TinkerCad Project Reflection

When I first looked at the project of creating a 3D digital design object, I was not sure I would be able to produce a good piece of work. TinkerCad is a online website where you can create 3D design and 3D printing tool for the masses. Whether you're a designer, hobbyist, teacher, or kid, you can use TinkerCad to make toys, prototypes, home decor, Minecraft models, jewelry, and many other various things. When I first started using the website I felt this task was very challenging, as the controls of the website to design anything were very complex. Before I started to create my own 3D design on the website, I first spent time understanding how the designs are actually made. To do this I spent time on the different lessons that are available on the website, that help you build a greater understanding of the controls before you make your own design. Before making my own design, I spent time doing lessons 1-10. In each lesson I got to learn more about the different controls that were there to build your own design. Some were easy to learn, and some were very difficult.

My Lessons on TinkerCad:

Lesson one: (Learning the moves) - Learning how to move objects.

Lesson two: (Camera controls) - learning how to zoom into an object. Learning how to zoom in and out, and moving around an object to see it’s back and front view. 

Lesson three: (Creating holes) - Learnt how to group objects together, and create holes. 

Lesson four: (Scale copy & paste) - How to drag, scale, and copy & paste. Starts with a blank workplace. 

Lesson five: (Key ring, letters) - Learning to design a key ring. 

Lesson six: (Die on the workplane) - learnt how to drag and places objects, and readjust the size to fit in the workplane, and to fit on the die. 

Lesson seven: (Mine craft party glasses) - In this lesson it teaches us how to design our very own party glasses. 

Lesson eight: (Cufflinks) - In this lesson you use different shapes and adjust the size to make cufflinks. 

Lesson nine: (Luggage tag) - This lesson is all about customization. In this lesson I learned how to design and customize the luggage tag. 

Lesson ten: (Chess pawn) - In this lesson I learnt how to create a traditional chess pawn. 

After I completed these lessons, I then moved on to creating my own design. At first I looked at the different options for objects that I could create using the knowledge I have learnt from the lessons. After I searched the different shapes, letters and other controls, I decided on creating a rabbit. This used many of the skills taught in the lesson. I used the skill of moving objects which was learnt in lesson one, I used the skill of zooming in and out of objects which was lesson two, I used the skill of copy, paste and drag which I learnt in lesson four, I used the skill of dragging different objects and changing their size to fit the object outcome which I had learnt in lesson six, I used the skill of customization which I learnt in lesson nine, and I also used the skill of overlapping an object on top of one another to create the 3D effect, I learnt this in my sixth lesson. When I started creating my object, I needed to see some reference to build a better object, so I decided to search pictures of rabbits, and I choose a simple design of a rabbit, to construct my 3D design. Next time when I do this project again I would like to add more detail to my work and use more complex controls to get a better outcome, I feel I could have done much better, through more learning. It would be a good idea to repeat the lessons I have done to refresh my memory and build a greater understanding for building my design. 

My Design:

IDU Unit Reflection - Criteria D

In Term 3, we did an interdisciplinary unit for the two subjects IT and French. In this unit, we created a website using Macromedia Dreamweaver or the online website creating tool Wix, about Learning French. This website for learning French was targeted to year 7 students specifically. We would be assessed for IT on our website presentation, how aesthetically pleasing it looks and how you have used technology to help people learn French, also the different features you decide to use on your website. For French, we would be assessed on the actual content that will be put on the website, this includes grammar, punctuation, spelling, and whether the content that has been formed makes sense or not. I think the website that I have created will help year 7 students because, I have already learnt the same things and I am aware of what knowledge the year 7 students already obtain, so I can help them by teaching them new phrases and words of French they don't already know, in this way my website will be very useful and helpful. 

