I make an effort to include missing voices/ perspectives by exploring and exposing different perspectives in my class discussions. In class, we explored topics that are often overlooked or pushed aside, such as disability, LGBTIQQ communities, races, discrimination, climate change, politics, substance use, and global reality. As we dive into these complex topics, we maintain an open mind, sharing and holding a discussion circle where everyone is heard and respected. We listen to each other and read new papers from different perspectives or neutral territory. During these moments I participated and built on what my classmates said. When I disagreed, I asked politely for my classmates to provide more insight for me to better comprehend where they were coming from. I’m proud of our class’s ability to abord controversial topics with, mostly, an open mind.
My cultural background/ upbringing contributes to who I am as a writer. I generally describe emotions or base my stories on topics or values I shared or felt strongly about. I notice, that if I write about things that I felt or happened to me, I’m more likely to do a better job. I can get inside the skin of that person with more success, adding descriptions that help the character grow. There’s no person we know better than ourselves, so I used this to my advantage. I recognized where I was coming from, and my background and tried to reduce it into small paragraphs in my writing.
I’m proud of my performance overall. This was the first time that I could control my nervousness and enjoy the experience. I felt confident with every piece we were playing. I was able to look up and know the audience. If I could change anything about the performance, it would be the ability to set up with the basses in a much cleaner way. At first, we didn’t have chairs and then some amps didn’t work. So, if I could change anything it would be that. During this year I learned a lot in bad. I improved in multiple ways with my instrument too. My sign reading got much better, and my rhythms too.
September 25,2023/ Maia:) The construction of the golf ball tower and ball launcher helped my understanding of the process of the scientific method, by having a real-life experience. I understood the importance of completing each step with detail and effort if I wanted to succeed in my experiments.
The first step of the scientific method is to identify a problem, in both of our cases we had to build a structure that will meet the expectation. In the golf ball challenge, he had to construct a tower that was free standing, that would hold the ball at the top, and it needed to the taller as possible. At the ball launcher challenge, our job was to create a device able to launch a ball the further as possible. Once with identified our expectations, we moved to the second step of the scientific method, which is to create a hypothesis.
A hypothesis must have an if and then statement. During these two challenges, I practice creating a hypothesis. I learned it is important to think analytically about what I write in my hypothesis. Because of it, I would put my effort or attention into certain parts of my project, that I wrote would make it succeed. The third step in the scientific method is to design an experiment that will test my hypothesis. Here I put my hypothesis on test. What I wrote in it will be from where I base my plans and designs to test it. For example, on my ball launcher challenge my hypothesis was “If we can find the right angle for the launcher and tie enough of our elastic band to our pencil then we may be able to throw the ball far away”. On the testing day, we followed our hypothesis and made minor changes, according to it, and it helped us a lot.
On the other hand, I learned that the more investigation and the more detail that describes the design the better. On the golf ball tower, I did not do much investigation, or I did not plan the design step by step, and what happened is that we could have gotten much better results, or we would have been much more organized. But at the ball launcher challenge, I investigated more and made a much deeper plan. That is one of the reasons we had a better result in our second challenge.
I learned a lot about problem-solving. While testing or constructing our projects, we found lots of problems or defects along the way. We ran out of paper, or the launcher moved in a way that was not helpful. In the paper tower challenge, I proposed we unfold one of the baskets, so we could use it paper to make another cylinder, which helped us gain a few centimeters more. For the ball launcher, we added pieces of tape from different spots that will help us to keep it in a better place.
The fourth step of the scientific method is performing the experiment and recording data. When experimenting, you will thank yourself for making such a neat plan. In that moment you realize it is necessary. But recording data was hard because at that moment you are only focusing on getting it done or improving something or too excited because it is working. I forget easily that I need to take pictures or write notes. That is something I want to work on and improve.
The last step is the conclusion. Here we gather all our data, ideas, discoveries, new concepts, failures, and successes and we write about our lab. We answer the purpose of it, and if it was supported or unsupported. I found in both of our labs a comfortable feeling at writing the conclusion, like signing an important document. The conclusion is what I take from my work, it is what I will remember and believe in. It holds the final statement, and it will answer why we did what we did.
In conclusion, these two experiences helped me to understand the scientific method in a fun way I will not forget it, comprehending why there are those 5 steps and the importance of each one.
The scientific method lab, I am the proudest of, is the ball launcher one. This is because my group and I worked hard together on it. We designed a distinctive design, and we investigated different ideas. At the time of building, we each collaborated and added our own opinions and strengths. I am aware that there is lots of room for improvement. But that is one of the reasons I chose to write it here. When we were done, my group and I were talking about ways we could have made it better, and about the things that went well. We were ready to learn from that experience.
During the lab, we faced lots of challenges. One of the problems we faced was that our device was not attached efficiently, because of it, it was always falling if someone was not holding it. We tried to tape it or to make holes in the base so it would stay there. But because of the force we used to launch the ball, it would not stay in its position. We also had to adjust to the time limit. We did not have much time together to plan, so it was important that everybody was responsible and did their part on their own. This is a notable example of teamwork. We also found it hard to complete the fourth step of the scientific method, recording data. Sometimes what happened was that we launched the ball, and nobody was filming. It was frustrating because we could not beat our record, but we learned from our mistakes. After that we started to communicate more, so we would not miss anything more.
I demonstrated that I can create new things when I proposed to use a paper triangle as the holder for the ball. This was a great idea because from there the ball never fell. It also provided a smooth surface that helped the ball fly, without having to fight much friction. Another advantage of this original idea is that the paper did not cost much, and it was lightweight.
