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Gregory Tasik Capstone
Music has been a huge part of my life. Going into the Capstone project, seniors are encouraged to pursue a question of inquiry that “will guide our work.” My original idea was to take broken trumpets and upcycle them into lamps. It was a solid idea but lacked impact. A major part of the Capstone project is how it impacts our communities around us. Why is music so prevalent in society anyways? I broadened my thinking and came across the question of “Why and how is music so important to one’s life?” I decided on restoring used trumpets and donating them to kids in my local Indonesian community. I presented my plan to Braskem in which I got full funding to restore 3 trumpets.
I came to a realization that the tools used for instrument repair were quite advanced and expensive. My knowledge was also not up to par. However, as in Capstone fashion, I learned as I went. Through different articles, forums, and YouTube videos I was able to learn different repair methods and created my own cheaper version. Using two aluminium rods I was able to smooth out the dents of the trumpet bells. I could disassemble and reassemble a trumpet by heart and learned how to solder trumpet joints and slides. I gained a better understanding of the intricacies of trumpets and the beauty in its creation. In the end, I was able to have 3 finished restored trumpets to give to kids in the community.
Barone, Joshua. “A Symphony Breathes Life Into 400 Broken School Instruments.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 4 Dec. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/12/04/arts/music/philadelphia-david-lang-symphony-for-a-broken-orchestra.html.
One initiative that was brought up by the School District in partnership with Temple was the Symphony of a Broken Orchestra. The idea behind the initiative was that the School District has a room/rooms full of broken instruments. To fix these instruments, the initiative asks donors to “sponsor” an instrument to pay for its repairs fees and to be able to give them back to the community. This source talks about an event they did, where they assembled an orchestra ranging from ages from 9 to 82 to perform. I will use this source to show progress done in the community, and I have considered talking to this organization. As it is written by the New York Times, I trust this source.
Gill, Charlotte C. “Music Education Is Now Only for the White and the Wealthy | Charlotte C Gill.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 27 Mar. 2017, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/mar/27/music-lessons-children-white-wealthy.
Much of the problem of musical education is the high costs. Lessons can run up to a dollar a minute and instruments are very expensive. The barrier to entry scares off many families and kids. This articles details the problems of viewing music as an elite luxury. The subject needs diversity and more people need to understand there are ways of learning without shelling big dollars. I will use this source to show how important it is in giving kids the opportunity to play an instrument for free and how I can hopefully spark a musical interest in kids lives.
Graham, Kristen A. “Some Philly Schools Have Rich Arts Programs, and Others Have None. How Do You Fix It?” Philly.com, Philly.com, 17 Oct. 2017, www.philly.com/philly/education/why-do-some-philly-schools-have-rich-arts-programs-and-others-none-at-all-arts-mapping-cultural-education-instrumental-music-orchestra-art-20171017.html.
Since 2013, the School District has been trying to build its music program. However, much like the District’s others problems, the programs are disparate throughout all the schools. There are schools in the district like GAMP and CAPA which have amazing music programs, while there are other schools who have no music programs. I will use this source to prove the stats amongst different schools to see who receives funding and to prove the disparity amongst schools and the decision to give them to kids who necessarily aren’t exposed to music education in their public schools. As it is written by the Philadelphia Inquirer, the source is pretty reliable.
Holcomb, Mac. Girard Academic Music Program, gamp.philasd.org/faculty-and-staff/.
This source details personal relationships I have formed throughout my years of schooling. I went to GAMP for middle school. Here I met many teachers like Mr.Holcomb who excelled in musical repairs had extensive knowledge on all types of musical instruments. I know that I will come across roadblocks in my repairs and it is my hope that I will have people like Mr.Holcomb who I can hit up and ask for help. I also know a number of music teachers throughout the district. As my cited source, I used the school’s directory which lists him as the school’s band director.
“How To Clean A Trumpet.” TrumpetHub, www.trumpethub.com/how-to-clean-a-trumpet/.
This source details a step-by-step process on how to properly clean a trumpet. When starting with the restoration process, the first step is to clean the instrument and assessing the damage. The point of this source is to gain a better understanding of this process so I can start off the restoration with a great start. This should be a fairly simple as not many specialty tools are needed to clean the trumpet, hence why am I starting off with the trumpet. In regards to the source, TrumpetHub is a blog about trumpets and has a knowledgeable community on all things trumpet.
Instructables. “Giving a New Life to an Old Cornet/Trumpet.” Instructables.com, Instructables, 15 Nov. 2018, www.instructables.com/id/Giving-a-new-life-to-an-old-CornetTrumpet/.
This source is an Instructables step-by-step process of a person restoring his trumpet/cornet. In this situation, the restoration job wasn’t as complex/difficult as the trumpet did not have too many problems with it. The man, known as “hobbyman,” includes videos and detailed photos throughout his process. I will use this process as a baseline as I want to start off restoring an instrument with not too many problems. I figure that I should start off simpler, and then go more complex if I feel like I can. Although Instructables is not the most credible source, it is not necessarily needed for my project.
McKinstry, Aileen. Why America Needs to Continue Funding Music Education in Public Schools. pp. 1–10, Why America Needs to Continue Funding Music Education in Public Schools.
This source is a journal published by Penn State University. It makes the argument for keeping music in public education. In contrast to others, the source is backed by an institution like Penn State and is very fact based. It includes good graphics and a number of great statistics to further prove the impact of musical education in schools. I will use this source as the academic journal to fulfill the requirement of a reputable source. Furthemore, the source provides a real world example of the lack of funding and the writer brings a personal story into her argument.
