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I missed the first action project lesson we had this week so I’ve been trying to catch up on any missed content. It seems that we learned about something called divergent and convergent thinking, which are two complementary approaches to problem-solving. Divergent thinking encourages you to brainstorm freely, generating a wide range of ideas, no matter how unconventional or impractical they may be. It’s all about letting creativity flow without limitations. On the other hand, convergent thinking focuses on refining and narrowing down these ideas to find the best and most feasible solution. Learning to balance these two approaches has greatly impacted the way I approach problems, allowing me to think about a wide range of ideas before honing in on the most effective solutions.

For example, in the “Imagine a New Way” task, I was pushed to brainstorm new ideas for sun protection using divergent thinking. The exercise was freeing as I could come up with any concept, no matter how ridiculous. Once I had all my ideas, I switched to convergent thinking, assessing each concept for its practicality and effectiveness. This way of thinking has broadened my perspective, allowing me to become more confident in my ability to think creatively. I believe that this skill will be very beneficial going forward and I’ll be much better at generating ideas if I can just brainstorm them without thinking about practicality or reality.

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The biggest challenge for me in AP is probably going to be choosing a problem that’s not only relevant but also one that has enough scope for us to generate a creative solution. I think being able to come up with a single, practical and innovative idea will be tough because I tend to overthink and want to explore every possibility before committing and have trouble coming up with completely new ideas. However, I’m confident that applying critical thinking and teamwork will help me work through this challenge. Getting feedback from my peers would also be very beneficial.

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What about your personality (or Character) do you think will help or challenge you in AP?

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What about your personality (or Character) do you think will help or challenge you in AP?

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Top 5 Character Strengths: Love of learning, hope, creativity, curiosity, bravery

Bottom 5 Character Strengths: Leadership, humour, spirituality, self-regulation, humility

One of my strongest traits is Love of Learning, which I believe will be an asset in AP. I am driven to continuously master new skills and acquire knowledge, even if it is challenging. However, I also recognise that my Curiosity can sometimes lead to distractions as I tend to explore multiple areas of interest at once and try to multitask. To manage this, I will need to stay focused and set clear priorities, ensuring that I remain on track and do not fall behind with my work.

One of my bottom 5 character strengths, self-regulation, could also be a challenge, especially when managing deadlines or staying organized. I will need to stay focused and set clear goals to ensure I keep on track and do not waste my time watching YouTube.

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Today we did a task called “Imagine a new way”. In this task, we were tasked with creating a new product for sun protection within 5 minutes. Working under this pressure helped me combine divergent thinking with practical constraints. I realised that you can be most creative when you are not restricted by conventional boundaries, but to bring an idea to life, it needs structure and practicality. This was one of the first times I consciously applied both divergent and convergent thinking to a real-world problem. We were given 3 A3 sheets of paper and had to create a product using them. Since the materials supplied were quite random, we had to think outside the box. Some of our ideas included creating armour using pieces of paper, and creating a hat that blocked the sun (but we thought that was not very creative), but we decided on creating a mask that surrounds a person’s entire head.

This was also a group task so we had to use our communication and collaboration skills to be successful. We decided that Jairaj would be our model and Warisat and I would present the product. This task shows how working in a group allows for faster idea generation and a more streamlined product creation process. We were then given 3 minutes to prepare our pitch. It was obvious that the best pitches were both informative and funny, therefore, I suggested the idea that we rip the mask while saying that it’s made of space-grade titanium. This action would make our pitch more engaging and worthwhile for the audience. This idea worked really well and shows how important it is to discuss ideas with group members even if they may be a bit silly. I only went ahead with this idea because Warisat said I should do it, otherwise I most likely would not have done so. In the future, if we were to do a similar task, I would instantly start coming up with ideas instead of looking at each other and asking ‘So what should we do?’. However, I was able to learn how to quickly brainstorm and create a product and be able to pitch it to potential customers.

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I’m genuinely excited about the opportunity to work collaboratively with other people as we create fun and interesting ideas. I am also really interested in entrepreneurship and the idea of combining unique perspectives to tackle a real-world problem is thrilling. I’m particularly looking forward to presenting our solution at the INNOV8 EXPO, where we’ll have the chance to showcase our work to friends, teachers and families. I really enjoyed $20 BOSS from year 8 and hence can’t wait to do the INNOV8 EXPO, which is very similar to it.

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Redesign Your Partner's Lunch Time Experience Task

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Redesign Your Partner's Lunch Time Experience Task

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Unfortunately, I missed the first two lessons of the week, but I made up for it by helping Jairaj with his "Redesign Your Partner’s Lunch Experience" task. Jairaj was redesigning Shaun’s lunchtime experience and the problem he faced was the corridors being too crowded. Jairaj’s solution was to create a radioactive spider that could bite people and turn them into Spiderman. This would allow them to climb the walls like a spider and dodge the crowd. I helped Jairaj create his slideshow, particularly the images that related to his product. Jairaj was not sure about how to present his product, so I recommended creating AI-generated images. I recommended Bing Image AI and Adobe Firefly since they are both great AI image generators. Following my advice, Jairaj was able to create some great product images for his slideshow. This shows my ability to be adaptable since I had to help Jairaj without any prior knowledge of this task and communication/collaboration skills since I had to work together with him to create his slideshow. I think I did a great job at helping him but if I get into a similar situation in the future, where I do not know much and have to work in a group, I think I should start off by gaining a more thorough understanding of the design brief, product and brainstormed ideas. Unfortunately, I was still unable to do a lot of work for this task due to the lessons I missed.

