GeoJourney: The Journey

For our final AP in Game changers,(A class about gaming and game design) we were asked to do something that sounded pretty simple, but in my case wasn't. We were told to make a final prototype for our game and create a slideshow and a video about it. I thought this was a very stressful project as we had just finished our other AP merely days before. I thought this would be simple, but I found that time was not on my side. I ran into lots of complications, and busy nights, which resulted in me not being able to do much at home. I thought the most challenging part of this project was the time restraints. I think the most rewarding part was to see my game looking beautiful and finished.

Elevator Pitch: In the game GeoJourney you are a world traveler traveling the world with your companions and testing your knowledge of different countries around the world collecting the country card, obtaining as many as you can along the way. You will encounter obstacles and advantages along the way. You will socialize with your fellow travelers through conversation cards.You win by having the most country cards at the end of the game.

My Reflection: Game Changers has been an amazing experience, I am so glad I took this class. Walking into this course, I knew virtually nothing about game design, it was something I've never studied or even though about studying until I got to GCE. I have always been a big fan of games, and I love art. When I was little I used to like to design and make up games, but I had kind of forgot I used to like to do that, I was definitely excited to be away from the Freshman class, and with a new teacher as well. I thought the design process would be a lot easier than it actually is. I brainstormed an idea for a game for a long time. I decided to go with a geography or travel theme, as I like to travel and I really love geography. I really wanted it to be a really strategic and competitive game, as those are my favorite to play. We got to our first round of playtesting which was a long process and a little tedious, but we all had out first prototypes. I would say I like playtesting. It can be nerve racking, but it is really nice to receive feedback on all your hard work. When the feedback is constructive criticism it definitely helps a lot, since you know know what to do better for your game. Feedback telling you you did great is nice to hear, but in my opinion, there is always something that can be done to make it better. In all, this class was great. I definitely loved playtesting, maybe not ChiTAG, but they were both important. Thank you to my wonderful teacher to make this possible, and I hope to do this again in the future.

Need a Game Recommendation?

In the class Game Changers,we learned all about tabletop games and game testing and design. I learned a lot about this topic. I knew nothing about games or game design when I walked into the class, but I now know all about games, game design, play testing, along with the math skills and art practice for designing out games. For our first Action Project, we were asked to make up a scenario in which a school or a local community service is in need of some games. We then had to make two game recommendations for their situation. To explain the game for them, we created game profiles for each game. The purpose of this assignment was to get us thinking critically about different games and to deeply analyze games that we thought would fit the scenario. I learned a lot about the games I researched a lot about the games as I don’t remember much about them even though they are really simple. and I thought that thinking up scenarios was pretty challenging. I overcame this challenge by brainstorming throughout a long period of time to let my thoughts sit. I am most proud of my original idea and my game recommendations.

Scenario: A pediatrician's Office is looking to purchase a game for their waiting room that kids can play with while they wait for their appointments. Requirements: They need a game that can:

• Be played quickly or repeated multiple times

• Can be played by a small number of people, approximately 1-4 players

• Can’t be too complex because kids might be nervous or distracted but 

• should take their mind off of their worries by being active.

• Should be appropriate for ages 3 - 6

• Needs to be durable.

• Any pieces should be easily replaceable or don’t ruin the game if they get lost.

• The games should be intuitive or quick to learn because they may not have much time waiting.

What I thought of:

• Ringo Flamingo
• Gone Fishin’
• Hungry Hungry Hippos *
• Hi Ho Cherry O
• Loopin Louie
• Rock Em Sock Em Robots
• Alfredo’s Food Fight
• Memory
• Don’t Break the Ice
• Operation
• Crocodile Dentist *
• Elefun

I had a lot of fun thinking up of these games as these were some of my favorite games from when I was a little kid. Out of all these games I thought the best games for the scenario were: Hungry, Hungry Hippos and Crocodile Dentist.

To show the pediatrician the games in detail, I typed up a game stat sheet for each of the games.

Crocodile Dentist

Hungry, Hungry Hippos

There are also strengths and weaknesses to each game Here is a comparison of the two:

Hungry, Hungry Hippos

• Can lose marbles
• Possible choking hazard
• More competitive/More complex and strategic

Crocodile Dentist

• May be scary for young children
• Suspenseful and fun
• No parts to lose or choke on\

Both

        + Active
        + Quick to learn, no complicated rules
        + Can play by yourself if needed
        + Durable
        + No batteries required
        + Quick to play one round
        + Can be played by a wide range of age
        - Isn’t entertaining for a long time

If I had to choose just one I would choose Crocodile Dentist because of its simplicity and fun. The fact that it doesn’t have any parts to get lost or any choking hazard makes it better suited to a pediatrician’s office.