Muse, Queen. “Silencing the Music at Philly Schools.” NBC 10 Philadelphia, NBC 10 Philadelphia, 21 June 2013, www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Philly-Students-Face-Uncertainties-School-Cutbacks-Music-212290071.html.
The Philadelphia School District is no stranger to budget cuts. Ever since middle school, the topic at the beginning of every school year was the possibility of losing this, that, or the next thing. This source is an NBC news article on one of the major budgets cuts in 2013. At this time, a lot of music programs were cut out, and the students were the ones that had to suffer. I plan to use this source to explain the lack of musical education in Philadelphia schools and why it needs to change. This will provide my capstone some background information for others to see.
The United States Army Field Band. “What Not To Do: Trumpet Instrument Repair.” YouTube, YouTube, 19 June 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=3n6wAtZz3wA.
This source is a YouTube video provided by the United States Army Field Band. Going into this project, I believe it is advantageous for me to watch as much content on these repairs as I can while working. However, what is different about this source is that it details the common mistakes of trumpet repairs, instead of the step-by-step process of how to fix trumpets. I will use this source as a way to strengthen my knowledge and avoid common mistakes during this process. This source is pretty credible as it was posted by a YouTube verified U.S. Army channel.
Tom Barnes. “The Scientific Reasons We Should Teach Music to Kids in School.” Mic, Mic Network Inc., 25 Oct. 2015, mic.com/articles/94992/the-scientific-reasons-we-should-teach-music-to-kids-in-school#.WghkcCfzY.
This source details the scientific proof of the benefits of musical education in schools. While the NBC article focuses on the issues of the Philadelphia School District, this source looks at the issue at a much larger scale as it describes the other issues from school districts around the country. It details the cognitive benefits of musical education and mentions various studies on students benefiting from musical education. I will use this source to further strengthen my argument on the reason for musical education and the reason why I believe in my capstone’s importance. Although I am not that familiar with the source, the writer does cite all of his information and provides direct links to his sources.
Tai Bailey Capstone
1)Thesaurus.com
This source will help me with writing my novel because it’s basically a website that helps you figure out better word choices . In my novel i can use this website to find words that will fit my dialogue and the tone of story. Also it will help me use better vocab. Some of the characters in my book will need an advance vocab and that will help me.
2)https://authority.pub/steps-to-writing-a-book/
This source is basically a guide to writing and completing a book. It will give me
Ideas on how to write it and give me writing strategies to finish the book efficiently and make it actually good .
3) Figment.com
This source is basically a way for people to read what i written and give me honest feedback on it .they can rate each parts of my novel as i continue writing. It’s safe and efficient.
4) Wattpad.com
This source will help me because it’s basically another way for readers internationally to read each part of my
Novel that i have written and give me honest feedback on it.
5) writingprompts.com
This source is helpful to me and my novel . It’s helpful because whenever i get writers block or stuck on any piece of my writing i can use this site for ideas or whenever i'm unsure about an idea or feel like changing it.
6) https://www.infoplease.com/popular-kids-names
This source will help me decide names for the characters in my story. Since i have to focus on the actual writing part i don’t have time for the names and minor parts such as that . The source will easily give me names and help me not stress .
7)https://www.bookbrowse.com/bookclubs/advice/index.cfm/fuseaction/moderating_meetings
This source basically gives me tips and advice on how to have a productive book club. Sometimes book clubs can get boring or people don’t comfortable enough to share at first but there are so many things I can do to prevent that.
8) https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/teen-book-club
This source helps me because it gives me a million different books that I could use for my book club. Each book they have is very different, which expands my variety on books I can pick for my book club. It gives me the overview and genre of the book and tells me what age groups would best fit this book.
9)https://www.janefriedman.com/writing-ya/
This source helped me figure out which types of books fits best for each age group. Since my book club is going to be sophomores in high school, who are mature for their age I needed to find a balance for them to enjoy and be really interested in.
10)https://www.bookshopsantacruz.com/advice-book-groups
This source gives me fun activities to do in my book club. Since just reading for the entire book club meeting could be boring or too tiring, this source gives me fun ideas and activities to do during breaks to wake up the readers in my book club and keep them refreshed and attentive.
Tyreek Speedwell: My Youtube Channel
For my capstone, my goal is to expand my passion of having fun with sports across social platforms/media. I made a Youtube channel and will be uploading videos. In each video, my peers and I will play sports games/challenge. The challenges will definitely showcase our humorous personalities as we perform theses games/challenges. They also help me make the edits to ensure that the videos are even more entertaining. Also, I will use social media such as my instagram account and informing others to post shoutouts on their social media accounts in order to promote the Youtube channel to get more viewers to watch my content. I’ve learned from this experience especially that it takes practice to get the videos the way I want to please the viewers who will like them. I’m very hopeful that the process of expanding this Youtube is a huge success for me in the long run since it is something I want to personally do even after high school.
WIDE RECEIVERS BE LIKE PT. 2 (W/DOCKERY). April 10,2019 Deestroying https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syJaheh9MPM
This source features a humorous impersonation among two friends who play football. They are impersonating how football wide receivers stereotypically act on the field when they play a game of football. They act out things like spitting on their gloves, getting in position, and other things , but at random times which makes the video funny. Each person shows how common it is for a wide receiver to do these things. The video’s purpose is to be entertaining. This video is really good for my capstone because it gives me ideas in which I can get creative with my videos.
