The Technology Projects 8 Gallery
2024-25
This gallery collects examples of work and reflections from students in this year’s class, as well as a few group activities. Please enjoy exploring their diverse projects, products and experiences. Each student brought their own perspectives and insights to their work, and the results are extraordinary.
For my project, I chose to do an animation. My ideas of what the animation sounds are about have changed various times during our classes so far. At first, I wanted shapes moving around. I took inspiration from the scenes in Ratatouille when Remy is eating, and there is a burst of colors behind him, or at the beginning of Inside Out when all of the memories light up. After playing with this idea for a little bit, I thought it looked a little boring, so I wanted to add a main character. I did not know what I wanted, but I was sure I wanted some sort of cute animal. I was thinking of a rabbit or a mouse, but I decided to go with a cat because I have two cats of my own.
I had some struggles during the project with giving up easily and throwing away my work, which made it quite difficult as I went on. I also struggled with the platforms I used. The first platform was Procreate. I had used the app in the past and knew that it had some animation tools, which did not work for me due to a limit on the number of frames I could use. I was in the middle of drawing when it just said I had to stop because of the limit. I then changed to Procreate Dreams, also by the same creators of Procreate. I slowly but surely learned how to use the app. I watched many videos and studied the app intensively so I could get the most done because if you don't know how to use the app, it will take a lot longer than needed. After using this app for a good while, it just became too hard for me to use. It had many complicated controls and was very confusing. The app was made for professionals.
Mr. Gromak introduced me to the app Fresco. It was free and very easy to use. When I started using this app, I got the idea to add a character, like I said earlier. It was glitching at times, but it wasn't too bad. There was the occasional screen freezing, and it would just exit the tab and send me to the home screen. I did not finish my project and had to finish it over break. During this time, Fresco started acting up a lot more. It was becoming more and more difficult by the day. On the last day of break, the app was working terribly and ended up crashing, getting rid of all my work. My dad and I looked at reviews of the app, and we found that many other people had similar problems to me. We found one more app and made sure to check the reviews. I had to finish this in one day, so it was not that interesting, but it was the best I could do in the time I had.
When I think about my work in this class, I’m most proud of my ability to bounce back after difficulty or failure. The most impressive time this happened was when the app I was using crashed. This shows that I made progress because coming back after difficulty and failure was very hard for me at the beginning of the year. Whenever I messed up on something or had to restart I would not want to work on it anymore, and I just wanted to stop working. But as the year has gone on I have gotten much better at continuing. I’ve realized that not thinking that I have to do all of my work in one sitting and focusing on one thing helps me to do great work. When I do this I find that I don't worked up and I don't try to finish all of my work in one sitting. I get my work done efficiently and not in a rush.
I used to think that it was best to get everything done as quickly as possible but that is terrible. Instead of getting something done in a rush, I get it done in a longer amount of time but still get it done on time because I am not worn out. I also make sure I get a break in so I can relax for a little bit. Considering what I’ve learned, I think I’d do more research on the apps I use. I would research the app's difficulty more and see who it is made for. I would also check if many people are having similar things happen to them in the reviews. For example, if many people say that the app has problems when you have the app open for too long, I would either make sure not to use the app for too long at a time or find a different one.
My first project was a music creation project. I chose to make music because I have wanted to make music for a while but never learned how, so I made 7 songs but am only showing 3. I made a few styles of music including rock. I also did a calm adventure-style song. Lastly, I made a collaboration song with Javi Jack J, and Paul. I had a lot of fun making all of my songs and I would gladly do it again. I also did a movie called The Kidnapping on Bloomfield Ave. It was fun doing this project with friends and I had a big role in it, Ernest. This film is about a kidnapping on Bloomfield Ave. This is one of 2 films like the one Javi Jack J and Paul did last year. It talks about a kid getting kidnapped by a kid that was kidnapped.
I think learning music art is going to be useful for me going forward. When I think about my work in this class, I’m most proud of my Memphis rap song. It was tough to make. I made sure when starting one song, and if I got bored of that song I started a new one so I could stay in the flow and that's what helps me to do great work. The essential skills that I found most relevant to me during this class were understanding and making meaning of material and brainstorming. The biggest takeaway from my work is that making music is hard. Considering what I’ve learned, I think I’d do time management differently next time. I’ve realized that not getting in the flow state makes it more difficult for me to do great work. I can tell that I made progress because I would get more and more songs done.
