The technology quarter has been a lot of fun. But I have had a lot of struggles during it as well. Our first project we did laser cutting. This was a lot of fun, but I did struggle on using Vectornator at first. There were so many confusing things about it, but especially using the pen tool. I didn’t understand how to use it at first, and it was really confusing. I kept needing to ask people if they could help me. But I eventually got it, and it ended up not being that bad. The next unit that we did was the soldering iron unit. I had a lot of fun doing it, but a lot of trouble forming the wires into the shape that I wanted them to be. My design was a dog, so there were many curves, and I had to bend the wire a lot. This was very troubling because at many points I couldn’t find a way to bend it in the way I wanted it to be bent. I also had a lot of trouble cutting the wire. Often what would happen is it would be too hard to cut or too small to cut. What happened several times was I cut the piece of medal, but then it would fly somewhere around the room, and I couldn’t find it. So I would have to re-bend the medal and re-cut it, and then it would fly away again. This was very frustrating but I eventually got it. After soldering we had to do a light switch unit. This unit was a lot of fun, but at first I was scared that I wouldn’t have enough time to finish my light switches. I thought this because I was one of the last people to solder. Another struggle I had with this unit was thinking of ideas for my switches. The first design came easy to me, but then the next was harder to think of. I didn’t want them to be too simple, but I also didn’t want them to be too complicated. I had to be able to turn the light switch on easily. I eventually got it and figured everything out, but it was hard. Overall all these projects have been a lot of fun, and all the struggles have taught me to never give up.
Technology Blog Post #4
The Soldering Unit has just ended and I had so much fun! So I will tell you a bit about my journey! Mr.Calvert introduced soldering by telling us that we will be making a jewelry piece for someone. He told us that we had to interview someone, and ask them a few questions about themselves. I decided to interview Mr.Calvert, and made a jewelry piece for him. He told me about his hobbies, his pets, and things he really enjoys doing. Afterwards we had to make a brainstorming sheet that had many circles on it. We had to make 12 designs of things that we think our person will like, and we can only use 6 wires. To keep it simple. It was hard for me to think of designs, even though I knew what he enjoyed doing and what he liked. I eventually got all 12 down and then we had to put a star on the one we like the most and we think we are going to do. After we did the basics we started forming our base piece. This was a little ring shaped metal wire. There were so many steps, but we got it done in the end. Once we have done that we put this double sided really sticky tape on the design that we were going to do, and put our little wire ring shaped thing on top. Once that was done Mr.Calvert gave us all the wire, and we had to shape our wire to be like our design. I was making a dog, so it wasn’t too hard to shape the wire. Once we were done with that it was time to use the soldering iron. This was scary because it was at 842 degree’s Fahrenheit. Before using it though we had to put this toxic stuff everywhere where wire touches wire. Now it was time to solder. We had to grab the wand thing like a pencil, tap the tip on a wet sponge to clean it, then get the soldering iron, and put the little wand thing and the iron on each other. Then we got the soldering iron on the wand. After you place it everywhere else where wire touches wire. Then you are all done and you give it to your person. I had so much fun doing this project and I can’t wait to do the next.
Technology Blog Post #3
We have started our laser cutting unit. In this unit we use the app Vectornator and we draw cool designs, then we send it to our teacher Mr.Calvert and with his laser cutter he cuts out our design and it becomes a cool wooden pendant, magnet, piece of jewelry, pretty much anything you want. The first thing I made with the laser cutter was a wooden banner. When we used the app Vectornator, we used the pen tool. It was really hard at first, but I ended up getting the hang of it after practicing a few times. I learned that the reason why we use Vectornator, and not any other app is because Vectornator doesn’t use pixels, and the laser cutter doesn’t work well with pixels. My banner came out really nice, and I am very happy with the final product of it. After we made this design, and got more familiar with Vectornator, we started a new project. For this project we got to make a design of our own, and we could make it anything we would like, like a necklace, a magnet, a pendent, a keychain, and anything else that you will like. I made a necklace, with the infinity logo for my mom. I printed it out and it is looking amazing. I really am enjoying this laser cutting unit, and I don’t want it to end. But I am excited to start the next unit soon. I hope that I can keep making more laser cutting designs, and keep having fun in Mr.Calverts class.