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Our team for the Spin-Off project included me, Jairaj, and Muhammad. We began by brainstorming 50 potential problems in 5 minutes, which was far more challenging than I anticipated. I had never done this before, and we ran out of ideas very soon even though we included some completely ridiculous ideas. It was difficult to generate that many ideas under pressure, but this exercise pushed us to think creatively and use our divergent thinking skills to the fullest. After brainstorming a lot of problems using our creative and critical thinking skills, we used our communication skills to pick the most interesting ones that we will pursue. I think we still could’ve generated more ideas if we were more focused on idea generation instead of arguing about some potentially unrealistic ideas. This wasted a lot of our time and if I were to do it again I would simply list whatever comes to my mind without thinking about anything else.

Most Interesting Problems

Not Enough Community or Recreational Spaces

Parking Issues

Lack of inclusivity and support for migrants

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Out of the 3 chosen problems, we each had to pick one and create an empathy map for it. My chosen issue was “Lack of inclusivity and support for migrants”. My target audience was migrants and first-generation residents since Australia has a great number of these individuals and helping them out would benefit our community and the country as a whole. Creating an empathy map allowed me to better understand the issue and the problems faced by my target audience. This allows me to come up with a more effective and targeted solution/product that could benefit migrants and first-generation residents.

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Chosen problem: Lack of community connections

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Chosen problem: Lack of community connections

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After having a discussion with each other, we decided to address the issue of Lack of Community Connections. Through our research, we discovered studies showing how strong social bonds can improve mental well-being, while isolation often leads to issues like anxiety and depression. This shows that this is a worthwhile problem to solve and solving this could change numerous lives. I also learned that there needs to be some demand or research to confirm that the problem truly demands a solution for the betterment of society.

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We decided to change our idea after a lot of thought since our idea was way too narrow and prevented innovation and creativity. We were unable to come up with any new solutions for it and any ideas that we did have were terrible. One of our ideas was creating a sports tournament with old people and young people, but we realised that old people would have a lot of trouble playing, making the tournament boring for young people. There are also no innovative solutions to this problem and we had nothing to gain inspiration from. Therefore, we decided to change our chosen problem to a Lack of Parking Spaces. This problem is way more broad and widespread than the previous one. Almost everyone has had trouble finding a parking space at some point in their lives. Fortunately, we will not have to redo everything and the teacher said that we should simply do the SCAMPER for it.

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We did the SCAMPER twice since we changed our problem partway. Using the SCAMPER technique (Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate, Reverse), we refined our ideas for parking solutions. Our 2 parking solutions were: A parking sensor which connects to your mobile phone and tells you where there are parking spots available. And a platform that lets users rent out their home carpark to other people. We plan on pursuing the first idea though due to its practicality and appeal to a wider audience. Using SCAMPER, we were able to come up with some great modifications and additions to our ideas. For example, through SCAMPER we realised that we could incorporate our app directly into the navigation systems of some cars, allowing users to use them without having to look at their phones. The data collected from the app could also be used to monitor parking lot occupancy trends over time, providing our solution with a scientific purpose. Although it can be a bit annoying to do SCAMPER, I found it really helpful in modifying and improving our solutions.

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I spent time researching similar parking solutions to see what worked in other places. For instance, I found apps that provide real-time parking information and home parking rentals. This research helped us shape our ideas, showing us what features were essential and which areas we could improve on. Here are some of the apps that I found that provide a similar solution to ours: https://apps.apple.com/au/app/park-adelaide/id1367299529

https://apps.apple.com/au/app/easypark-parking-made-easy/id449594317

I found that most of these apps are not very well known and we could improve this by advertising our product on TV, YouTube or other social media services. Additionally, our solution uses a car park sensor to detect if there is a car in that parking spot or not, which differentiates it from these apps that are completely software-based.

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Our group was given feedback by another group (Tanika’s) on our idea, this was the feedback given:

They can't drive and look at phones

Handsfree control

Put it in the car system/connect an app on your phone

How fast is the booking system?

Based off this feedback, we could incorporate our app with Apple Maps or Google Maps, allowing users to use it without having to download another app. This allows for easy access to our product, allowing it to reach more customers and people in need.

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Today we also created a Google form for our chosen problem (Lack of Community Engagement). We were able to receive 12 responses and the results showed that many people were struggling with parking issues, supporting our hypothesis. This feedback validated our problem choice and gave us additional insights into how to shape our solution. We found that 62% of people would like to be able to connect with others in their community more easily and 30% of respondents found it difficult to connect with others in their community. Additionally, people thought that it was a good idea to connect with others through sport most likely because sport is something that brings people together and has been enjoyed for centuries. I do believe that our form questions were a bit vague and we should have told people what connecting actually meant to prevent misunderstanding. We also should’ve used some number scales (like picking a number between 1 and 10) since that provides us with some robust quantitative data that is easier to analyse and more accurate than a yes/no.

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In this lesson, we explored how to enhance our persuasive abilities using the three techniques: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos. Logos appeals to logic and reasoning, helping to construct solid arguments. Ethos relies on the credibility and trustworthiness of the speaker, making the audience more likely to believe the information presented. Pathos, on the other hand, targets the emotions of the audience, aiming to evoke feelings like sympathy or concern. To apply these techniques, we had to create a slideshow about Sea Turtles. The focus of our presentation was on using quotations and expert opinions, which fall under Ethos. For example, we stated “ 52% of sea turtles have consumed plastic”, providing the audience with information that aids our side. By referencing authoritative sources, we made our argument more convincing and trustworthy. Additionally, we used pathos by adding sad images of turtles, showing how plastic can be detrimental to such cute and tiny creatures. I learned a lot from this and I can now create arguments that are much stronger. I can use these techniques in debating, mock trials, other assignments and in the INNOV8 expo next term. I think using a mix of these techniques is best as it allows for a well-crafted argument that includes credible information, evokes emotion and is logical.