Gold Acres 3-D Modeled Neighborhood (Collaboration)
I chose to work on a song on Soundtrap and a real estate slideshow where Jordy and I created 12 different houses in the layout of 3 Cul de sacs on Tinkercad. I chose to work on a song because it was very new to me and it was something that I had always been interested in doing. I wanted to work on a real estate slideshow with Jordy because I wanted to do a project that was more collaborative. My main goal for these two projects was to create something that showed hard work, but to also leave with more knowledge and experience about creating these two very different things. But even more than the final product, I really wanted to focus on improving the process that I used to complete projects. This includes the perseverance I had when making these projects, the trial and error it took, and the mindset I had to have to actually do the work.
The way I completed these projects involved a lot of experimentation and perseverance because both of the things I created were very new to me, especially making the song. Soundtrap guided me a lot to what I wanted to create, but left so much room for variance, experimentation, and creativity which was daunting at first, but I realized that it let me learn and improve a lot more.
Using Tinkercad to create the houses that I would put into the slideshow was incredibly difficult because everything was very delicate, at least for someone that was so new to 3D design. What you can do with tinkercad seems almost limitless to someone who was new to the process, so I had trouble figuring out how I would start making the houses. Thankfully, I was working with Jordy and she had prior experience in Tinkercad. She helped me start, but actually coming up with the ideas to make the houses involved a lot of experimentation with Tinkercad and what it could do. After a lot of experimentation I knew what I wanted to make and since I had spent so much time experimenting with different things, I found the process of actually creating the houses to be much easier.
I think the main skill I developed was actually getting into a work mindset and staying in it. These projects also took a lot of perseverance, and focus. I know I improved in these aspects because I would literally not have been able to complete these projects if I didn’t persevere a LOT, and learning to do that was new to me. At least in the way I needed to in this project. I am most proud of my song because it was something I had never done before, and the process was challenging in a fun way. I think it came out very well. The biggest take away from this class that I got was definitely the perseverance needed for this project. The thing I learned most about myself was that I can lose focus very easily when things get difficult or I get bored. But I also learned how to get around this by focusing on different parts of my work. Listening to music also helps me focus a lot.
Platformer Video Game
For my class project, I created an interactive game where players control a character to jump, run, and complete levels. The game has six levels with different challenges, and the goal is to defeat a boss at the end. And players can buy more powerful weapons to defeat bosses through vendors, and there are also props in the game. It will give you different boosts. I focused on player movement, level design, and combat mechanics. Using game development tools, I built the character's actions, level transitions, and combat features. This project gave me valuable hands-on experience in game development while making a fun game for players.
I think learning how to manage game flow and balance difficulty across levels is going to be useful for me going forward. When I think about my work in this class, I’m most proud of how the game flows, with levels that gradually increase in difficulty and a satisfying boss battle. My biggest takeaway from my work is that it has helped me become more patient and confident in learning new skills. Considering what I’ve learned, I think I’d do the game differently next time.
Retro Crew Game
For my project I chose to work on coding a video game. I chose this project idea because I am fascinated on how video games are coded and there are more things I still want to learn about it. I coded my own game using MakeCode Arcade because it uses coding blocks which are precoded actions that makes things easier for someone new while still giving a bit of a challenge.
When I think about my work in class, I’m most proud of how far I have gone with the project I made in the time I had. I’ve realized that setting a goal for a chunk of the project really helps me do great work. The essential skills that I found most relevant to me during this class were problem solving and literacy skills because those correlate to having a lot of importance when coding a game. I can tell that I made progress because I got a similar result to what I was looking for at the end of my project.
Video Game Prototype
I made a fighting game inside of Scratch. I started with a pretty basic knowledge but learned a lot about Scratch as I made it. I chose to do this project because I’ve always been very interested in coding but have never taken the steps to learn how to. I looked up some tutorials but made it less difficult using Scratch, a very basic coding language.
That didn’t make it a walk in the park though. I still had to overcome lots of issues and bugs which there were a LOT of. Each problem was different and required a different set of skills. I used the resources available, like YouTube tutorials and Mr. Gromak. I wasn’t afraid to discuss issues with my teacher which seriously helped me learn how to code as quickly and effectively as possible.