THEY GOT EXPOSED!! WR VS DB 1 ON 1’S. February 12, 2018 Deestroying https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB-r7Z4WFWM&list=PLgNLjf4v-4NjlJqwhG70-FzPd5VG4_IWD&index=15
This video shows how four friends who play football want to play a game on video. The rules are that it is a two versus two game. Each team will have opportunities to to score. They can only score by catching a pass that their teammate throws. The other team defending has to stop them from catching it. If the other team ends up catching the ball instead, then that is a point for their team. The four friends are shown having fun doing this despites being very competitive with each other. The video’s purpose is to be entertaining. This is good for my capstone because it gives me ideas in which I can get creative with my videos.
BIRD BOX BASKETBALL 1v1!! COMPLETELY BLIND-FOLDED. January 2, 2019 Marcelas Howard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTs091gusz4
This shows two a few friends involved in a game of one on one basketball. The only rule is that the two players play the entire game blindfolded. The ball is rolled in every each made basket. The two players have to feel around to find the basketball and score it, but if not then try to prevent the other person from scoring. This was inspired by the movie called “Bird Box”. The video ends up being very humorous due to certain contents in the video. This is good for my capstone because it gives me ideas in which I can get creative with my videos.
Kyrie Be Like.. . April 7, 2016 Marcelas Howard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oXK1PVvilw&list=PLg1XMjQapwIwUm-e6x3kskgYIqGqz7Al7&index=1
This source features a humorous impersonation among friends who play basketball. They are impersonating how NBA all star Kyrie Irving stereotypically plays on a basketball court when he plays in a game. They act out things like his nasty crossovers, crazy layups, and other things , but they make the video funny. They show how common it is for Kyrie Irving to these things on numerous occasions which in which he is famous for . The video’s purpose is to be entertaining.This is good for my capstone because it gives me ideas in which I can get creative with my videos.
A Day At SKY ZONE With 2HYPE. March 9, 2019 Tristan Jass https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Z8Re-r_7ig&list=PLh6LJ2eht_DYoszfhHBEJvmyMsC0oz7vn&index=7
This video shows a few friends playing numerous games of basketball at Skyzone. The first game is basically a shootout. Each person takes a shot on a court and it’s the one person to make it to 3 points wins. The second game is D.U.N.K. This game is basically a game where people take turns dunking the ball and each made dunk is worth a letter in the word itself if you miss. The overall objective of this game is to not miss enough dunks ro spell out the word D.U.N.K. This is good for my capstone because it gives me ideas in which I can get creative with my videos.
Spiderman Basketball Episode 2. August 27, 2013 Professor Live https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6EtRWdsdbI&list=PLIQmmo64PhpbbsXKyGVmeX3oNPBARuGQB&index=2
This source features a humorous impersonation of man who is great at playing basketball. He impersonates spiderman being an elite basketball player on the streets. He goes to multiple basketball courts to play random people in basketball and beating them while keeping spider man’s actual timeline as a part of the video. He acts out things like his crazy ball handling, crazy layups, and overall just how quick and agile spiderman would be if he played basketball in real life. The video’s purpose is to be entertaining. This is also good for my capstone because it gives me ideas in which I can get creative with my videos.
How to Motivate Kids in Sports. Accessed January 25, 2019 Kaylynn Bardolph https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/sports/youth-coaching/motivate-kids-in-sports.htm
This source is about how to motivate kids in sports. It starts off telling that how much fun kids can have playing. There are reasons behind it. They love playing because they get to play with their friends and build bonds. Also, they love to wear the uniforms because they think it is cool. They can get influenced by a popular athlete and idolize them following into their footsteps to become great as well. It goes on with tips to help them continue the path and not give up on it. This source is useful for my capstone because it provides information on how to help the youth stay on the right track with being motivated by videos and look up to me as a role model.
Nike Dream Crazy. Accessed January 25, 2019 Nike https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq2CvmgoO7I
This is a Nike commercial about dreams. It involves some of the top athletes of today. They all want to be the best ever. They demonstrate all of the obstacles that they face. The purpose of the video is that whatever your dream is, you just have to aim higher than just that. Hard work has to be done in order to get closer and closer to that goal. Your dream has to be something that you are willing to put effort into. In conclusion, the people in the video all exceeded expectations that others who didn’t believe in that said. This is useful for my capstone because it provides a perspective of not just the causes and effects of setting a goal and doing something to achieve it, which is why I’m doing videos involving my interest in sports .
Nike OBJ Don’t Stop. Accessed January 25, 2019 Nike https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqyjKK371vs
This is a Nike commercial about an NFL player named Odell Beckham Jr. The commercial follows each step in OBJ’s football career and all the hard work he put in to get to each step. It starts out with his high school games and how good he would play there. It transitions to his college football career where he continues to play at a high level. Then, it transitions to his pro career in the NFL. It shows how great he has become. It also shows how much fun he has doing what he loves which is football. This is useful for my capstone because it provides an example of someone who achieved their goals and what he had to go through to get there to do it his own way.
The Professor vs Pro Competition at Venice Beach.. DESTROYS 6’3” hooper. October 24, 2018 Professor Live https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KBzT4WLmWM
This video shows a numerous clips of a famous basketball player playing one on one basketball. He goes to a basketball court to play random people in basketball and beating them like crazy. He uses moves like his amazing ability to dribble the ball, shoot crazy shots, and even overall just display how good of a player he is. No one is able to stop him and just end up looking silly doing so in the first place. The video’s purpose is to be entertaining. This is also good for my capstone because it gives me ideas in which I can get creative with my videos.