What I enjoyed most during this interdisciplinary unit was creating the website using the online website designing tool WIX, as it was easy to add great features using less effort, and as an outcome great amount of work could be produced. I enjoyed the IT part of this interdisciplinary unit more than French, as I like IT a lot more as a subject, and I am more interested in programming softwares and creating new sites through different online tools. I find French a bit hard as a subject and don't entirely enjoy all lessons in class, but I really like the idea of working for two different subjects in one area. It was fun.

Some challenges I encountered during this task was the starting of building my website. I spent a lot of time trying to decide on the right theme for my website, this part was quite time consuming and frustrating, as I was unable to come to a conclusion quickly. Another problem I had encountered was with some features on WIX, that seem to be a little confusing at first, and I was unable to navigate myself through the designing tool. I sooner discovered a "Help" button which was very useful and helpful in building my site, as it guided/navigated me through the different features of the website designer very well. 

If I had to improve my website, I would have liked to have more time to add more French information on phrases and other vocabularies, and added more quizzes and activities to do. I feel I could have improved on many content related aspects of my site, but I feel I have done my IT part very well, as I used many different features like: adding videos, audios, slideshows, pictures, hyperlinks, buttons, and a few others. So, I am happy with the way I have portrayed my IT skills through the different features I have used to show my greater understanding, although I could have done better for my French part, through better activities, exercises, phrases, quizzes, etc. Next time, I would have liked to work as a pair, so that I can equally divide the work between the two of us, this would have been time saving and much more work would have been produced as an outcome.

The benefits of interdisciplinary learning is that you get to experience and work with two completely different subjects in a fun learning environment. This teaches us new skills, and we develop better social understanding for each of the subjects. This is a good way to use the knowledge we already have of these two subjects for a project that combines the two. This also makes work load easier as you are working on two subjects at once. The limitations of interdisciplinary learning is that since it is working on two different subjects, it will be difficult to communicate with the teachers about the project. For example: If you have  question about the project and you ask one subject teacher, and she directs you to ask the other. This can make it confusing and hard to complete the task if communication is not done well.

This is the first time I have done a interdisciplinary unit, and I found it very exciting. What I have benefited as a interdisciplinary learner is I have developed skills throughout the process of working on both of the subjects for this project; French and IT. It was a great way to combine different skills and see how everyone works on the two subjects combined. It tests our abilities and strengths for each subject. 

This unit helped me understand that I am able to link subjects together and study. I really liked the idea of having a project being done for two subjects. Although, next time I would like to have an interdisciplinary unit with two different subjects to study on. I hope we will do this again next year!

Term 3- Multi-Language Website (Inter Disciplinary Unit with MFL)

Statement of Inquiry: Designers must consider the multiple cultural perspectives in communicating effectively by way of language to suit the need of the end users

Task: To create a Multi language website

Target Audience: - Grade 7 Students

Introduction: I am a student of French, and have been learning it for almost four years now. The things we have covered in class lessons are colors, numbers, adjectives, compositions, phrases, descriptions, vocabulary, imperfect tense, past tense, present tense and much more. 

I am going to be making a website using the website building tool WIX, which will help grade sevens to improve their french vocabulary and their pronunciations, and to in generally improve their French skills. I found out that this work had been divided between two people to do. In class people paired up and divided the topics and activities evenly amongst each other. Since, I have not been attending school I decided to do the topics on my own, using the knowledge I already have from previous lessons of French that I have attended. I decide on the different basic phrases that should be applied to the website, and the different forms they will be presented in such as: videos, pictures, audios, texts. I made sure I had some of all features to show greater understanding of website control, and show my process of learning.

I will make sure to put English translations and lots of images/pictures for a clearer and better understanding, this will also speed up the process of learning, as you learn faster when you have an image or picture to remind you of the word you are trying to learn. I also wanted to make sure my website was colorful, to attract and engage the target audience (Children in grade 7). It is better than a plain old website as the colors will be much more appropriate for this specific target audience (Children in year 7). Audios will be useful for students to learn the correct pronunciation for each word, that is why I have decided to have many audios on my website. On my website I will have many activities and quizzes to test the skills and knowledge the students have learned so far through the website. 