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I wasn’t here last lesson and found out that Jairaj and Muhammad have completed the Informerical Script, including my part. This was very nice of them, except for the fact that they left video editing for me without asking me (Jairaj makes sure I edit videos every time we get an assignment like this because I’m good at it). I saw that they made extensive use of Ethos, Pathos and Logos in the script to make it much more impactful. They utilised statistics in the infomercial related to parking, which is the technique of Logos, and help persuade more people about the severity of the problem. Here are some examples of Ethos, Pathos and Logos that they used:

1. Our introduction includes pathos since we have a part where Muhammad acts like he can’t find a parking space and he looks very annoyed and distressed. This creates a situation that the audience can relate to and evokes emotions of sympathy and agreement.

2. The statement  'According to a survey founded by SBS news, Australia's most trusted news brand', is an example of Ethos since it tells people that our information is credible and trustworthy since Australia’s most trusted news brand has collected it.

3. Including statistics like these: 'There are over 1,000 parking spaces across each suburb in South Australia, yet people are struggling to find 1 Parking spot!' and 'Over 78% of people report that they have parking issues and a survey found that Australians spend over 14 hours and $1.2 Billion per year to find an elusive parking spot.' This uses both Logos and Pathos as it presents logical information and arguments to the viewer and tells them about money and time, both of which are very important to people, to evoke an emotional reaction.

Being able to spot these techniques in the script shows my good understanding of them and how I’ve grown since the start of the term. However, I don’t really like how the script does in include any filming gestures/transitions, meaning we will have to come up with these on the fly while we are filming and it can be a bit challenging to do so. I think it would’ve been better if they included some notes for filming to make the process a bit easier.

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We finished filming our infomercial this lesson. It was not very hard to film and we even decided to incorporate all of us for a funny/memorable ending scene. However, I was not here last lesson when my group filmed most of the scenes and looking over them, some of them were not great. Hence, we had to refilm those scenes for better audio quality. Also, I should’ve told my group members about the transitions they should’ve used between videos, because a good chunk of the video is just Jairaj walking forward and it's been cut into segments, making it seem choppy and weird. In the future, I think it’d be really good to educate my group members about filming since it is a great skill to have and would be beneficial if I am not present to help them film.

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I contributed significantly to the editing process, ensuring that our infomercial flowed well and had a professional feel. I decided to use Adobe Premiere Pro to edit our infomercial since I found out that it is used professionally and is a great video editing tool. Additionally, I was looking at the past student examples for some inspiration and saw that most of them included some nice transitions so I tried to add some in our video as well. I also had to make a choice between 2 logos that Jairaj and Muhammad created, and I ended up choosing to use Muhammad’s logo since it was more visually appealing and interesting. Jairaj’s logo was simplistic and flat like most other logos these days, and I think Muhammad’s logo did a better job at catching the eye and promoting our product. Throughout video editing, I had to use my critical and creative thinking to come up with solutions for problems that I faced. For example, I had to create a diagram that showed where our parking sensor would be placed. It needed to be simple and easy to understand and I thought that using Photoshop would be overkill, so I decided to use Google Slides and was able to create the diagram in a couple of minutes. Had I used Photoshop, it would have taken it longer to simply load up. Although the video looked pretty good in the end, I think if we had finished recording our scenes earlier, I could’ve edited the video and asked my team for some feedback, allowing us to make an even better video.

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1. What skills did you gain/develop throughout the Spin Off Project?

Throughout the Spin Off Project, I gained and developed several important skills. I was able to develop some leadership while we worked in a team. I helped coordinate group efforts, delegate tasks based on each member’s strengths, and ensure that no one was falling behind on work. This helped create a more collaborative environment where all ideas were considered. Additionally, I enhanced my problem-solving abilities by navigating unexpected challenges, such as technical difficulties during video editing. When I first tried, my video would not export, hence I switched the renderer from the graphics card to a software-based render, which worked!

I also strengthened my communication skills, both verbal and non-verbal. Whether it was explaining complex ideas clearly to my teammates or listening to their input to improve our project, effective communication was really important for our collaboration. Finally, through scripting and video production, I improved my video editing and creation skills.

2. What challenges did you encounter? How did you overcome these?

The main challenge we encountered was coming up with a good problem and solution to work on. Most of our ideas were too boring or too narrow, preventing us from coming up with any innovative or creative solutions. We were able to overcome this issue by asking other groups for feedback on our ideas and also by utilising edchat to come up with some ideas for us. After some brainstorming and a lot of discussion, we finally decided to solve issues related to parking.

3. What is the most successful part of your final infomercial?

I think the most successful part  of our final infomercial was our ability to incorporate persuasion techniques such as ethos, pathos, and logos. By focusing on ethos (credibility), we made sure to cite reliable sources and experts in the field, which strengthened our authority on the topic. This was particularly impactful when we talked about the statistics and scientific facts related to our problem. In terms of pathos (emotional appeal), we crafted a compelling story that connected with the audience’s problems related to parking. Finally, we grounded our argument in logos (logical reasoning), presenting clear and structured arguments to explain why our solution was not only innovative but also impactful. The pacing and editing also contributed to the creation of a professional, polished final video that successfully communicated our ideas while keeping the audience engaged.

4. What did you learn from watching your peers’ infomercials?

I was able to learn about the different techniques my peers used to make their infomercials engaging, such as using humour, characters and props. It was also interesting to see the product each group came up with and how it solved their chosen problem.

