Final Blog Post

Now that the year has come to an end, as well as our final project, it’s relieving that it’s all over. Although I learned a lot from this experience, I can’t deny the fact that it was extremely stressful. In the beginning, it seemed that our project was going to be easy; it didn’t turn out to be so. It appeared simple; all we needed was the necessary tools to build the magnetic stripe reader and we’d be set. Unfortunately, it was much more complicated then that. The first major challenge we encountered was ordering the reader, which was a long process because of the approval it had to undergo. Of course there was smaller problems beforehand, such as finding out what we would need and how it would be compatible with our computers. Over time our project began to seem more and more complicated and in the end we failed L

            There are some things that we gained from this project though. I learned a lot from this project, not only about physics, but also about life skills in general, how to seek help outside of my comfort zone, analyze, problem solve in stressful situations, and of course, about magnetic stripes and wiring. Depending on the topic, these projects can definitely benefit students’ science education. However, one thing that this project can improve on is the emphasis on physics rather than problem solving in general because in the end, this is a physics class. I can honestly say that we as group bonded and became closer from our awkward stage back in March. We all added our own unique, weird, quirky personalities to form one great group. We failed together, stressed together, and learned together. Overall, this was a fun experience and I was glad to participate in it.

The Finale

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I think that this was a very fun learning experience during the fourth quarter of physics. I learned that communication is key to having a successful and productive group. I also learned that it takes a lot of time to create a Magnetic Stripe Reader, especially when certain parts are soldered incorrectly and need to be redone. I believe this is related to physics because it required connections through soldering and magnetic attractions. There were times when the group didn't know who was going to blog that night but one of our group members created a schedule so we would know when it was our turn. We talked to each other and agreed we would all go down to create the magnetic stripe reader during our homeroom and lunch period because building it took a very long time. Some things went wrong with the soldering and we were unable to get the reader to function correctly. This was mostly because the group and Mr. Massad did not have a schematic of the construction. Another thing that went wrong was that our reader didn't ship in on time and we were unable to create a prototype by the due date. But, once it did come in, the group took the initiative to get it done hastily. I don't really have anything to complain about with the project besides the fact that the presentations took foreeever. Overall this was an enjoyable project and I learned a lot during the eight week period. Good job Mr. Blake

Final Post!

Our symposium on friday was to me a big success. Although our project didnt quite work the way we wanted it to, we learned a lot more about each other, and physics and also took a step closer to try and make kamehameha a more student friendly school. Although this class was physics, we helped not only our class but our school as a whole. Many groups that presented had great ideas and listening to them was very interesting. They each had a different and unique idea on how to make kamehameha a better place.

Through our project there were lots of up and downs. A lot of late planning and time management probably contributed to the unsuccessfulness of our project. But although that we were a complete failure we learned more as a group about physics and life lessons. We learned that sometimes planning early can contribute to a huge success or a complete failure. Preparation was a key part to in trying to complete our project, and sometimes things don't come in on time when you want them too. This project showed us what we needed to work on and how prepared we need to be.

But in the end i thought this project was a huge success. It not only gave us students a louder voice to show our ideas and show what could make our school a better place, we also could take the action that we needed to prove to administration that maybe our idea wasn't bad and could help the school a lot. I hope that this class would be implemented as a separate whole class. It gives students new ideas and opportunities. The students help the school overall and that's what we human beings do, help people and try to make our world a better place.

Final Post!

This past Friday, all groups were to participate in the symposium to showcase our projects and findings. It was really a great experience to learn of others' ideas and implementations around campus. I found it pretty awesome to see young adults making "large scale" presentations amongst their peers. To hear other groups success stories made us realize that there are problems that we could solve and changes that can be made!

Though our group had not been as successful as said groups, we learned a great deal about ourselves and each other. During the "planning" phase everything seemed to be going well; we had and idea and we were finding ways to make it a reality, but the "construction" process had not turned out so fantastic. Granted our idea- it seemed, was an innovative idea that could truly affect those around campus. Through this unfavorable cause, we as a group have collectively learned to take things upon ourselves. This project lead us to find that things won't get done for you, and you must take the initiative. We've also learned that you must really immense yourself into an idea that you are working towards- something that we might have not done 100 percent at times. But doing something like this for the first time has opened up our minds that change is possible.

In being Mr. Blake's "guinea pigs" you might say, it would be great to see this project be a class as Mr. Blake is pushing for. Until that happens, this activity shouldn't be too altered from the way this batch of students has faced. Meaning, the set up of this project has allowed for struggle, but growth nonetheless. The only suggestion is to somehow split up the Symposium days so it's not as exhausting. Maybe one class should present one day (attendance and evaluation from other period required) and vice versa. This way students' attention is fresh and really taking into account what their peers are saying and giving proper evaluations.

In the end, this was an excellent success in educating students by educating themselves, with identifying a problem, and solving that problem. No matter how hard other students or teachers may try to belittle this project because we aren't truly applying physics, they're wrong. Though this is a physics class, need not forget the definition of "science":

Now, we don't know about you reader, but we've found that all groups have gained an immense amount of both knowledge and facts of either the physical or material world by observations and countless experimenting. So as far as the scientific aspect, that's pretty much covered. And as we hope that our reader can be used on a larger scale, this project should as well. It should be to the availability to all students, not just the wonderful one's of Mr. Blake's. Lastly students, and whoever else would want to read this, a final word: Change is possible!

Decision Made!

After coming to our "crossroads", the decision that needed to be made asap has been made! Either way, we wouldn't have been able to get our own magnetic stripe reader working properly, so it was really a question if our efforts would be worth it or not. Like we've said before, Andrei got back to us claiming that there is a magnetic stripe reader available for our use. But I've learned recent knowledge that Mr. Puchert would lend the reader to us, because he knows that we won't be needing the reader past the end of this school year. As generous and awesome this would've been, it is too late for our group to set up the reader and collect data in time for our presentation on Friday. So, we're sticking to the plan of speaking of our plan, application/process, and failure. And though we really have nothing to show, at least we tried something really out there!

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Peer Edits

Today in class we were doing peer edits for other groups and we were pleased by the grades we received. This was also good because we learned about what things we can improve with our powerpoint to make it better. One thing that people noticed with our powerpoint was that we needed to use our space in our slides better, such as adding more pictures so there isn't spots with nothing on it. Students also suggested that we maybe make the font more exciting and have less writing on certain slides. There are some slides that are really bulky and I guess people don't always want to read so much. This was a good idea to do peer edits so that groups know how they can progress further. We will definitely look to improve our Powerpoint soon.

Good News, But Not Good Enough!

Sorry Rpizzle I know you really wanted to blog tonight but I have some great news! Well, as great as news can get at this point anyways...So, if you already don't know our great plan has failed!!!! What we wanted was for our TTL to work to demonstrate that students can be responsible and independent by having to take their own attendance with the ease of swiping the card, etc. but as a group we couldn't even get the reader to be wired correctly-let alone swipe a magnetic stripe card. My first thoughts were to scramble to find a new project; but Makana reminded me that it's too late to do anything else, and we're going to just present what we have. But not all hope is lost. I've finally received email from Andrei(Gebco Guy) and he has a reader for us, now though this is (sorta kinda, but not really) big news, I shouldn't get too excited before I hear more information, which I will get as soon as I can speak with him on the phone.

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