*Unfortunately, I was unable to create my own dreamweaver website on "About Me", so I do not have any screenshots of it. Since, I did not learn much about creating dreamweaver websites I was unable to make my own, although I have done a lot of research to keep my self aware and knowledgeable about the topic. I know that dreamweaver is a website/program that allows you to make simple home pages with pictures and different buttons, whether they lead to a different page or a page of a picture. It all depends on what you want to do. 

Website Designs - Criteria B

My first website design idea was to write "I Love French" as the title on top of my website and write the name of my website below it "Fluent French". I liked this design very much as it looked attractive, and had place for certain relevant information about French. It had good amounts of pictures and places for fun facts to keep the reader interested. I also decided on making my text the colors of the French flag so that it relates to the website, and the use of many colors will be especially great for the target audience users - kids/young children. (Year 7s)

My second design was to write my title in big and bold letters on the top of the website "Fluent French". Under this there would be a slideshow playing with pictures, this is eye catching and creates great visual impacts on the reader/user. Of course the slideshow with pictures will have pictures relevant to the website.  Right under the slide show there is going to be an interactive YouTube video, teaching a few basic French phrases. Next to the I would have a column with several basic French words along with a picture of the word; this will create better understanding and make it easier to learn the word, along with these 2 factors I will also have an audio, this will be useful to understand and carefully learn how to pronounce each French word correctly.

For my second design's about page my idea was to divide the top part of the website in the parts. In the first part there will be information about the website; anything necessary that the reader/user may need to know, along with addition information I might have come across through research and findings. In the second part there will be a related picture with a phone number under it. This will make the website more official and much more like many other language learning sites available online. In the third part I decided to write fun facts in a neat column making sure information isn't cluttered and everything is evenly spaced. I will write the fun facts after going through some research and building more understanding and gaining more knowledge through various websites available online. Next what I decided to do in my design was to input a bigger picture when you scrolled down from the information. This is to keep the reader/user interested so that they don't feel bored with just the plain old information, and so that they are engaged with the website. Now under the picture I had decided to add any additional information I might have left out, but only using bullet points to keep it short and simple, making it easy to read (readable). 

In the end finally I decided to go with my second design, even though I liked my first design better, i had planned more clearly and precisely what I wanted and laid it out chronologically in my second design. I felt my second design looked more professional and was more closer to any other site available online, making it look very nice. 

Criteria C - Learning French Website for Year 7

This is my website link to my IDU French Website, "Fluent French":

http://muskandabur2020.wix.com/fluentfrench

Website reflections - Process of creating my site - Criteria C

Week 1:

As, I was not able to attend lessons, I was unable to understand the concept of dreamweaver, and the task to create our own website. At first I found it very difficult to make my own site, so I decided to browse around other sites at first. In the first week I spent time researching and exploring different websites, to get a good idea on how to carefully structure and layout my website. In the different websites I saw I noticed that the ones with brighter colors and more pictures grabbed my attention, and the ones with no pictures and less colors seem to look very dull and boring. So, I decided to choose bright colors like orange, blue, green and yellow, and to make the site more happy rather than dull I decided to keep the background white, so the colors could stand out. At first I started laying out the different pages that I had and add the necessary colors. I would then later on add the pictures related to the information I choose. At first I explored different features in "Wix", I tried to use as many features I could to show a higher level of understanding and skills for using this online website making site called "Wix".  It especially helped to use the "Help" button in Wix, as whenever I was stuck or was unsure what to do, I clicked this button and it guided me to the features I required. When creating my site I kept in mind that it should be easy to use and user friendly. 

