April 25, 2018 / spatel / 0 Comments
Well, it’s already the last post for this year’s in-depth! I learned so much compared to when i just first started, and I am proud of all the new skills I learned. I must admit, I didn’t think 3D modeling would really be that difficult or complicated, but man, I was really wrong. There are so many things to consider when you are working on creating a 3D model, and it requires lots and lots of patience. Not to mention the time it takes to create something you’re happy with. Anyways, over the past while I’ve been working on a model of a robot, and it was a lot more difficult than I thought. I kept my patience, and now I am happy with what I have so far! I am not going to be posting any pictures of it though, so it’s more of a surprise when I show it on in-depth night.
Over the last month, I focused mainly on gathering and applying my skills into creating a 3D model of a robot. Although the robot looks fairly simple and not very advanced, I am still very proud of it. The most difficult part of designing the robot was bending the arms so they weren’t just sticking straight out of the body. It took so long to finally complete in a manner that looked aesthetically appealing. The arms alone took a few days, because I had to repeatedly adjust and tweak them over and over again. Often the curve would be too sharp, and often too subtle. There were also many times when the robot’s arm got twisted up while bending it, and I will admit the process was quite, no, very frustrating.
The second difficult component was creating the node setup for the lights on the robot. I have some light-up buttons on the robot’s chest, which took a long time to create. The reason they took a while to make is because I had to factor in the right amount of emission with the right amount of diffuse, and I also needed to add in constricting nodes to regulate the amount of light filtering through along with math nodes to control the light. In the end I am happy with the result I got and proud of my accomplishments with my 3D model. The robot definitely isn’t done yet, as I still need to polish it up and animate the camera to spin around it, so I can create a demo reel of the robot!
Speaking of which, for in-depth night I plan on doing a learning centre. I will showcase all my models and animations with a slideshow. I might also have printed pictures on a posterboard, and BIG writing and captions, making sure not to overwhelm the audience with lots of text. For this, I will be needing a power outlet, as my project is all digital and on digital devices. When people come around, I will show them my creations and tell them about my learning progress- including jokes and puns to add in some humour and interest. I am also thinking to add in a fun little activity, but I am not sure what to do for that yet.
My mentor and I have been meeting with each other, exchanging opinions on my robot model. We also talked about how far I’ve come in terms of my skills, and how new I was to 3D modeling when I started. I went from not knowing how to move a cube to being able to create 3D models of robots with light-up buttons! My mentor didn’t tell me exactly how to form some of the difficult parts of the robot, but instead dropped hints I would work with. The reason Devarshi didn’t straight up give me the answer is because I wouldn’t learn much that way, and instead I would learn a lot more from figuring things out by myself. Overall, Devarshi is proud of my progress, and how far I’ve come in my work. Even I’m proud of how far I’ve come!
All in all though, I am having so much fun learning 3D modeling. Although it is very tedious, when you accomplish a part of the model it feels really awesome, because you get to say you created it by yourself and problem-solved your way to success. More specifically, when you complete a tough or especially tedious segment of your project, that feeling of accomplishment and self-pride is even larger and more filling. Well, that’s it for my last in-depth post for In-Depth 2018, and I can’t wait to show off my learning and see you all at in-depth night! I would post pictures but I don’t want to spoil the robot just yet. If you want to see it, don’t forget to stop by my learning center on in-depth night!
Happy Blending!
April 19, 2018 / spatel / 0 Comments
Emerging ideas and ideologies profoundly influence societies and events:
“Put a pencil to his temple, connected it to his brain
And he wrote his first refrain, a testament to his pain
Well, the word got around, they said, this kid is insane, man
Took up a collection just to send him to the mainland”
Hamilton provides a new idea to the world, and this idea is a huge hit to everyone, to the point that they think he’s “insane” or really smart. They even collect money for him to get an education in the mainland, which shows how much the people are fascinated with Hamilton’s ideas.
Disparities in power alter the balance of relationship between individuals and between societies:
“Scammin’ for every book he can get his hands on”
Due to the fact Hamilton is so poor and unprivileged, he has to scam people for books to read and get knowledge from. The difference in power between the people that are scammed and Hamilton is very different and large, which is why Hamilton has to result to “scamming”. Perhaps if Hamilton was in equal ranks, he could borrow or pay for the books he wanted to read and hold more friendly relationships, rather than scamming or cheating.
Collective identity is constructed and can change over time:
“And a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in the Caribbean by providence impoverished,
In squalor, grow up to be a hero and a scholar?”
When Hamilton is born, he is deemed as an illegitimate child that no one will look twice at. There isn’t anything special about him-or so they think. Soon, his reputation for writing is founded, and he is suddenly very popular, to the extent that people collect money for his education in the mainlands. Over time, many people looked up to Hamilton and idolized him- and he became an icon.
