Passion/Compassion Project – Week 3

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This is my third week of my passion/compassion project. My passion is learning the basics of coding and making a basic video game.

Who will you reach out too?

My friend Jaiden. He knows a bit about coding and he said he was willing to teach me.

What resources will you use?

Im first going to watch some YouTube videos and get help from my friend Jaiden. If I feel like I haven’t learned enough, then I will go to the library and check out some books about coding.

How will you get it done?

I will use the tinker app. Using this app, it will help me by giving me an easy platform/workspace to start building. I will use the notes and knowledge that I gained from Jaiden, YouTube, and Books. I will start this building process before Wednesday, December 1st.

Passion/Compassion Project – Week 2

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My topic for my passion/compassion project is learning how to code so I can make a video game.

1. What will you learn, make or do?

I am going to learn the basics of coding and make a basic video game.

2. Why do you want to learn, make, or do this?

I have always been interested in codes and never understood how people use codes and make video games. I then realized that I want to learn and also be able to make cool and fun video games while messing around with codes.

3. How will you learn, make, or do this?

I will watch videos of what certain symbols mean in codes and how to make codes and I will read about the basics of coding.

4. What will success look like to you?

Success will be when I understand the basics of coding and have made a basic video game.

Passion Project

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For my Science Passion project I am doing coding a video game. I have made a video game on tinker before, but I haven’t coded anything. I don’t really understand coding, so I want to learn more about it. I think it will be cool if I can make cool games and understand how coding works and how to code a game. I can’t wait to start learning!

Capstone Blog Post #4: Working On My Final Presentation

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When the time came I had to start working on my script. I didn’t copy everything from my essay right into my script because I don’t want my presentation to sound like an essay. I made a few changes. For example, In order to make my presentation not sound like an essay, I replaced “In conclusion…” with “To round up this presentation…” Not only did I rewrite some words in my essay to make it sound better but I also had to delete some words. When my first script was done I was super excited. Like my essay, I read it over many times to edit and revise it. During that time I also started my slide show. You might be wondering, After you are done with the script do you paste the words into your slide show? The answer is no. The point of the slide show is where your pictures are going to be when you present. I spent a lot of time finding pictures. When I was done or at least thought I was done I barely even liked half the pictures I had. I knew I had to change them but first I had to focus on finishing my script. When I got approval from my teacher that my script was done I went right back to my slide show. I did a presentation for my class and thy told me some ideas of what type of pictures to put in my slide show. I then spent the next two days working on my pictures and I loved them!

 

Now it was time for memorizing. I came up with a good strategy that helped me a lot. For example, if I was trying to memorize slide 5 I would read it over 2 or 3 times. Then when I think I can say it correctly without looking at my script I did. I did that 3 times. Then I went back to the start of the presentation and said slides 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 without looking at my script and if I made a mistake I would restart. I repeated that 3 times and I had slide 5 memorized. Then I did that for all my other slides and now I have all my slides memorized. I continue to practice in front of my class for any possible feedback. Now on Monday, 6/14 I am recording my final presentation!!!

 

Here is a recording of my final presentation!

Capstone Blog Post #3: Creating My Essay

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Now that I am far into the project with all my research done its time to now think about my essay. Also I will show my essay at the end of this. When I wrote my first draft I didn’t really understand what to do so I just each sub question as a body paragraph. After reading several examples and starting to understand it much more I was able to think of a claim, “There are three ways that March Madness has evolved and 6 teams have has the most success competing in the tournament.” Using this I began my essay. I started off with an introduction that I didn’t really like. After a couple of days of thinking I finally thought of the perfect hook. Next I made three different body paragraphs that each had a reason from my thesis. I put all my research in for each body paragraph. The next part of my essay was the conclusion. This part was simple for me because I restated my claim and ended it by giving the reader to think about. The next and final part of my Essay was feedback and revisions. I spent tons of time looking over my essay for any possible revisions. After that I asked some friends to read my essay and give me some feedback. Then after fixing everything and making my essay the best possible essay I could make it. I loved it a lot. But this isn’t the end I still have to make my script. Here is the essay though:

 

 

 

The Evolution of March Madness

by Ben

 

Think of this… A tournament played every year that takes place in March. Several Division 1 college basketball teams compete in one of the biggest sports events. Can you guess what it is? If you guessed March Madness then you’re correct. But March Madness wasn’t always the fun, crazy and awesome basketball tournament played every year. So how has it changed? I’m sure that now you are now wondering how March Madness has changed. Lucky for you, I’m about to save you a lot of time because in this essay I’m going to be showing you different ways that March Madness has evolved and what teams have had the most success competing in it. March Madness has evolved because of the Pod System, the change from eight teams in 1939 till now where 68 teams compete and because of the invention of bracketology. And six teams that have had the most success competing in March Madness.

One way that March Madness evolved is the creation of the pod system. For example, in the early 2000’s the NCAA basketball committee decided that they were sending too many teams too far from home. They came up with what they call a pod system where they put teams to play as close to home as possible. They try to keep it relative to what seed (Which is the number your team is given based on your skill and wins that season) the teams are in, while still keeping them as close to home as possible.

