character from humble beginnings

       -Harry Potter: a normal boy thrown into a world he had no idea existed, that he is expected to save.

       -Katniss Everdeen: a teenage girl who has to win a fight to the death to get back and help support her family. 

2. Death/Violence

       -Only one of the Harry Potter novels (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) contained no deaths that took place in the present time of the story. All the other books involved war and death.

       -All three books involved killings. In the first book alone 22 children were killed as part of the games.

3. Sworn Enemies

      -Harry Potter is told his parents were killed by Lord Voldemort, and he tried to kill him as well, giving readers a bad guy to despise early on.

      -President Snow holds a celebration every year to send children to the games, him targeting Katniss didn't help his reputation with readers either.

These are just a few spoilers to the comparisons that will help make up my formula. Until next week!

Reflection Week 3: Popular Literature

REFLECTION WEEK 3!

Continue from where I last left off (http://twentypercent12.blogspot.com/2012/10/reflection-week-2-popular-literature.html) I have continued to browse through list of books for my finale list. I've continued looking through the list mentioned in my last post and am starting a list on books I wish to include.

While I've decided to add in some none series books, I will be focusing on two series that have become major blockbusters. The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling, and The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins, will provide the bulk of my research. In nearly all the sources I've looked through (cited in my previous post, linked at the beginning of this one) the Harry Potter Series was ranked number one on best young adult literature lists, followed by the more recent Hunger Games.

An anomaly I found in my research so far is the Twilight Saga by Suzanne Meyer. Although a popular series and blockbuster, it is often rated low on the lists for best books. It is often criticized for the ideas it promotes and the writing itself. This leads to another question I might look into as part of my projects. How does a series, being ranked at number 27 for a must read, become as big as it is? Is it an anomaly or is there a way to promote any book into a best seller?

Until Next Time! 

"HelloWorld"

Alright, newbie programmers and other viewers! I'm back again with yet another post and more progress with my project. I am EXTREMELY pleased to admit, that after a hour of hunching over my computer, glaring at it for being difficult, having lightbulb moment, and then being annoyed at myself, I have successfully created one of the simplest programs in programming: HelloWorld. What does this program do you maybe be thinking? It writes the words "Hello World" in Command Prompt. Yeah, I know. Please hold your applause.

HelloWorld is a very simple piece of coding that is great for beginners to learn. To start, first you will have to download JavaSE from java.sun.com. Pick the package that says Java Platform JDK 7u9 and then following the onscreen prompts. For more information, please see Java for the Beginning Programmer by Jeff Heaton Chapter 2 or if you are a video person, please watch this video: How to Install Java .

Now to the fun part. Command Prompt. This is where the actual coding begins. I created a space to store my program by creating a place to store my files. I inputed a series of lines of code that I will post in my next post. Once I enter the last line on command prompt, Notepad will open up. Now, don't worry. Notepad is a program that is already installed on every operating system. Once Notepad opens up, we enter our code that will print "Hello World."

If you are confused, don't worry. I'll be adding a few pictures to the next post to make things easier to understand and to going into the actually syntax. The pictures will also have the code on them, so feel free to practice and post any questions that you might have. Laterzzzzzz....



Disclaimer: Please note that I did NOT make that video.
All programming knowledge I state in these post is from Java for the Beginning Programmer. No one sue me please.

Note: I would actually highly recommend that anyone who wants to learn how to program get a copy of Java for the Beginning Programmer by Jeff Heaton

Scripting (3)

Hey interweb users! So its time for my weekly update for the world. I obtained a book from a good friend of mine, Java for the Beginning Programmer, and have begun to read that and have started to understand the actually syntax behind programming. Not quite sure how everything works together yet but that comes in the later chapters. The book basically teaches you how to program, taking into the fact that the person reading this book is completely new to the technological field. It begins by describing the 3 types of Java programs you can create: a console application, a GUI application and an applet. If you have read my other posts, you may have correctly assumed that I am going to be creating a GUI application or a Graphical User Interface application for my project. There are a few remarkable differences between each types of program. Console applications are good for programs that need to run in the background, meaning they don't need user input to continuously function. GUI applications differ from that in which that those kinds of programs need input in order to function. An example would be a virtual calculator. Finally, there are applets. Applets are used to display information on a page in the internet. Applets can display a large range of file type, from .mp3 to .jpeg. The nifty thing about Java is that it is a cross platform program, meaning that a Java applicant can run on many different types of operating systems, such as Windows, Snow Leopard (Mac), Linux, Ubuntu etc.
Well that was Chapter 1. Next post, Chapter 2!

