Book Bag Time

In my Light, Sound and Time class I was assigned to invent a time-telling device that is better than what’s already out there. The time-telling device that I decided to do was a book bag that tells you the time by the hour with a light that flashes from the straps which will vibrate too. The most challenging thing was getting the math part together and figuring out how to show the math concept for this device. What I learned from this was the different ways that time can be told or recognized. I learned that sun’s shadow can tell you the time wherever you are if you measure it right. What I am most proud of is choosing my time-telling device on time and not making it so complicated.

                                        Book Bag Time

The time-telling device I chose to do was a book bag. The straps of the book bag light up within the hour. How the book bag lights up is by the warmth of the human body, it will also vibrate when the light flashes. When the book bag is worn, the book bag then activates itself when it starts receiving the body heat from your body. For example, if you saw that the time was 2:00 pm and your book bag straps light and vibrate up that means it has been an hour meaning it’s 3:00 pm. This book bag is also a timer, you can plug your earphones into your book bag and the device will let you know how close you are getting from your time being up. How my device shows Light, Sound and Time is, with the energy that the book bag is receiving from your body the book bag will light up when the time has changed. The timer has a programmed speaker so when you plug in your earphones the speaker will tell you how much time you have left from what you put the timer for. Last but not least, Time; every time the time changes by the hour the light and vibration from the straps will let you know it’s been a full hour.

My device is meaningful and effective because instead of wearing a wristwatch, you can simply tell when it hits a different hour when the light flashes and when you feel the vibration on your shoulders. You can also put in a time you have to be somewhere and it’ll let you know when your time is up. As I was researching about book bags, I found that book bags were started to be invented in California by two couples named Dick and Nena Kelty. The Kelty’s started making bags in their California home in the early 1950’s. As I was researching, the article said “the unassuming Kelty backpack signaled a paradigm shift in backpack design by prioritizing three fundamental modern concepts”:

1. Weight Matters 
2. Durable Materials are Key 
3. User Experience is Important

How my device solves common problems today is by the light that flashes and vibrates because the light flashes when it’s been a hour. If you know what time it was before you won’t have to check your time. The timer is just regular but you can also plug in your earphones and it can tell you how close you are from the time being done. Teenagers and people with low hearing or that are blind today will be able to use these book bags.

Citations:
- "The Evolution of the Modern Backpack." Packsmith RSS. N.p., 24 Sept. 2015. Web. 18 Mar. 2016.

- "Back Pack." Back Pack. N.p., n.d. Web.

Iphones Vs. Android

Hi I am JR and for this 3rd action project in my Argument class, I was assigned to choose an argument in which will have a antithesis to it. The argument I chose for this third action project was Iphones vs. Android. I chose this argument because I actually own both phones and I also leave one aside while I use the one I really like. The most challenging thing about this action project was finding facts about both phones and getting all the information in the right places. What I learned in the Argument class was basically the study of arguments, reform and structure. I learned to handle arguments differently than how I used to handle arguments but now I know I have to come to synthesis whenever an argument comes up. What I am most proud of is getting this action project done on time and being able to learn about both phones and how both are so different than what people think they are both the same. Enjoy!

Thesis:

When it comes to the ongoing Iphone vs. Android debate, I argue because it’s something hard to choose against, they’re both good phones but depending on which android phone it is. Some Android phones do work perfectly fine and they are as good as Iphones. I am an Iphone user who once had an android phone and I think I made the best choice switching to Apple. The reason why I believe this, is because Apple Iphones:

• Are better looking 
• Iphones get the best apps first 
• Iphone 5s and up have a fingerprint sensor
• Are better organizing tools 

Now, there is plenty of evidence supporting my argument. Android phones are regular phones; they still work but the majority of Americans tend to buy Apple Iphones the most. Iphones have better phone quality, camera quality and giving functionality. This debate really divides people who are committed to their Iphones or Androids, and it can get very intense. In fact, as I was researching I found a website where they were talking about two roommates in Oklahoma almost stabbed each other to death while having this same debate. People get so heated over team Apple or team Android, it’s crazy. I would highly recommend to anybody to get an Iphone because they are better to connect with other phones and the internet, have a fast working network, and their software updates itself and also the new updates arrive quicker than Android software. Apple makes these phones for a very good reason, which is money. Android phones are terrible. Their phone quality poor; the apps are available later than Iphone apps; the camera quality is skimpy and not clear; and most of all, the emojis are ridiculously horrible.