James Shin (2011) roller coasters

        Web: Flickr

        

I am Malala

For our last unit of our MDGs & You class, we were asked to make a slideshow on the Book "I am Malala." We read this book over the summer and then watched a documentary to help us with the presentation. Unit 3 was a short unit because we took too much time in unit 2, so we just got right into the action project. I learned a lot more about Malala through doing this research, and now have a greater understanding for her.I think I could have gone a little faster next time, but it wasn't much of a problem. I thought the time limit and the length of the presentation was a little challenging, but nothing I couldn't handle. I am most proud of how my project looks. I think it looks very nice, and a worked very hard on it, so  am very pleased. This is my final action project of the term and I am happy with all of them that I've done. I am now ready for Halloween, and can breathe easy for final presentations then rest-bit.

 

Weather in the Future

For Unit 3 of our Water class we were asked to make a forecast for a city of our choice as a slide show. In unit 3 we learned all about weather and climate change. We took an FE to the nature museum to visit a small exhibit on weather and climate change, and we also went to the Lincoln Park Conservatory to learn about greenhouses and the greenhouse effect. We learned about clods,and weather, and how storms form. We also skyped with a meteorologist form Florida whom we asked questions to. I chose Minneapolis as my dad had lived there, I was well ahead of this unit so my teacher gave me a different assignment: a presentation to the class on my knowledge of tornadoes. I thought this project was pretty easy to do. The writing itself didn't take a long time, citing the pictures did. The purpose of this assignment was for us to try to use our knowledge of weather patterns and statistics to make predictions, based on averages. I thought this was a fun assignment and I learned a lot about Minneapolis. The most challenging part was getting a picture on each slide. I think the most rewarding part about it is having all my Water class action projects done, so I can move into the elective term easily.

Are Women Treated Equally Around the World?

In our 2nd unit for MDGs we were asked to write and essay on gender equality. We compared the United States and another country of our choice In the unit we learned all about women's rights and gender equality. We watched a documentary called "Miss-Representation" which was really informative. The purpose of this assignment was to make us think and learn about women and cultures in other countries. I learned a lot of statistics, some were very troubling, and some were reassuring. It was challenging to find all this information. I did hours of searching and finding good sources and interesting facts. It was also very hard because I had to hold myself back form writing to much. Our essays were only supposed to be around 600 words long, I realized I was at 650 when I was half way through. There was a lot of editing, and the bibliography took a very long time, but it was all worth it and I am very proud of how it came out.

AnonMoos. (2009) Bisexual Symbol. Web: Wikipedia

                                  Are Women Treated Equally Around the World?

Did you know that in 2015, women working full time in the United States were typically paid just 80% of what men were paid? (AAUW.org) That’s a gap of 20%! Unfortunately, this is the reality for most women in the United States and across the world. Women are considered the “weaker sex” in not just religion but society itself. The United States and Pakistan some very big problems when it comes to gender equality in health care, gender pay gap, and education.

In the United States, women are paid generally less than men for the same exact work. The American Association of University Women reports that the pay gap has barely moved in the past decade. In fact, according to the National Committee on Pay Equity, the pay gap only closed two points between 2004 and 2014 — from 76.6 percent to 78.6 percent. Women are also subject to discrimination in healthcare. Did you know that health insurance will cover Viagra for men but not birth control for women? This means healthcare is much for expensive for women. Did you know that more than 43% of women in the United States said that over 2009-2010 they went without recommended care, skipped seeing doctors when they were sick, or failed to fill prescriptions because of cost. (The Commonwealth Fund: Women’s Health Care Report). Education is one of the lesser of the problems in the United States. Studies have shown that girls are often called on more in classrooms and are generally favored by teachers. 30.7 million women 25 years and older have obtained a bachelor's degree or more in 2010. (United States Census Bureau) These statistics are very promising to obtaining a non-segregated country for women.