5. What did other groups do well?

I think other groups did a great job of using humour effectively. By lightening the tone, they made their infomercials more memorable and engaging for the audience. Additionally, I was impressed by how some groups structured their infomercials in a way that felt like a story, with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Their storytelling techniques made their presentations flow smoothly and kept the audience engaged from start to finish. If I were to do a similar task in the future, I would also create a narrative to display my product since it is much more effective and engaging than the infomercial we created.

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We watched the documentary 2040 and I found it really interesting. It had a profound impact on the way I view innovation and sustainability. The documentary talked about the need to look toward the future and think about how our actions today will shape the world for generations to come. This made me think about how our INNOV8 project should incorporate sustainability at its core, not just superficially. The documentary highlighted the importance of creating solutions that are environmentally sustainable and socially responsible.

For instance, I began to ask myself questions like: How will this innovation contribute to a sustainable future? How can we ensure that our project doesn't have unintended negative consequences?

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This post is not about something I did at Action Project but rather something about the leadership OLE that I had this week. Our task at the OLE was to create a student-led initiative that could improve international-mindedness at our school. I found that many of the skills I learned in Action Project could help me with this. Nate and I included Ethos, Pathos and Logos when making our script to make it more beneficial and we utilised a very similar brainstorming process to Action Project when we were coming up with ideas. Our idea was to create potluck lunches at our school so that people could learn more about foods from different cultures. We stated “Sooooo… are you tired of the same old lunch routine? Ready to spice up your midday meals with a dash of diversity and a pinch of international flair? Let us introduce International Potluck Lunches!”, making use of pathos to catch the audience’s attention and make our project sound amazing. Lastly, I can now see the great number of skills learned from Action Project that can be used in the future, in other subjects and outside of school.

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In our last lesson this week, we did a communication challenge. In this challenge, we had a guesser who left the room while the others received a prompt using which we had to create a scene and act it out in front of the guesser. The guesser would then try and guess what our prompt was. The prompt my group received was a Mission Impossible heist, and we decided to create one of the most iconic scenes from Mission Impossible to make it easier for Warisat to guess We tried our best to communicate this through hand signals, props (such as a laptop and chairs) and actions. Unfortunately, Warisat has never watched a single Mission Impossible movie and hence was unable to guess our prompt correctly. This task was really fun and allowed me to work with a group of people I don’t usually work with since Jairaj was not here today. I was able to learn more about the different forms of communication and how important it is to deliver something with a clear and focused message.

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How has your experience at Action Project been so far?

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How has your experience at Action Project been so far?

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Although I missed quite a few lessons this term, action project has been pretty fun so far. At the start of the term, I recognised that some of my character strengths were not as well-developed as others. One of these was self-regulation—the ability to control my emotions and behaviours, especially under stress or when faced with numerous tasks. During the term, I worked consciously on improving this. By setting clearer goals and creating a structured schedule for both my studies and extracurriculars, I became more disciplined in my approach. Missing four lessons throughout the term meant that I had to catch up and manage my time even more effectively, which was a real test of my self-regulation. I started using strategies like breaking larger tasks into smaller, manageable steps and rewarding myself for completing each step, which helped me stay focused. I’m really looking forward to the next term and the INNOV8 expo!

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INNOV8 Project (I was absent week 3 and a few more lessons)

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INNOV8 Project (I was absent week 3 and a few more lessons)

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Today we were introduced to the INNOV8 project which is probably the most exciting assignment we’ve had all year. Today, each member of our group had to select at SDG that resonated with us. I chose Goal Number 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth since I believe that this is a very important issue. News headlines constantly talk about economic problems these days and about the lack of jobs, leading to more unemployed and homeless people. Also, economic growth leads to growth in every sector and industry, which I think would be more beneficial than trying to improve each sector one by one.

However, as a team, we collectively found "Sustainable Cities and Communities" (SDG 11) more engaging. We believed this goal was better for creativity and innovation. The introduction to the INNOV8 Project was eye-opening. I had not learned about sustainable development goals before and was surprised that such a large initiative existed on this planet. Not only that, but the goals set the bar quite high and if completed, could revolutionise life on Earth. This activity also showed how important it is to have a group discussion to come up with your final topic. Although we all chose different SDG’s, we decided on SDG 11, which may not have been the one everyone researched. Hence, this task showed how important it is to sometimes sacrifice individual thoughts and goals for better team goals and results.

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The problem-thinking phase was exciting and challenging. As a team, we aimed to identify a specific issue under SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities. Initially, we explored water pollution, as it seemed like an urgent and relevant issue. However, as we delved deeper, we realised it was too broad and lacked the detail needed to create an innovative and new solution.

Although it was very frustrating having to come up with ideas and change them almost instantly, it was a good learning experience. It taught me the importance of narrowing down problems to target a specific audience or context effectively. While using divergent thinking to generate ideas, we found ourselves struggling to come up with solutions that were realistic and creative. This experience showed how problem-solving can be very iterative, and how initial ideas often need to be revisited and refined before they can evolve into something impactful.

Reflecting on this phase, I learned that identifying the right problem is just as important as finding a solution. By accepting our ideas as not great, we laid the groundwork to come up with some better ideas down the track. We had to come up with 50 ideas in 5 minutes, but as shown in the image, we could not do that. In the future, not worrying about how realistic an idea is would be beneficial for an idea generation task like this.

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Today, we did a pretty fun task called Crazy 8’s. We were tasked with sketching eight potential solutions to our chosen problem within a limited timeframe, I found the first few ideas came naturally, but the later ones required me to really use the buried art and creativity skills. This was where the real value of the exercise showed and it forced me to think beyond conventional solutions and come up with more ‘imaginative’ ideas. This was more of a divergent thinking task.

