mshetty26

I loved working on my passion project and I also enjoyed learning how the human brain works. This is my final blog post and it is a reflection on my passion project.

Pros:
• I got to choose a topic which I loved
• I didn’t have a hard time finding resources, because I had some books at home and there were ample resources online
• I had more time to work on my passion project because we are all in a stay-at-home situation

Cons:
• I had to learn how to do things on my own, like sharing a screen on Zoom, or learning how to attach something to a blog post (this was one of the things that would have been easier to get help from a teacher face-to-face)

I learned that I am getting better as a writer. Last year, while doing my writing projects, I used to have many edits. But now, my edits on my passion project presentation were minimal.

I also learned that I could figure things out and do things independently.

I shared my presentation with the class on Zoom, and we all went into separate rooms in Zoom called breakout rooms, which I thought was a very cool feature. The presentation went smoothly, and I think I did very well. I also did a Zoom share with my family and friends. The younger kids had a lot of questions and I had fun answering them.

For my final project, I am doing a slideshow. I chose to make a slideshow because you don’t have any limitations on what to add. You can add links, photos, and more. Slideshows are also the standard presentation format, and they are easy to use. These are a few photos from my slide show:

I am super happy about how my final project turned out. I can’t wait to share my presentation next week, and see everybody else’s! Mr. DeBerry also said that we have to do a performance in front of our family members too. He also said that we can invite friends and extended family on Zoom! That sounds really fun.

Final Project

I really enjoyed working on this project. Overall, the project went smoothly, but there were a couple of challenges.

Finding the information was easy but processing all the information, and making sense of it, was challenging. What helped me was making an outline for my final project, and only focusing on the information that fit my outline.

Another hard part was that I had a little bit of trouble finding how fast the brain can process information (which is 60 bits per second), but I got the answer I was looking for eventually.

Lastly, it was difficult to select pictures that went with my presentation, because my goal was to find pictures that were simple and easy to understand. So, I had to sift through many images before I found the appropriate ones to use.

I am learning that I am becoming better at time management. For example, I don’t spend all day doing research. I have become more efficient at organizing my time and completing my research faster, compared to last year.

As a reader,  I realized that I like reading non-fiction books, but previously I only read non-fiction if I had to, as part of school assignments. I have usually been reading fiction books for pleasure. When the passion project is over, I am going to try to read more non-fiction books.

As a writer, I am getting better at keeping neat and organized notes. I am making lists, with the name of the source on top. As an example, the website, I would list BrainFacts.org as a source, and write my notes at the bottom. Lists are an easy way to write notes because you don’t have to write full sentences, and you can write down notes quickly.

So I am getting better at reading, writing and time management!

I think my progress is actually really good. I got some of my sub-questions answered really quickly from the websites. For example, I got almost all the information I needed about the parts of the brain from BrainFacts.org. There are so many parts!

I have found that the most helpful resources are BrainFacts.org, Up Close With Human Brain-BBC News, and The Mind, Explained. I’m sure that I will find even more helpful resources as I keep doing more research.

The note taking strategy that I am using is making lists, and I am typing all the information that I gather on the computer. My strategy is working well.

I have not needed to revise any part of my project so far, and hopefully I don’t have to anytime soon. I feel like I’m in a good spot with my work.

I plan to use a combination of resources, both online research and books.  I found an amazing book from National Geographic called “The Ultimate Bodypedia” which has a chapter on the human brain.  I also have another book called the “The Human Body Encyclopedia”, but unfortunately, it did not have much useful information about my topic.

The challenge with online resources is the information may not be reliable.  However, one way to look for a trustworthy source is to look for a “.org” or “.edu” at the end of the URL.  I found a few good trustworthy online resources, including “BrainFacts.org”, and “New Measure of human brain processing speed-MIT Tech Review”.  I also found an interesting documentary called “The Mind, Explained-Netflix”.

Two note-taking resources that I am considering are online lists and using index cards. I like using Notability for keeping my notes in order, so I can reference them as needed.  I have only used index cards before for presentations, but not for keeping my notes organized.  I look forward to learning a new skill by using index cards for my Passion Project notes.

On March 20th, Mr. DeBerry gave us our Passion Project assignment.  He gave us a list of suggested topics, from which we could choose. Alternatively he also gave us the option to select our own.

I have always been interested in the human anatomy, and I thought that I could learn more about the brain, because the brain controls the body.

As part of the project, I had to write a proposal letter. The most important part that was in my proposal letter was my main inquiry questions and sub questions. My main inquiry question is “How does the brain work?.” My sub questions are, “How fast does the human brain process information”, “What are the different parts of the brain and what does each part do?”, “How is our body controlled by the brain?”, “How much does an adult brain weigh?”, and “What is the human brain made of?”. I chose those questions because they would help me understand the brain better.