The following quotations that support my thesis are:

- (Android) "They ruin the phones’ potential with unnecessary features and apps that lower the devices’ battery life, uglify their home screens, and make everything you want to do extra annoying".
- "With the way the Android system is evolving by leaps and bounds and finally combining it with decent hardware it’s hard to imagine that they won’t hit a price point with their phones. Where consumers begin to say “eh, I really don’t need to pay more for an iPhone do I?”
- For Android users, "affordability is the biggest reason it is the No. 1 most purchased system in the world".

Antithesis:

My opposition, however, would argue Androids are better than Iphones because all your information is linked into google accounts, which is convenient and great. The reason why I say that it is great is because you can download music - up to 20GB - and it is saved to your google account, which means if you switch to another android phone you won’t lose your music because you can simply connect your google account to the new phone and have all your music back. Charging an android phone is the best part about having them, because they charge very quickly. Some of these phones tend to have bigger screens and a wider body style than the regular iphones. Android phones are better because if you get your phone stolen, you can get the phone back or either buy a new android phone and sign in into your google account. When you sign in to your google account you will recover all your personal stuff like, including photos, music and apps you recently downloaded onto your old phone.


Synthesis:

Where can these two divided sides come together on the seemingly eternal iPhone vs. Android debate? Overall, both phones work the same and are designed, in general, to provide the same functions. The major differences are the style, price and how organized is set up. Both phone companies have the same purpose and goals, which is to provide high quality cellular and smart phone services and products. Additionally, both companies Apple and Google want to satisfy the desires of their customers (new and old). An idea for synthesizing this disagreement so that everyone can enjoy the best of both worlds, is for each company to use the competition to create their own better products. Perhaps, this kind of competitive collaboration could even lead to new products developed by both brands working together. This could truly give customers all of what they're looking for in a phone, not just what each has to offer separately. How cool would an AndrApple or AppDroid phone be?

Citations:
- "Why People Pick Team Apple versus Team Android." CNBC. N.p., 19 Jan. 2015. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.
- Roche, Cullen. "Here's Why Android Is Better Than My Old IPhone."Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 01 Dec. 2011. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.
- Manjoo, Farhad. "I Tried Android. Now Give Me Back My IPhone!" N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.

Unfair Attendance & Work

For this course Argument the unit we studied was “1857”. I was assigned to choose an amendment from the GCE code of conduct book. The amendment I chose was Field Experience. In this class, we learned about the constitution, amendments and our rights. What I am most proud of is choosing an amendment that I really feel strongly about and like. The most challenging thing about this assignment was choosing a rule and branching off of it. The purpose of this action project is to develop your own amendment using the GCE code of conduct explaining your change to the rule in which it’s

I would like to introduce an amendment to improve the GCE Code of Conduct’s section, “Field Experience”. Currently the rule for students who miss FE’s is:

Tardies:

• If a student is tardy for an FE (and missed the FE), student will: 
• be marked absent for the respective course (morning or afternoon FE) 

Remain on GCE Lab School premises and are encouraged to work on a FE make-up plan that is of equal or better value in order to receive partial credits for the FE. Student must submit lesson plan to teacher via email. Be dismissed at the end of the school day in the case of an afternoon FE and will be required to stay if s/he misses the morning FE. 

Absences: same rule mentioned above applies.

As a formal argument this FE rule is written as:

P1: GCE believes that FE’s are very important to the courses that every student takes. 

P2: FE’s are part of every student’s academic experience and occur each week. 

P3: Every student that is absent or tardy on a FE day are marked absent to the respective course and FE itself.

C: Students who missed school or are tardy for an FE should be required to complete make-up work rather than being marked “absent”.

