Pearl @ Ōtaki College
I am a student at Ōtaki College in Ōtaki, NZ. My blog is a place where I will be able to share some of my learning. Please note....some work won't be edited - they are just my first drafts, so there may be some errors. I would love your feedback, comments, thoughts and ideas on my posts.
Monday, 1 July 2024
Friday, 15 March 2024
Not the ninja turtles-blog post
In English we were learning about the Renaissance. This Slideshow is a bit of history about four very famous artists during the time. Their art works show the style and life at the time. Here is a link to to the slideshow:
Thursday, 7 December 2023
Final reflection and blogpost - Power to the People (Pearl)
Final Learning Reflection
1. Planning
Our Project Planner (Milestone 1) - Project proposal
Looking back at the planning we did at the start, I think we did a good job of sticking to the plan and completing our work. In the end all the planning helped us understand what needed doing and when.
Having had the experience of this project, if I was planning another project I would plan it all at the start of the week, instead of changing the plan halfway through.
2. Process
Links to our Group Planners:
Week 5-group planner
Week 6-group planner
Week 7-group planner
Week 8-group planner
Week 9-group planner
Time management and workflow
Looking back at how well we planned and then recorded each week's and day's work and managed our time, I think we managed our time and plan very well. We got all our work done within the time frame and continued to re-check our plan throughout.
Another time, I would change the format of the planner to make it less confusing.
Collaborative skills
Considering how our group managed our relationships, discussions, decisions, and the way we shared out and contributed to the work, I think we worked well as a group, there were some arguments between group members but we always worked through it. Other than that we worked well to communicate with each other.
In future, I would have the same group because we work really well, we only get distracted sometimes.
3. Research
Our Research Process (Milestone 2) - Research
Looking at our research and comparing it to what other groups did, I think we did a lot of deep research. We looked at a lot of different media like books, websites, people. We also did a lot of experiments during out water testing which was a big part of our project.
Another time we would do more research into hydropower and maybe even visit a dam
4. Planning and Preparing our Presentation
Our Presentation Ideas (Milestone 3) - Presentation ideas
Looking back now at how we planned and prepared our presentation, I think we made it very appealing and it was interesting how we had our mini hydroelectric generator at our station so we could show people how it worked.
Another time, I would be more prepared. We hadn't really though about how we were going to visually present it, but it all came together in the end.
5. Showcase Day
Our Presentation (Final Product/s)
Embed or link all the slideshows and docs you created - Our presentation
Looking back on Showcase Day, you might want to consider some of the following questions:
I think Showcase Day went well. Lots of people commented positively on our project and were interested in our topic. Sometimes we didn't have somebody at our display but people seemed happy just reading and looking. I also enjoyed looking at some of the year 9 projects because they about more interesting things.
My positives for Showcase Day were when some of the visitors were really friendly and interested
Another time, I would have been more prepared and had a better display. We didn't know how we would display it until less than a week before so we were slighty unprepared. But we pulled it all together in the end.
6. Reflection on the Project
a) What skills did you use, learn or develop during this project which will be helpful in your life beyond school? I used thorough planning skills and also learnt a lot about voltage and hydroelectricity.
b) Would you like to do more of this kind of learning next year?
Yes, I enjoyed working with my friends. But maybe having lots of projects throughout the year because it got boring after a while, especially when we had multiple periods of it in a row.
c) What did you learn from this process that will help with future projects? That you have to do a lot of research and really understand the question. Also having more questions daily so you keep learning more.
d) What advice would you give to the teachers if they are running this or something similar in the future? To not give us so much paperwork each week. I understand the planner but all the other check in's made it hard to keep going with our project when we had to keep stopping and checking in. It also made it feel like there wasn't a lot of freedom when the teachers were keeping track of everything. I also think if we did something like this again to have more of passion project so it keeps everyone interested.
Friday, 1 December 2023
Power to the people week 8- Pearl
This week our group finished off our generator project. We tested it lots of times and compared the results.
Then we started working on our presentation after we videoed our generator at work. Also on Wednesday my group and another group went to the Mangapouri stream and water tested again. After recording our results we went back to school and my group looked at the bugs we found under the microscope.
I think we have been working well, we have had some people away but we are getting the work done.
The hardest part has been staying on top of all the computer work.
Tuesday, 28 November 2023
Power to the people week 7
This week we got all the supplies to make a mini water generator. Mr Georgetti helped us get all the things we needed. In the science lab we used the tap and a rubber pipe as the water flow, we attatched the generator. Then we set up the wires so we could test the voltage and current.
We tested it outside and inside again. Each time we got different results but could always light up the little LED.
We also looked for waterfalls in the area so we can relate this to Otaki.
Thursday, 16 November 2023
Power to the people week 6 reflection-Pearl
This week our group went to the Mangapouri stream and tested the water. These tests include
-Temp
-Flow
-Streambed composition
-invertebrae
-rocks
-clarity
We went to a different spot than we usually do, Mrs Torley took us to the part of the stream where the Mill used to be (The Mill the road was named after).
We have also talked to some teachers about hydroelectic watermills and how we could make one. We also used a mini generator using a hose as water flow.
Friday, 10 November 2023
Power to the people- week 5- Pearl
1. What have you achieved/learned/found out since your last post?
Was hydro-power is and how it works, also the different ways to make hydro power depending on the environment.
2. How effectively have you used your time this week?
Very effectively, I have been watching videos about water turbines and generators.
3. How have you contributed to your group’s progress?
I have been doing a lot to research how hydro-power works.
4. Glows: something that is going well in your project: Getting supplies and teacher help.
5. Grows: Something you need to work on: Some in-group fighting and tension.
6. Where could you get help with this? The ctg classes and teachers.
7. What are the next steps for your project? Start drawing up designs for the turbine.