Technology Blog Post #2
During Technology we have been working and learning a lot about atoms. I have learned that inside of atoms there are Protons, Neutrons, and Electrons. Atoms are in everything, and when I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING. We learned that atoms can be positive, negative, or neutral. Protons are positive, electrons are negatives, and neutrons are neutral. We learned this digitally. When rubbing a balloon on a sweater, or on your hair it collects a lot of negative electrons. When we put the balloon against the digital wall, all of the negative electrons always moved from the balloon, and all the positive protons stayed in place. This happens since opposites attract. Negative electrons, and negative electrons want nothing to do with each other, and this little experiment explains that. Atoms are very cool, and I really enjoy learning about them in Mr.Calverts class. I really understand what I am learning, and I have fun while doing it. Atoms are a cool subject to learn about, and I recommend you learning about them too.
Technology Blog Post #1
We have started our technology quarter, and so far I have really enjoyed it. We have done a lot of partner work, and a lot of things to get to know each other better. What I really enjoyed doing was the real life escape room. We were split up into two teams, and during this we really learned how to work together as a group, and how to communicate with each other. When we were solving the puzzle we were having trouble with everything. We had trouble finding clues, communicating with each other, listening to each other, and working as a team in general. This wasn’t really working for us, and I think we realized it a bit late. But in the end we got it together and really worked hard. We were starting to act like a team, communicating, listening to each other, working together, and every other aspect of a team. We learned that it is important to give others a chance to speak, and hear their thoughts, because if you don’t then you will be stuck with your idea, and you will not be able to branch out into the world. Your imagination will stay small, and you won’t grow as a thinker or a person. Doing this activity really helped us in many different aspects, and I am very glad that we did it.
Last Reflective Post😭
My coding skills before this computer tech class were absolutely horrible. I didn’t know how to make a character move, and I couldn’t make a code if I didn’t have a template of the code before. I didn’t enjoy coding, but that was because I didn’t know what it was like. But when I opened myself to learning about code and learning what it was, I really enjoyed it! I look forward to coming to this class period everyday because I get to create things, and use my imagination. I would call myself a master of SCRATCH. It is so fun to work with, and it is so easy to learn how to work with it. You can make so many fun and cool codes, and it is so simple. What I really loved is that I could work with one of my best friends Penny. We would make so many collaboration codes, where the sprites could talk through the screen. They were hard to do because they had to have perfect timing, and everything had to be equal, or staggered. But we had a lot of freedom doing it, and we really used our thoughts and imagination to create cool codes. Some of the codes that we have done together were, Beach Day, Two Truths and a Lie, Trick or Treat, and we are currently working on The Maze. I think that I have improved a lot and a coder and as a scholar. But there is always room for improvement.
Some things that I would like to learn are Python, and Tynker. When I was in elementary school, my computer teacher inspired me to learn about Tynker, but we weren’t allowed to roam freely, and we had to follow lots of rules, and we couldn’t use our imagination. So now that I actually know how to code, and have the opportunity to use Tynker, I now can work with it more and really enjoy it.
This quarter has been really fun, and leaving it will be hard, but I am excited for a new chapter in my life. I am excited to learn how to build things, and work with tools in Mr.Calverts class. GOODBYE MS.CRONK! I WILL MISS YOU!
Reflection Under Water Dreams
What stood out to me about this story was that a few Mexican high schoolers from Arizona went from being nothing, to beating every single college in the competition. The Arizona team was determined to beat the colleges especially MIT, and that is a main reason that drove them to success. What really surprised me was that a big factor in their winning was their presentation. They were in the room for 20 minutes, maybe a little more, but the other teams were in there for more than one hour. They said that there wasn’t one question that they asked them and they didn’t know. This is what really stood out to me.
