Kaleidoscope Option: Journal
Entry #1 8/27/13:
My teacher just notified me about the PBL project. He introduce me into what is a PBL project and what I had to do. He would post some ideas for the PBL in the website Edmodo. There I could chose a project and research about it. This would be an incredible experience, because this can help me be more into the science field in a fun way. It seems like its hard, and I'm not use to it, but with help of my teacher I can surely do it.
Entry #2 9/14/13:
My project will be to create a kaleidoscope. I had always had this fascination about the kaleidoscope because of its beautiful colors. I did a little of a background information about the kaleidoscope to understand it further. The kaleidoscope consists of mirrors and colorful objects such as beads or pebbles and bits of glass. It creates colorful patterns due to the light entering on one side and the mirrors create a reflection off and makes the colorful patterns.
Entry #3 9/21/13:
To create a kaleidoscope I would need some mirrors and and colorful beads or pebbles and bits of glass. I'll just have to put the mirrors in some kind of cylinder form. I asked my teacher for help in my project and he had agreed to help me. To put mirrors in a cylinder form seems really hard, but my teacher told me it didn't have to be that way. I'm hoping I can still do my project without any other difficulty. I also looked for some pictures that would help me to visualize better my objective.
This option will help me to organize and collect my progress and thoughts. It will be very useful because I can write down the process of the experiments and all the research I made about it; and if I have any doubt or question about anything during future procurement, I can always go back and check. The journal will also help anyone who is interested in the topic, or want to know about the experiment.
Entry #4 9/25/13:
The PBL doesn't just concentrates on the science part, it also includes social studies, english, and for some math. Today I have to create a page for my PBL project that includes a part for social studies and english. For my english I chose to do a journal, meanwhile for my social studies I chose to put the economical impact the kaleidoscope had. The idea of the kaleidoscope was from the Scottish inventor, Sir David Brewster, who was trying to conduct light polarization experiments. By doing this, he created the kaleidoscope. He made a lot of money because France and England had a high demand on the kaleidoscope.
Entry #5 10/5/13:
My teacher showed me an example of a kaleidoscope that some students had done before. The shape of the kaleidoscope is a cylinder, a little one. I looked at pictures of homemade kaleidoscopes and see that it can be easily be done. All I need is aluminum, mirrors, and colorful beads. My teacher has been a great help for my project. I wouldn't know what to do if it wasn't for him.
Entry #6 10/12/13:
I investigated in the internet and found a link that would help to build my kaleidoscope. This link helps me to understand furthermore the kaleidoscope and how to build it. I can even modify it any way I wanted it. Sir David Brewster never really intended to create the kaleidoscope. It was an accident, it was all due to an experiment. If Brewster could create a kaleidoscope by accident, I think I can build one by myself.
Entry #7 10/19/13:
I have succeeded to created a prototype of a kaleidoscope. It took me three types of kaleidoscope to finally get it and work. The first time, I forgot to make it cylinder so everything I did was to waste. The second one I did, it didn't work. I really didn't know what was wrong, maybe it was because I didn't follow the instructions correctly at one point. And finally, I got a good prototype of a kaleidoscope.
Entry #8 10/26/13:
Now, I have to create my page of the PBL in my google sites. I have to add videos that explains my PBL project. I found a video that had done the PBL about the kaleidoscope before and used it. This video helped me to understand the project better. I can make my page look better too. With this I can make people understand my project better.
Entry #9 10/29/13:
Sir David Brewster never really fully understood the light polarization. But the kaleidoscope gives us an insight of an idea of the light polarization. The whole deal of the PBL is to make the student understand a topic of science and my topic to understand was the light polarization. I can now understand it thanks to the kaleidoscope. How the light travels with the mirrors and reflecting in the beads making colorful patterns.
Entry #10 11/03/13:
My teacher explained to me the light polarization furthermore. How the polarization works in waves, in the kaleidoscope is in light waves, that can oscillate with more than one direction. The polarization of light is described by specifying the orientation of the wave's electric field at a point in space over one period of the oscillation. When light travels in free space, in most cases it propagates as a transverse wave—the polarization is perpendicular to the wave's direction of travel.