I think learning not just how to code, but also how to solve difficult problems is going to be useful for me going forward. When I think about my work in this class, I’m most proud of the fact that I made a pretty cool prototype of a game with such limited time. I’m also proud that I did it with very little knowledge. I’ve realized that listening to music helps me to do great work. I also work better in groups with people I’m friends with. Considering what I’ve learned, I think I’d do the order in which I make parts of my game differently next time: code first, make it look cool afterwards. I also want to handle my time better and not get distracted.
In class this year I had two projects that spanned half the class. My first project was a music project in which I used loops, little pre-recorded clips of music that you can combine into a song. I used both Garage Band and Soundtrap. I chose to do this project because I thought it would be interesting to experiment with what I can do using just the loops, and I'm pretty happy with the outcome. My second project was a group project, in which I made a movie about a murder mystery. Together we filmed the project. Everyone had scenes that they were assigned to act in. We later combined and edited them in WeVideo. This one I chose to do because last year in tech me and my friend also made a movie. We had fun with it but also felt like we learned a lot from it, so we thought that making a sequel could be a good idea for our second project.
I think learning how to use both the music and the movie is going to be a useful skill for me going forward, because they will both help me in the future with projects like that, and they will help me to navigate and use tech. When I think about my work in this class, I’m most proud of my movie. I feel like it both involved a lot of skill and helped me learn skills. Such skills could be filmed, acting, or just how to work in a group. Considering what I’ve learned, I think next time I will try to challenge myself a bit more, building on the skills I learned in this class. That may be a longer movie, or move away from loops with the movie. Throughout this class, I can tell that I made progress because I can go back and look at my songs, and tell the difference between my very first one, and my 3rd one. I can also compare this year's movie to last, and I can see that this year is more advanced and that I have learned a lot from it.
JJ Lin Website
I made a website to introduce a singer that I have loved for a long time. The website is in different parts, different parts are introducing the different aspects. And the website also includes the background information and the video with some songs and pictures about him. And one part has lots of the contents, the contents of one part are distinguished to different aspects, too. I chose to do that because I think it’s a great opportunity for me to develop my searching skills and information integration skills with a website.
I think learning information integration is going to be useful for me going forward. Because to build a website, searching information is really important, so it’s a great work for me to integrate all the information. I’ve realized that focus and concentration helps me to do great work. Because I used to waste a lot of time at the beginning of the class to choose which kinds of projects to do, I need to focus more on my project. The essential skill that I found most relevant to me during this class was problem solving. I met a lot of problems during the process of my project, so problem solving ability is really important.
My project is a music album. I chose this because I found music making interesting and unique and I wanted to learn more about making music. I made it by using a music making site called Soundtrap and I used loops to create parts of the songs and other times I created some parts. But that wasn’t all I did. I also slowed down or sped up certain loops or I changed the octave to higher or lower to fit the rest of the song. The last thing I did was touch up the song by fading in or fading out for smoother transitions. The other project I chose was a short film about a generational kidnapping. We chose it because last year we made a short film and the one Jack and I did we liked a lot so we decided as a group to make a similar film. We created it by using our phone and Jack, Ashton, Paul and I played a main role and sometimes played a smaller role but they looked different then their main role so you could tell they are playing different roles. Afterwards we edited it using WeVideo.
I can tell that I made progress because at the beginning I had no clue I had to make music but now I know how to put the parts of the song together. I know how to edit the song so that parts sound cleaner together. I am most proud of one of my songs mustard and ketchup because I used most of what I learned for example putting the songs together, transitions and beat drops etc. One of the skills I developed was composition. I learned this skill because this was my first time making music and I learned how to put the parts of the song together. My biggest takeaway from my work is the skills to make music because I didn’t know how to make music before learning these skills was important to me because now I can make music on my own for fun.
