Description of Project

MSEO Website

The goal of the project was to revamp the old MSEO website with a more aesthetically pleasing design on the new Google sites platform. This involved transferring information, updating the site with the data from the 2017 Olympics, and uploading missing files such as the school map. The old front page banner was also replaced with an image we created using Photoshop CC to better suit the overall color scheme.

Space Apps

The goal of the project was to discover apps that could not only help teach students the grade 9 Earth and Space Science curriculum but engage them in interactive activities for self-exploration. It involved testing apps and determining if its components well suit Ms. Law’s needs. This project was concluded with the decision of two apps. The first free app, Space 4D+, serves the purpose similar to an encyclopedia. Its activities allow users to observe and zoom in on the 3D images and learn the details about it with the side paragraph. The second paid app, Earth and Space Science, serves the purpose of self-exploration. Its activities allow users to rotate planets in simulations to show the effects of their actions. General information is given but these activities allow the users to be in control of the variables that result in the outcome. Tutorial documents with photos were created to help educate new users on how to navigate through its activities and information pages. It also includes information the adapters and devices teachers can use to display the app to their class.

Ottawa Trip Budgeting

The purpose of this project was to budget a rough plan of a trip to Ottawa in the spring of 2018 for the MSC club as an educational field trip. As part of the project, we created a document containing all the prices for accommodations, coach buses, museums, tours, and other entertainment. Most prices we found online on the sites, but for the accommodations we had to call UOttawa and find special group rates for a group of about 30-50 people. As well, we called multiple coach bus companies to obtain their prices and conditions. We summed up all the totals of the prices, per student, and gave Ms Law a detailed estimate of how much it would cost per student to organize the trip.

Vernier Probes

The purpose of this project was to conduct experiments with and research on the Vernier probes to help Ms Law choose a lab to perform with her grade 12 biology class. We read the lab book, watched tutorials and read instructions on how to use the Vernier probes. We tested each of the probes provided to us to see if they were in working condition. As well, we performed a yeast respiration lab to make sure it worked well, and gave Ms Law the results.

Elmo Research

The goal of this project was to conduct research on Elmo projectors, and present it in a simple, condensed document to help Ms Law decide whether or not she should purchase one for the science department. We used the Elmo official site and other tutorial sites to find instructions, uses, photos, and tutorials for the Elmo.

Sourcing Out Science Contests

The purpose of this project was to source out science contests that students of William Lyon Mackenzie C.I. had not previously participated in. This benefits students as participation in these types of contests challenges them to expand their way of thinking in a certain subject area, and if students perform well it would improve their university applications. In our research, we found two viable options for the school: the OAPT Physics Contest and the University of Windsor Science Olympiad. Important details such as date, registration info and requirements, and contest descriptions were included in a Google Doc which was shared with Ms. Law.

MSC Website

One of the tasks given to us by Ms. Law was creating a more aesthetically appealing and up to date website for the Mackenzie Science Club. This meant having to use the new google sites. The new google sites are still in it’s early stages of development which meant that easily transferring old data from the old site to the new one was not going to be an easy task. The google equivalents of software and builders such as PowerPoint or Weebly have proven to be extremely frustrating and not as powerful of as their individual competitors, but google is the best in terms of cooperation with projects, so we had to bite the bullet and work with the headache that was the new google sites. The task lasted longer than necessary due to the tedious pattern of copying and pasting text and images and google has yet to create a way for users to easily transfer content but in the end the new website was far more aesthetically appealing, up to date and user friendly.

Possible Uses in Other Classes or Subject Areas

Space Educational Apps

Possible uses of the educational space apps can be applied in the 2018 MSEO. As both apps are meant to provide fundamental understanding of space science, it is suitable for middle school students. There can be a new space science activity created using the two apps. Since one is similar to an encyclopedia and another is application based, they compliment each other. Both apps only take a few minutes to download so it would not take up too much time in an activity's time frame. A sample activity may be, students need to discover a characteristic of the lunar eclipse through the customized simulations by the user. The possibilities of the activities are endless within the limits of the topics the app provides.

Vernier Probes

Some future possible uses of the Vernier Probes project are for science courses or clubs, such as, chemistry or biology courses/clubs.

Google Sites

Google sites is a website builder by google. It allows users connected to google to cooperatively work on building stunning websites. This is a great tool for teachers and students alike to create websites to display lessons, classroom information and projects.

Google Docs

Google docs is a word editing software by google. It allows users connected to google to cooperatively work on building comprehensive organized documents. This is a great tool for teachers and students alike to create documents for assignments, classroom lessons, handouts, etc.

Other

The other projects we worked on are not applicable due to their specific purposes. For instance, due to the MSEO website serving the purpose of providing information related to the Olympics, it’s not suitable for classes or other subject areas.

Portfolio