Another way March Madness evolved is the changes from having eight teams compete in the tournament in 1939 until now where 68 teams compete. In 1939 there were only eight teams in the tournament. By 1951 there were 16 teams in the tournament.  Then, in 1975, they doubled the number to 32 teams in the tournament. In 1985, they expanded the number of teams to 64 teams competing in the tournament. The person I interviewed, professional writer Michael DeCourcy, states, “The move to 64 teams in 1985 was super important and it really changed the tournament in a good way.”  In 2001, after the Mountain West Conference joined Division I and received an automatic bid, pushing the total teams to 65, a single game was added prior to the first round. In 2011, they expanded it to 68 teams. 

My final way that March Madness has evolved is the invention of bracketology. Bracket pools changed the tournament because it has helped the tournament grow and get more popular. The bracket pools used to be not that popular, but as they got more and more popular the more the tournament started to grow. Also, in order to have the publication of the bracket done, instead of having to put it in people’s mailboxes there had to be a way of knowing which teams were in the tournament. 7 years after the internet was first created Joe Lunardi started experimenting with how to project the tournament and that’s where bracketology was born. In order to facilitate the tournament bracket without having to put several copies of paper into people’s mailboxes. That’s another element of the tournament that has changed.

The 6 teams that have had the most success competing in March Madness are Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas, UCLA, Duke and Indiana. For example, Kentucky has competed the most in 58 different tournaments. North Carolina competed 50 times, Kansas competed 48 times, UCLA competed 47 times and Duke competed 43 times. You also get a total win count of how many games you win in the tournament. Kentucky has won 129 total games. North Carolina has won 126 total games, Kansas has won 108 total games, UCLA has won 101 total games and Duke has won 111 total games. Also there are championship games where if you win it you win the tournament. UCLA, Kentucky, North Carolina, Duke and Indiana have won the most championships or as some people call it “titles”. UCLA has won the most championships winning 11. Kentucky has won 8, North Carolina won 6 championships, Duke won 5 and Indiana also won 5 championships.

In conclusion, March Madness has evolved because of the Pod System, the change from eight teams in 1939 till now where 68 teams compete and because of the invention of bracketology. And the 6 teams that have had the most success competing in March Madness include Kuntucky, North Carolina, Kansas, UCLA, Duke and Indiana. Next time, whether you are rooting for your favorite team that is about to win the championship or when you are mad because your team just lost in the tournament, just remember this tournament has changed over the years.

Castone Blog Post #2

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For the next step in capstone we had to do an interview. Originally I already knew who I was interviewing because one of the reasons I picked my topic was because I could interview this person. That persons name is Denny Grace he compteted in March Madness and I thought that he could really help me with my research. When the time to try and schedule an interview got close I scheduled 5/13/21. Then my awesome aid Ms. Clemente emailed someone named Micheal DeCourcy. He is a writer/reporter and a bracket analyst for march madness. My parents and I emailed him and I was so excited while I was waiting for a responce. When he responded he said he could do the interview on 5/11/21 at 4:00 pm and we did…

My questions for my interview were:

  1. Why did you decide to write about sports?
  2. How long have you been writing about sports?  How long have you been covering college basketball?
  3. Has anything changed since you first started writing than right now? (Rules and stuff)
  4. Do you go to the games or do you watch them on tv and write about them?
  5. Do you think that you have helped people change the way they look at March Madness and why it is enjoyable?
  6. How long does it usually take to write a whole article? What’s involved?
  7. Do you agree that March Madness should stay an annual event and do you find it enjoyable?
  8. Is there anything in March Madness that you think should be changed? 
  9. How has COVID impacted college teams?  
  10. How has COVID impacted you as a reporter?
  11. Over the years, what are some changes (e.g., rules)/guidelines that you think shouldn’t have been made to how NCAA tournaments are played?
  12. What are some challenges of being a reporter?
  13. Do you have any college teams that are your favorite?  Why or why not?
  14. What college teams have had the most success competing during the time you’ve been reporting? 
  15. What’s your favorite memory of covering March Madness?

The interview went well. I got tons of infortmation just on one interview! For example I learned:

In the early 2000’s the NCAA basketball committee decided that they were sending to many teams to far from home. They came up with what they call a pod system where they put teams to play as close to home as possible relative to what seed your in.

I also learned:

There were lots of teams that thought they were going to have a chance to play in March Madness in 2020. For example, Penn State was going to qualify for the tournament. Lamar Stevens played for three years on Penn State hoping to make the NCAA tournament, but then because of the cancellation of the tournament in 2020 due to covid-19 he was never able to play in the NCAA tournament before he got drafted.

Another thing I learned is:

Bracket pools used to be not that popular but as they get more and more popular the more the tournament grows. In order to have the publication of the bracket done instead of having to put it in people’s mailboxes there had to be a way of knowing which teams were in the tournament. Joe Lunardi started experimenting with how to project the tournament and that’s where bracketology was born. In order to facilitate the tournament bracket without having to put several copies of paper into people’s mailboxes. 