3rd reflection

       As I've been discussing/complaining that I've been experiencing problems with finding a solid idea/topic to develop a final product from it. Ms. Roy has helped me collect my thoughts together. I wanted to address students with learning disabilities. This topic hits home because I myself have a learning disability. Have a bad case of ADHD if you couldn't tell, I take medicine twice a day .... that's when I feel like it or don't forget. Anyways, the whole point of this project is to open the publics' eye and expose them to the positive side. People think because students have learning disabilities that they are "dumber" and are at a disadvantage, but did you know us students with learning disabilities also have advantages that the "normal student" does not. 
        So what exactly is the project? I haven't quite decided if I want to focus on one or a few common learning disabilities, pretty sure I want to focus on the few that most kids have. I would list the disadvantages and struggles these students go through, but I will also list all of the extra abilities/skills/senses they have acquired because of their "problems". I am also thinking of conducting an interview. I would go around our school and ask students their impressions and judgments of those with learning disabilities, not to collect data but to just show how biased and negative people are towards those facing these educational setbacks.
        Students with learning disabilities usually have 504 plans for themselves.  "A 504 plan spells out the modifications and accommodations that will be needed for these students to have an opportunity perform at the same level as their peers, and might include such things as wheelchair ramps, blood sugar monitoring, an extra set of textbooks, a peanut-free lunch environment, home instruction, or a tape recorder or keyboard for taking notes." My final product will consist of information about kids with disabilities including the things that hold them back, but also what makes them different and gives them an advantage over other students (e.g creativity, focusing on other things, seeing things from a different view). It will also consist of a plan/procedure of how one with a learning disability can obtain a 504 plan, and along the process I might just finally get a 504 plan & the modifications/accommodations to be just as successful as my peers.

Another Reflection

I am now in the process of formulating the posts I will be blogging about. Some examples are patience during the recruiting process, humility, and various other topics. This will absolutely help recruits going through the same process that I went through, and am still going through. Because there is not much known and recruits go into the process blind, this will help alot. Although there are some books, they all cost 20-40 dollars. This would be a free service and would help out many recruits and their families find their way with the whole process.

HomeMade Bundles of Love (3)

Hey guys! Although Hurricane Sandy has taken my power. I haven't stopped working on this! There's an offline mode where I can edit the website on my laptop. My focus right now is to take pictures of the hats with real people. It just looks more appealing see a hat on an actual head rather than on a mannequin or just flat on a table.

This raised a serious question though. Would I use a school setting and a student? I began to realize that this involves having it approved by higher authority (school principal and others), getting a few consent forms for the school and parents, and lots of time. I decided to use a friend outside of school over (she's over 18) to take pictures with these hats at a public park. My major concern about this was not to have the "model" ask for compensation... which would be tight on my budget (more about my budget next time). 

Making a consent form seems pretty easy, but making sure it's fool-proof is kind of difficult. I'm working on that and want to make it as neat as possible. My sister also knows a lawyer named Samantha (she wanted to keep her name and firm private) and she spoke to her about my concerns. Samantha agreed to review my consent form and inform me of any "loopholes" I've missed. She has also agreed to help me in the future with any questions. I know she will be great help! 

I decided to use a binder because I wanted to keep paper records. This will also help me keep track of orders, money, and any other things I'll need in the future. This didn't affect my budget since I have loads of binders at home. I also got the amazing idea from Amanda to use excel after watching her use it for her project. I never really used Excel, so now my plan is to go to the library and to look up tutorials on how Excel completes basic functions. It'll make my life way easier.

Another Update (Animal Tracks 4)

I found my spreadsheet!
Yay.
So now it's time to look at more sanctuaries.
Anyone have any suggestions of sanctuaries or animal rehab centers or anything along that line? It would be greatly appreciated.

I was also thinking of making a map. A legitimate map of what I want to create. Whether it be a trail like Hawk Rise or a large expanse of land like The Wild Animal Sanctuary over in Colorado. That's on my to-do list.

Another thing I was thinking of was what sort of animals would I bring in, and how much does it cost to house these animals?
Carnivores are obviously going to be more expensive because most of them need large expanses of land, and meat isn't necessarily the cheapest thing in the world.

I'll probably make another update before the day is out, but this is just where I'm heading.

Here are some pictures to keep you entertained.
Enjoy!~

Truck Stop Tigers

Kept in cages out by the gas pumps as a “gimmick” to help draw in customers… these tigers were rescued after the USDA helped secure their release. They no longer have to breathe exhaust fumes or lay in diesel fuel, and now romp and play freely in wide open habitats at The Wild Animal Sanctuary.