Messele Asfaw Capstone
Benjamin Seing Capstone
Zoey Tweh Capstone
Boubou Magassa's Capstone
For my senior Capstone Project, I wanted to help the thousands of homeless people in the city of philadelphia. I had first wanted to make a bed out of something recyclable, so I had chose car tires. I had then pitched my idea to Braskem and got tons of support from the company and from family and friends, but it was a short lived dream because it was not possible to get the tires professionally cut the way that I needed. So now onto a new idea I had thought of making something lightweight and affordable so I had chose a bed made out of PVC. I had lots of trouble with getting the bed to sustain weight and also support itself and also a person. After multiple design changes and testing I had come up with a final design that met all the goals that I needed. I plan to donate my bed to a homeless shelter because there are hundreds of homeless people turned away from shelters because of lack of beds. My bed would provide another resting place, but also the ability to pack it up and make it easy for storage.
theTimberFrameGuy. “DIY Suspension Bridge - 54’ Span.” YouTube, YouTube, 7 Aug. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYOC_3H27Yg.
“How Is the Body Affected by Sleep Deprivation?” Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/sleep/conditioninfo/sleep-deprivation.
Boone, Rebecca. “Court: Cities Can’t Prosecute People for Sleeping on Streets.” The Seattle Times, The Seattle Times Company, 4 Sept. 2018, www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/homeless/court-criminalizing-homeless-for-sleeping-outdoo rs-is-cruel/
“From My Experience, Here Is How Homeless People Live.” Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, 9 Dec. 2016, www.neoch.org/chronicle-232-articles/2016/12/9/from-my-experience-here-is-how-homeless-pe ople-live.html
Zone, Top 10. “Top 10 Best Portable Camping Bed & Cot Innovations.” YouTube, YouTube, 24 Mar. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXwVnIEAbuY
“Know Homelessness.” Office of Homeless Services, philadelphiaofficeofhomelessservices.org/know-homelessness/
“Best Temperature for Sleep.” Sleep.Org, Sleep.Org, www.sleep.org/articles/temperature-for-sleep/
Lord, Elliot. “Making Card Beds for Homeless People.” YouTube, YouTube, 3 Sept. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=_N5L6TDLCQA
“10 Benefits of a Memory Foam Mattress.” Amerisleep Blog, 26 Sept. 2018, www.amerisleep.com/blog/10-benefits-foam-memory-mattress/.
“The Amazing Benefits of Sleeping in a Hammock.” Mattress and Sleep Product Reviews, www.thesleepjudge.com/benefits-sleeping-hammock/.
Tommy Conley Capstone
Marcin Czapla Capstone
Jason Lam's Capstone
My Capstone project was to create a sort of guide on how to help and support a visually impaired student for teachers. This guide is really for the middle to high school student range and only focuses on academic needs and support. The final product would be a booklet that contained my own experiences as a visually impaired student at SLA, a list of tools and materials visually impaired students could potentially be using and a description of how it works and how it's meant to be used, and then the actual listings of how teachers in each academic course could support the student if they should need it. The third section will be split into the three categories of visual impairment being low/near vision, visually impaired, and braille/legally blind. As for my process, admittingly, I took more of a simpler route in doing this project by just researching online for all the technical parts, and remembering my own experiences when I could have done a lot more by interviewing teachers to get their opinions or interviewing past year visually impaired students, etc. So really, all I’ve been really doing was research online, recollect, type, and communicating with my mentor.
I do not currently have the final product made yet, but I do have the information that will be on the final product. This is the lnk to the doc. (Note: I can't seem to paste a picture on here).
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1C--cXUS2S3_neBM31TLDGxcNnJWonX8C55QdH_M2ljo/edit
"Material Adaptations for Students Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired." Teaching Students with Visual Impairments. By: Carmen Willings teaching visually impaired.com. Accessed January 27, 2019.
https://www.teachingvisuallyimpaired.com/material-adaptations.html.
This website contains several methods to help visually impaired students participate in class. The have a section for large font papers, sensory learning, braille, accessible education materials, and much more. Some of the pages contain pros and cons about that particular method as well as when it can or should be used. However, all the pages contain information about it which will give me a lot of solutions to potential problems visually impaired students would have in the classroom.
McLaughlin, Rhonda. "Interview with Ms. Rhonda." Interview by Jason Lam. February 8, 2019.
This is an interview of my own visual impairment counselor, Ms. Rhonda. She is a counselor that works with many visually impaired students across the Philadelphia area. Each student of hers is different has different needs to complete school, and have different resources as well. This interview will help me find out and understand what other blind students need to complete a day of school as well as the resources they have access to to accommodate them.
Sprinkle, Kristi. "Home." Impact Of Visual Impairment On Development. By Sharon Nichols Accessed January 27, 2019. https://www.tsbvi.edu/general-technology-items/1074-overview-of-technology-for-visually-impaired-and-blind-students.
This website contains more methods of participating in class for visually impaired students. It includes zoom in features for computer or laptop use in class, and it also has information on machines that can help the blind student such as a CCTV. For both of these features, it lists multiple types of each thing so if one does not suit the student as comfortably, they aren’t limited to just that one kind. This information will be helpful for possible solutions to potential problems in class for blind students.
"Welcome." Sage Vision Technology - Low Vision Product Supplier. Accessed April 29, 2019. https://sagevisiontech.com/.
