PBL Innovation

PBL Innovation

This term for PBL has been Innovation and the question is, how can Innovation improve our lives? My group has been making this thing called 'Movie headphones' and apparently, they block out all other sounds so you can only hear the movie. The problem is though, we only have prototypes and they're not like real headphones which are made out of aluminium and ceramic. We have even come up with a website called Movie Headphones Elite! You can click on this link to see it even if it's not that good, we hope you enjoy it. Here are also some pictures we have!

Logo

The cups are for cancelling the noise, the blue straw is for talking and the red straw is for connecting to other headphones to receive the messages.


If you got the chance to create a product of your choice, what would you make?

Museum Trip

Museum Trip

Yesterday, everyone went to the museum. The whole reason was to learn more about innovation and Maori history and how it changed. We first started by examining some tools that they used such as fish hooks and real life dioramas. Next we headed to the second exhibit which was also linked to the first which was full of clothes and things just like in the first one and when we finished he were taught to do activities. The activities were to draw Maori characters, polish rocks, make a waka, drill, carve and make fire. We all split into groups and my group first drew Maori characters, the second thing we did was carve in a bizarre way by moving the tool and hitting it repeatedly with a mallet to make a shape. The third thing we did was rock polishing which was really muddy since we had to rub rocks on a wet giant rock. The 4th activity was to use a pounamu, green-stone axe to hit the log ten times before passing it on the next person so we could make a waka, boat. The second to last activity was to drill, where we had to tie a string across a sort of spinning toy which was tipped with some pounamu and we had to repeatedly pull it back and forth on some wood which would supposedly make a hole. Then, finally.. I got to try to make FIRE! You were supposed to rub a eye shaped gap on a piece of wood with a little smooth circular stick of wood and hopefully the friction would make fire and it did! I had actually made fire, actually I was just joking. I didn't make fire. After we finished all the activities, we got to explore more of the museum and some highlights for me would be the paua shell house, geodes and maybe throw in climbing the big tree in there, with the fountain too. Ooh! Also the fire! I don't know why I was excited for the fire, but maybe it was just because it was fire?

This is how you supposedly make a waka with Zoe

This is my group carving

This is also my group drawing Maori characters

Gianna be like, what is life RN?

This is my group polishing rocks.

Have you ever been to the Museum?

Explanation Texts

This term in our writing, we have been learning to do explanation texts which is to explain why or how a phenomenon is happening. I chose to do electricity because it fascinates me how it is a main power source of this century and many others. 

Here is a little snippet of my explanation text:

Electricity is a main power source in this century and we sometimes people wonder how it works.

Electricity is caused by electrons and protons, protons are positively charged while electrons are negatively charged. Static electricity is caused by a disparity between these charges and they will build up unless they can be released or discharged, like through a circuit.

Here is the link if you want to read the whole thing:

Link

Did you learn anything about electricity from the blog post?

Winter Sports

For winter sports I played hockey with my team the Cheetahs with Jin hee, Gianna, Oliver, Jack, Lily, Benjamin, Dakota and Charlie . We had diverse outcomes such as defaults, wins and losses but mostly wins*.  My favorite part would be after the game when we got to go back to school, because then I ask my friends how their game went! Something I found challenging was how I was soooo bad at passing, I should really practice if I ever get the chance.

Despite the challenges of injuries, losses and all that other stuff we've pulled through many times. It kind of was tiring running and all that stuff that I won't even bother talking about, I also might consider doing netball next season if hockey can't convince me. I also hope that next season that new challenges will arise and I'll see if I can take them on, also this is a photo of us.

Top row starting from left: Gianna, Me, Charlie, Oliver
Bottom row starting from left: Benjamin, Lily, Dakota and Jin hee

What do you like most about Hockey?




*I don't actually know the score, help me out and give me a break?

Pictures made out of shapes!

Today, for maths we got to create pictures with shapes with this website! There are no circular shapes sadly, but that's okay! Here are some pictures I made with the shapes.

Rainbow Solar Panel?

Gems

Random Shapes

Cute Animal!

Have you ever created a picture with shapes?

The Great Wonders of Innovation

This term in PBL we have been learning about Innovation, Innovation is when we invent something by using imagination and creativity.

Our first challenge was to build a boat made out of either straws, paper, tape, plastic cups and aluminium foil. We all got into groups of three or four and went straight to creating our boat. The boats were supposed to hold as much marbles as it could and be able to float on water, we created our boat in a regular boat shape and also layered the outside with aluminium foil to support the floating and we last minute added straws on the bottom to help balance it out. When all the groups got together we all saw how everyone else's was flat and how it has better support, we thought we were going to sink our boat once we placed it into the water but actually we got lots marbles in our boat before it sank. 

Through this experience I have learnt:

How Innovation works.

Innovation comes in different shapes and sizes. 

Innovation can be anything such as a boat.

What is Innovation in your own words?

Start saving polar ice caps today!

For reading this week my group read this article:What Is a Polar Ice Cap?

The new ideas I have now I’ve read this text are:

• Turn off lights when we don't need them on.

•  Pull out your charger when your device is fully charged.

•  Use a microwave instead of an oven. (it requires less energy!)

• Give everybody free solar panels!

• Store rainwater.

• Try walking, biking or scooting to school.

• Use stairs instead of elevators

• Turn lights off if you're leaving your house

                                                               

This is the result of our actions

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

            I now better understand that we should be careful when we're using electricity, because if we use it carelessly the earth could be even worse than it could be now!

What do you know about Polar Ice caps?

Are you going to try one of my ideas?

Did you learn anything from my blog post?