Kanookie: Private Surrender--- When a Colorado resident realized that keeping a Lynx-hybrid wasn’t going to work out, The Wild Animal Sanctuary was contracted to take Knookie. A sometimes shy girl, Kanookie loves her new surroundings at TWAS, and enjoys playing hide and seek with Bobby, the Bobcat, her pen-mate.

Rosie

When a breeding compound in Ohio was shut down for more than 900 counts of animal abuse, the USDA contacted The Wild Animal Sanctuary to rescue 7 Black Bears. Rosie had lived in a concrete and steel cage for nearly 20 years… but now roams freely in a wide open natural habitat.

Guinea Pigs.... What you Twerkin' With?

Last week, although there was no school and I had no electricity, I worked on my project the old fashion warm; with paper, pens and candle light.

The question I pondered upon was
"How will I introduce my experiment to my test subject (Guinea Pigs--as they would say in the olden days)"?

I need to tell my test subject enough information, so they take this experimentation seriously and do not cause discrepancies in the data received. You see, I cannot have any bias in this experiment. I need to make sure that I provide each test group the same amount of time and etc. I need to make sure everything is the same for all the test subjects. There can not be even the slightest difference between the groups. This will be challenging because we are all human beings and we are not PERFECT. In addition, I need to make sure that there are no distractions and other things that may cause one's results to shift/change.
So pretty much during the hurricane I was thinking about the lurking variables that may be lurking behind, around, under, above ladedadeda ... you get my drift...

So yeah, thats it.
Don't Put Lizards in Your Ear ;)


JUST BECAUSE WE ALL NEED A LAUGH (Not sure if these are school appropriate so I apologize in advance)

I have finally figured out what I will determine for my project. I will observe and analyze whether students remember better through seeing or through listening. So pretty much Seeing vs Listening. I will have two groups an experimental group and an control group. The experimental group will be listening to me recite the three digit number three times, while the control group with have 45 second to look at the numbers which will provide by projected a powerpoint slide on the board. I have created

second reflection

As everyone in our class knows, I'm probably the last person to finally have a topic and get their project together. I had the struggles of having all these ideas but not knowing what direction to go in with them and how to go about the project with a final product at the end. When the project was first introduced I was thinking more along the lines of literally a Ted Talk discussion in class, this is why most of my ideas were things I wanted to address to the class and talk about, but making something out of it... honestly had no idea. Spent most of my times jotting down ideas but not knowing how to carry them out past the paper. Still working on an idea that will develop a final product or at least somehting i copuld produce from my ideas.

Update (Animal Tracks 3)

So I lost my spreadsheet that had some information on it about my project, but that's ok. There wasn't much info on it anyway.

But I figured I'd give you guys an example of what I want to accomplish. So here is the link to a Virtual Tour for The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado.

Each slide has success stories and pictures of the animals they have rescued and saved. This organization, unlike many others, are very open about their animals, their land, etc.

And if you want to go on a nice walk through the woods, go to Hawk Rise Sanctuary. It just opened, and could really use the attention. It's beautiful with over 120 species of birds. I found a blog with pictures that just shows how amazing this place is.  This blog is more of a hiking blog, but they decided to include this small trail.

I'm thinking of drawing a blueprint soon, but I need to pick an area open enough for what I want to accomplish.

It's a little hard finding certain information. It's a bit hard finding how much money each sanctuary costs to run and exactly how large they are. However, it is not impossible!
I am thinking that if I cannot find the information online, I could interview someone already behind the scenes.

I'm thinking of doing separate posts about each sanctuary, seeing as how my spreadsheet is gone. Maybe I'll make another blog of my own so that I don't annoy you guys. Any ideas?

Week 3: The Safety of Makeup

This week I finished my trailer for my project. It's a short 1 minute video I made on i Movie.

Week 2 : Safety of Makeup

Week 2! I'm a little,well a lot late with this post, since it's halfway through week 3 by now, but I have made a lot of decisions on my project in this past week or two. For one , I have decided to just focus on makeup and not cosmetics as whole. Focusing on cosmetics as a whole would include talking about lotion and perfume. I decided that was too much, and that my PSA would be better if it just focused on the safety of specific makeup brands.I am still on the fence about creating my own makeup product. It would be a lot of fun, but also a lot of work, possibly work I could not accomplish.I have decided to poll the senior class girls about what makeup they wear. I hope to get that poll set up and on the class webpage, by the end of class Friday.I downloaded iMovie and started working on my video. I also am almost done with a quick one minute trailer, which is just sort of a fun intro to the finished PSA project everyone will see in January.

