Time Chart- PLAN

		Task name	Time in minutes
Task 1		Chose design	15
Task 2		Brainstorm Characters	10
Task 3		Sketch Product	30
Task 4		Create Product	120
Task 5		Brainstorm Test ?s	30
Task 6		Create Test	10
Task 7		Gather 6th G	15
Task 8		Test the 6th G	10
Task 9		6th G see Pro.	20
Task 10		Test the 6th G	10
Task 11		Grade Tests	10
Task 12		Evaluate Pro.	10

Design Brief

    Design Brief

10. Write a short statement of what you are going to make, why you are going to make it, and for whom you are making it. I am going to make  a Flipbook in order to explain the design cycle to sixth graders.

Formulate a Design Specification

11. What are the requirements for this assignment? The requirements for this assignment are to make it simple enough for sixth graders to understand, yet still up to ninth grade level work.

12. What are the limitations you have with this assignment? The limitations that apply are that, that there is a time limit by when all of this has to be done.

13. How will you "test" your project? I will test my project by using my sixth grade sister as a "guinie pig" sort of way. I will test to see if she understands what she is doing and how. I will also note whether or not she learned anything from it.

Design Specification

• Sixth graders are able to understand it
• It is direct, gets to the point
• Made in Flipbook website
• Sixth graders are able to follow easily
• Sixth graders learn from it

Test      In order to see how I have done in my projct, I will create a ten question test for the sixth graders. It will be kind of like a survey so they can tell me if they learned anything and asking their opinion on how I could have made it better for them to learn.

Design Samples

SAMPLE 1 PLAN DESIGN
     For the first design, I was thinking of maybe creating different Flipbooks for each step and explaining each one on its own. This way the student can concentrate on one step at a time.

SAMPLE 2 PLAN DESIGN
     The second design will consist of one continuous video on Flipbook going through each step. This one will have a character, created by me, that will act like a guide and show them what the design cycle is made up of.

SAMPLE 3 PLAN DESIGN
     As a final design I was thinking of just keeping it a bit more professional and just explain the design cycle in terms the sixth graders would understand.

Investigation Reflection

      For my investigation, I rate myself a 5-6 (95-100). The reason for giving myself this grade is that I followed the specifications that are on the rubric. The problem is explained and discussed. I thoroughly  investigated the problem and evaluated the information I found. I used my resources appropriately and acknowledge the sources I used. I also think I wrote enough information; I tried to explain myself as best I could so others could follow what I had done. Inclusively, I describe the methods I used. 
     

Flipbook

Flipbook

      Just like ComicMaster, I rated Flipbook using four different categories. In simplicity, Flipbook earned itself the full five points out of five. The actual creating of a Flipbook is so easy it can take less than five minutes to make just a simple one. Another thing that helped it earn its points, was that it goes from one still frame to the next giving it a movie-like look that is almost effortless. It is so simple that I'm sure pretty much anyone can go to the website, click "make", and create their own Flipbook. There is no way it is beyond someones understanding of how to make one. I am confident enough to say that this tool may be fool-proof.
     The next category it was rated on was color. Once again Flipbook recieves a five out of five rating. Even though the only thing that is actually provided for you is the colors, there is a large aray of them to choose from. These colors are all bright and vibrant for the most part, but like everyhting else in life, there are a few exceptions. The thing I like most about this is that you actually get the choice of what colors you want to use, when you want to use them, and where you want to use them.
     After rating the color, we rate the characters. I rated this a two out of five. I gave that rating for one main reason, the characters were not provided by the Flipbook tool. Unlikes ComicMaster, you are not given a set of characters to choose from. This has both its pros and cons. The downside to this is that you have to use some of your time to think of what characters you are actually going to create. On the other hand though, this is a good thing because you can really let your creativity be shown through the creation of your Flipbook.
     The final category is backgrounds. In this occassion, Flipbook  received  two points out of the five possible. The reason for this is that you have to decide where in the world or universe your story/comic/movie is going to take place. In many situations this is a cause for time ticking away and you not getting your work done because you're still thinking of a setting. It's kind of bittersweet because it is a good thing as well as a bad one. The good thing IS that it can take place WHEREVER you wish for it to take place, while the downside is you actually have to draaw it yourself. You will have to rely on your creativity a lot more. As a total, Flipnook recieved a rating of fourteen out of the twenty possible points.
 

ComicMaster

ComicMaster

     I rated ComicMaster in four distinctive categories. In simplicity, I rated it a three out of five. This is because, all things considered, it wasn't the easiest thing to do. Though, most of the things are provided for you in the website, earning it more points than it would initially. One of the things I checked for was how hard it may be for someone else to put everything together. In my opinion the hardest part would actually be having to figure out exactly what I would need to write in the comic. Also, this tool was rated by what I thought was how intresting or eye-catching it would be to others.

     The next category was color. In this section I gave a rating of five out of five. The reason it got the highest rating possible is because everything used was already colored in. This would be helpful so to not waste time trying to color in things like the background or characters. The color of all the things is very bright and appropriate. There are no bland scenes with no color. The only problem that I have with that, is that I wouldn't even be able to choose what colors I would want things to be.

     Characters is the third part in rating this tool called ComicMaster. I rated it a two out of five. This is because there are already set characters you can use. Thanks to the provided characters, you won't need to sit around trying to figure out what characters you're going to draw, or what they're going to look like, and so on and so forth. This helps you save lots of time as well as making it look more professional than stick figures. The downside to this would be that you would have a limited range of characters and their facial expressions as well as deciding what they look like. For me, that is kind of a big limitation because I wouldn't want to make something with characters I don't really like.
     The final category is backgrounds. I gave this a rating of three out of five. Just like the characters, in ComicMaster the backgrounds are provided. There is a few choices of backgrounds you can make if you are doing a comic strip using this tool. Because of this you won't waste time deciding where your comic is taking place. Like the characters though, your choices become very limited and you are stuck with the couple of backgrounds that are given to you as choices. As a total, ComicMaster received thirteen of the twenty possible points.

Investigation Reflection

      I decided I would do animation for my project. I went to Mrs. Hinojosa's blog and found two promising websites. The first one was ComicMaster which has many cool features to it. You are able to create the comic with the background as well as the characters provided. The second one was Flipbook. This lets you create your own figures in still frames and then plays them.

    

        I am still not sure which one i might use, but they both seem very interesting. They are both sites that anyone can seem to use. The issue now is which one can best help me explain the design cycle to a sixth grader.

    

Investigate Brief

Area of Interaction: Community and Service , Approaches to Learning & Human Ingenuity

Significant Concept: Design Cycle can be used to solve problems

Unit Question: How can my learning help my community? How do I make Sound Choices?

INVESTIGATE: (Write in complete sentences) Identify the Problem

1. What is the problem you need to solve? Explain to a 6^th grader what the design cycle is all about by creating a presentation. (3d, PPT, movie, game, poster)

2. How does the Design Cycle apply to the real world? In the real world, it can help us solve situations as well as creating anything we need.

3. How will this project serve my community? This will help the 6^th graders understand the design cycle.

4. How can my learning help my community? My community will be benefitted because the knowledge I know, will be shared.

5. How do we live in relation to each other? Here at idea public schools, we have elementary, middle school, and high school on one campus.

6. How does this help others? We as high school students can be seen as examples or role models for the younger kids.

7. What are the requirements for this assignment? We are required to follow the steps of the design cycle.

8. What is the Design Cycle? The design cycle is the group of steps we use to create something.

REFLECT on your learning.

Day 2

9. Spend one day experimenting with DESIGN CYCLE your presentation. List five things your learned about the Design Cycle.