Gender equality in Pakistan is a little different. Possibly one of the biggest problems in gender equality is the religious beliefs that women should not be educated. In 2012, UNESCO stated that Pakistan showed the least progress in the region educating low-income girls: “The poorest girls in Pakistan are twice as likely to be out of school as the poorest girls in India, almost three times as likely as the poorest girls in Nepal and around six times as likely as the poorest girls in Bangladesh. (Journalist's Resource) In Pakistan, there is not very good health care. Many infants and mothers die during childbirth. This is getting better, and more mothers and children are surviving due to better trained healthcare professionals. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2005 that perinatal and maternal deaths decreased significantly when female health workers helped train birth attendants and connected them to formal health services. (World Health Organization.)

Working is also hard for women in Pakistan. This means that women are much less likely to get jobs if they are not educated. In fact, the percentage of female employment in the non-agricultural sector in Pakistan was last measured at 13.2pc in 2013 by the World Bank. (DAWN.com)

The United States are Pakistan are similar in many ways in the issue of gender equality. Women are treated unfairly in both countries. Both in the U.S and Pakistan, there is a growing gender pay gap. This means women get paid less than men for the same work. In the U.S, there are many more job opportunities for jobs than in Pakistan, but unlike the United States, Pakistan has had a women in the highest office, and hopefully, the U.S will too.

Pakistan and the U.S are different in a lot of ways as well. In Pakistan, healthcare is not nearly as available than in in U.S. The problem in the U.S is women not having easy access to birth control, which are arguably not needed for survival. In Pakistan, women have a hard time even has a hard time finding an experienced birth attendant. Education for women in the U.S is excellent, and there is little to no sexism in the education world. In Pakistan, it is believed that a women does not have a right to an education and should stay home to do chores. One of the greatest differences between to two are education. In the U.S more women are enrolled in college than men.

In the end, we have to start really treating women as equals. Women can do that same things as men no matter where they are in the world. This is not a man’s world, this is our world.

Works Cited

"Demographics of Pakistan." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Web. 20 Oct. 2016.

"Demography of the United States." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Web. 20 Oct. 2016.

Flynn, Caitlin. "5 Wage Gap Statistics That Are Impossible To Argue With." 5 Wage Gap Statistics That Are Impossible To Argue With. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.

Garwood, Paul. "WHO | Pakistan, Afghanistan Look to Women to Improve Health Care." WHO | Pakistan, Afghanistan Look to Women to Improve Health Care. World Health Organization, Web. 20 Oct. 2016.

GDP, By. "The Richest Countries In The World." WorldAtlas. N.p., 19 Sept. 2016. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.

"Global Finance Magazine - The Poorest Countries in the World." Recent GFM Updates RSS. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.

Miller, Kevin. "The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap (Fall 2016)."AAUW: Empowering Women Since 1881. Web. 17 Oct. 2016

"New Women's Health Care Report." - The Commonwealth Fund. The Commonwealth Fund, Web. 17 Oct. 2016.

"Pakistan Population (LIVE)." Pakistan Population (2016). Web. 20 Oct. 2016.

"Population Estimates, July 1, 2015, (V2015)." UNITED STATES QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.

Raphel, Alexandra. "Women, Girls and Malala: Research on Gender and Education in Pakistan, and beyond." Journalists Resource. N.p., 12 May 2015. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.

"Religion in Pakistan." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2016

Shah, Rukhsana. "Pakistan’s Growing Gender Gap." DAWN.com, 24 Aug. 2015. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.

US Census Bureau Public Information Office. "Facts for Features: Women's History Month: March 2012 - Facts for Features & Special Editions - Newsroom - U.S. Census Bureau." US Census Bureau Public Information Office. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.

Wormald, Benjamin. "Religious Landscape Study." Pew Research Centers Religion Public Life Project RSS. 11 May 2015. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.

Can I build a Water Filter?

Could I build a water filter? This was the question I asked myself after I learned what we were doing for our 2nd action project. In unit 2 we learned about the science of water and the water cycle. e put our skills to the test and set out on this action project. The purpose of this assignment was to focus on the science of water and the part of the water cycle called infiltration. (This is when water soaks into the ground.) We also learned about pH levels so we did pH testing to see the levels that our water filters produced. I learned about structure the most. It was very hard to figure out how to make the filter structurally sound and how to suspend it so the water can drip form the filter to the collecting container. I am most proud of the water that came out after it was filtered. I used river water that I turned even more dirty and once it was ran through the filter it was crystal clear!

I think that I probably could survive but probably not thrive. My water filter works very well, I didn't drink it for the experiment but I'm sure in a dire situation I would drink it. I might thrive though. If I filter enough water I possibly could thrive, although I'm not sure.