One of my ideas included attaching a net to the bottom of ships so that they could collect garbage when moving throughout the ocean. Although this was just a simple idea, it still sparked some group discussion with people asking questions such as “What will it be made of?”, “How will fish not get trapped” etc.. While not all the ideas were feasible, the activity taught me that even “wild” concepts can inspire practical innovations when refined collaboratively. Except for really crazy ideas such as training turtles to eat plastic.

Reflecting on this exercise, I found out how important quantity over quality is in the early stages of brainstorming. Generating a high volume of ideas, even if they aren’t great, leads to more innovation and creativity than thinking about practicality or realisticness. Sharing these ideas with my team added another layer of learning, as we combined elements from different sketches to develop more refined solutions. This phase also taught me to embrace discomfort and uncertainty as essential parts of the creative process. Unfortunately, I could not get an image for this task since Tanika has yet to share it with me.

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The How Now Wow Matrix helped us categorise our ideas based on their realism and innovation, providing a great way to evaluate them. This activity was essential in narrowing down the concepts generated during the Crazy 8’s exercise. We plotted each idea into one of four quadrants, aiming to have most of them in the 4th quadrant which represented an innovative and realistic idea.

Initially, we found that most of our ideas fell into the "How" quadrant, which was not great since we really tried to brainstorm good ideas for the ‘wow’ section. However, realising this early on is probably helpful since it allowed us to revisit and refine our concepts. By combining elements from multiple ideas, we eventually moved a few into the "Wow" category. This process also showed how important iterative thinking is - great ideas usually don’t just come up out of nowhere and they need to be refined through collaboration, teamwork and diligence, just like a diamond in the rough.

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The idea we have finally, finally chosen is making sustainable notebooks using coffee grounds. So we worked on planning and developing our action project marketing pitch for out product. I worked on the target market part and found out that the target market for sustainable products overall is massive. Companies, people and the world are asking for more sustainable products than ever before. However, less is known about the target market of reusable stationery since that is a relatively new industry. I think the biggest challenge for us in the script will be to find the balance between information and engagement. Having a lot of information would make the pitch boring whereas having little would make our research look incompetent. Maintaining a fine balance between these 2 ideas is important for the success of our pitch. I may even try to include some statistics surrounding the use of sustainable products and user interactions with them.

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Conducting market research was an important part of our project, allowing us to understand the market and identify the gaps in it. We explored companies like Koh and ZeroCo, which focus on sustainable alternatives for everyday products. Their emphasis on refill systems and waste reduction inspired us to think beyond traditional stationery designs and think about including sustainable covers.

A significant turning point came when we researched competitors in the coffee waste market. While a few companies were repurposing coffee grounds, none focused on creating fully sustainable stationery. This showed us that our product had a unique edge over our competitors. We also identified weaknesses in competitors’ designs, such as their use of staples or non-recyclable materials, which allowed us to make our product even better than theirs. We also found out that in Australia, there are no businesses creating a similar product, allowing us to dominate the market.

Reflecting on this, I realised the importance of understanding not just the strengths but also the weaknesses of competitors. Knowing their strengths allows you to find your own, whereas knowing their weaknesses allows you to differentiate your product and reach your audience. Market research taught me the value of thorough analysis and how it relates to strategic decision-making.

Market research

https://ecostore.com/au/dishwasher-tablets-415/

https://skipper.org/collections/dishwasher-tablets

https://koh.com/products/dishwashing-tablets

https://www.zeroco.com.au/products/dishwashing-liquid-combo?srsltid=AfmBOoqWTfAfOkSroB-2EuXgW8NI8E7Ih3FMfyE9Zk6msGWzbLuhtqJu

https://seedsprout.com.au/collections/eco-dishwashing

Starch paper- https://www.eekwi.org/activities/arts-crafts/make-your-own-paper#:~:text=Add%202%20cups%20of%20hot,consistency%20of%20split%20pea%20soup.

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Trying to come up with an idea has been the biggest challenge our group has faced. As a group, we did a lot of brainstorming and explored ideas such as waste management and water cleanup. A main idea we were working on was creating dishwashing tablets that had chemicals that could bind to oil in the ocean, breaking it up before it could do environmental harm. We thought it was a decent idea until we realised those chemicals would also cause environmental damage. None of our ideas felt very unique or impactful enough to stand out. There was a lot of frustration and self-doubt, as we struggled to come up with a creative solution. A lot of communication and collaboration had to be utilised to prevent our group from breaking up and to persevere through this period. This experience taught me the value of persistence and collaboration. By revisiting and refining our ideas, we eventually found one that we thought was good: sustainable stationery made from coffee waste. This idea not only addressed an environmental issue but also allowed us to explore innovative design and production methods.

Through this phase, I also realised that innovation often requires having a growth mindset and seeing failures as opportunities for growth. We can finally get started on our pitch event though we are around a week behind. In the future, just picking an idea even if it’s not the best could be a better option to prevent us from falling behind. I think having a second-grade idea but a first-grade pitch is better than having a first-grade idea and a second-grade pitch.

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After many talks, our team finally decided on creating a sustainable notebook made from coffee waste, branded as “Brewed Books.” This was the gem we had been searching for and we were all grateful to not have to listen to Jairaj’s great ideas such as the 3-D printed toilet. Tanika’s experiences at McDonald's also played a role in this idea since she witnessed a lot of coffee grounds being sent straight to the landfill from there.