My interview with Micheal Decourcy didn’t stop me with my interview with Denny. Denny and I still had our interview planned for 5/13/21. When the day of the interview came we had to reshedule. We couldn’t really find a good day and time to interview. Then on 5/17/21 on such short notice my dad texted Denny and he said he would love to do the interview that day at 6:15. My questions for the interview were:

  1. What made you want to play college basketball?
  2. What school did you attend?
  3. What years did you participate in March Madness?
  4. What years have you won March Madness?
  5. Who did you play against?
  6. In your opinion what are the key factors for winning a title?  For example, mostly the coach/coaches? 
  7. The chemistry of the players on the team? 
  8.  Was any experience from one year different from an experience from another year?
  9. Do you know how high the hoops were when you played?
  10. Do you know how far the three point line and freethrow line was?
  11. Did you and your teammates enjoy playing and do you like that it’s a traditional event every year?
  12. Do you keep in touch with old teammates? Why or why not?
  13. How many people were originally on your team and do you think you wanted more or less players?
  14. What is your experience being with a team?
  15. Is now any different from when you used to play?
  16. When you were about to play in March Madness was anything different than you imagined it to be because sometimes rules or stuff change?

After the interview I was super excited because I had done 2 interviews for my project in less than one week. I got all the information I need from each of my interviews and it is a lot. The due date for the interviews was Wednesday, 5/19/21. I was lucky enough to have both people able to do the interview before the date. Now I can’t wait to start writing my capstone script!

Rube Goldberg Blog Post #2

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I have finally completed my Rube Goldberg project! After a long wait of time until I was finally able to set everything up. My first sketch did not go according to plan. Then when I tried something else which was a little change up from my original plan that didn’t work either. I was running out of ideas. Finally at 11 a clock at night my parents came home and they were tying to help me also. Nothing was working at all. Then my dad came up with a little idea and then together we thought of a whole new project to do. It only took 10 minutes to think of and set up. Then it was time to test and video. It only took me 5 tries to complete and if you want to see my video the link is below

Reflection on Capstone Blog Post #1

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When capstone first started I had no idea of a topic. Like I was thinking for 10 minutes straight and nothing came to my mind whatsoever…

One day my sister came into my room and said you should do NCAA D1 basketball because someone who played works for my dad so I can interview him. I liked that idea but I also thought to do the knicks. When I was deciding on which topic I should do, the Knicks slid by pretty fast so my topic was NCAA D1 basketball. Then the hard part came…

I had to think of a main inquiry question as well as 5+ sub questions. I had no idea on what question to think of. I made a graph in a google doc with a bunch of questions and sub question I came up with. None of these question we big enough and some were to big. The only questions I could think of that wasn’t to big or to small were the ones I weren’t interested researching in. I thought of two more questions after that, but instead of doing it on NCAA D1 bsketball I decided on doing it on March Madness which is a tournament that D1 basketball teams do in march. Those questions were, “What teams have got in and won the most march maddnesses?” and “How has march madness evolved since it was first created?” Now these questions were too small. When I met with my teacher, Ms Edwards she thought of a question that was a mix of the two. The question is “How did March Madness evolve and which schools have had the most success competing in it?” This question wasn’t to big or small and I was interested in this question and wanted to find the answer. Now my next goal to think of 5 sub questions that if I can answer than I can figure out the answer to my main question. I though of 5 good questions. My first question is “What was the first ever march madness like?” My second sub question is “What teams have competed in march madness the most?” My third sub question is “What teams have won the most march madnesses?” My fourth sub question is “Was any of the main things on the court different from now than when march maddness first started. (The distance of the three point line, free throw line and half court. Also how tall the hoops were.)” And finaly my fifth sub question is “How long did the games used to be and how did they keep time and the score without the technology we use today?” These aren’t my final sub questions. I am going to have to make some changes especially because I thought of these today. In the meantime I a started to do my research and thinking of more questions to help me answer my sub questions which are helping me answer my main inquiry question. For example, for my first sub question “What was the first ever march madness like?” I need to find ways to answer this. So for a sub question of my sub question I thought, “When was march madness originated.”

Rube Goldberg Blog Post 1

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So far, this project has been my favorite project ever. I haven’t been able to start to build the project but I have many plans. Over the past couple of weeks I have been writing tons of plans in my notebook. After a long decision I have decided which contraption I should do. My simple task is to fill my cup with water. I took my time drawing the sketch for this idea. Now I have to gather all the materials I need and I can start building!

 

 

Reflecting on Immigration WeVideo

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When I first started this project I got really excited. I saw some examples of other people’s WeVideos that were really good and I said to myself, “Mine is going to be just as good and maybe even better!” When I made the WeVideo it wasn’t letting me insert images from google. So, instead of giving up I tried something else. I tried it on my mac and it worked! I put hard work and tons of details into my video. I cant wait to show it to my Zaidie (Grandpa)! The link is below!

 

 

The Immigration Story of Ronald Gavsie