Here is my lab report:

I used the following materials to create my water filters.

• Vinegar Container
• Beaker
• Coffee Filters
• Tape
• Sand
• Fish filter material
• Gravel
• Carbon
• Rocks
• Cups
• pH tester

I brought the vinegar container from home, and my friend got the materials for us. I also took advantage of the materials my teacher brought us. I also used a beaker from the school and the rest of the materials.

This is my process for creating my water filter:

My step by step process was first cutting the bottom off the vinegar container, then placing a few coffee filters and taping them to the spout. I then placed the spout in the beaker to hold it in place. I cleaned all the materials and poured sand into the container. I then put a layer of fish filter, then a layer of carbon, then a layer of fish filter then a layer of gravel, then a layer of fish filter, then a layer of rocks, and one final layer of fish filter. Once that was all together leveled out the container on the beaker, and it was done.

This is how my water filter works:

It works by layers of different materials of all different sizes, each getting smaller as the water infiltrates. In between each layer of material is a layer of fish filter to make sure the materials don't mix and the water gets a little better filtered. At the very end there are coffee filters to keep the sand in the bottle and give it one last filter so the sand didn't get into the final water. It works because of the infiltration. The water soaks into the different layers and the contaminants are filtered out. I chose this design because it was the only container I could find. I had to find a way to suspend it so the water could drip down, so I decided to put the spout into the beaker.

My water filter is inspired by the ground. I used natural materials because I didn’t have access to a lot of artificial materials besides the fish filters. My water filter works the same as groundwater filtration because of the gradual decrease of size in the filter materials. I know that in nature the materials get larger as you go down but I decided to do it the other way for structural integrity.

To access the water after it is filtered all you have to do is to carefully lift the filter off the beaker and pour the water out of the beaker.

This is a sketch of my water filter

CM (2016) Filter Sketch

This is my water description and the pH before and after.

I used river water and made it even more dirty my going outside and adding dirt, mud, and leaves to

make it filthy. After I ran it through it was crystal clear. Before, the water smelled acidic and dirty, and after, the water smelled still a little metallic but otherwise normal. Before the pH was: 3.8 and after the pH was: 4.0

pH Scale

Acidic Before After Neutral Basic

0-----------3.8--4---------7-------------14

                              

I did not taste the water as the water I chose to filter was river water which is not safe to drink. I also dirtied the water before filtering it so i could really test the limits of my filter.

Observations 
I noticed how clear the water was when I ran the water through the filter, I was very surprised.

This is my logarithmic equation to describe before and after filtration.10^-3.8 = .0038 hydrogen ion concentration. before filtering 10^-4 = .0001 hydrogen ion concentration After filtering


Photographs

CM (2016) Before Sample

CM (2016) Water After

CM (2016) pH  testing after

CM (2016) pH testing before

CM (2016) Filter 1

Fighting for People's Rights

 In our MDGs class we learned all about MDGs and SDGs and human rights. For our first action project we were asked to write an essay on our choice of 3 MDGs. I chose to do Poverty as it is a much more broad topic than the other choices which I believe were Women's equal pay and education. The purpose of this assignment was to teach us how to write a grammatically correct essay and learn how to do MLA style citing. I learned a lot of statistics about poverty, and hunger , and education as those were the 3 topics I chose to cover over my main topic of poverty. I also chose to not only focus locally but globally. I researched facts about Sub-Saharan Africa and South-West Asia. I think the most challenging aspect of the project was finding good credible sources. It was surprising how hard it was to find education & housing. I managed to find good organizations like UNICEF and World Food Programme. I am proud of how it came out and how he citations came out the most.

Salas, Felipe Luis (2009) "Poverty" Web:Flickr

“Poverty is like a punishment for a crime you didn’t commit.”  Eli Khamarov said this about how it can feel to live in poverty. Poverty is something no one ever wants or deserves to go through. People in poverty on average will live on $2.50 a day according to Do Something.org. Imagine not knowing when your next meal is coming, or if you’re going to be able to pay next month’s bills. Sadly, this is the truth for nearly half of the world’s population, says Do Something.org I believe that it is a human right to not be in poverty because everyone needs adequate shelter, food, and education, all things people in poverty lack.

Finding shelter in the U.S can be tough. Psychologist Abraham Maslow created a Hierarchy of Needs in 1943 (Simply Psychology). The hierarchy includes 5 levels: Psychological, Safety, Love/belonging, Esteem, and Self actualization. The need of shelter belongs on the most basic psychological needs. According to Gallup.com 31% of adults worldwide, said that at one point in the past year they have not had enough money for adequate shelter for them or their families.