 Which Poll Should I use?

Possible Poll Websites: 

•  http://pollcode.com/
• http://www.surveymonkey.com/mp/online-polls/
• http://www.polleverywhere.com/
• http://www.polljunkie.com/
• Facebook Poll

 

Just wanted to give a special shout out to Mrs. Siegel for helping me find this blog.... Thank you so much!


Well so far my 20P project is off to a great start. I plan on seeing the correlation  between those students who study music and those students who study by themselves and those students who study through listening. This relationship will be very fun and interesting to see, because it will be done on students from my own school. I will be able to determine which method of studying is more effective. And which method of studying is more common amongst my peer. My goal for this experienced is 140, but I think I am only going to get 80 willing people. So far I have begun coming up with a schedule and list of words.

Second Reflection! (Animal Tracks 2)

I gotta remember to do these...
Anyway, I've made decent progress with my project. I have created a spreadsheet with information I believe to be relevant to my idea. I hope to add more sanctuaries to the list, and I am in the process of trying to visit Hawk-Rise in Linden before the weather gets too cold.
A few snags I've hit is that not all of the information is present on websites, so I may have to resort to interviewing representatives to get the information I need.
Another thing that's on the back of my mind is a title. I don't know what to call my sanctuary.
I guess that'll come naturally as time progresses.

Scripting. (cont.)

Well, it's that time of the week again. My project is starting to come together. I downloaded all my essential programs and have been understanding how they work. Needless to say, the programs are not made for noobs of the field of program. Luckily, a friend of mine is helping navigate through the inner workings of the programs. I got some practice in with coding the distance formula but that was on a far more basic program than the one I am currently using. I have begun to code the quadratic formula, (fingers crossed that it works...) If it does, then I'll move on to design the UI(user interface) and then the converter. Hopefully, there will no problems and I can add the converter but I may drop it if worst comes to worst. Well, we'll see what happens this week, shall we?

Reflection Week 2: Popular Literature

Reflection Week 2!

The second week of our 20% projects have passed and that means its time for the week's reflection. This week I focused on which books I wanted to be my main focus for research, which led me to the question- What are the most popular book series for teen currently?

I did some research into this. Overwhelmingly, the Harry Potter series was in the number one spot on nearly every list. The second place spot was usually filled by the Hunger Games series. The Twilight saga came in third on some lists (like good reads list that can be found at- http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/43.Best_Young_Adult_Books), while on others it came in as far down as number twenty-seven (like on npr books poll- http://www.npr.org/2012/08/07/157795366/your-favorites-100-best-ever-teen-novels).

So while Harry Potter and the Hunger Games were praised as amazing teen series (such as in these articles: http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-08-08/news/33104746_1_harry-potter-ya-books-hunger-games and http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/08/08/all-hail-king-harry-potter-series-named-best-young-adult-novels/ ), Twilight- which I had originally counted on as my third series- had inconsistent rankings.

My research also brought up another point I didn't consider in my original plan. What about books that aren't part of a series? Popular books such as Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher, and The Fault in our Stars, by John Green, beat Twilight in rankings. Should my project just focus on book series, or should popular books that stand alone be considered as well.

This week brought more questions then I expected and I welcome any input on the situation. I am planning to defiantly use Harry Potter and the Hunger Games in my research and project. I will also probably use Twilight in more of a minor book role. My new question is if I should include non-series books as well in my analysis. 

(Picture credit: http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&biw=1777&bih=840&tbm=isch&tbnid=wX-lx7x3WHqBtM:&imgrefurl=http://myospace.org/&docid=p3kiZYudd8t4SM&imgurl=http://myospace.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Harry-PotterHunger-Games-460x348.jpg&w=460&h=348&ei=I3h7UJrTB7Ot0AGu2YDADw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=487&vpy=300&dur=595&hovh=195&hovw=257&tx=174&ty=97&sig=107054092131403344421&page=1&tbnh=137&tbnw=188&start=0&ndsp=39&ved=1t:429,r:10,s:0,i:99)

Reflection 2

Week two of the Twenty Percent Time project has gone well. I am close to finishing my blog layout and design. Next, I will begin contacting coaches and researching dates that the ncaa uses to mandate what is allowed and when. There have been no complications thus far, but I will have to think of a way to promote the page and get people to view it. This was a productive week for my project, I just need to think of a way to publicize it. Please give me tips or comments on anything.