The students experienced a lot of difficulties throughout the whole competition. I definitely think they overcame adversity. They were the only Mexican team, which was hard on them because it made them doubt their abilities. THey also didn’t come from a very wealthy community so they couldn’t spend thousands of dollars on their equipment. They spent only $800 and got pretty much all of their equipment from home depot. But this didn’t stop them from winning, and they beat the whole competition.
After the competition everybody went back home, and maybe everything was going to be good after that. But probably the exact opposite. Oscar wanted to get a job and provide for his family, he wanted to enlist in the army so he’d oculi help our country. But he couldn’t because he didn’t;t have to do paperwork. So he deported himself back to Mexico, so maybe he could get back into the USA. He didn’t get accepted the first time but did the second. Another time that was hard for them was when Christian was in college. But then proposition 300 happened, and he couldn’t finish college. He graduated 2nd in his high school, and now he didn’t;t get to finish college. They have been through so much and are still going strong.
Computer Technology Reflection One
What have you learned so far?
I have learned how to code on scratch. When I was in elementary school we would code on Tynker, and I would have so much trouble. But now that I am more familiar with scratch I know how to code much better than before. And now I really know how to code!
What was fun?
Coding has been Fun! Right now I am making the music code and it has been so much fun, but it has also been hard. My things have sometimes not saved and I would have to start all over again, but when that happens I think of a brand now great idea, and it makes me so happy!
What would you like to know more about?
I would like to know more about coding in general, and new tricks to use. Something that I am struggling on right now is finding new music. I want my code to be amazing, and to have great music, but I am not sure how to do that.
Capstone Blog Post #4
Our Capstone journey is coming to an end. I have done 3 blog posts and this will be my 4th and final blog post! I have had a lot of fun learning about Disney princesses and how their evolutions have made positive and negative impacts on girls and boys. But now I have been working on my final project.
First we had to start with the script. This wasn’t too hard since we had already done our essay. I got a lot of the things that I have in my script from my essay. But then I had to start to make it more like an actual ted talk, since it sounded like I was just saying my essay at first. I also noticed that I didn’t have too many slides, so my audience would most likely get bored. I started fixing my script and adding a lot more slides. Once I finished fixing it I ended up having 30 slides and a much more interesting presentation. It definitely didn’t sound like an essay anymore!
Second was slides. To be honest this was pretty hard. Finding the right pictures was very hard! Also making sure that they weren’t copy writed was very hard since I could never find any good pictures. Some of my pictures were super easy to find, but for a lot of them it took more than 10 minutes to just find a picture! But then picking a picture for a slide was easy, just finding the picture was the hard part.
Third was memorizing. Honestly this was so easy. For most of my slides I accidentally memorized them which was really good. But whenever I had to present I knew I had memorized everything, I was just too nervous to not use my flash cards. But when I presented without my flash cards I did really well, and I felt more comfortable since I didn’t have flash cards in my hands. I also felt more comfortable pointing to things and moving around more since I wasn’t focused on looking at my flashcards for the whole time.
Overall my Capstone journey has been so much fun, and I am a bit sad that it is coming to an end. I had a lot of fun learning about Disney princesses. I loved interviewing people, making my slides, and having the thrill of presenting in front of my whole class. I can’t wait to show you guys my final project!
Here is my video!
Capstone Blog Post #3
During Capstone we have done many things, including picking out a topic, getting a main inquiry question, sub questions, researching, interviewing, and a bit more. But one of the things we had to do was writing an essay. The essay had to be about answering our main inquiry question. My topic is Disney princesses, and my main inquiry question is “How have the Disney princesses evolved and how have they impacted girls and boys around the world”
Starting to write the essay was challenging. I didn’t know where to start! I was stuck just thinking about a hook, and I couldn’t seem to find a way to start without my hook. But once I thought of a hook, I was off. I could’t stop writing, ideas just started popping into my head and I just kept writing them down! I finished the essay in one day! But then I had to start editing and revising. I definitely do not enjoy revising my essay. So my teacher really helped me with that! Well you probably want to see my essay now, so here it is!
