Coffee Clock

The last unit in Light, Sound, and Time was called “Time.” In this unit we learned about sundials, trigonometry, and how pendulums can tell time. We also learned about geographic coordinates and how they structure time around the globe. The last Action Project for LST asked us to design our own prototype of a time-telling device. We had to show our model, prove the principles and explain how it works. What I struggled with was coming up with a time-telling device. What I enjoyed about this project was making the video. The Coffee clock does already exist I just tweaked it a little to make it better. 

                 


My time telling device dates back to 1787. The ancestor to my clock was found in Germany in the 15th century. But the first alarm clock that kicked it off was invented by Levi Hutchins, who live in New Hampshire. He made his alarm clock that only went off at 4 am to wake him up to go to work. That one alarm clock turned into millions around the world helping people with daily tasks. I was inspired to create an device that will help people get up in the morning, since I am one who struggles to get up each morning. The people who will use my device the most is works, students and coffee drinkers, because my unique time telling device not only wakes you up but brews your coffee too!

My device is a coffee clock, it uses sound when the alarm clock is going off. My device has a set time that makes coffee and also makes a beeping noise. My time telling device goes by every hour. I choose these units because I think it will be helpful to know what hour it is. It beeps every hour to let you know what time it is. You can also set it up to where it makes coffee at any hour you want, and gives the the option to add your favorite cream and sugar while it’s brewing.

My coffee clock is medium sized, it has a glass pot that carries the coffee, and it has multiple settings so that way you can add the time you want the alarm to go off. The Coffee Clock has  buttons to add cream, and sugar. The shape is rectangle, the length of the Coffee Clock is 14 inches, and the height is 9 inches. To find the hypotenuse I used pythagorean theorem, which is 14^2+ 9^2=277,  than I square rooted that number and got 16.6inches. 16.6inches is my hypotenuse. 

From my research I found out that "many interesting alarm clocks have been made over the years."  My device falls in that category because one side carries the the coffee and the other side is a manual clock that shows you the time. The coffee will instantly start brewing once the alarm goes off. When the alarm goes off it starting beeping, and won't shut off until you manually shut it off. The coffee will continue to brew. The purpose of my clock is to wake people up on time and give them a fresh cup of coffee. 

My device is meaningful way to tell time because it wakes you up in the morning with a fresh cup of coffee, and an annoying beeping noise which you have to physically get up and turn off. Both of these factors can help you get out of bed and ready to start your day. It solves common problems like people waking up late, and running late for school, or work.


Citations: 
“Alarm Clock History.”clockhistory.com. Jeffery Wood, 2014. Web. 17 March, 2017.

18+

In the second unit in my Argument class, I learned about logical flaws, fallacies, and the strength of an argument. I learned about the Scott vs Sandford Supreme Court case of 1857. The case centered on Dred Scott, who was a former slave who sued his master for keeping him a slave in a free state. We analyzed this case and learned that the 14th amendment was crafted partly because of it. The purpose of my second Action Project was to form my own amendment based on my school’s Code of Conduct. I had to pick a part of my school’s Code of Conduct and defend a change I’d make to it. I enjoyed creating my own amendment, but what I struggled with was choosing a topic from the Code of Conduct because there was so many that I wanted to revise. The image below represents my amendment and you will soon find out why.

     Gograph.com 2012.

                                                      

Attendance Procedures:

GCE’s Code of Conduct states that “a parent or guardian is expected to communicate an absence with GCE Lab School as soon as possible when a student is going to be absent. Students are expected to contact their teachers as soon as they are able to address next steps for makeup work.”

I think the absence policy in the Code of Conduct is currently unjust. An 18 year old should have the right to call their school and inform the school of why they will not be attending I don’t think my parents should have to do that, especially since at 18 you are legally considered an adult in the US. Eightteen year olds can sign contracts on their own, sign up for the military, and vote. The Code of Conduct states that parents should contact the school as soon as possible when a student is going to be absent. In my experiences attending GCE, my parents will call the school and let them know why I will be absent, or send an email. A flaw my school has when it comes to the attendance procedures is that staff will keep contacting my parents even after my parents informed them that I won’t be attending school that day. I think this is a flaw because my parents shouldn’t be getting multiple calls from my school in a day about the same information that was already given. I think this is really unprofessional because multiple calls is unnecessary. I understand that education is really important at my school and they want to know where I am when I’m supposed to be in class, but if my parents are contacting them and letting them know I won’t be coming, then there shouldn’t be a problem and should not turn into five missed calls in my parents’ phones.

Students aren’t just students; they have lives besides going to school. I am very independent and like doing things on my own. It’s not my parents responsibility anymore that I go to school, it’s mine. Since I am eighteen, I should be able to determine whether I want to go to school or not, and to notify staff myself in the case of my absence. I think my school’s Code of Conduct for absences should be changed to state that students who are eighteen years or older can call the school themselves to inform them why they won’t be attending school. GCE is a school where students learn about the real world, how to grow as an individual, and learn how to be responsible and just as we practice these skills in our classes, we should also apply them when it comes to procedures like the attendance policy. My proposed amendment to the Code of Conduct is written as a formal argument below:

P1: Students should be responsible.
P2: Students 18 years or older can make their own decisions and are legally no longer minors.
C: Students 18 years or older can call the school themselves and state why they aren’t attending school.