Another thing that solidified our decision was the fact that coffee cups and grounds are a major environmental issue, contributing to massive waste globally. This problem had been largely overlooked, and our idea of repurposing coffee waste into a practical product like notebooks felt both innovative and impactful. Additionally, we were inspired by the challenge of creating a product that could stand out in an already crowded market of eco-friendly stationery.

https://biobagworld.com.au/circular-economy/biobags-capture-otr-coffee-grounds-to-close-the-loop-for-charity/#:~:text=Australians%20consume%20around%20six%20billion,goes%20to%20landfill%20each%20year.

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1. What is our current problem that we are focusing on?

We are focusing on the problem of environmental waste, specifically coffee grounds and cups. We identified this as an underexplored problem that could lead to a very successful product within the market.

2. How is the use of the empathy map evolving our idea? What new ideas or insights have you uncovered from this process?

The empathy map has been incredibly useful in refining our product. Through the empathy map, we have realised that our product must be not only environmentally friendly but also accessible and functional. We’ve also learned that offering different notebook sizes could help us reach a broader audience, from students to professionals. It also led to discussions about making the cover using a leather-like material made from coffee. We thought that was a good idea and hence decided to implement it in our final product.

3. How is our group collaborating? What can I do to improve collaboration within my team? (contribution level- inclusivity, listening to others?)

Our group has been collaborating well overall, but there are times when we are very indecisive. This can sometimes slow down our progress. Although we communicated a lot during the brainstorming sessions, most of the ideas were quickly shut down for some reasons that probably could’ve been easily changed. Hence, I believe that gaining feedback from a third party such as a teacher or peer could lead to a more efficient and streamlined process. Ensuring that every team member feels heard and valued is also important and I think learning about constructive criticism is something that could benefit all of us. I also need to work on being able to recognise these moments of indecisiveness and come up with a plan forward to ensure we are making progress and not falling behind.

4. What barriers are we currently experiencing?

One of the main barriers we are facing is sourcing sustainable materials for the notebooks. While we’ve identified the coffee waste as a core material, we need to secure reliable suppliers and ensure that the materials meet our environmental standards. Also, we are a bit behind due to our brainstorming a significant amount of time and need to spend out-of-class time to work more. Instead of just discussing ideas in lessons, we should aim to do some work as well.

5. What are our next steps?

Now, we need to complete our marketing pitch, using data and statistics that highlight the scale of the coffee waste problem. Additionally, we have to create all the materials for the INNOV8 Expo, such as posters, a digital mock-up, and any other promotional items to make sure that our presentation is visually appealing and engaging.

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The SCAMPER process was very helpful in refining and improving our product/idea. Using this method, we were able to brainstorm new features and alternatives that could enhance our product. For example, we thought about substituting conventional materials with more sustainable ones, such as replacing plastic covers with biodegradable alternatives. We also explored ways to reverse traditional notebook manufacturing by creating a product that is fully recyclable and could be reused.

The "Eliminate" part of SCAMPER also made us think about removing staples, glue, or other non-recyclable elements that are usually found in notebooks, making our product even more sustainable. The "Combine" feature of SCAMPER allowed us to think about partnering with other industries to use something other than coffee in our products, which could be pretty interesting but not great for our business. This is because we are focused on the coffee industry and our brand image is built around this. SCAMPER helped us push the boundaries of our thinking and find new possibilities that would not have been thought about before. It showed the importance of flexibility and open-mindedness when designing innovative products.

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Our group created an empathy map to be able to see the problem through our target audience. By mapping out the needs, wants, and frustrations of potential customers, we gained a deeper understanding of what would make our product truly great. We found out that while our product had to be sustainable, it also needed to be functional, user-friendly, and affordable.

We also identified that people are increasingly interested in products that tell a story. The idea of using coffee waste not only addresses environmental concerns but also connects emotionally with people who value sustainability. This insight led us to think more deeply about the narrative behind our product and how it could help reduce waste while providing a high-quality, everyday item.

Reflecting on this process, I found out the importance of an empathy map. By putting ourselves in the shoes of our users, we were able to create a product that truly met their needs and desires. The empathy map taught me the importance of continuously considering the user experience throughout the development process, ensuring that our solution is both practical and targeted towards our audience.

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Designing Brewed Books was a very creative process that required balancing innovation with practicality. We focused on creating a product that was not only sustainable but also visually appealing and functional. From the materials used to the design, every detail had to reflect our commitment to sustainability without compromising on quality or aesthetics.

The most creative aspect of the process was using coffee waste as the main material for the notebook covers. This decision allowed us to differentiate our product from others on the market and make a direct connection between sustainability and functionality. We also focused on creating a unique design that incorporated eco-friendly inks and biodegradable materials, ensuring that the entire product was in line with our environmental goals.

Reflecting on this phase, I learned the importance of creative problem-solving in product design. Innovation isn’t just about coming up with something new; it’s about finding ways to make existing materials and ideas work in new, impactful ways. This process also highlighted the importance of aesthetics in product design. The visual appeal of a product is often what captures people’s attention, and it plays a crucial role in making an idea successful.

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Designing an aesthetic logo and mock-up for Brewed Books was very important for our brand identity and overall vibe. We used Canva to create a simple yet impactful logo that reflected both the sustainability aspect of our product and the coffee-based materials we were using. The warm, earthy tones in the logo—browns and creams—were designed to evoke the natural, organic feel of coffee, aligning with the overall aesthetic of our product. Also, we changed our original logo (the doodly-looking one) to a more professional logo that shows how we wish to look towards the future and create change.

The mock-up allowed the audience to see what our book would look like in real life, showcasing both the cover design and the interior layout. This was necessary for communicating our product concept during pitches and at the expo. It allowed us to bring our idea to life and provided a preview of what customers could expect.