I demonstrated that I can build on the ideas of others when I worked and helped improve my teammate’s idea for the ball launcher design. We took some time to produce some ideas, and we shared them. We decided to choose one and alter it in the ways we needed them to. With my partner, we combined our ideas and we each did a diagram of our own. I did my on paper, and he did his on the computer.
When trying new things, I expect setbacks and failures and I use them to develop my ideas. An example of this from the scientific method labs would be on the ball tower challenge, my teammate and I were having a tough time keeping the ball at the top. After a few times, of the ball falling to the ground, I had the idea of flipping one of the baskets, so the ball would get a better hold. This was an excellent idea that made the job of placing the ball at the top much easier.
This is a picture of our final tower. We can see all the parts and components of it. There is the main cylinder which holds the structure and makes it gain lots of height. Three supporters keep it standing. At the top, we see a series of paper baskets, which bring a stable surface for the golf ball.I chose to show this picture because it shows the height we were able to achieve. Later on, the tower become taller, but there is no picture of it. This picture is a close up of the baskets, they are really complex, delicate and important part of our tower. This is a picture of the design of the launcher and of the receiver. As I mentioned before, I didn’t take many pictures so, I will explain the parts of it, with this drawing. There is a cup that holds the whole design. Inside the cup, there is a pencil that is attached to the elastic bands from inside. At the top of the pencil there is the paper triangle, and the bottom of it, goes out, from a hole we made. We glued pencils to the side, that were also attached to the cardboard at the bottom. That was our launcher! The receiver is a cup that is standing thanks to some pencils at the bottom. It also has a large paper structure that helps to catch the ball.This is a photo of us constructing the devise, following our construction plan. This was the first time we got our ball inside the receiver. It didn’t go too far away but it was our first accomplishment. After that our ball landed three more times. We are really proud of our achievements.
A digital footprint includes all traces of your online activity, including your comments on news articles, posts on social media, and records of your online purchases. This can also include the websites you frequent, any messages sent, and data you’ve added online. Whenever you post something online, share content, or even when a website collects your information by installing cookies on your device, you create a digital trail or footprint. This includes your IP address, login details, and other personal information. Information that others post about you also gets added to your data trail. It could show up when someone searches for your name online. Your online identity can influence different aspects of your life.
There are two types of digital footprints, active digital footprints and passive digital footprints. Active digital footprints consist of the data you leave when you make deliberate choices on the internet. For instance, posts you make to your social media channels are a form of active footprints. When you log into a project management or similar site, changes you make that connect to your login name are also part of your active digital footprint. A few examples of active digital footprints are, posting on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and other social media platforms, filling out online forms, for example, when signing up to receive emails or texts and agreeing to install cookies on your devices when prompted by the browser.
On the other hand, passive digital footprints are those you leave behind without intending to or, in some cases, without knowing it. For instance, websites that collect information about how many times you’ve visited it recently are adding to your digital footprint passively. That’s because you don’t choose to give them this data. They collect it when a device at your IP address connects with their website. This is a hidden process, and you may not realize it’s even happening. A few examples are websites that install cookies in your device without disclosing them, apps and websites that use geolocation to pinpoint your exact location and social media news channels and advertisers that use your likes, shares, and comments to profile you and to serve up advertisements based on your interests.
Your digital footprint is your paper trail and online reputation, nearly all your activity is being tracked and absorbed. So, the digital footprint you leave behind is important because it’s basically permanent once the data is available to the public, especially with social media posts. It can determine your reputation online, which is almost as important as your offline reputation. Employers can investigate potential new hires before making a final decision. Colleges and universities can investigate prospective students’ social media before sending out acceptance letters. Your words, images, and videos can be misinterpreted or even altered for malicious purposes. Bad actors may share your private messages with a larger group of people and potentially damage friendships, relationships, and reputations. Cybercriminals can steal and use your personal information for phishing purposes or create fake accounts using your data.
There are some actions you can take to investigate or see what your digital footprint is, enter your name into several search engines. Double-check your social media privacy settings, but don’t trust them, privacy settings on social media allow you to control who sees your posts on your social media streams. Spend some time getting to know these settings to use them fully. It’s also important to create strong passwords that have at least 10 numbers, symbols and uppercase and lowercase letters. Another thing to be aware of is to keep all your software up to date, computer viruses and other malware may try to mine your digital footprint, and they are constantly getting updated. To help protect yourself, ensure that your antivirus Sofware and other software programs are up to date. Remember to review your mobile usage if you don’t need it, it will be useful to delete it. You need to build your reputation through your behavior, so you have a positive, professional digital footprint by posting only those things that contribute to the image of you that you want your employer, banks, or professors to see.
Personal/Social Competency Reflection:
I know that my digital footprint can have both positive and negative consequences, including, that you can create any image I want to be known as, and the ability to transmit to a lot of people who you are, what I believe in, what are your hobbies, you can show people that you’re a kind, caring person. Using a digital footprint, you can build a life statement that will help you get to college or a job. But on the other hand, if you aren’t careful, you can build a bad footprint, with images or text you aren’t proud of. Or maybe you did something you regret, something you posted, and it’s really hard to delete. So I adjust my actions to always create a safe and nice image of me on the internet. I will take extra care of what I post, knowing that I will stay there for the rest of my life.
Some of my preferred strategies for maintaining a healthy, balanced online presence include only accepting and friending people I know in real life. Also, I try to never post something I don’t want certain people to see. I know everything online gets its way, to the places you less want them to be. I try to have varied passports. Another way I maintain a safe online interaction is by having private accounts.
By asking their permission to the people I took pictures of, I’m creating a safe online relationship, and I make a positive difference to my peers. Also, if we are making a classroom group chat, I make sure we include everyone, and that the topics discussed in there don’t make anyone feel uncomfortable or unsafe.