Disney princesses. What comes to mind? Pretty and gentle? Strong and brave? Disney princesses are role models to girls and boys, and they have changed drastically throughout the years. I wanted to look more into this, so I did research. The question that drove my research was, “How have Disney princesses evolved, and how have they impacted girls and boys around the world?” To answer this question I studied how the diversity, body shapes, story lines, and personalities of the Disney princesses have evolved over the years and their impact on girls and boys around the world.
The ethnicity, including the race, of Disney princesses has evolved and become more diverse. The earliest princesses such as Snow White, Aurora of Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Ariel in Little Mermaid, and Belle in Beauty and the Beast were all white and their ethnicity was not stressed. Lisa Fragner, Vice President of Disney Television says ethnicity is one of the main ways that Disney princesses have evolved. Snow White, the first Disney princess, came out in 1937, and the first Disney princess of color, Jasmine in Aladdin, came out 55 years later in 1992. Jasmine was Arabian and unlike all of the other princesses before her who were all white. After Jasmine, the ethnicity of Disney princesses started to be more varied. The only catch about Jasmine is that the voice actress (Linda Larkin) for the animated film was white. But it’s still a change. After Jasmine came Pocahontas in 1995. Pochahontus was Native American. The voice actress behind Pocahontas (Irene Bedard) was not white. This was a big step for Disney! After Pochahontas everything started changing. Mulan came out in 1998, and she was an Asian Disney princess. The voice actress, (Ming-Na Wen) was Asian also. The Frog and the Princess came out in 2009 and its Disney princess, Tiana, was African American. This might seem like a big step for Disney. But it is also a step back since Tiana only had around 20 minutes of being a human being. The rest of the movie she was in frog form, which didn’t show any sort of diversity for Disney. Tiana was a frog for more than half of the movie, and more than double the amount of time that she was a human being. But then finally came Moana. Moana was Hawaiian, and the voice actress, (Auli’i Cravalho) is also Hawaiian. As you can see the race has changed a lot, and the increased diversity was a change for the better as it expanded what it gave girls and boys around the world greater opportunity to see themselves reflected in the main characters.
The body shape of Disney princesses has also changed, enough for it to be noticeable. Two of the latest princesses, Mulan and Moana, are the two Disney princesses who have changed the most this way. They both have strong legs and curves. They have a different shape since they are both on a quest. Moana is going to save her island, and Mulan is going to save her country. Most of the other Disney princesses just have curves, and very tiny waists. All of this has changed girls and boys’ perspectives about their own bodies. By showing greater diversity in ethnicity and body shape, Disney is helping girls and boys have greater awareness and appreciation for diverse beliefs and cultures.
Another way that Disney princesses have evolved is their movie story lines. All of the Disney princesses have their own unique story, and they all send different messages to girls and boys. Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora, of Sleeping Beauty, all have similar stories that focus on their beauty and needing a man to save you. The only reason why Snow White got poisoned was because a mirror told the Evil Queen that Snow White was prettier than her. Then she needed a man to come to the rescue and wake her up. Cinderella was unhappy until the fairy godmother transformed her and her beauty was remarked on at the ball. She was later saved by the prince who came to the rescue with a glass slipper in hand. Aurora, pretty much couldn’t do anything without a man. She was in a deep sleep and couldn’t move a thing until Prince Philip came to the rescue, once again. This doesn’t really send a very good message to girls and boys. It is telling them that they need a man or woman to come and save the day, and they won’t be able to do anything without them.
