Imagine it, make it happen! A blog about creativity, ideas and technology, by Mr. Goldstein and the teachers and students at Omni Middle School, Boca Raton, FL. A Project Smart Project.
The paper tower challenge is a challenge to see who can make the largest tower out of only paper and tape. Mr. Goldstein gave us an 8.5 X 11 piece of paper, 12” of tape and scissors. The rules were that you couldn’t have the scissors attached to the structure, the tower had to be connected to the table and you only had 20 minutes.
We found the time limit of time challenging. We also found the lack of materials challenging. When our tower started to fall down we didn’t have a lot of time to fix it so it was leaning over when we measured it.
Our tower ended up being 23 ½ inches tall. To make it taller we could of cut the tape long ways so we had to use. We could of also cut the paper differently.
We worked well as a team because we both shared our ideas and then found a way to make the tower. We could of worked better by putting more ideas out there. We learned that sometimes working as a team is hard but its better to have 4 or 6 hands then only 2. We learned that trying to solve a problem might be harder than it looks or seems
The paper tower challenge was hard but we learned a lot. It was fun to work as a group but also difficult.
The paper tower challenge was a challenge to see who could build the tallest structure. We received one 8.5 x 11 piece of paper, 12” of tape, and scissors. The scissors could not be part of the structure though; they could only be used to cut the paper and tape. The trick was that we only had 20 minutes to do this.
I found the limited amount of materials. We ran out of tape, and had to start figuring out what to do. The time limit was hard too because our tower started to lean, and we didn’t have the time to fix it.
Our tower was 23.5” tall. This was impressive because we had ran out of materials, time, and it had started to lean.
Our experience as working as a team was great! We worked well and even decorated our number. It would be amazing to do another challenge together because we work perfectly together.
I learned that everything doesn’t always go your way, but there is always a way to fix it. When we ran out of tape, we started to make some more by getting extra from the base. When the tower started to lean, we added more tape to that side. There is always a way to fix the problem.
The Paper Tower Challenge was a great way to have fun, and learn about skills. The best way to build the tower was to use cylinders, and stack them on top of each other.
A picture of us working on the Paper Tower Challenge
My name is sepand z. and I created the micro zap with my group. The group was Brandon, Corey, Bryan, Carlos and I. we were all brainstorming while thinking about the invention, and then Bryan thought about the micro zap.
The micro zap is basically a box that has a huge zap button on side of the box. It’s all black and the zap button is purple. We painted it very good and choice the best colors possible.
It works by writing what you want on a piece of paper what you want to eat, then you open the micro zap and place the piece of paper in the micro zap, you then press zap and whatever you wrote on the piece of paper would appear right before your eyes.
The difficulties of the project was waiting for the paint to dry and videotaping the project. While videotaping the project we had to retake shots over and over again till we finally got the right shot.
The poster we made was very nice it was very colorful it had a picture of a hamburger that I made. It was like a McDonald’s big mac but better. I think it would taste good if it was real.
The micro zap was successful and the project was fine till we left it outside and some kids broke it. But overall we enjoyed working with everyone and had fun.
Script:
Joe: Ugh, I’m so hungry. I wish there was a way to get food super quickly.
Salesman: Well look no further! Introducing the Micro-Zap! The micro-zap is a fast way to get your food. Here is how it works. You write what you want on a piece of paper and stick it into the micro-zap. Then, click the ZAP button and its there!
Dwyane: I got my micro-zap and I love it!
Albert: Oh me too! It is amazing!
Joe: Well where can I get one?
Salesman: I happen to have one with me now. Here you go. *gives Joe the micro-zap*
Our invention for the project is The Hunger Game. The Hunger Game is a pin that you fasten to your shirt, which in turn transports you into an arena where you can participate in The Hunger Games. We thought of our project because at the time we were all reading The Hunger Games trilogy. I thought of the idea for thumbnail sketch because I drew the best Mocking Jay pin. We designed the poster by thinking of colors that have something to do with combat and nature such as greens, browns, reds, and blues. We thought of the name based on the first book in The Hunger Games trilogy, The Hunger Games. We then took the name and changed into something we could use for our invention. Someone should buy this product if they love characters, the plot, and just The Hunger Games in general. In our game you can play as basically any of the most popular and desirable characters. The product costs $1000.99.
Our script was about showing off the product, how to use it, and why somebody should pay such a price for the product. In our script we included battle sequences, why you should buy the product, and what the product was made for. In our script there is a scene when we take off in the game and pick our characters. Brody picked Peeta and I picked Katniss. When we took off we immediately started “fighting”.
The shots we came up with for our story board were medium shots, close- up shots, a pan shot, and a zoom shot. We used the medium shot when Brody and I were talking about who we wanted to play as in the game. We used the close- up shot when we recorded Cerena explaining the product and attempting to sell it. We used the pan shot when Brody and I started the hunger games and ran to get away from each other or to start “fighting”. We used a zoom shot while shooting Brody before the games and Cerena selling the product.
The problems we encountered while shooting our commercial were the limited options for settings, the time frames, and that we hadn’t memorized our lines. We decided to use the P.E. field for our setting because that’s what we thought looked most like the setting in the actual movie and book. We encountered time problems because we had to wait for the P.E. kids to come and leave the fields so they wouldn’t be in our shit for the P.E. kids to come and leave the fields so they wouldn’t be in our shot but we managed because we had 2- days time to shoot the whole commercial. Some of the shots for when we were talking look bad in some places because we hadn’t memorized out lines but in the end, we made the scenes look pretty good.
What I have learned from the project so far is how to film a commercial and edit one. I have also learned that coming up with an invention and way to sell it, is not as easy as it looks.
Technology – Final Exam Study Guide – Essay
October 18, 2011
One of the big ideas of this course so far has been that of technology being a creative act. The word technology comes from the Greek word techne which means art or to make. Technology is about making things to satisfy needs, solve problems and increase our capabilities.
Use the questions below as a guide to writing a one-page essay about the invention project you made. The essay should use size 12 font, be single spaced, with a double space between paragraphs. First write your essay in Word (make sure you save your Word file), then post it to the blog at:
Introduction – working together as a team to create an idea for an invention and document it through sketches, a poster and a video.
What is your invention?
Describe how you came up with the idea for your invention. Be specific.
Write about the steps in creating your project, be specific.
Brainstorming ideas for an invention
Creating a thumbnail sketch for your poster
Designing a poster with: the name of the invention, a drawing with color of the invention, a description of the invention that tells what the invention does, why someone should buy it and how much it costs.
Next you wrote a script for a video you would make about your invention. What was your script about? Be specific.
You sketched some storyboards for the shots you would take in your video. What shots did you come up with for your storyboard.
Then you shot your video. What problems did you encounter in shooting the video. What did you do to solve them. What would you do differently next time?
Next you edited your video. Tell about the steps you took to edit your video.
What did you particularly enjoy doing in this project? Be specific.
What do you think went particularly well? Why?
Write a conclusion—what did you learn from this project?
How well did your group work together as a team? What were the benefits of working as a team? What problems did you encounter working as a team? How did you work out your problems?
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