Presentation Reflections

Reflections: 

What I liked about everyone's presentation that I've seen (all of 9^th grade presenters except for Holly because I had to leave early, the F block in class presentations, and the open presentations)~~

ALL OF 19TH CENTURY HUMANITIES PRESENTATIONS:

Samantha – Consumerism: She made the topic of fashion seemed a lot more interesting and had a confident style of presenting. Samantha seemed very interested and engaged in her topic, which is awesome.

Nathan – CO₂ Emission: I liked how Nathan made a seemingly boring and obvious topic, CO2 emission, sound very interesting and “alive” as well, containing information we didn't know about before. I especially liked his depictions, the paintings looked really professional.

Allen – Overpopulation and Earth's “sickness”: Allen's prezi was really creative and arranged in an organized but not boring way. The images included were really clear, looked really cool while having a somewhat cute and comical effect, and provided very obvious messages.

Ilya – Russia (low birthrate): I liked Ilya's fun and relaxed attitude when presenting. He was very clear about what he was talking about, and his care for the topic made me care about it too. Ilya presented information that I had no knowledge about at all, so I learned a lot from his presentation.

Daniel Liu – Overpopulation: Ichia's very on-topic humor made his presentation more interesting and fun, as well as very easy to remember. The many photos included were really good, and the information he chose to present was very important and interesting to know.

Bob – Native Taiwanese Tribes: I liked how Bob tried very hard to make it seem like he's not nervous at all, and his ability to present clearly with the appropriate speed and volume even when he's nervous. Also, it's clear that he knows what he's doing and has explored his topic pretty well.

Kuan – Hong Kong: Kuan's slide designs were very colorful. He researched a lot of information, provided a lot of photos of Hong Kong, and explained the stats clearly for all of us to understand what he was talking about.

Francois – Teenage Problems: He chose a very great topic that we can all relate to easily, without the need to try, and used creative photos and wording to reveal his message. I found the information provided as well as the fun example about Kuan laughing at his new hairstyle very original and easy to understand/connect to.

William – Terrorism in Israel: William made a seemingly obvious topic sound very complicated with his pretty thorough research. His voice projection was loud enough the whole time, and he seemed to have worked really hard to provide us with this information, as well as his own analyzations on whether the killing of Osama Bin Laden would change anything or not.

Cathy – Understanding Human Beings: I love the topic Cathy chose. It's very human, it helps us learn about other humans along with learn about ourselves. She was confident, and presented with great enthusiasm, making us all laugh a little and I felt very relaxed, while I learned a lot and enjoyed her fun style of presenting.

Kyning – Leisure Time: Kyning's presentation made me think about the leisure time I spend, and question myself: is my leisure time increasing or decreasing as I grow older? Am I like the statistics shown in Kyning's presentation? Leisure time is a very relate-able topic.

F BLOCK IN CLASS PRESENTATIONS:

Daniel Chen – Sleep: Confident, humorous introduction. Interesting topic, and seemingly easy and obvious, but contains very valuable and detailed information and statistics. Daniel talks in a serious tone, but cracks us all up with the creative wording and photos included. Ironically, it woke me up.

Kaho – Japan: Interesting aspect of Japan, including teenager interests and things that definitely relate to our age group, things that I would never have thought of researching. Nice photos, like the ones about food, make me hungry. This presentation covers a lot of different aspects about Japan.

Anne – Overwork: Very creative and relate-able topic, including nice infographic and video. Very precise analyzations about different forms of education as well. Also very sneaky in trying to tell Mr. and Mrs. Kinzer what students would like teachers to be. XD

Peter – Manga: Nice introduction, referencing Kaho's presentation and the two questions about manga. Nice manga plot. Very humorous. Very memorable presentation told in a form of story, which makes information easier to remember. He has a strong feel for his topic, supports manga.

Angela – Rabbit Test: This topic and the way Angela describes it, lets us know that this is a very serious problem. I like how she connects this topic to cruelty of humans and how unfair and selfish we are. Her tone of voice is powerful and appropriate, she seems very emotional and confident.

Kelly – Hawaii: I love how Kelly dressed up very “Hawaii”! She showed a lot of enthusiasm and energy. She covered many different aspects of the topic Hawaii. Love the food! Yum! The Hawaiian dance lesson was awesome as well! It's obvious that Kelly put a lot of effort into creating this presentation.

Jasmine – Ecuador: Very cute and fun introduction, making us all participate and become engaged with what she is talking about. Nice idea relating the average temperature of Kaohsiung and the average temperature of Ecuador. Jasmine presented in a way that's really full of enthusiasm.