This is the website of the largest supplier of visual impairment electronics in Pennsylvania. They have many different types of tools visually impaired people use. This will help me create the list of technology that visually impaired students use at school and how they work.
Wyatt, Allen. "Booklet Printing in Word." Tips.net. Accessed April 30, 2019. https://word.tips.net/T003927_Booklet_Printing_in_Word.html.
Bea Gerber Capstone
For my capstone, Becca and I created WANDERING EYES, an interactive photography exhibition/fundraiser celebrating the work of refugee photographers who have gone through a ReFocus photography and media workshop in Lesvos, Greece during their wait for asylum. After traveling to Greece last summer as teaching artists for the workshops, Becca and I knew we needed more people to get a taste of the hands of experience we were lucky enough to have in order to give people a personal connection to a pressing crisis that often feels distant. For our exhibition, I wrote and designed large informational posters that lined the walls and gave viewers a look inside the refugee crisis and the situation in Lesvos, smaller directional signs to guide viewers through the experience, 8 detailed artists cards to connect viewers to the artists and their work, and postcards for sale and business cards distributed at the event. In addition, I edited together interviews of the teaching artists and artists found on the artist cards and put them into a website for a projection room at the end of the exhibition. I also managed our email and newsletter, handled poster distribution, and made connections with local businesses that supported our project and printed our photos and cards for a fraction of their original costs. I took on a lot for this project and lost a lot of sleep, but I learned so much about graphic design, networking, marketing, and my personal work ethic and I am more proud of this exhibit than anything I have ever done before. Over 100 people attended, and the feedback we received made it clear that we gave our community a better understanding of the conditions refugees face and the power of art amidst crisis, and raised hundreds of dollars for the workshops and helped show Americans what refugees are capable of.
Carolina Ortiz Capstone
James Adams Capstone
For my capstone I decided to challenge myself by learning how to code through python, and through that create a project that could be used by others. My first goal throughout the capstone process was to gain a basic understanding of the python programming language. My main methods of learning was through books, Youtube tutorials, website tutorials, and the most helpful of them all was looking at the code of others.
I already kind of knew what I wanted my final project to be when I started the learning process. I wanted it to be an automated script or in other words a bot. I decided to make a Reddit Bot. The bot looks at a thread for comments containing the name of a song within curly brackets. It then will respond to the comment with a Spotify link that will instantly take you to the song on Spotify’s website.
"Automate The Boring Stuff With Python." Automatetheboringstuff.com. N. p., 2019. Web. 20 Feb. 2019.
"PRAW: The Python Reddit API Wrapper — PRAW 6.1.2.Dev0 Documentation." Praw.readthedocs.io. N. p., 2019. Web. 20 Feb. 2019.
"Web API | Spotify For Developers." Developer.spotify.com. N. p., 2019. Web. 20 Feb. 2019.
"Spotify/Web-Api." GitHub. N. p., 2019. Web. 20 Feb. 2019.
"Python Education." Reddit.com. N. p., 2019. Web. 20 Feb. 2019.
"Build A Reddit Bot Part 1 – Python For Engineers." Pythonforengineers.com. N. p., 2016. Web. 20 Feb. 2019.
"How To Build A Reddit Bot – Chatbots Life." Chatbots Life. N. p., 2018. Web. 20 Feb. 2019.
"3.7.2 Documentation." Docs.python.org. N. p., 2019. Web. 20 Feb. 2019.
. "Intro To Python - Overiq.Com." OverIQ.com. N. p., 2018. Web. 20 Feb. 2019.
"Python Tutorials – Real Python." Realpython.com. N. p., 2019. Web. 20 Feb. 2019.
James Klenk Capstone
Sofia Powers Capstone
Growing up in the public school system, I noticed that studies became very compartmentalized and creative applications were specifically reserved for students in outside programs or who were pursuing a career entailing those applications. This continues to cause many students who are unaccustomed with creative expression to believe that they are not inherently creative and therefore cannot be creative, simply due to a lack of opportunity. My intention for my capstone was to refresh students with creative applications of building to increase confidence in student’s ideas and push them to think outside the box through fun building challenges. I created an initial survey to understand student’s notions about creativity and leadership. I then advertised for a club meeting by creating posters and hanging them in the school. I created a series of three prompts where teams of approximately 5 students had to work under time constraints and with limited household materials to build a tower, weight-bearing bridge, and ball transport system. The activities were designed to be fun and low stress, but engaged participants with their competitive side. I learned about the challenges of taking a coaching role versus my typical teammate role in encouraging and offering constructive but elusive feedback. I was able to improve my own creative skills by brainstorming possible solutions to decide appropriate materials for them to use. Each of these challenges pushed the participants to question traditional methods and instead search for loopholes.
Bibliography
Barras, Colin. “Future - Can You Learn to Be Creative?” BBC News. March 14, 2014. Accessed January 30, 2019. http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140314-learn-to-be-creative. This article analyses studies on teaching and learning creativity and takes the stance that creativity should be salvaged through teaching. Levels of creativity are being crushed in school age children due to to the increase of importance of standardized test scores and creativity is currently only being truly taught at a university level when it may be too late. This article explores nontraditional methods and courses that foster creativity as its importance re-emerges in the workforce. I will use these findings as a driving force in my own work to re-integrate creativity into the minds of young people.
