Blogs

IRT- September 2021, The Question Mark

• Overall, I believe my group worked cohesively to complete our first real presentation. There are a few things we need to work on, but I believe the nerves were a large part of why we had limits. As the year goes on, I hope we become more confident in our speaking skills.

• What did you learn about yourself as a presenter through this first experience

  1. 1. 1. Through this first experience presenting, I learned that I am incapable of memorizing what I am supposed to verbally present. It is more difficult to try to remember a script than it is to just know the material and speak intelligently on it as the presentation goes on. I also learned that as a presenter, I feel more comfortable making eye contact and scanning the crowd than just staring at the floor or ceiling. I used to think that it was easier to just avoid the audience, but now I understand that that is one of my strengths. The last thing that I learned about myself as a presenter is that I try to rush through the presentation instead of collecting thoughts and then sharing them.

• What do you plan to do differently/change next time?

  1. 1. 1. Next time, I plan to speak slower and more articulately. I need to make it so that the whole room can clearly understand what I am trying to communicate to them. I can also try to better understand what I am trying to tell the audience before I am presenting it. I know that I don't want to memorize it, but it would be very helpful to fully grasp what my message is (especially if I'm introducing it).

• What will keep as part of your deliberate presentation bag of tools (something you did this time that worked)

  1. 1. 1. As part of my deliberate presentation bag of tools, I will keep eye contact, clarity, and communication with my group mates. I believe I did not just stare at one place or person, and my words reached everyone that was listening. My group mates and I understood who was speaking and when, so that we didn't cut each other off. We all did our part equally and I felt as though we worked effectively as a group.

• What do you want to steal from another presenter for your next presentation?

  1. 1. 1. For my next presentation, I would want to steal confidence from another presenter. I felt as though I was very nervous to present, even though everyone was in the same boat. I think if I had more confidence, I would've felt more prepared and could have executed my role better.

Question Building Map- 10/20/21

What are the benefits of utilizing solar energy?

Are there sustainable ways to make photovoltaic cells so that there isn't as much harm in the manufacturing process of solar panels?

How can utilizing these resources in such a project serve the school as an example for future projects?

If we were to get solar panels as part of the new project, who would be against it? How do we convince opposing opinions?

How can the community learn more about renewable resources and the effects that they have on the environment?

How many people care about environmental issues for us to reverse the damage done on the Earth?

Why is it so important to offer solutions to pollution and the burning of fossil fuels?

How can education be spread on going green and helping promote solutions to climate change?

Where can we look for previously made examples of similar school projects and their outcomes?

How can I take opposing opinions into account and ensure that I consider them throughout the process?

Are there solutions better than solar panels to utilizing solar energy and/or generating electricity sustainably?

What would happen if everyone switched to renewable sources for energy? What companies would suffer? Would it ultimately end in more harm than good?

How can we discuss the finances of such a project while taking into consideration the effect the end product will have?

What might happen if too many people disagree on this project, and it's ultimately decided that it won't benefit the community nor the school?

If solar panels are such harmful pollutants, why are they praised by many environmental engineers and implemented into so many new buildings? Do the benefits of utilizing solar energy outweigh the harms of potential lead pollution? How does that work and who can answer that?

What role would politics play in the decision making process?

Why is sustainability so important?

Essential Question Gut Check- October 2021

Are they interesting? Arguable? Answerable?

I believe that a lot of my research is factually based, with not much room for consideration of other points. Many of my questions can be answered with a Google search, which may make them seem uninteresting. That being said, they are interesting to me and there are many subtopics that I can delve into from each one. My questions could definitely be combined with each other, as a few of them are touching upon the same points and don't necessarily need to be placed separately. I know that my questions are arguable, because the topics of climate change and renewable resources are sometimes considered political subjects that spark argumentative opinions on why we should not offer solutions to such problems. In the end, I believe my questions are definitely arguable and answerable, but it is my goal to make them more interesting. I need to be more creative with the topic and identify new aspects to learn more about so that my questions can provoke more thought.

Storytelling Flipgrid (Blog Post #4)

• Why did you choose the prompt you did?

  • I felt as those the Where's Waldo prompt opened up the door to the greatest creative opportunities and would be the best for me to be able to discuss for a longer amount of time. I also got excited when I saw this prompt because I enjoy creative writing and I felt as though I could turn this into a fun, fictitious story that I would genuinely have a good time writing and recording.

• What challenges did you face with this Flipgrid and how did you work through them?

  • With this Flipgrid, I struggled with being satisfied with the product and successfully talking for almost 5 minutes straight without having too much rehearsal to prepare. To get through this, I wrote down little talking points for myself that I went over before I hit record, making it much easier when it was actually filming. I also faced the challenge of coming up with a story that was not too deep but was something I felt I could speak on for a good amount of time. I worked through this by finding something in my own life that I could relate to Waldo, a love for traveling, and I worked from there.

• How and why did you shape your story in the way you did?

  • I shaped my story according to the Storyboard template. I used the setup that told me to start with an exposition and end with a resolution. I followed this because I felt as though it made the story flow nicely and also helped me organize the events in which I wanted to discuss.

• What felt successful?

  • I felt as though I successfully created a story that I enjoyed talking about and did not need much practice for reaching a reasonable amount of time talking about it. I enjoyed writing it, therefore I enjoyed talking about it and could easily have over 4 minutes discussing it. I also felt as though I was successful in channeling the audience because of the lighthearted tone that I took that could appeal to especially younger listeners.

MHL Field Trip

During our field trip, I got more work done than expected. I finished my introduction and I feel as though that went well for me because I am satisfied with the work that I put in and feel as though it clearly states what I am researching. I also feel as though being here helped me focus more and get a lot done because I built off of other people's motivation. It was a little bit of a struggle trying to figure out how to word my sentences so that it sounded unbiased and only fact-based. As it is a project I am passionate about, I always want to insert my opinion to tell why I am doing it in the first place. I had to introduce why I was researching without coming right out and saying it. Going forward, I will be working on the body paragraphs and cleaning up the introduction so that there is no question as to what I am writing about.

Moth Talk

After finishing up Moth talks at the end of last week, I can look back at that experience as one that I learned a lot from. I was very nervous to present my story to the entire class, and it seemed crazy to me that people could go up there seemingly calmly and just talk. There were over 30 kids watching me present, and once I got up there, it really wasn't all that bad. The most difficult part was walking up to the microphone, and beginning to speak. After completing such a task, I feel as though I have a lot more confidence in myself. I feel like I can easily speak to smaller groups and would have no problem speaking to a group the same size. After all, if I did it once, I can do it again. I think that this Moth Talk lesson was a very valuable one in the sense that not many students are able to complete such an assignment simply because they do not have the opportunity to do so. Capstone is a welcoming environment and I felt that it was a great place to speak publicly without worrying about judgment from peers. I kept telling myself that this was my story to tell, and that made me feel a lot better about the entire idea of standing up and speaking on something that happened in my life. If I messed up or said the wrong thing at the wrong time, I was the only person in the room that would know it was incorrect. It was comforting to me that we didn't necessarily have a rubric and were able to speak freely on our own experience.

Presearch

Documenting Research Artifacts for Presearch

Presearch Takeaways

Secondary Research

Sources and Analysis