Reflecting on this phase, I realised how important strong visual branding is for any product. For example, Apple has a massive brand identity and people are likely to buy its phones even though they are basically the same every year. I also learned the value of refinement of ideas in design. Our initial mock-ups went through several revisions before we landed on something that felt polished and created the brand identity we liked. We also included statistics and facts in the mockup to draw people in and make the product stand out. This video also showed us how important it is to have a recognisable brand image and identity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-S2Y3SF3mM

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I worked on completing my part of the script today, which is the target audience bit. I tried to make it as concise as possible while including all the information I needed. I also had to ensure that it did not sound boring and kept the audience engaged throughout the time. It was essential to strike a balance between conveying the importance of the issue and keeping the audience interested. I focused on creating a compelling narrative that tied the problem to our solution in a way that felt personal and impactful. I found statistics online and used some Logos to improve my script. It was also interesting to see how over 38% of Australians consider sustainability in their purchase decisions.

Reflecting on this process, I realised how useful storytelling is in marketing. It’s not just about facts and numbers, it’s also about connecting with the audience on an emotional level and making them relate to your cause. Writing the script showed me how important it is to create a good pitch to attract customers. However, I still think that my script was a bit too long and I could probably remove some parts to make it shorter and easier to understand for the audience. Using ethos would also be a good idea as it could make the pitch more interesting. Still, our group got a great grade after presenting this, showing the effectiveness of our pitch. It also shows a lot of growth from the spinoff project and displays that we were able to effectively use the feedback from that to improve our work for this presentation. Go Team!

Note: This YouTube video that I had watched also showed me what a good pitch should look like and I tried to create a similar pitch for our team: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCVRgpSPSVQ

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Coming up with ideas to decorate our stall

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Coming up with ideas to decorate our stall

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I was tasked with coming up with ideas to decorate our stall for the INNOV8 Expo and decided to use Edchat to fulfil this purpose along with my judgement. Here is the list of ideas I came up with:

1. Poster obviously

2. Coffee beans and grounds in bowls

3. Fairy Lights

4. Coffee candies

5. Making coffee using instant sachets

6. Having laptops showing the slides and website

7. A physical mockup of the book

8. Coffee machine for display

Ideas like offering coffee candy or a cup of coffee allowed attendees to experience the connection between coffee waste and our product firsthand. The goal was to make the stall memorable, inviting, and educational.

Reflecting on this phase, I realised how important it is to create an experience for the audience rather than just showcasing a product. A visually engaging and interactive stall can make your message much stronger, with your pitch being the finishing touch (just like a jab, left hook, KNOCKOUT), helping people connect emotionally with our product. This experience taught me the value of creativity in marketing and how small details are very important when presenting an idea.

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To prepare for the expo, I worked on reducing the pitch script down to a minute and creating posters to attract customers. For the script, I aimed to maintain information and engagement while cutting it down in size. We also included a call to action at the end to really persuade the audience. We were able to effectively cut the 5-minute script down to 1-2 minutes while maintaining its engaging and informative appeal. I also aided the group in making the Canva poster attached to this post. We used the same colour scheme for this poster as our logo to maintain a consistent brand identity and I made good use of my skills from Visual Art last year to create big, bold typography to attract customers. We also had to use visually appealing and aesthetic images to enhance the poster. A key statistic was also included to hook in the viewer so that we could deliver the pitch and tell them more about our product. Overall, I’m really proud of all of the posters and work we’ve done and can’t wait to present them at the Expo!

Canva Poster link: https://www.canva.com/design/DAGWIfkT2D8/Z0dnR0WW4QBGLsuGD7tBYw/edit?utm_content=DAGWIfkT2D8&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton

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We made our final slideshow in Canva and aimed to make it visually appealing and engaging. I aimed to include dot points and a few words so that the viewer couldn’t just simply read our pitch from the slides. I tried to include images that would capture and maintain their engagement throughout the presentation to ensure they were looking at me and not at the wall thinking about what they were going to do after school. We also used aesthetically pleasing colours to enhance the visual appeal and used big bold letters to capture the audience’s attention. I also learned that the point of this slideshow was to enhance our presentation and not simply display our script in another format.

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Arnav, Jairaj, Natalie, Tanika - INNOV8 Presentation: Brewed Books

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Serving coffee at our stall was a fun and unique way to connect our product to its source material. We set up a small coffee station where people could grab some coffee I was making. This not only added a personal touch but also created a memorable experience for those who visited our expo. It was an opportunity for us to explain how we could turn this waste from coffee into a functional and sustainable product.

Through this, I found out the immense power of sensory engagement in marketing. Using taste and smell in addition to sight helped create a richer, and more fun experience for the visitors. It also made our presentation stand out and be more engaging. However, it may have been a better idea to bring decaf coffee sachets since it was late at night and most people valued their sleep. I also probably should not have bought 40 sachets since I had to take around 30 back home.

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1. What aspects did you see in other groups presentations that were really strong?

In other groups' presentations, I noticed a lot of different strong aspects.. Some teams used big, bright decorations like Nikitha’s group, while others had handmade prototypes that brought their ideas to life (Like Giordan’s insane Obi AI prototype). These presentations were not only informative but also visually engaging, making them easier for the audience to understand and connect with.

2. What aspects did you see in other groups presentations that were less successful?

1. Presentation skills

2. Communication and persuasive techniques used

On the other hand, some groups struggled with delivery. Although their pitches had a lot of information, they were boring and not very engaging. A few presentations also had too much information, made it harder to focus and reduced audience engagement.

Reflecting on this, I realised how important it is to have a balance between information and engagement. Overloading the audience with facts can be destructive while providing them with a clear, concise message is the way to go.