Food is also very hard to find in America for people in poverty, as well as other countries. Many Americans live in a food desert, which means they lack easy access to fresh food. Many people in developing or poor countries do not have access to food at all daily.  1 in 4 people in Sub-Saharan Africa are undernourished says World Food Programme.org. Children are heavily affected by hunger. 45% of deaths in children under 5 in developing countries are due to malnutrition, nearly 3.1 million every year. (World Food Programme.org)

Education is also very important to children in poverty. 13.5 million kids in South West Asia dropout of school before completing their primary education. According to the UNICEF Organization, “UNICEF stages global information campaigns on the importance of getting children to school, especially girls, and has committed $233 million to these efforts. For example, UNICEF’s ‘Go Girls! Education for Every Child’ campaign is about raising awareness, generating public support and mobilizing resources for ‘25 by 2005’, an accelerated effort to get girls in school in 25 countries.” UNICEF’s goal is to reduce gender segregation in schools around the world to get all girls into school. Kids who do not get educated are more likely to remain in poverty.

No humans deserve to live in poverty. Many people do not truly understand what it is like to not have a suitable place to live or have a meal everyday. We need to take action to help people in poverty by supporting organizations who help and give to the poor, and we need to not just think locally, but globally, to other countries who have even less than us. In all, I think that no one should be in poverty and that more people need to take action to help those in need.

Works Cited “11 Facts About Global Poverty” Do Something.org 30 ,September 2016 www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-global-poverty

English,C & Ray,J “Adequate Housing Unaffordable for Many Worldwide” Gallup.com 1, October 2016 http://www.gallup.com/poll/145331/adequate-housing-unaffordable-worldwide.aspx “Hunger Statistics” World Food Programme.org 1, October 2016 https://www.wfp.org/hunger/stats

Khamarov, E. “Famous Quotes About Poverty.” Compassion.com 30, September 2016 www.compassion.com/poverty/famous-quotes-about-poverty.htm McLeod, S “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs” Simply Psychology.org 1, October 2016 www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

“Millennium Development Goals” UNICEF.org 2, October 2016 http://www.unicef.org/mdg/education.html

                                  

The Clear Truth

      The class we are taking is called Water. We are ending Unit 1 with an action project. In this class we have learned all about the process of getting water. We simulated carrying water, learned conversions in math and read about water crises. Our action project was making a poster educating people on water usage. We had to calculate our own water usages and compare them to an average American and a country of our choice. We had a vote and the winner gets their poster displayed on public transit.

     During this class I learned about how much water I really use. I was surprised to learn that I actually use less than the average American. I found that I used about 60 gallons per day and the average American uses 151.8 gallons. Most of my water is used up by hygiene (57.8%). I also use water for drinking, toilet flushing and cleaning. I was surprised at how little of my daily water is used for drinking at only 0.4%.

     The country I chose to compare to was the U.K. I was surprised at how much less they use than Americans, even though they have very similar lifestyles. I thought it would be interesting to compare the two to show people how a country that is very similar to ours uses so much less water.

    We also wondered what it would be like to have to carry our daily water. To simulate this experience we took our very first FE to behind the Whole Foods and down to the Chicago River. I chose to carry my water in a 10 gallon rolling cooler. 10 gallons is ⅙ of my daily water intake so I would have to make this trip 6 more times for my total water. It took about 30 minutes to walk 1,800 feet. It took longer than I thought it would. My container was a lot harder to carry than I thought. It was also pretty challenging to get everybody’s containers full and ready to go. My nearest water source from my house is the Des Plaines River and is 1.3 miles it would take me 11.7 hours to carry all my water in 10 gallons coolers. If I had to ration my water usage I would probably start by taking shorter showers and not taking baths. I would also use hand sanitizer more to reduce the water wasted by washing your hands.

    This investigation sure has changed my views on water in the world. In fact I was driving home from school the other day and saw a fire hydrant spraying out water onto the ground, and I thought to myself, “Hey! Only 1.2% of the earth’s water is potable! Turn that off.”

CM. (2016) The Clear Truth

Sources:

"EPA WaterSense | Water Education & Our Water Cycle | Water Use Today." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, 02 Sept. 2016. Web. 22 Sept. 2016.

"Water - AMDEA." AMDEA Water Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2016.