Later princesses, Ariel of Little Mermaid, Jasmine of Aladdin, and Mulan have similar storylines in that they are all less obedient and betray their fathers. Ariel betrays her father because she wants to see the world beyond the ocean, and her father won’t let her. But she does anyway. Jasmine has a similar story, she betrays her father to go and explore beyond the palace walls. Even though her dad says that it’s dangerous and that she shouldn’t be out there. But something different about Jasmine is that she refused to marry someone who she doesn’t love. Jasmine also didn’t like the rules that her father set. Her father says that she can’t be Sultun unless she marries someone. Jasmine thought that this was unfair, and she was 100% right. Mulan betrays her dad, but she betrays him to protect him. Mulan didn’t want her father to go to war, since he was already hurt and she thought that he might not make it out alive. When she asked him if she could go instead he said no, but Mulan went anyway because she wanted to save her dad.
These later princesses are definitely less obedient, but Ariel and Jasmine both still need a man to come to their rescue. Ariel gave up her voice to get legs so she could see a man she has never met before. And Jasmine needed Aladdin to come to the rescue when Jafar trapped her into the hourglass. These two movies send a mixture of messages. Ariel and Jasmine tell girls and boys that if you really want to do something do it no matter what anybody says. This is a good message but can also be a bad one since it is telling girls and boys to not obey their parents, and the rules that they have set for their kids. Like the last three it sends the message that you need a man or a woman and you can’t do anything without them.
Recent princesses Merida of Brave, Elsa and Anna of Frozen, and Moana are all very independent Disney princesses. Merida doesn’t focus on a man at all. She actually does the exact opposite. When her clan is trying to make her marry this man, she refuses, which is a big change from almost all of the past Disney princesses. The movie also mainly focuses on her relationship with her mother, so that’s a big evolution. Frozen focuses on the relationship between two sisters, Elsa and Anna, who love each other. When Elsa shut Anna out of her life, Anna didn’t give up on Elsa. That is one nice sister right there. Elsa also doesn’t have a love interest. She is independent and on her own and she is better than ever. Finally, Moana. Moana doesn’t have any mention of a love interest. When Maui showed up the last thing that Moana thought of was Maui as a love interest. She might have not even thought about it at all! Moana had a mission to save her island, and that is exactly what she did. Moana showed people that a movie can be fun, interesting, and adventurous all at the same time without having a love interest. All these Disney princesses show girls and boys that you don’t need a man or a woman to help you live through life. They teach you that you can go through anything without a man or woman coming to the rescue. All of these Disney princesses didn’t need saving, and I hope it stays like that in the future.
The personalities haven’t changed too much. But there definitely are some differences. Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora once again are all very sweet and kind. They are also very petite and pretty. Which is never a bad thing. But these qualities emphasize obedience. Recent Disney princesses have started to be more tough, and strong. For example, Ariel is rebellious, curious, and confident. Ariel wants to see the world beyond the ocean, which has never been done before. This makes her very brave! Belle, of Beauty and the Beast, is very smart. She chooses to read books instead of falling for that one guy, Gaston, that every other girl can’t live without. She also cares less about looks and more about personality. After all, she did marry a so-called beast! Pocahontas is a peacemaker. All she wants is peace between the Native Americans and the Europeans. Mulan is determined and brave. She goes into the war so her father doesn’t have to. Mulan proves that a woman can be as good as a man, if not better. Tiana, of Princess and the Frog, is strong and independent! She would rather work, than look for a man to do things for her, and take care of her needs. Merida of Brave is brave, just like the movie title. She refuses to marry someone who she doesn’t want to marry. That is more than brave in my opinion. The two sisters in Frozen, Elsa and Anna, are strong and tough. Moana is fearless, she would do anything for her island. She doesn’t let anything get in her way, even if they are a demi-god! Disney princesses are being shown to have their own ideas about what will make them happy and they are not afraid to do what it takes to achieve their goals. They teach girls and boys to be who they really are, and to not let other people choose who you want to be!
In conclusion, the diversity, body shapes, story lines, and personalities of the Disney princesses have evolved over the years. Their evolution is heading in a more inclusive direction, which is having a positive impact on boys and girls around the world. Disney princesses have helped girls and boys learn about life, and I think that is their main goal. So what do you think? Do you think the evolution of the Disney princesses have helped make a positive impact on girls and boys? Or a negative impact? Do you think evolution has anything to do with that?