Category Archives: Maker

2023 tPol 😮‍💨

Thank you for coming to my presentation of learning. I am the expert on my own learning. I am also responsible and accountable for my own learning. You can expect me to give an honest evaluation of my progress. We will discuss my strengths and opportunities for growth. Thank you in advance for listening and for offering feedback that I can use to improve as a learner.

As this being my first year of High school and PLP I have overcome so many new obstacles I never thought I would have even encountered. Since the Becoming a PLP Learner post to our last project, the 2023 Spring Exhibition, I have not stopped learning.

Let’s start off by reviewing my learning plan that I created during the first week of PLP, then we will begin to reflect my growth this year, leading to the driving question; Why do you feel you are ready to advance to the next grade level?

 

 

Humanities 📝

 When I first made my learning plan I set my humanities goal as Accomplished ☀️, but then mid-late way through semester 1, after we had finished the Middle Ages project Ms. Madsen (my humanities teacher at the time) suggested I adjust my humanities goal to an exceeding 🌈. That made me proud, however I was jinxed because ever since I adjusted my goal to the rainbow I stopped getting rainbows and was consistently receiving sunshines. Despite the sudden change of marks I am still happy with most of my work. 

However my least proud humanities work this year has to be the Consequences of Colonization project. For my humanities learning plan goal I mentioned that even if I am not the most interested/inspired by an assignment I still should push through, as I tend to lose focus and effort if I am not completely invested. During the Consequences of Colonization project I definitely did minimal effort, and failed my learning plan goal. 

I did make up for my lack of efforts with the Trip to Oregon work we were assigned. I am very proud to say that during our Oregon trip I stayed on track and used my time very wisely to remain timely with my Oregon Journal. This me made me very happy 😊.

 

 

 How I stayed organized with my Oregon journal:

  • Filled out pages on the bus while travelling from place to place (even if it was a 5 minute drive I made the most of it)
  • Didn’t allow myself to procrastinate 

during the consequences of colonization I defiantly did not stay as organized.

    Maker 💻

 Maker was just during the 1st semester and was fairly easy. I finished almost every maker assignment with rainbows and we learned how to use our iPads in different ways. I grew so much new knowledge and learned awesome techniques that I can use to improve my work. To help showcase my maker learning we made a project: Making Interesting Images.  This project was fun to put together and really helped organize my maker learning. Overall I am happy with how I did in maker. One of my maker learning plan goals was to learn how to use more tools and techniques with my iPad and I did just that.

 

Science 🧬 

Science first began in semester 2 and was filled with many fun projects! The class learned all about how our immune system (Small But Mighty), how different environments and factors can affect atoms (Mind Over Matter), and our latest project about continental drift (Journey to the Centre of the Earth). Within each project we had the opportunity to do fun experiments making the class very interesting. The project I struggled the most with in science was definitely keystone three of Mind Over Matter. Everyone was asked to use Scratch (a website that helps you code your own video game) to create their own video game based on what we have learned from the Mind Over Matter project project. Making the video game was very tough for me and it took me a while to get the hang of coding my own game. In the end I did make it through and I created an atom themed trivia game. Now I kinda know how to code!

Small but Mighty poster (by Annie and me)

To answer the driving question, yes I am ready for grade 9. This past year I have reached many of my goals but most of all I have failed! within each subject I have failed multiple which has only made me a more persistent and successful learner. I am excited for what grade 9 will bring me!

 

 

 

2023 Spring Exhibition

For the past month we have been working on our last project of the year, “Medium is the Message.” At the end of the project we  each created an advertisement for a specific business that groups of people were assigned to. Each group interviewed which ever business they were advertising for and asked questions to help create an ad most true to the business. Before creating our ads, we learned the different techniques, appeals, and detail that goes in even some of the most basic ads. For example, many of Ikea’s ads may look simple, but in reality they use certain techniques to help lure in cosumers. We even learned how different colours can give off different emotions or vibes, hospital walls tend to be coloured blue or green as the colours tend to calm and relax people. We took all these new found factors into consideration and made our ads.

My final ad

All my ad drafts and critiques

Ikea ad example

We then showcased the process while making our ad, and our final ad drafts in the 2023 spring exhibition. The spring exhibition was much like the winter exhibition except the spring exhibition came with some improvements, and new roadblocks to learn from.

The spring exhibition had a smoother set up time than the winter exhibition, interactive activities and presentations to entertain the crowd, many snacks, the grade 8s project booths looked great, and there was a steady flow of visitors. The winter exhibition was much more chaotic, and the crowds were very patchy. There was either absolutely no at your booth, or it was packed making it difficult to get through the exhibition. For the spring exhibition there were stamps and maps given out for each room you visited making the flow much more steady and enjoyable for the visitors and students.

 

Of course there were additional roadblocks that came along with the spring exhibition that the winter exhibition may have not had as much of. All of the grade 8s were in one room making the booths more cramped which made the presentations a little more uncomfortable for us students. Because there was more food in this exhibition, food was also being stolen by fellow students (which is honestly understandable considering we had  yummy treats laid out) but this did create a slight inconvenience. The clean up after the exhibition was also very chaotic which was tough since everyone was very tired and cranky, but we were done in no time. 

Despite the improvement of the spring exhibition, next time I would help encourage more communication within my ad group as our group was a little disorganized and lacked communication. But in the end I think everything went well!

2023 mPol

“Thank you for coming to my presentation of learning. I am the expert on my own learning. I am also responsible and accountable for my own learning. You can expect me to give an honest evaluation of my progress. We will discuss my strengths and opportunities for growth. Thank you in advance for listening and for offering feedback that I can use to improve as a learner.”