Throughout the project, I and various other groups used various communication and persuasive techniques to ensure our message was compelling. Using ethos, logos, and pathos, I aimed to build credibility, appeal to logic, and engage the emotions of our audience. For example, our group highlighted the amount of coffee that goes to landfill every year, while other groups created plays in their pitches to pique audience interest. I found out that combining emotional appeal with logical arguments is really powerful. A successful pitch needs to catch both the heart and the mind of the audience, which is something I will keep in mind for future presentations.

3. What were the really great ideas?

A few really great ideas I saw:

OBI AI: An AI that listens to everything you say and documents it for you.

Innovative waste management ideas such as having a robot move around collecting garbage.

4. What feedback have you received from staff and students about your own INNOV8 Pitches? This can include self reflection for improvement.

The feedback we received was very positive. My friends there and teachers said that our pitch was great and we effectively presented our problem and solution. Some people also loved the coffee which I spent a lot of time making. This was shown in our results for this task where our group got full marks and an A+. The main area for improvement, as told by the teacher in the feedback, was to include more statistics that compare our product to alternatives such as traditional paper notebooks. This would allow us to better display the effectiveness of our solution and provide a clearer picture of its environmental benefits.

5. Which of the 5C’s do you feel you and your group struggled with the most? Why is this and what could you do differently?

Although our teamwork was exceptional, I think that we could’ve improved our Critical and Creative Thinking C, especially during the idea generation phase. In those early stages, we found it difficult to come up with an idea that was both unique and realistic, which led to a lot of brainstorming but no progress. We also didn’t really use our critical thinking that well since most of the ideas were a bit ridiculous and we should’ve been more creative. I believe that we could have approached this stage with more confidence in our creativity, allowing us to explore ideas without judgment. We also could have asked others for feedback on our ideas, which might have helped us refine our concept sooner.

6. What improvements, changes and tweaks do you need to make before INNOV8 EXPO on Tuesday 20th June?

We only need to prepare some minor changes before the INNOV8 Expo. Firstly, we have to organise and decide who’s bringing what for our booth. Additionally, we need to practice our pitch and print the posters.

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Effective Group Teamwork (Collaboration and communication)

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Effective Group Teamwork (Collaboration and communication)

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Our group made a WhatsApp group to communicate with each other after school and ensure that we complete this task to the best of our ideas. This WhatsApp group was instrumental to our success and allowed us to delegate roles, plan for ideas, brainstorm and make important decisions as a group even when we weren’t together.

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Action Project has been a great experience that has allowed me to grow as a student, teammate and individual. The biggest lesson I learned was the entrepreneurial side of this course - coming up with an effective business idea and presenting it to an audience. The design thinking process taught me how to systematically approach problems and come up with solutions while thinking about both creativity and practicality. For example, working on Brewed Books allowed me to see how small ideas can evolve into something more impactful through collaboration and refinement. This course also strengthened my public speaking skills, especially during the INNOV8 Expo, where I presented confidently and connected with my audience. It shows how much my skills have developed for me to be able to express ideas clearly and effectively.

Action Project has significantly developed my understanding of the 5Cs, allowing me to be a better learner and leader. My communication improved as I learned to pitch ideas persuasively and speak confidently in front of people, skills I hope to use in other areas of my life. Collaboration was also the key to our success. Working closely with my group taught me how to listen, distribute tasks effectively, and ensure everyone’s ideas were valued. My creativity was challenged by activities like SCAMPER and Crazy 8’s, where I pushed myself to think outside the box to refine our product. Critical thinking was needed when brainstorming ideas and when refining the concept of sustainable notebooks made from coffee waste. Finally, this course strengthened my character and citizenship by teaching me about perseverance and patience. Even when we failed or made mistakes, I stayed committed to the project, keeping myself and my team motivated.

The skills I developed during this course will be incredibly helpful in the future. The ability to problem-solve creatively and think critically, as done for the INNOV8 task, will be essential for tackling problems and issues of the future. My communication and teamwork skills will also do me good in leadership roles, whether it’s organising events with the South Australian Student Representative Council or collaborating with peers on school assignments. Additionally, the knowledge I gained around creating a business idea could lead me down the entrepreneur path.

One of the biggest challenges I faced during this course was managing time effectively while balancing different parts of the project. With multiple tasks to complete, such as refining the prototype, preparing the marketing pitch, and designing the expo stall, I felt a bit stressed. I found it hard to decide what to prioritise, which led to some stress and doubt about whether everything could be done in time. To overcome this, I leaned on my organizational skills and got help from my teammates by distributing roles. Breaking tasks into smaller, manageable steps and setting clear deadlines helped immensely. I also tried my best to maintain a growth mindset and remind myself that mistakes are a part of the process. My character strength of resilience helped immensely, and one of my weaker character strengths that was identified at the start of the semester, self-regulation, was improved on by effective organisation and planning.

I’ve grown a lot as a learner and improved my ability to handle challenges with resilience and solve problems with strategy and planning. I’ve gained confidence in using processes such as scamper, brainstorming, etc. These could be really beneficial in other subjects. For example, I can now approach experiments and complex math equations with a clearer plan and greater patience. My communication skills have also improved, as I’ve learned how to speak in an informative and engaging way. Additionally, the course has helped me build on my strengths, such as creativity and perseverance, while allowing me to develop in areas like self-regulation and bravery. This course has provided me with experiences that will be very valuable in the future.

On a personal level, this course has shown me that I perform best in environments that challenge me to think creatively and critically. I’ve learned that I enjoy taking on leadership roles and collaborating with others to create meaningful solutions. Most importantly, I believe that I’ve discovered that my resilience and critical thinking are strengths that will guide me in all areas of my life, whether it’s academics, sports, or future goals.