The Physical environment influences the nature of political, social, and economic change:
“In New York you can be a new man”
After moving to New York, Hamilton was able to achieve his dreams and goals far more easily than he could before, in the Caribbean, where he was blocked from achieving anything due to his birth and poor past. In New York, which is far more different, Hamilton was granted far more privileges and able to eventually find success.
April 12, 2018 / spatel / 2 Comments
Inquiry Question:
What were the motivating factors behind the creation of New France?
A) Outline the focus of your inquiry and provide background knowledge. Why is this an important and significant question to ask about the past? Provide evidence from primary and secondary sources.
For many years, France had plans to colonize the ‘New World’. Their actual first attempt to do this was when Jacques Cartier arrived in Chaleur Bay. After unboarding his ship, Cartier placed a 30-foot cross made of wood, and attached a shield to it. The shield bore the Fleur-de-lis, and upon this he carved the words, “Vive le Roy de France,” and claimed the land for France. The phrase means “Long live the king of France” in English. After this, Cartier returned back to France really soon, only to return another two times to claim the St. Lawrence river and the present Maritimes area.
Then, in the early 1600’s, Samuel de Champlain was approved by the government to inhabit the new claimed area- which he believed had great potential. The first fort Champlain created was Port Royal, located in Acadia. Unfortunately for Champlain, this fort failed due to severe winter weather and people lacking sufficient survival and farming skills. Champlain’s next fort, which he named Québec, was established in the year 1608. The next winter though, fifteen of Champlain’s men died from scurvy- a horrific disease. Trust me, you don’t want to have it. The first nations helped Champlain throughout this winter, and in the following spring French ships arrived with supplies, securing the fate of Champlain and his men, and also securing the fate of New France.
The reason this is so interesting is because Samuel de Champlain sailed all the way from France, and founded Quebec City, which is still very successful to this day! If Champlain didn’t bother to come here in the first place, or if he didn’t survive that first winter, or even if his ship was wiped out from a storm-which is very likely-then there may not be a Quebec to this day!
(The Fleur-de-lis)
- Cause and Consequence:
The reason New France was founded was because France had plans to colonize the “new world”, which is what Canada was called at the time. Despite earlier attempts failing, Champlain was the one to truly begin the foundation of New France. Champlain endured a savage winter, and he also completed a treacherous voyage across the sea, all to create his establishment for France. The consequences to Champlain’s actions are the creation of New France, and the expansion of the French empire in the area. Samuel de Champlain himself also wanted to explore the area because he personally believed that it had great potential.
He received the government’s approval to do this, which is how he got the permission to embark on his quest in the first place. If the government officials were to deny him, then Champlain likely never would’ve never created New France. There were a lot of factors that contributed to New France actually getting founded- and even the slightest change would have resulted in a totally different outcome.
(Champlain’s map of Eastern Canada/New France)
- Ethical Judgement:
What happened was right and fair by the values and standards of time, because Champlain had the permission and approval of the France government, and he wasn’t committing any crimes or misdeeds. Back when all of these events happened, Champlain’s actions were well-founded and reasonable, so yes they were right and fair by the values and standards back then. It was common to sail to new areas and claim them for your country, which is exactly what Champlain was doing, with the rest of his crew.
With our present day values, there still wasn’t anything wrong with Champlain’s actions, but we still would have mixed feelings. One thing we would one hundred percent think about is first nations. The fact that Champlain moved into First Nations territory would be very large issue nowadays, even though the First Nations helped Champlain and his men through the harsh winter. The deaths of all his men would also be far more tragic and impactful to us, and our emotional feelings would’ve been drastically different.
(Champlain trading with the first nations)
B) What conclusions can you reach about your question, based on the research you conducted?
Champlain went through incomparable hardships and problems. The journey and weather he endured in the conditions he was forced to live in were extremely tough, and even we can’t compare. The main reasons that New France was created was because France wanted to expand their control and to colonize the new land. This is why explorers (Champlain) were sent to explore the land.
If Champlain never came to Canada, there may not even be a Quebec, and even bigger- French may not even be our second language. Just imagine that, if French weren’t our second language. This is why it’s so important that Champlain founded New France, and that we shouldn’t just disregard the fact- because many of us don’t realize how important this was- and still is.