Creative Competitions. Scoring for Spontaneous. PDF. Glassboro: Creative Competitions, Inc., 2010. This score sheet offers two categories: Creativity and Teamwork. The creativity score sheet specifies how to be elusive when stating the problem so one solution is not encouraged by the language of the problem. Although I will not be using numerical values to assess my club’s solutions, I can assess their creativity on this scale to offer feedback. The teamwork score sheet describes a range of optimal cooperation and collaboration to team domination and dissonance. This document will help me encourage good team dynamics and help me recognize issues within the group.
Destination Imagination. Four Free Instant Challenges. PDF. Cherry Hill: Destination Imagination, Inc., 2014. This source is intended for teams to use in preparation for the “instant challenge” portion of the competition. It offers four prompts, two of which are Hands-On and include materials, setup, and possible scoring. I will use these prompts as a basis for my own and especially the materials and setup to acquire their counterparts for my own original problems. These example problems spark my ability as they demonstrate extensions of very basic prompts, such as requiring that an otherwise basic tower must touch four separate taped off sections of floor. These give me a basis of steps I can take to make my own work more complex.
DiscoverDesign Staff. “Design Process.” DiscoverDesign. 2018. Accessed February 04, 2019. https://www.discoverdesign.org/handbook. This article explains the six steps of the engineering design process. It offers a short description of each step and basic applications. I will use this process to design the optimal solutions to my prompts. The most important part that is not included in Odyssey of the Mind style prompts is the final two steps of Feedback and Improve. This process will serve as a reminder to integrate those steps as they are important to SLA’s core values and curriculum and their integration will help students apply their skills.
Kouzes, James M., and Barry Z. Posner. The Leadership Challenge. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1987. This source is a book demonstrating the five practices of leadership, those being Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, and Encourage the Heart. The first chapter of this book focuses on two interviews that demonstrate struggles to lead and tactics that helped manage a group, one being Lindsay Levin of White’s Vehicle Repair and Ted Turner of Turner Broadcasting System. Levin’s exemplary leadership is characterized by gaining small successes as a team to build trust in the team, committing to teaching strategies to members, and recognizing success through awards. She also speaks of a technique of “zapping vs sapping,” where the leader boosts a member’s motivation by recognizing good work. Turner had success with leadership by encouraging risk-taking creativity and creating a company store to increase exclusivity and pride. While my project will be less run like a company and not commercial product driven, I will use these techniques on a small scale in running a club of members that must work as a team each meeting.
Llove. Hands-On Problem: The Strongest Link. PDF. Virginia: Odyssey of the Mind, 2006. This source offers an Odyssey of the Mind-style, hands-on, spontaneous problem involving two parts. They entails creating a chain on which a cup full of weights are held. This problem demonstrates the difficulty factor of having one time period to build and a second to alter or challenge the structure. I will use this problem as a basis to create two part problems where added complexities challenge teams after their initial build to extend their creativity. I can also use the model of a bridge-like problem as the underlying build challenge.
Mandel, Brett. “Coaching Spontaneous.” Interview by author. February 2019. The interviewee is my Odyssey of the Mind coach. He was a participant of the program in his youth and has been coaching Odyssey of the Mind for about a decade. I will use this interview to understand his experience coaching students who are high school aged in a problem solving context. I will ask questions about how to give constructive feedback during short creativity prompts and how to make sure students are listening to each other’s ideas. He will also have good ideas about where to get materials for hands-on problems.
Micklus, C. S., and Samuel W. Micklus. Lots of Problems, Many Solutions. Sewell, NJ: Creative Competitions, 2007. This book serves as an introduction to the Odyssey of the Mind program and offers many official verbal and hands-on spontaneous prompts. The introduction gives an overview of creative problem solving, and I will use these concepts to understand the basis and apply it to my club. I will use later chapters to base my original problems off of. The most useful piece of information this book offers is a detailed site setup, which is very important to solving the prompt.
Nelson, Robert. “Why It Is (Almost) Impossible to Teach Creativity.” The Conversation. January 09, 2019. Accessed January 31, 2019. http://theconversation.com/why-it-is-almost-impossible-to-teach-creativity-105659. This article from an independent not-for-profit organization presents a controversial and cynical view on creativity to a wide and unspecified audience. It presents problem solving as a lesser application of creativity as problems serve as an anxious place. I will use this view to dispute the stressful or limited applications of creativity through making my problems have more than just one feasible solution. I will offer opportunity for creative growth by rewarding risk-taking even if a solution fails. This club is meant to become a space for students to exercise creativity, not to place a stressor on specific solutions.
Perkins, T., J. Otte, and S. Riggs. The “Unofficial” On-line Coaches’ Training. PPT. Glassboro: Odyssey of the Mind, 2013. This presentation begins to prep outsiders on how to coach teams specifically for the Odyssey of the Mind competition and season. It covers the principle of divergent vs convergent problem solving and promotes the concept that divergent problem solving allows students to take creative measures and calculated risks in their solution. The source also states the responsibility of the coach to lead by asking questions. I will use this technique when coaching my club,asking constructive questions to allow students to work among themselves without the guidance of concrete answers that would lead them un-creatively to the solution. The presentation also places an emphasis on only allowing constructive criticism between teammates, which is another sentiment I will utilize.
Nile Ward Capstone
Kiah Johnson Capstone
Like many other medical conditions, chronic migraines and headaches occur in about two to three million people in the United States, one of them being my mother.
For my capstone, I decided that my overall goal was to create a portable massaging tool that helps with headaches and/or migraines. This gave me the chance to take my passions of both physical therapy and computer science and apply it to something useful. With the help of many research papers, I decided to focus on the four pressure points: two on the neck, and two on the forehead, to help release the pain, by decreasing the intensity of the headache.
