Category Archives: Technology

Capstone Reflection

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Have you ever done a Capstone? Or made a video for one? Even make one about space? Well, I actually did all that, and even though it was hard, I had lots of fun! A Capstone is when you pick a topic that you want to either learn about or show other people about, and create a video, a TedTalk, or a Ignite. There were lots of steps, including research, the essay, making the script, and the presentation altogether. But even though it was hard, it is still very fun and students will definitely learn a lot. If you ever make one, just remember, even if you are having trouble at first, do not give up because the finishing results will end up very good, no matter what!

During research, you first need to make sub questions. This helps you elaborate on the main question. Next, you have to know some keywords to remember when you are scanning books or the internet. These are important because you do not want to go on an article that is really long and doesn’t have anything to do with your topic. After you find at least 20 keywords, you can start researching. When you research, only trust reliable sources, like nonfiction books, Wikipedia, or special websites that you know tells the truth. For example, I did my Capstone on black holes and neutron stars, so I used Nasa’s website. To be able to save your work, write some notes in a notebook or notepad so that you can put it in your Capstone essay(more on that later). Some things that went well were the keywords. I had TONS of them, so I also had lots of research for the first four sub questions, but the fifth one… that was a problem. I barely found anything on that one, which was about how the study on black holes and neutron stars expanded over time. So I needed to search over fifteen websites before I found a good source. And some things were really interesting too. I found out that magnetars, a type of neutron star, can literally melt you! And that white holes are black holes that sucked up so much stuff that they blast stuff out of it instead of in. Altogether, Capstone research is a tiring step, but pays off in the end.

The essay is where you bring all the research together into, well, an essay! You usually make each sub question into a body paragraph. The answer to my main inquiry question (How does a Neutron star compare to a Black hole and what are scientists doing to learn more?)is that neutron stars are more of a threat than black holes, and scientists are also trying to build better telescopes, and discover new ones. To write the essay, though, you need a lot of research, not just remembering off the top of your head. Also, you need to tell them exactly what it is, and cite every quote. Some things that were enjoyable were actually writing! It was pretty fun to write it, and also the feeling when I finished, it was great. One thing that was challenging was the fifth body paragraph. As I said, I did not find much research, so I could not write much, and as a result had a small body paragraph. But a found a website where there was an example of an advance in the study of neutron stars and black holes. Here is my essay. Ultimately, the essay was fun and played a big part in making Capstone.

When we were making the Capstone, you could either choose a TedTalk or a Movie, and for both of those, you must have a script. For the script, you need a narration, and a chart/the “script” itself. First, you take your essay and put it in your narration. Then you need to only have the important parts. Eight hundred to one thousand five hundred words, more or less should be good. Then, you want to put all the words into the script, and time how long it takes. You want to take four to six seconds, and put either four or six seconds in the time box. After that, you want text and photos. Write the type of text or photo you want on the side, and then you are done with the script! The most enjoyable part was when I was reading it aloud, because that is important for the video to be on time, and it was also kind of fun. There were a couple problems, like the timing. I had a ton of errors, like putting three words in a four-second box, and it was near the top of the script, so I couldn’t waste time moving the time down. Eventually, I quit using the time, and on the movie I just read down the script without time. Here is my script. Long story short, the script is hard and can confuse and mess you up, but it holds everything together and is important.