This amendment will help students who are 18 years old have more responsibility for themselves, and it will teach them to not skip school because they will have to call themselves and state why they’re not going to school. GCE is a school where we learn about the real world and ways to grow as an individual and practice a true citizenship, it’s a place where students learn how to be responsible and thrive in the real world. GCE should let students who are 18 years or older make their own decisions and respect student’s decisions without a parent's consent. Student MS agrees with my proposal and states: “I believe that students 18 and older should have the ability and right to contact the school and explain the reason for their absence. The student must show responsibility at school and not abuse the right. If it becomes excessive parents will be contacted and informed of their students actions.” MS

The amendment I propose is related to the U.S Constitution. According to Amendment 26
Section. 1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.

This amendment argues that a US citizen who is eighteen years of age or older has the right to vote. That person has the right to elect a president for our country, which is important this year in America. This amendment connects to the change that I want to make in GCE’s Code of Conduct about absences; if eighteen year olds have the right to vote in America, then they should have the right to make their own decisions about their education. Voting is a right, but an 18 year old cannot call her school to inform staff of her absence? This flawed rule relates to Anna who is 18 years. Anna rents out an apartment in Wicker Park with her best friend Millie. When Anna isn't feeling well her Mother has to call Anna's school to inform them Anna won't be coming. Anna dislikes this rule because she is responsible enough to call her school herself. Anna owns an apartment but can't call her school for her own absences. This flaw needs to be fixed. 

Diddley Bowie

The second Action Project in Light, Sound, and Time asked us to build a guitar that we could play. My guitar is made out of wood, a tin can, one guitar string, an allen wrench as the nut and nails to hold the guitar together. We learned about sound, how it travels, how fast it is, and where it comes from. We learned about frequency, the pitch of sound, wavelength, and the Doppler effect. I am proud of how my guitar came out. It was really easy to build. If I could do it over again, I would get a thicker piece of wood so that way the screws wouldn’t go through the wood. I would make my string a little tighter, so the pitch would be higher. Overall I enjoyed creating my Diddley bow and below is a sketch of my Bowie, and a real picture of it.

Created by JV Bowie, 2016.

Created by Diddley Bow, 2016.

The wood is the neck of the guitar, the tin can is the sound hole. My tin can is medium sized so it produces a good amount of sound. I have a guitar string, and an allen wrench that acts like the nut. When I pluck the guitar string the vibration goes through the tin can, making sound waves. When I use a slide on my string, the vibrations shorten changing the pitch. The wavelength is the distance from one peak to the next peak. It can also be thought of as of one complete wave cycle. My Diddley bow creates waves every time I play it. My harmonics and wavelength calculations are down below, it also shows the frequency.

                                                                Created by JV Harmonics, 2016.

My guitar string is 13 inches long, and the thickness of the string is 0.042inches. My open note is E. The formula used for the volume of a cylinder was πRxR x H. The approximate frequency of 82.28 Hz, a wavelength of 418.65 cm, and the volume of my can is 47.12cm^3. 

Growing Up.

A Nation's Argument is a course all about logic skills needed to develop and sustain an argument. The purpose to our first Action Project was to create our own version of the Declaration of Independence. We had to propose an idea for a class that we will like to add to GCE’s courses. What I enjoyed most about this unit was learning information about my country, learning how to make an argument more strong and clear. What I struggled with was coming up with an idea for a course, and submitting my work on time. How I overcame these challenges was by scheduling my time more wisely, and relating my course to my own life. I hope you guys enjoy my idea for a new class at GCE!

I declare that there be an independent study where students are able to learn how to apply for a job, learn about time management, and money management. I think this course will be very helpful because it relates to the real world and also GCEs Philosophy, which is teaching their students how to be financially stable.

GCE is reinventing education by letting students have more freedom to find what they like, and possibly later make what they like into a career. GCE teaches us how to be financially, digitally, and interpersonally literate in order to keep up with the growing world. The five pillars of GCE is Accountability, Purpose, Autonomy, Gratitude, and Achievement. I have learned so much within 3 years at GCE, and I think the way I’m learning now is really important for my future because I'm so open minded and can view thing from all different angles. I think the traditional way of learning isn’t making change for our world. Another thing GCE teaches is dependence, the school teaches how to step out into the world, meet people, and make connections.

American teenaged students have the right to learn about how to apply for a job. This course will teach students on how to manage money, how to form a job resume, how to fill out a job application, and learning about job interviews and learn about time management. This will help students learn about the real world, learn how to handle money, and can prepare them for college. I think this independent study will really benefit students. It will give them the chance to learn about jobs, and the importance around money because it does control our world and our lives. We need money to survive in this world, it might be sad be its true. Since I was a Sophomore in high school I’ve had a steady part-time job at a nursing home. Having as job as a student is really beneficial because it teaches you at a young age the value of money. My desired outcome for this independent study is for students to walk out with a idea of how they can be independent, responsible, and able find what they want to do with their lives.