Jill – The Opium War: Creative photos to prevent a “long, boring historical” presentation. Jill included a lot of information to provide a thorough history about the Opium War, including the who, what, when, where, why, and how. Detailed explanations.

Alex – How Art Influences the World: Powerful introduction! It's easy to tell that he has a great passion for art. His point, that art is often ignored as important, is very clear and supported with powerful statistics and arguments, as well as interesting style along with confidence. I was inspired by the message in his presentation! Nice ending sentence.

Stephen – Indonesia: Nice photo and information included. Nice organization of topics. He seems very thorough in his research topic. Nice comparisons to show us that the Indonesia government spends too much unnecessary money on transportation. Nice interview videos, nice questions asked.

Christie – Los Angeles Crime Rate: Interesting topic to choose! Nice introduction and comparison of Arnold as movie star and as governor! Nice map to show where the illegal immigrants go to in the United States. Interesting presentation that kept me awake throughout the whole thing.

OPEN PRESENTATIONS:

Sabrina – Education: Sabrina's simulations were very clear and show what her message is really well. I liked how she got us all involved in the presentation by handing out the “recipe”... the blank piece of paper that we had to write our creative recipes on. Also, the instant noodles looked very very attractive. The last part, lighting the matches, was a great idea that symbolizes a lot of things.

Neil: Neil's presentation was very different and unique. Listening to the relaxing music was great, and the contrast that he made us see between the relaxing music and the New York City traffic jam was creative. The way he brought us back to the “right mood” with the relaxing music was very humorous. I also loved watching trailer in the end.

Herbert – Culture: The videos are really well made and used. It's very smart to interview teachers, because things like culture requires background knowledge, and the most epic answers, “culture is important because it's not important” and “to grow bacteria”, are absolutely hilarious. It was a great idea to play the video and talk over it, because of the bad quality of the sounds.

Tracy – Education: Tracy's presentation was very interesting. It was a topic I was interested in, the difference between western and eastern education, and the good and bad effects of it, as well as possible solutions. Tracy's presentation makes me think, and sometimes want to debate with her about it, because it's easy to relate to, and presented in a way that we can all connect to.

Mr. Kinzer – The Edge: Mr. Kinzer's presentation included very well-taken photos. The poem that was presented was very cool and I liked it a lot. This presentation inspired me a lot, and made me think about things form different perspectives. It was also very humorous and related to our daily lives as 19^th century humanities students as well as just being human. The message behind it's great.

Overall:

I think I learned more than a lot from these presentations. Even though some classmates presented on topics that I wasn't interested in, most of them took the presentation beyond excellence no matter what the topic was, and they kept me awake, inspired me, and taught me a lot. Even though the “open” presentations were expected to be better and all, the “all” and “in class” ones were also really professional! I didn't just learn from the presentations, I also enjoyed them a lot more than I thought I would. I'm really glad that there was this free and interesting assignment that allows us all to research topics that we would never have in other classes, and have the opportunity to learn unique things while being able to use our creativity in a way we have never used it before.

Case Study 5: TETRIS TIME :)

Case Study 5: Tetris


Global Issue + Infographic!


Global Issue: Succumbing to the Tetris Effect and Other Forms of Video Game Addiction?


What is tetris effect? Tetris effect is a term for a form of video game addiction, first defined as “after-images of the game [tetris] for up to days afterwards” and also “a tendency to identify everything in the world as being made of four squares and attempt to determine 'where it fits in'.” This is when someone spends sufficient time on a video game and the images pop up in thoughts and dreams. Tetris is known as a pioneer of casual games, and a pioneer for causing the tetris effect. In fact, in the advertisements for Nintendo tetris, the concept of “cool” and “in power” was based on seeing tetrominoes whenever you see anything in your surroundings. They were right, because that's the effect tetris has on a lot of the people who play it.

There is no doubt that there are good things about games that cause the tetris effect or the tetris effect itself; and there is also no doubt that other forms of video game addiction might create some benefits, but many problems arise because of video game addiction. There are cases of deaths caused by this, including exhaustion or murder... The invention and rise in popularity of video games are not ancient history. “Video games” is a recent term. Crimes related to video game addiction started to be a lot more widely committed less than a decade ago. It's definitely still a big problem now. In 2009, a three-month old kid in Korea died of malnutrition after his parents became too busy raising a virtual kid in an online game. In 2010, a mother was sentenced for shaking her baby to death because the baby's crying interrupted her when she was playing Farmville. Also in 2010, a teenager killed his mother while she was sleeping because she took away his PlayStation.