Week 2:

In the second week I started to build my site further, I started to plan out what all I am going to be writing, and so I made an about page which talked about all the things that will be on the site. I started to add pictures which were relevant and appropriate, this made my website look eye catching and overall looked really nice. I was really happy with how it was turning out, I started to add hyperlinks, and they were successful all my hyperlinks work. After creating the about page I went back to my home page to add audios and more visuals. I also planned to put a youtube video for learning basic phrases on the home page. I was able to complete these pages in a few days and next I moved on to my approach page I had come across some research which I had found interesting so I thought to add that in, along with fun facts about speaking French. I also talked about all the different activities that will be on the site for the users and readers to do to learn French.  After research and looking at many different language teaching sites I wanted to make my site look more professional and similar to the sites available online, so I created a register page, this page had contact details about the site things like location, email and phone number. I also made a box for any suggestions or questions that users or readers had. Much like many other sites that I have seen I have also made a suggestion and questions box. When creating the site some change were made from my original idea, as the theme that I originally wanted to choose was a little dark and adultish. 

After exploring different sites I had a clear understanding that my site should be bright and colorful, as my target audience is younger than me and will be attracted to these bright and lively colors. I have tried to make my site look like a kid site, for doing so I have picked out kid pictures, and animated pictures, that explain the information in a fun way. The aim of my site is to keep my target audience engaged so that they don't get bored and leave. To do this I made a checklist of a few things I wanted on the site. I wanted to have at least one picture one each page, I wanted videos that had good visuals, and I wanted to good audios. I am happy that I was successfully able to do all of these things. My website started coming together, now I had to add the lessons and quizzes page.

Week 3:

In week 3 I started making a list of things I wanted in my lessons and quizzes page. I planned the layout to make sure it looked nice and looked organized. I did not want to fill the page with information making it looked cluttered, as I have seen a few sites like this and personally I think they do not look nice at all. It makes it hard to read and the user or reader does not feel the need waste time  on the site, and will eventually leave. So, I made sure my information was evenly spaced out and organized well so the presentation looks neat and readable to the reader or user. For my lessons I clearly labelled all the topics so that the would be segregated and it would be easy to identify the different topics for the user or reader. I have made the title of the topics bold and clear and written it in white capital letters on a horizontal yellow strip, which highlights the title even more. The topics I had chosen to use in my website were: greetings and courtesies, common fruits, basic colors, French alphabets A - Z and numbers 1 - 100. The topics greetings and courtesies, common fruits, and basic colors are clearly labelled with their English and French name, including an audio, to learn how to say the word correctly. I think it is important to have audios, so the user or reader can learn how to correctly say the word, and learn how to pronounce it. The common fruits and basic colors also have respective pictures for greater understanding, making it easier to learn the words. For the French alphabets A - Z and numbers 1 - 100 I decided to put 2 youtube videos with good visuals to learn this as this does not require much explaining, and can be learnt by watching the video a couple of times.

After I finished my lessons I moved on to my quizzes. On the top of the page I decided to write a motivational sentence, to get the user or reader excited for attempting the challenge. The sentence I wrote was "Are you up for a French quiz? Let's do it!", and under this I decided to make 3 different quizzes which tested different skills and knowledge of the topics on the site. For the first quiz I created a word search, where you have to find basic phrases, the phrases were written in a column right next to the word search. In the second quiz there is a English word and you have to choose from he 4 choices, the right answer in French. This quiz has a timer, so this will test how quickly the reader or user can complete the quiz. The last quiz is about numbers, similar to the second one, the number will be written in English and you have to choose the correct number in French from the 4 choices. After I completed my website I went over each page and tested all the buttons to make sure they were working, and checked hyperlinks to see if they were leading to the right page. After I was fully satisfied with my website I published it. 

I really enjoyed this project as it was interactive between French and IT. I haven't done a project liked this before and it was fun to work on the 2 subjects. I enjoyed mixing mediums from both subjects. I would have wished to have more time for this project, to experiment on more things and add more mediums to my site to make it more interactive and full of content. It was hard to manage time to work on this project, as I had to work on assessments on other topics. Next time, if I get more time I would specifically like to work on my lessons, as I feel I could have added many more things for the users and readers to learn. Overall I liked this project and hope that we get to do this with a different subject next time.

Self Evaluation