My course will be called “Growing Up” the reasoning for the title is because in high school students should begin to start taking care of themselves and start learning about responsibility. The three main key concepts students will learn are:

Responsibility- Being a good student takes a lot of responsibility but if students learn how to balance school, activities, and a part time job, students will learn what being responsible is like. As students grow the amount of responsibility will increase even more, so it's better to start learning earlier on so it can help them prepare for the future.

Money Management- When students start to earn their own money, they will gain a better understanding on how to handle it. Working hard for their money will help them appreciate budgeting and saving.

Time Management- Students will learn how to use their time more effectively, like completing reading assignments on the train/bus rides home. Students will also learn how to become more organized, such as creating their own schedule for work days, school, and activities.

Youth Job Center has been working for 32 years to start getting teenagers working when they’re in high school. Youth Job Center believes that education and employment have been identified as steps to break the cycle of poverty. I think their mission to help teenagers is really helpful. I think they will be good partners for this course. I agree with Youth Job Center about education and employment ending poverty because if a teenager gets their first job while in high school they will see that many jobs out there will not be able to fully support them, and to get a good paying job you have to work hard in school in order to achieve the goals that you want. High School is filled with opportunities and I think this course especially should be in GCE’s learning system. We are always meeting new people, and learning about different organizes that we might want to explore more about. School and employment will also inspire students to create their own businesses. Working as a teenager will give you the chance to explore career options before choosing a college major. I think the course should be a third period elective class because it will teach students how to find and apply to jobs, and also teach them how to manage money. As a final project students will be asked to to write a resume, record a good example of a job interview, and create an example of their own schedule. I think Jessica our school counselor, should teach the class because she is currently helping me with my savings, and she gives really good advice and information.

These website links are potential partners/resources for this class.

youthjobcenter.org
cityofchicago.org
chicagoparkdistrict.com
onesummerchicago.org
news.uchicago.edu
thechicagourbanleague.org

My hopes are that students walk away with more independence, learn how to manage their time better and start working.  

Created by JV, 2016*

I Know Where The Light Goes.

Light, Sound & Time is a STEAM course where we dive deep in our surroundings. We want to know more about the world around us, how we see the world, how we hear, and how we capture time. In this unit we focused on light. We studied how fast light travels, where light comes from, and how we capture it. We learned about light, the visual spectrum, and the speed of light. We talked about the human eye and how it relates to a camera, and how both can receive light in the same way. The purpose of this Action Project is to build a camera, use it, and capture pictures with it. What I enjoyed most about this project was building the camera and having the chance to work in a dark room.

Created by JV Photo From Pinhole Camera, 2016*

Created by JV Camera, 2016*

In pinhole cameras the light travels in straight lines which is called the rectilinear theory of light. This makes the image appear upside down in the camera. My camera is made out of a cardboard box, duct tape, and a piece of an aluminum can to create the lens. My camera does not demonstrate refraction because refraction is the bending of light waves when they travel from one medium to another. My camera just has air, it doesn’t have two mediums to make refraction. The inside of my camera is black because black absorbs light, whereas white reflects it. If the inside of my box were white the image wouldn't develop because there would be too much light bouncing around inside. To develop our images we had to place photosensitive paper inside of my camera across from the lens. I had to make sure no light was getting through. I placed my camera in front of objects that I wanted to take a picture of. Pinhole cameras have a shutter speed, which is the length of time a camera shutter is open to expose light into the camera lens. My shutter speed was 4 minutes. After the shutter speed I had to go back into the dark room, and place my image in chemicals in order to develop them. My device demonstrates wave vs particle because when the light goes through the pinhole lens, it acts like a wave being filtered. When light is being recorded onto the photosensitive paper it acts like a particle. Light is a type of energy formed by a combination of electrical and magnetic rays, this is also known as the electromagnetic spectrum which also relates to my pinhole camera. The electromagnetic spectrum is the entire range of light that exists, this spectrum chart is the reason we can see color, and are able to have pictures.

Our first Field Experience for Light, Sound, & Time was going to a dark room that we were able to use thanks to the Latin School Of Chicago. We had the chance to set up what we wanted to take photos of using our pinhole cameras. Unfortunately my pinhole camera failed. I think it’s because my camera wasn't light-proof enough. Light was coming through from the sides of my box. If my camera had an actual lid that I was able to take off and on I think my photos would have came out a lot better. I did four trials. Down below are all the measurements of my camera. My sketch is similar triangles to represent my camera, measurements to an object and the light ray connecting them. I had to calculate the sides and all angles. I learned so much in this unit and can't wait to see what the rest of the course is going to be like. Below is my photo that I took with my pinhole camera. The photo didn't develop because there was too much light.

The measurements to my camera are:

Lens to photo paper: 3.5 inches
Height to pinhole: 5.5 inches
Height to object: 7 inches

Created by JV, 2016*