The most important part of this project was getting familiar with coding. This was the first code that I had to build and structure myself, and it was difficult. Just figuring out the first code for finding frequency took about four weeks, as I was trying to gain knowledge of coding through Arduino references sheets and different libraries. At one point, I got stuck on one part of the code for several days. Then, I had to make another code for the actual vibration using the Circuit Playground Express and a Haptic Motor Driver, as the power of the headband. The vibration motors were connected to the power, all soldered. After that, I placed the circuit onto a plastic material, that was easy to slide throughout the newly made headband (with zipper for easy access to the circuit and controls).
Abraham, Nikhil. CODING FOR KIDS FOR DUMMIES. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2015. http://file.allitebooks.com/20150627/Coding%20For%20Dummies.pdf. This source provides the full language of code, understanding, and writing it. This information can easily be used to gain early knowledge on what exactly it is, and getting started on learning one of the languages. In skimming through, the beginning instructs the learner to always follow instructions and make sure it is fun for him/her, for it’s easier to learn when one is fully engaged and eager to learn about something he/she cares about.
Baumhardt, Carol, LMT. “Migraine and Tension Headaches: Using Massage to Ease the Pain.” Nationwide Children’s. December 19, 2017. Accessed January 24, 2019. https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/family-resources-education/700childrens/2017/12/migraine-and-tension-headaches-using-massage-to-ease-the-pain. This source provides early information about the differences between a migraine and a headache, explained by a professional, hinting on what needs to happen to treat them both. The author comments the initial signs of each and goes into deep detail with symptoms and even giving statistics on each about how many people suffer from both, or even confuse the two. It stresses the importance of knowing and telling a doctor of some sort, so help can be provided. In fact, the article does hint the readers about the success massages have had on people, especially migraine sufferers and children.
Chaibi, Aleksander, Tuchin, Peter J., and Russell, Michael Bjørn. “Manual Therapies for Migraine: A Systematic Review.” PMC, February 05, 2011. Accessed January 24, 2019. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3072494/#CR9. This source is a series of journal entries that shows multiple experiments of massage therapy being utilized on people with any type of head pain: migraines or just regular headaches. The difference between this one and the previous, is that this one was done in both the United States and New Zealand, both having the frequencies of the head pain being reduced between 31% and 71%. Along with these conclusions, the numbers can be used for programming and calculating the intensity of the massage tool, how fast it vibrates, and it would be simpler understand the effects of the tool, even with not enough testers to use the tool.
Downward, Emily. “Massages for Migraine Relief.” Migraine.com. May 2018. Accessed January 24, 2019. https://migraine.com/complimentary-and-alternative-therapies/massage/. This source provides the general information needed on massage therapy and its use to those who suffer from migraines. It also goes deeper into the fact that it is possible to have a self-massage for migraines, describing the different types of massages and what is useful for those with frequent migraines. In addition, it provides warnings as to who can/cannot use this therapy, for their health, which helps conclude that there needs to be a safer way to give the therapeutic massages. The writer of the article is not a doctor herself, but professional doctors, therapists, and college students are referenced throughout the article to prove the discoveries.
Flow - Wellness and Training. Youtube. April 11, 2017. Accessed January 24, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=SkyE24PmWgQ. This source is from a legitimate company that performs migraine massage therapy in Greece, known for their ideals and unique but successful approach to treatment and diseases. The video is showing a migraine massage being done on a patient, explaining each of their movements, along with the muscles being used and what they do to participate in the intensity of migraines. It also shows several different massages being done, all including the face and the neck. This describes the process in which needed to understand how much pressure and vibration goes into each movement and spot in which they used.
Glaser, Angie. “8 Pressure Points for Headaches You Should Know About.” Migraine Again. April 08, 2017. Accessed January 24, 2019. https://migraineagain.com/pressure-points-for-headaches-and-nausea/. This source provides information on acupressure for people who would like to self-massage, which is used mostly when a person suddenly has a terrible migraine or headache. It demonstrates with pictures showing the exact spots that ease the intensity in migraines and headaches. This could eventually be used in the instruction manual, explaining the use and safety measures of the tool. It also links to video interviews of real people with migraines and how they feel after doing therapy and using these pressure points. This can conclude the popular spot in which works the best for patients, which equal overall happiness.
Golden, Katie M. “Tackling Migraines Head-On | Massage Therapy Journal.” Amtamassage. May 23, 2017. Accessed January 24, 2019. https://www.amtamassage.org/articles/3/MTJ/detail/3704/tackling-migraines-head-on. This source is actually a journal explaining the steps in which migraines normally progress, described in phases. With a total of four phases, it tells the period in which they last, what it feels like, and the effects of each step. It also goes into depth about people with chronic tension type migraines, and how massage therapy is the best home remedy and the most effective. Along with this, it goes into more statistics about specific cases of people with chronic migraines and their lives with and without the massages.
Khan, Salman. “Planning a Programming Project.” Khan Academy. Accessed January 24, 2019. https://www.khanacademy.org/computing/computer-programming/programming/good-pr actices/a/planning-a-programming-project. This source gives a detailed step by step process on how to approach a coding project for beginners, seeing that beginners would need more guidance than experienced engineers would. In reading through the whole article, it was clear that the first step is to understand and determine the goals of the project, then more on to the materials and the experience one will need to be able to complete it. At the same time, it also encourages that one shouldn’t get easily frustrated and if there is a problem, to just look it up and see if anyone else has done anything like it. It also suggests to make a timeline for what needs to be done.