The Crusades Website
What I chose to do is a website about the Crusade. I decided to do this website because I am very interested in history, the Crusade is one of my favorite periods. I also created this website to let students do less research work, it is complicated to research for something like the Crusade where it has 8 times, you have to research from a lot of different angles to make sure you get the most accurate information. What I did first is plan how I am going to do this website. I split it into small targets which are the home page, The First Crusade, The Second Crusade, The Third Crusade, and The Later Crusades. I added another page going forward which was the Citation page. The next step was to research where I could find information from many different websites, and not only on websites. I also used a lot of books that I picked from my home. I then summarized the information that I got and turned it into paragraphs in my own words. I also put up videos from YouTube to make a more precise explanation and make the website more interesting. Then the last step was to put on the Citations and ensure the audience knows what websites I got sources from.
The essential skill that I found most relevant to me during this class was critical thinking, I used it to plan my whole project and how to do my work. The biggest takeaway from my work is the skill of planning and making it changeable so that you can change your plan in any situation you think you need to. I can tell that I made progress because I finished the work that I planned to do, and added a page for citations. I’ve realized that being focused helps me to do great work. I can be focused by listening to music or just being focused because of the silent environment.
MP4 • 88.6MB
The Hogwarts Study Podcast
Gold Acres 3-D Modeled Neighborhood (Collaboration)
I chose to create two projects; a video podcast and a Tinkercad slideshow. The podcast is about my thoughts on the Harry Potter series, which I have an extreme affection towards. Tinkercad is a three-dimensional rendering website from which I worked on my second project. Beckett C. and I created a neighborhood of 3D houses to display on a slideshow. We wanted to make something 3D but didn’t want to print it so we decided to take screenshots instead. Making the podcast was the most time-consuming project out of the two.
First, I brainstormed what I wanted to cover. I wrote the script, edited it for my final draft, and recorded the audio (you may notice a cameo from Beckett C.). Once I had the vocals, I added background music and finalized the audio. Finally, I made the video slideshow with a combination of stock photos, digital drawings, and AI images. This was the most time-consuming step of my project because I had to find a lot of images. I combined the audio with the video and finished the podcast.
As for the Tinkercad slideshow, I had already used Tinkercad once before, but I didn’t know a lot about it. My partner, Beckett C., and I worked on getting set up. Once we knew how to use Tinkercad, we started building houses individually. In total we made twelve houses. Beckett’s houses tended to be more detailed, and I made more in total. I made eight out of twelve, and Beckett made four out of twelve. When we had finished our houses, we copied them into our unique version of a cul de sac. We had three total cul de sacs because there were only four houses each. Finally, we took a screenshot of each individual house and each cul de sac and uploaded them into a slideshow, where we created our take on a real estate website.
I developed some problem solving skills, because originally during the Tinkercad slideshow, Beckett and I wanted to 3D print our neighborhood. When we realized we wouldn’t be able to do that efficiently, we pivoted, and came out with possibly a better result. I also realized that planning projects to be time efficient is very hard. I overestimated how long my podcast would take to make and had to stretch it out to make it fit with the class schedule. Because of this I learned that I am able to work very fast, and in the future I should probably plan for making three projects if I want to truly use the time well. All in all, I’m very proud of the Tinkercad slideshow because I really like the real estate quirk.
In this class, I worked on a music-making project and a student-made movie. I decided to do these projects because I wanted to improve specific skills. For my first project, researching different genres and using my research to make actual songs improved my music-producing skills. For my second project, learning more angles of filming and story/script writing improved my movie-making skills. For the first project, I started with selecting my genres. This helped me know which order to make the songs in. I then researched a little bit of each genre, then started working on the actual project. Once I was finished with my project, my friends and I started brainstorming for our next project. We ended up deciding that we were going to do a film about a kidnapping. We started making the story, and eventually the script. When it came to filming, there was a lot to do in not much time, so we had to really use our time well.
I think learning about music production and video-making is going to be useful for me going forward. When I think about my work in this class, I’m most proud of the growth I made when it came to producing music. I’ve realized that having a good environment helps me to do great work. The essential skills that I found most relevant to me during this class were critical thinking and problem-solving. The biggest takeaway from my work is that if you use good time management skills alongside a good mindset, you can accomplish many things. Considering what I’ve learned, I think I’d do my brainstorming differently next time.
We dedicated part of our class to exploring the benefits and challenges of using artificial intelligence, including creating original works of art using a variety of platforms. Here are some wonderful examples of the works created by our students. Please click on an image thumbnail to view it full-size.