There are many bad things about video games, how they harm your eyes and lead to various forms of addiction. Most of the time this is bad, but due to the huge imprint it leaves on people, it helps people suffer from less PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). This is how video game addiction helps. Also, these extreme cases don't happen everywhere. Many people nowadays go online a lot, but there are many limitations to a lot of things that stop people from committing the extreme crimes mentioned above. Also, in countries like South Korea, China, the Netherlands, Canada, and the United States, prevention and correction methods are issued. These nations have government operated clinics to treat people who suffer from overuse of online or video games. There are also organizations who post on message boards, chat or skype meetings, and other methods they use to heal and support the people they're there to help. There is global awareness of this very current issue, and hopefully it will improve the conditions.

---Tina Wu, grade 9 :)

This image shows a person, tetris effect, and an ongoing game of tetris. It shows that even when a person is sleeping, tetris effect can still take over the brain, making the person have an ongoing tetris game in their minds during sleep. This is what it means to be addicted, and tetris effect doesn't just happen with tetris players, but also players of other video games.

Newspaper (Op-Ed):

Video Games Might Not Be Good For You, But That's Only One Side of the Story

There are many reasons that video games like tetris are harmful to us. After long periods of time spent on video/online games, our eyesight will be damaged, and we might be addicted to them. Addiction has been and still is a serious problem, and many crimes such as murder have been committed because of that during the recent years. Still, I believe that there is a point in the development of tetris, the pioneer of casual games and the game that the term tetris effect was named after.

Tetris effect is a term that means when you spend a sufficient amount of time playing a video game, you will see images from that video game in your dreams, thoughts, and mental images. This first occurred in tetris players, because video games just started becoming popular at the time. Tetris effect causes many negative but also positive effects on people. It makes people addicted and basically insane, while also provoking mind development, or help support people with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).

The main benefit of the game tetris in this world is the entertainment that it brings to people. A lot of people play tetris to relax themselves or to feel happier. The happiness of people is what humanity has been striving to achieve, and tetris, making people forget about everything else and concentrate on playing it, has brought happiness to a lot of people. Also, playing tetris leads to more efficient brain activity, increasing cerebral cortex thickness. This is why tetris is said to be able to improve critical thinking, reasoning, language and processing skills. In other words, your logic and intelligence will improve by playing tetris. Tetris is also a good tool to reduce flashbacks, and scientists have been trying to see if it will help with people who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Last but not least, tetris, like all other interests such as playing instruments, academics, athletics, or anything that requires attention and concentration, will increase one's patience. When someone treats tetris seriously, they will have goals, to improve at tetris or to reach a certain rank or send a certain number of lines at tetris battle; they will have patience, to keep playing and playing, or to connect it to other interests, practicing and practicing; they will have ambition, the heart to improve and the heart to win; and they will dedicate their time into thinking about tetris, creating a hardworking attitude that people create when they really want to be better at something. This is definitely a great way to teach someone the correct attitude.

You might say that spending too much time on tetris is not good for you, but spending too much time on anything is bad. Studying is not a bad thing to do, but spending too much time studying is not good. Eating fruits is not a bad thing to do, but eating too much is not good. Socializing is not bad for you, but spending too much time socializing is not good. Playing tetris is not bad for you, but spending too much time on it might cause post-addiction troubles. This is when things are about balance, not about itself. This is when things are “harmful” because they are potentially harmful. This is when the world is not absolute, but relative. Is tetris bad for you if you don't spend so much time on it that it causes you to not be able to do anything else?

I believe that things are created for a reason. Nowadays, entertainment is emphasized greatly. The only reason that it's emphasized greatly is because it's good for you. Maybe not physically, but mentally. Everyone needs a break from work or from school, and these forms of entertainment, such as television programs, movies, and video games, help you relax and stop thinking about stressful things; they help you escape for a while so you don't get too overwhelmed. In the beginning of the school year, one of our 19^th century humanities class assignments was to present about the fundamental question: “What does it mean to be human?” A lot of people said that the purpose of living is to have fun. We live to survive, and to fulfill our desires to be happy. Tetris is made to do that, to help you relax, have something fun to focus on, and to increase the efficiency that your brain works at while enjoying a fun game.

If you still think tetris is harmful, think about it. Tetris can potentially make people smarter and think faster, potentially improve logic, potentially help people with PTSD, potentially help us relax, potentially cause bad eyesight, and potentially cause addiction. These are the potential effects of tetris, what might happen to tetris players, but they're not what will happen to tetris players. I hope it's not hard to realize that it's not the game of tetris that's harmful, it's how much time someone spends on it and the way that they think about it that leads to the harmful things.