There are two reasons why this amendment is unjust: 1) students’ attendance records are penalized for the absence, and 2) students’ academics are penalized because they can only receive partial credit for the FE deliverable.

As far as attendance, the current rule is unfair because students are being punished for being tardy or absent for an FE by being marked absent (unexcused), even if s/he were tardy. Students are aware that they can not go on there own on a FE unless permission is given by a teacher to the students. Students that do come and miss the FE are to stay and do make-up work. I think that this is totally an unfair rule for marking students come late and missing an FE. I understand that there’s make-up work that can be done but some FE’s are require attendance that can’t be reproduced (ex: Gravity Tank, Threshold Acoustics) places like those are hard to make-up work. The make-up work depends on the type of FE it is because there can be places like a guitar centers and a bike shops that is public and easy to access to. The Code of Conduct explains that students are given an “FE make-up plan that is equal or better value in order to receive partial credits for the FE”. I think that we should get partial credit only when students miss an FE that is not reproducible. However, if students are able to make-up the FE experience entirely on their own, they should be allowed to earn full credit on the deliverable. I find that being absent for an FE and receiving a zero on your FE deliverable is way too far out of the line.

I also understand that all students that are going to be missing an FE or are going to be late should contact for the make-up work that should be given to them in case they don’t show up to school.

The revision I propose to the current rule is that student who do attend the FE on their own time and complete the deliverable, should be able to receive full credit; they already are being marked absent so they shouldn’t be punished twice. My amendment to this section of the Code of Conduct as a formal argument is recorded below:

P1: Students will sometimes miss FE’s. 

P2: Students will get marked absent if they are tardy.

P3: Students will get marked off for their deliverable, for missing the FE.

As I was asking one of my peers about what were her thoughts on Field Experiences in GCE being unfair or fair based on the student Code of Conduct she said, “I have ran into this problem before, when I was around 5 minutes late and possibly couldn’t complete the FE on my own. I agree with you, there should be a finer line of what can be make up work and for the work someone did prior to the FE to be accredited”. I strongly agree that we can make up the FE deliverable if the FE is attend-able on your own time and earn full credit for their deliverable.

My Diddley Bow

For this unit called "Sound" we studied about the sound in frequency, wavelengths, amplitude and harmonics. Then the class and I went on a field experience to the Threshold Acoustics we learned more about how the frequency and wavelengths in sound can change with their surroundings. For this action project we were assigned to make a guitar off of recycled materials like a tin can, a piece of wood and a guitar string. What I am most proud of is getting my guitar done on time and having all materials that I need for my guitar. I am also proud of learning how exactly sound travels through a guitar. The most challenging thing was getting my guitar string to tie around the screw. The purpose of this project is to create your own guitar using recycled materials or old scraps from home.

I learned the different parts of a guitar and how it works with the sound when the strings are being played. How the guitar works is the tin can will allow the string to enter and produce the vibration/sound of the string being played. Which bounces inside the tin can producing the sound to come out. My guitar demonstrates these key science principles which are sound waves, wave lengths, frequency and amplitude.

JR. "My Diddley Bow". (2016).

Sound Wave: When the guitar string is being played/touched.
Wave Length: When or how hard you're playing the string.
Frequency: How frequent the sound is when you play the string.
Amplitude: How high the string is moving.

How I found the measurements for my Diddley bow was, I used a ruler in inches. I measured the string which measured in 7 inches. I divided that into harmonics in which I wrote down onto the wood to show where the harmonics are on the Diddley Bow. The thickness of my string is 0.038 inches. The approximate volume of my Diddley bows body is 28.5005 inches cubed. I used pi x r2 x h which I then got pi x 1.44 squared x 4 3/8. Also the approximate wavelength and pitch/ frequency of the four harmonics of my Diddley Bow

JR. "Sketch on Diddley Bow".  (2016).

How the Doppler effect shows on a Diddley bow is with the sound that comes from the string which goes through and enters the can, bouncing off of the can which amplifies as the sound that comes out.