This past semester had been a huge learning curve. For the past few months we have worked on multiple projects  such as Becoming a PLP Learner, Interesting Images, Geek Out, Crusades, Middle Ages, and Winter Exhibition. Within each project I have learned something new about myself, and how to communicate my work in so many different ways I had never imaged of. 

                                      First Blog Post: Making Interesting Images   

            

Interesting Images was a simple blog post showcasing different pictures we had taken using new techniques and tools that our iPad can provide to enhance our photography skills. If I were to re-write the blog post today, I would focus on adding more information and reflection to the blogpost, rather than simply doing the bare minimum. Luckily, this was my first blog post and had received and exceeding despite my faults. 

                                                 Second Blog Post: Geek Out!

My Geek Out blog post is probably my least favourite blog post… We all were asked to choose a topic that we could talk endlessly about, and chose to write about my cat, Mr. Bieber. The blog post did not seem interesting, and I never felt proud to post it. Next time I would change my topic to softball, something I think about and do all the time. However, with all the reflection given to this post, I learned so much about myself, and how to make quality future work. Ever since I published my Geek Out post I work on an assignment, I ask myself; would I be proud to show this to the world? Asking myself this question assures that my work has reached my standards, and is something I am confident to share. In the end, this blog post has helped me more in the long run, making myself not regret those mistakes.

                                       Third Blog Post: Middle Ages Reflection 

     Throughout the past semester, this has to be some of my proudest work. In November we took 2-3 weeks to create two Keynote presentations; Middle Ages, and the Crusades. This blog post was used to look back and reflect on the previous presentations. While writing the above blog post, I was excited to say that I was proud of my work, received positive feedback, and learned a new strategy to improve my work quality. 

After submitting the assignment my humanities teacher recommended I adjust my learning plan goal from an accomplished to an exceeding. This was my first project that required no revisions and made me very proud.  But of course, I didn’t receive this success without struggle. While writing the presentations, I got stuck at constant idea blocks about how and what I should write to answer the driving question. Luckily, I began to ask myself the following question each time I got stuck;  “if you were learning about *blank*, and read this work, would you understand and learn from *blank*?” 

After asking myself this question and making sure my writing applied, I felt much more confident and proud of my work. 

                                  Fourth Blog Post: My First Winter Exhibition ❄️

The winter exhibition was a rough ride for me. I ran into multiple bumps dragging me slightly behind. While brainstorming ideas for our Pandora’s box, I went through many different ideas which ended up taking more time than expected. Before coming up with a final idea, most were either un realistic for the timeline, or was something I wouldn’t feel necessarily proud of. Until, I came to a consensus. My confirmed idea was physically appealing, and was on theme, however, I was not the proudest. After completing my box, I felt I could have answered the driving question with deeper thought and meaning, but it was already too late. 

On the other hand, I am proud of the honesty that my blog post stated. I had an honest reflection, and have learned from my mistakes. For my next exhibition I will remind myself of the driving question, and make sure that my work has met the goal. Considering this was my first ever exhibition, I think everything went fairly smoothly and am looking forward for the next!

Overall Reflection 🔄

Despite the many different bumps I experienced during each project, there was one constant problem I went through with each assignment. With having a new and busy calendar this year, I have been procrastinating and using poor time management skills. I have left all four blog posts to the last minute, only creating more stress on my shoulders and possibly bringing down the quality in my work. 

This semester I plan on changing my work ethic from procrastination to being organized, timely, and obviously no longer procrastinating. 

Beginning steps to take; 

  • No making excuses for myself
  • Plan time zones, and goals to complete homework
  • Continue to use Things and Calendar to help organize activity and homework

I’m excited to make these changes for the better of my learning!

My Book

Hey blog!

Over the past few weeks our PLP class have been working on our Sketches Pro skills. We experimented with many different tools and techniques to develop our drawing knowledge! After we learned all about the app, we each made a personal sketchbook to showcase and reflect our drawing growth from beginning to end.

Click below to read my fun book ⬇️ !

My First Winter Exhibition!

Every year PLP hosts 2 exhibitions to showcase our learning surrounding different topics. This 2022 Winter Exhibition was based off all the different themes of Avatar. The grade eights were given ~1 week and half to complete their artifact for the exhibition. However, there were some guidelines:

-Had to be in a box form, or in a box

-Relates to your theme statement

-Answers driving question

While following the above, I went through multiple ideas, and learning curves. I had three total ideas before I came up with my official product. The constant plan changing did indeed drag me slightly behind. Out of these mistakes I learned more about my self, and how I can grow for our next exhibition. The idea I landed on sent the right message, was accurate to what I was imagining, and was something I was proud of. On the other hand, my previous thoughts were un clear, not realistic for our soon due date, and was something I would not be proud to present. Next time, before committing to an idea, I would ask myself 2 questions;

  1. Does it deliver the message I am seeking?
  2. Will I be proud to present this?

If my answers are no, I would re evaluate my thinking before progressing to the next step. By using these steps, I will remain timely and will help me smoothly move forward towards my goal.

 After finishing my box, it was time show off each of my project on the day of exhibition. Each exhibition room was divided based on the theme of your project, and we had from 3:00-5:30 to prepare and set up our set rooms. Luckily, I was placed in a room with many responsible older leaders to help us thrive throughout the exhibition. We all worked well together and were overall very productive with our time. Unlike the making of my box, the exhibition day was smooth with little bumps. As time went on, I grew more experience on how to best describe my thinking and how to present in the most clear manor. Although majority of the Winter Exhibition was a success, next time I will strive to keep focus the entire exhibition rather than having small distractions.

I gained much experience from just my first exhibition, and I am excited for my next!