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.