HomeMade Bundles of Love (2)

Last week was extremely productive. I started on my website design and layout. In addition, a great and beautiful friend has accepted to be a model for my photos! Everything is working out great.

I found out it takes two to three days for the majority of women to make quality hats and scarves. This is amazing! I'm still trying to figure out a price range for these items. I know I should do a survey, but should it be online? I'm wondering if I can upload an online survey with photos of the hats and have them place a price. What do you think? I'll post the pictures up soon.

The Safety of Makeup

This past week, I have made a significant amount of progress on my 20% time project. I have decided to present my project on the Safety of Makeup.I was thinking about presenting it on the Safety of Cosmetics, but wouldn't that be too broad? I chose this topic because I love makeup, perfume, lotion, and all things cosmetics. Since I started wearing makeup at age 13, I have only worn one brand of makeup.Mary Kay. I am very interested in this project becusse i want to know,what is actually the best makeup for a person's skin. I will talk about which one's are the healthiest and most natural and which one's have harmful chemicals. I'm also thinking about going into how long you should keep your makeup, and when and if makeup "expires".My project is going to be a PSA, so I'll just introduce my project and sit down. My final product is a 30 makeup tutorial. I'm still thinking about creating my own makeup, but it seems like to heavy of a task.I've been looking up some websites on the basic history of makeup and when makeup expires.The links are below:

http://www.learnvest.com/2011/10/your-guide-to-green-and-safe-makeup/
 http://www.webmd.com/healthy-beauty/guide/history-makeup
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_cosmetics

ANCIENT MAKEUP

HomeMade Bundles of Love (1)

When the class was told about 20% time, I was a bit excited. Why? Because I already had an idea pop up. Start a business! It seems like everyday new businesses are created (and I assume many others shut down.) But how does one start a business (specifically online)? My project will focus on beginning a business selling homemade items such as hats, scarves, and other homemade items. Although I do not plan on working on this project with other students, I plan to end up working with women who sew, knit, and crochet in a this special place called Josephine's Place . The women there have always spoken to each other about starting a business, but just never knew how. In the end, this project is worthwhile, because whether I fail or succeed, I'm not doing this to become rich and famous, but to help others make their dreams come true and show them talent and hard work does not go unseen. I honestly haven't figured out a specific audience/user base/ client for this project, but I am planning to give a quick  survey out by next week to random people online. (I'm open to ideas about this guys!)
In addition to helping others out, I know that learning the ways of business will help me later on in the future. It may not necessarily be online, but I'll learn about money, about "shipping and handling" and so much more. It's really exciting because it's uncharted territory, something I just have no idea about! At the end of it all, I PLAN to show a successful website and positive sales. The expenses of the project can be minimal (with most of the cost going to buying yarn and buying my website). I will be able to cover my expenses. Equipment used will be camera (take picture of products), computer (for making the website)... and anything else used will be posted at a later date. I plan to launch my official website in January.

Any ideas or constructive criticism?

reflection:
So I am unfortunately still struggling with finding a topic for my project. All of my ideas are viewpoints and issues I would love to discuss and present with a final product on, but the problem is with my ideas is making a final product from them .. which seems almost impossible.
here are the ideas I would like to do a project on:
1.) handmade/home remedies for hair and skin care vs. chemically enhanced products sold in stores
2.) People assume those with disabilities are at a disadvantage but in many cases there differences give them advantages that others do not have.


For idea 1: I would do something like use all natural products and home remedies for 2 or 3 weeks then go back to products sold in store. Possibly make a bar graph or some type of way to track my results and display my information. Show the advantages and disadvantages of both, determine which is best and as a product I could possibly make a face wash or something for the people in the class to use.
- Or I could possibly do, see which ingredients showed the bets results and in both and see if they could be made using mostly items within the household to make it.


For idea 2: Maybe go around and interview people on their views on kids with disabilities or kids with learning disabilities and what they think of them and in most cases why they think that student is at a disadvantage. The whole point of this is to just open people's eyes and show them the other side. Have them know that just because they have things that set them back they shouldn't always been seen as being held back. Wouldn't know what to have as a final product though

Any ideas? Please help! If ideas of final products do not arise, will have to think of something totally new and any ideas of possible new and better project ideas feel free to voice them here.