(A sketch of Champlain-not made by me)
Sources:
(Primary Source) http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6594
(Secondary Source) http://www.lookbackward.com/perrault/perr1/newfrance/
(Secondary Source) http://www.canadahistory.com/sections/eras/new%20france/Champlain.html
(Secondary Source) Crossroads- A Meeting of Nations (Second Edition)
(Grade 10 investigation consulted) http://phia.talons43.ca/2018/04/01/canada-independent-investigation-the-filles-du-roi/
April 1, 2018 / spatel / 0 Comments
Week eleven. Wow, time really does fly when you’re having fun. Blender has been a blast, and I really enjoy learning more and more about 3D modeling. Originally, my plan was to focus on both 3D modeling AND animation, but after diving in I realized that animating a model wasn’t as easy as I figured. Even after you manage all the rigging and weight painting, you still have to keyframe it and make sure those keyframes are smooth. Besides, modeling alone has so many different aspects to it and is way more complicated than I thought. I don’t want to rush through the whole modeling part just to get to animation, because I won’t learn much. I think it’s best if I focus on modeling this year, then if I am still interested next year I can do animation! Anyways, here are the questions for this blog post:
- What kinds of learning opportunities does the mentor provide to expose you to new learning?
My mentor provides me with learning opportunities like not telling me the direct answer to some of my questions, because that way I’m forced to do research on my own to solve the problem. I am given some guidance, but not the exact answer to my question so I learn to figure things out on my own. The reason Devarshi does this is because he doesn’t want me to become too reliant or dependant on him and to use my own methods of finding the answer. Another learning opportunity I’m provided with is when Devarshi gives me suggestions to create models of things I am less confident about, because it will hone my skills and help me learn new skills I may not have thought I would learn.
- What kinds of learning opportunities exist to reinforce new learning?
Opportunities such as mentorships and technology exist to reinforce new learning. Mentorships reinforce learning because mentors are there for you to answer your questions and guide your way. They can answer your questions in person and provide you with valuable expert advice that you probably can’t get anywhere else. Technology reinforces new learning because you can look up anything, and there are lots and lots of tutorials that can help you during your learning experience. You can use the internet for lots of help, and you can receive lots of answers if you know where to look.
- What kinds of opportunities exist that might accelerate learning?
Opportunities that may accelerate learning involve programs within the community that relate to the in-depth chosen field of study. An example is a coding camp. If you’d chosen coding for your in-depth, then you would benefit by joining the camp because you would learn faster than before. Another opportunity is watching tutorials, because this way you learn from both your mentor and tutorials, accelerating the growth of your knowledge. Additionally, a mentor definitely accelerates learning, because they help you in person and face to face, which enables you to ask questions and receive feedback- something that’s hard to do on the internet.
- When you get together what do you talk about?
When we get together we talk about what new skills I learned and what I’m working on at the moment. I show my mentor what I’ve done and then Devarshi gives me feedback as to what he thinks about my work. Sometimes just to lighten up the mood we make a joke, but that’s only sometimes because it can take away from the essence of the meeting. Overall we just discuss my progress and what new skills I’m learning, and then move to what I have to improve on and work on. I show my mentor all my new work, so nothing is left out.
- What is going particularly well in your mentoring relationship right now?
What’s going particularly well is our communication, because we are able to talk with each other without difficulty, and I can take feedback from Devarshi without feeling bad about myself. This is because I am used to having conversations with my mentor, and I’m not shy to express my opinion. In the same way, Devarshi isn’t afraid to express his opinion either. We say what we have to say without withholding information, because that isn’t going to help me develop new skills and progress with my project. I am able to take feedback without being defensive, and instead accepting what my mentor says.
- What are you learning about one another?
We are learning more about each other’s personalities than we knew before, because although we’ve talked to each other before, the conversations weren’t very in-depth- more just casual. Now, we are learning about one another’s hobbies and what they are interested in. For example, my mentor telling me his favourite kinds of models. Additionally, we tend to understand one another’s way of thinking and how we come to the reasoning that we do. This is because we’ve gotten used to meeting with one another and judging from the decisions that we make, we get an idea of how the other thinks.
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During the time between the last post and this post, I’ve done a lot of new learning with Blender. As my project of the post I’m going to share with you a scene I made. It consists of a low-poly mountain scene, which I’m quite proud of except for the snow on the mountains, which I feel could’ve been improved. Low-poly means the scene has a low number of polygons, which gives it that blocky look. Low-poly scenes are also great because they don’t take too long to render, which is great in my case, as my computer isn’t the best in terms of rendering. Additionally, I’ve been working on a 3D model of a robot, to challenge my new skills. I want it to be my way of showcasing everything I’ve learned, and I am really looking forward to presenting it when I finish. Without further ado, here’s the low poly mountain scene!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Nwh4w38bccXcDZ4RfCbMerS-GfbToIyv/view?usp=sharing (The file was too big to upload so instead I uploaded it on Google Drive)
That’s all for now, happy blending!