Now, we did everything except for the video or TedTalk itself. I’m going to start with videos. For videos, you first make two seconds of black at the start and end of the video. Next, put in the photos. My class used WeVideo, so I am going to explain about that. WeVideo has photos itself, but you might not have enough, so you can take photos from the internet. But there is a big rule for that. You can only have Creative Commons photos, and still have to cite them. To do that, you can search up an image, go to tools, and then click creative commons. Make a small section at the end of the video and put the sites on it, or even put the link at the bottom of the photo. After you put all the photos in, go to the project bin, and click narrate. Record yourself saying the script, then drop it in after the two seconds of black. Finally, add music, and see if your video is the same time as your recording, and if it is no extra frames(in WeVideo there are twenty-four frames per second, about two times the lowest frames per second when the brain makes motion). My favorite part was when I was listening to the music for the video because they were SO COOL! But that ended quickly because of the most challenging part: getting the time well. I had to spend so much time trying to match up the time, and it was hard. But just remember this: you can not steal photos! For a TedTalk, you need to make a Google Slide. Same for a TedTalk, you need photos. Just go to the photo icon and tap “Insert photo from google”, and it will give you pictures that you do not need to cite. That is the only other step except for memorizing the script. Try doing everything in one go, and use flashcards to practice. Now, you know how to make a TedTalk, and WeVideo.

All in all, Capstone was hard, but the results were very good. The steps are research, the essay, the script, and the final product. Capstone was a memorable choice for an end-of-the-year project, and was really amazing. If you ever make a Capstone, I hope you will have fun!

Feature Article Reflection

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What do you like? Video games, chess, a sport? And would you write about it? Well, I just did, and it’s called a Feature Article! Come on, go to your device and start writing!

 

I came up with my topic and message because, for the topic, I had three choices: Chinese culture, hockey, and Pokemon. I chose Pokemon because I know a ton about it, love it, and am a collector and battler myself. For my message, I know there are over 1000 species of Pokemon, which is a lot, and I came up with “ There are over 1000 types of Pokemon, with many different varieties. Where do you start?” 

 

The part of the article that was most enjoyable was writing the types of Pokemon because I know a lot about those types of Pokemon. After all, in the card game, you have to know a lot about that to play. The part of the article that was challenging was the part about the world championships, which is out of my normal area, but I still know a lot about it. The reason why it is challenging is because there have been quite a lot of them, and it is split up into Junior, Senior, and Master.
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An example of the technique I used best in the feature article was a statement of fact, in my introduction. I wrote, “Pokemon is so much more than just collecting cards. True, that is one of the things that you can do with Pokemon, but there is also battling and selling them to make money.” And, in the conclusion, I Used an antidote and said, “As you can see, Pokemon is very fun with its competition, varieties of cards, and collecting them! Go and research Pokemon and let everyone you know enjoy the fun, So next time you’re going for a stroll at Target, think before walking away from the Pokemon aisle!” What I am most proud of in this piece of writing is that It is my favorite piece of writing because I got to write what I liked and I have not made a better one(so far). 

Finally, writing a feature article compares to writing a personal narrative because you don’t need fun facts, vocabulary, or pictures, and the Feature article is larger. The Feature article is my favorite writing project and will be for a long time.

4th Grade Ignite Reflection

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I worked for a long time on my Ignite. This is what what I did. First I got our topic and subtopic. The topics were Hurricanes, Tornados,  Our group was Volcanoes, and my subtopic was Cause. I researched until I had enough information. The first week or so I barely got to research. There was also thanksgiving break so I couldn’t do anything. I researched the cause on Epic, Kiddle, all the websites on the library databases, and more. But certain information would not work because it either was not correct or it was another subtopic.

Then, I typed a narrative using our words. It was pretty simple because I had all the research; I now just had to type it. Later, I did my script. The script was a template on google docs which had the slides, time, what I say, and what the audience sees. I literally just had to copy, then paste. When I finished that, I started to time everything. I had to cut my narrative and try speaking faster. I then practiced and practiced.

These are my easiest and hardest parts. The hardest part for me was the practice because everyone was arguing. the easiest part was the narrative because I basically knew it all in my head. I liked this because I wanted to learn more about Volcanoes. I had a lot of fun.

Then, it was finally the day. The parents came in. I then waited for the other groups. Finally, it was our turn. I said my parts, and I did it!  This is the 4th grade Volcano Ignite. The Volcano group made two videos, this is one of them.  I really hope you like it too.