Thanks Mrs. Siegel

Reflection: Last week I was not able to accomplish a lot with my 20% project because of miscommunications with my peers, due to the fact that I was absent. So the week that just past was not too productive. I spent last week talking to my fellow classmates about my topic, which am still not sure on. I would like to survey a group of middle school children. I would like to see if there is a correlation between the number of sports they play and its effects on grades. I will then research how the brain works and where information a student learns is stored and the microscopic events that occur. This project will help me see whether or not their is a positive correlation or negative correlation with the number of sports and academic performance. I learned that I need to get a consent form if I am going to use someone who has given me consent orally.

Reflection

Classmates, I just found the blog after searching the web for a very long time. To reflect on this past week's work, I have not encountered any problems because of how straightforward my project is. I think I am going to go forward with my "Recruiting Tip of the Week" idea. I think that will be more fun for readers if they get to see that instead of just reading a bunch of bullet points.

Also, I am going to ask some of the coaches about what they look for in student athletes when they recruit them. I have asked a couple, and they all have said character (excluding abilities on the field) before all else. I can also use a lot of my current knowledge to make my project great. Please let me know if anyone has any tips.

I Found It! (Animal Tracks 1)

Alright, so I know this is a little late, but that's because I lost the blog and couldn't find it.
The title also refers to the fact that I've figured out what I'm going to do my project on!
Yay.
So, since about seventh grade, I've had this idea, this inspiration, if you could call it that.
It started out as a zoo. But then I looked at the captivity and thought "This isn't right..." Then, I looked at what Six Flags had done with their safari. Again, I thought "this isn't right either..." Then the idea hit me: an animal sanctuary. Sort of a shelter, not quite a zoo or captivity. It's a place where animals that were in bad situations go to get fixed up and put back where they belong. And if they aren't fit for the wild any more, they live on-site on a vast plot of land, hundreds of acres wide.
So what does this have to do with my project?
I'm going to start the planning. I'm going to design the layout, figure out expenses, what animals I would be able to take in or would want to take in... Those sorts of things.
My end product will (hopefully) be a well thought out, well organized, and completely plausible plan for an Animal Sanctuary of my own.
It's mostly research based, but I'm hoping to maybe visit ones that already exist (that allow visitation) and ask people how they started.

My other idea had to do with video games and I was really interested in it, but I feel as though this will get me further ahead in life, and will really help me in the future.

So, what do you guys think?

Reflection Week 1: Popular Literature

Reflection Week 1!

So my project idea is to study popular literature, in particular the Harry Potter Series, Twilight Saga, and Hunger Games series, to see if there is any correlation between the themes and ideas presented in each. My main goal is to discover what makes these series so popular. Why, out of all the amazing books published each year, do these stand out as the best.

My plan is to compare the books and see if there is a "formula" to producing a best selling book for our current society. My final product will be a book idea using the formula I develop that should theoretically attract similar readers and popularity as the series listed above.

This first week I didn't get past the planning stage. I am planning on using the three series above to look for similarities to base my formula on.

The goal for next week is to start researching the series and going through book lists to verify the books I will use in developing my formula. Feel free to post questions, comments, or concerns. Until next time!

(Picture credit: http://www.google.com/imgres?start=150&um=1&hl=en&biw=1777&bih=887&tbm=isch&tbnid=giMAMItNVVZdCM:&imgrefurl=http://standardizedteacher.com/tag/education/&docid=BUuKIwYcWkzSOM&imgurl=http://standardizedteacher.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/books.jpg&w=960&h=1280&ei=xXd7UPb4LMen0AG1h4GoCA&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=393&sig=107054092131403344421&page=4&tbnh=145&tbnw=116&ndsp=46&ved=1t:429,r:54,s:100,i:166&tx=68&ty=104)

Scripting for the Android.

So after quite a bit of thought and with a fair bit of help from Mrs. Roy, I finally have a project. Yah!  I will scripting a physics calculator for the Android market. The app is aimed towards those taking Physics 1. I decided to make the app for Android because the necessary programs are free for Android while the software for Apple cost $100. Considering I'm sorta frugal, I chose the Android. So that's where I am and I'll bring you up to speed by Friday on what progress I made. 

Reflections

Reflection  Each week every member of every team is required to write an individual blog post to discuss his/her progress. Each student writes about what happened over the past cycle, what was learned, what challenges were faced, and what he/she anticipates in the future. Each blog post must be at least 100 words written in Standard American English and contain a related image that is posted without infringing on anyone's copyright. Students will fill out a simple form that links to their post.

In general (there are a few weeks where this changes), we are working on Wednesday or
Thursday, whichever is the B day, on this project, so please plan accordingly.