---Tina Wu, grade 9

Link to Documentary!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlmLeoiVhnA

Enjoy~~ :)

Case Study 4: It's Time For Africa!

Jambo~ Learning about Africa? Hakuna Matata! :)


Eyes on Africa:
My Presentation-Swahili


Swahili Prezi:

Swahili on Prezi

Cool site for learning Swahili: http://mwanasimba.online.fr/E_Chap00.htm

Use this site to learn swahili in 55 chapters! If you find this language interesting, there's a Swahili department in Stanford University. :P

I learned quite a bit of Swahili over the course of putting together this presentation. I researched the history, along with primary documents of how people felt during the rule of other nations. I learned about Swahili art, culture, traditions, and to step inside their shoes a little more, the language of Kiswahili.

I loved this assignment, and I couldn't wait to research and do my online Kiswahili lesson everyday, and I spent a short 30 minutes on this language everyday, going through the chapters on that website... :P

This presentation also helped me become more familiar with prezi, because I rarely draw that many pictures or include videos on my prezis.

Eyes on Africa:

Jasmine's Presentation-Lions

Jasmine's prezi:

Eyes on Africa on Prezi

Jasmine's presentation was a prezi like mine, she introduced lions in Africa, the decrease of lion population in the south Saharan desert area, and the change of lion population over the years.

What I learned:

I learned quite a few things from this presentation. I learned the difference between the sizes of male and female lions (that the male lions are a lot bigger and heavier than female lions), lions can live up to 20 years, live in grasslands and deserts, fast speed of 50mph can only be reached for short periods, strong back leg muscles, and that the population of lions decreased by a half since the 1950s.

Connection to my presentation:

Jasmine's presentation was a lot like mine in many ways. First of all, we both used a prezi. Second of all, we both inserted videos in our prezi to represent our topic clearer, and they consisted of music (mine being the jambo song and hers being our lion king song).

What I liked:

I liked the fact that Jasmine included three videos, one being a more scientific talking video, one being an experiment, and another being music from Lion King. This helps us understand more about lions (the talking vid), visualize (the lions jumping vid), and relax (music). I also liked the way she gave me credit for the site I found and the music that we created together. :P I liked her cute and simple way of presenting, and the information that she chose.

Hotel Rwanda:

Three perspectives: Paul, Gregoire, and the UN officials

Paul:

Paul had lots of things to deal with during this period of time. His own safety was at risk because of the war going on in the area, as well as his association with his wife and other Tutsi people. His family and neighbors were at risk because the Hutu were killing the Tutsi. Many people were sent to the hotel that he was in charge of, because there was no other place to go. He didn't just have to take care of himself, his family, his neighbors, his hotel employees, and hotel guests, but also everyone else sent to the hotel. He couldn't say no to the people being sent in, even though the hotel was overfilled with people, Tutsi people too. He had to keep calm for all the people who could easily be found and killed with him responsible for so many lives and can't show his fear but can only try to encourage the people. He had to actually save the people from being killed while calming them down and making things seem okay for the people who were afraid.

Gregor:

Gregoire may seem to be the slacker in this movie, the one that's hated by whoever's watching the movie because he caused even more trouble for Paul even though Paul had enough stress already. Still, the more I think about it, the more it makes sense for him t0 act the way he did. He was just being a very loyal Hutu. He thought of Paul as a traitor, and for people with a strong feeling about their ethnic groups, he has a point. It may be brutal for him to help the Hutu out in telling them about the Tutsi in the hotel as well as Paul being a traitor, but he was just doing what he thought was the more conscionable thing to do, help his own "group", help the people who he is supposed to help.

UN official(s):

The UN and foreign aid people seemed brutal and couldn't live up to their promises in the movie. They give Paul and the other people at the hotel a lot of hope that they will help, but then retreat all of a sudden, telling them that there will be no foreign help. This reflects the modern society a lot. I can probably say that none of us would be willing to put our life on the line for Africans that we aren't associated to. As Paul said, the foreigners think of them as nothing, just Africans who have to go through revolutions and revolts everyday, nothing special. We often forget that they are people, and that they need as much help as they can get. But then again, we can't blame the foreigners for leaving them at the hotel. The generals risked their lives to save Paul and the people at the hotel, but it was still dangerous. They risked a lot already, and risking more is just too risky... They wouldn't want the UN to lose good generals, no matter how much they might want to help Paul. They did a lot, they didn't stay the whole time, but they helped as much as they can, and the came back in the end.