Kirby, Kristin J. “Is Massage Effective As A Non-Pharmacologic Treatment For Individuals Suffering From Migraines?” (2012). Student diss. Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Accessed January 24, 2019. https://digitalcommons.pcom.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1084&context=pa_systematic_reviews. This source is a college science paper, proving that massage therapy does indeed make a difference on patients that suffer from migraines, or even just occurring headaches. There are a total of three different studies, two of them involving deep tissue massages either once or twice a week for five weeks. The patient’s outcomes before, during, and after the massage, their migraine headache frequency, and their sleep quality was recorded everyday during the five weeks, which is shown within the source. These numbers can definitely be utilized in the making of the project.
“Top 10 Best Handheld Deep Tissue Electric Massagers in 2018.” GGP. 2018. Accessed January 24, 2019. https://garagegymplanner.com/best-electric-massagers/. This source is an article from a health company that tries to encourage people to be healthy at home and suggest ways in which they can do so, without it being difficult. It evaluates the best electric massagers describing their techniques, and also other ratings that real people who have actually used the product have said about it. With judging their vibration intensity, duration, and overall appearance, it also describes what it’s best used for in certain situations, talking about the motors and types of heads that is provided. This will make it easier to pick it flaws and see important components that will be needed with the project.
Meymey Seng Capstone
My capstone revolves around the inquiry of how to remove the negative stigma around bugs and other exotic animals. Going hand in hand with that idea, having an understanding of them would bring awareness to the way we treat the world, which ends up actively affecting the animals and us. Then, I realized that it may be due to a lack of exposure from an early age. Personally from a young age, having these fears inflicted upon myself was a roadblock. Only now developing an understanding of these animals, I wish that I would have learned about them earlier. That encourages my goal of reaching out to younger children. Having an interactive game that incorporates fun facts about said animals will hopefully lead it to become a more embracing subject. During the process of creating this game, I tossed many ideas away trying to find a balance between facts and the idea of it being engaging for the kids. Something that I realized is that when a topic is seen as interesting, the likelihood of it being memorized is much higher. This is when the idea of creating a board game for the two kindergarten classes at D. Newlin Fell Elementary School striked me. Researching the topic of the science behind joyful learning, these games will be incorporated into their play area. As the name suggests, doing so will allow them to gain knowledge each time they play the game. Doing this capstone gave me the realization that people are simply afraid of what they are ignorant of.
Kaitlyn Petroski Capstone
Tylier Driscoll Capstone
Jacobo Pastor Capstone
PAXTON WENTZELL CAPSTONE
“Into To Animation.” UARTS PreCollege Class. UARTS PreCollege Class, Oct. 2018, Philadelphia, UARTS.
From September to November, I took animation classes at UArts. They were by far the most helpful thing to completing my capstone. The ability to talk to working animators about techniques and programs and equipment and tricks was a huge time saver. Hours and hours of research were saved with these conversations.
Anderson, Wes, director. Fantastic Mr. Fox. Fantastic Mr. Fox, Wes Anderson, 14 Oct. 2009.
It’s hard not to love Wes Anderson. I’ve wanted to watch Fantastic Mr. Fox since I was a kid, so this was a great excuse. The animation here is lively and amazing and I found myself trying to emulate their perfect movement. Key word being “trying”
Vimeo, Jeremy Clapin, 30 Apr. 2019, vimeo.com/36824575.
Sofia Powers showed me this animated film and it was an amazing inspiration! It is so beautifully done! Most of my inspiration came from very popular films, so it is good to be able to see what can be done on a smaller scale.
Stauber, Jack. “JackStauber.” YouTube, YouTube, www.youtube.com/user/JackStauber.
I found Jack Stauber right before I started my capstone. He’s one of the reasons why I wanted to make an animation in the first place. I’ve always been a fan of mixed media. I feel like Stauber’s been doing the kinds of things that I wanted to do anyways. So, his accessible style was a great place to start. I would watch the things that he makes and try to reverse engineer the techniques to get similar effects for my own film.
Dixon, Barnaby. “Barnabydixon.” YouTube, YouTube, www.youtube.com/user/barnabydixon.
I found Barnaby Dixon around the same time as Jack Stauber. He made a stop motion animated film, Eskos, by himself when he was 19 and it is AMAZING! Age wise, he wasn’t too far away from me. I found myself pushing harder and hard to try to match the quality of what he did. Now, Dixon does puppets. His mastery of movement, even though it’s not stop motion, was extremely beneficial to study.
Caroline Pitone - Capstone
I´ve always been an individual wondering what the world was like and how it would run once I was on my own. In school we learn important subjects such as math, history, english, and so forth. While I always felt that these were important subjects that should be required, I always wondered how I would take on the world without any real advice. Not everyone has a companion to teach them. For my 2019 Capstone for senior year, I chose to create a website that is informative relating to what to expect after graduating high school and being your own adult. I collected answers from a survey asking individuals what they knew about information from money, savings, homestay/care, all the way to nutrition. I wanted to create this website for an easy access to some quick questions one might have while discovering life on their own. While being around high schoolers for the past four years, I´ve heard many talk about what it would mean to them to have a lecture for what to expect and how to deal with things as they grow up and take on their own responsibilities. Since the beginning of senior year, I have wanted to this as my capstone. Thinking of an idea was tricky, and I wanted to do something that could really help another student. While creating my website, I did research to collect all of the information needed for my site. I sat and thought about what would really be useful for teenagers and reflected on myself for what I wish I knew.