Sam Muffet - Action Project by Sam MUFFET

wk 1 - wk 1 30/01

sammuffet — 2024-01-30 04:45:09 UTC

In this first lesson, we were introduced to the task. After a brief 'get to know you' activity, we began exploring the basics of the task, we evaluated what activities we enjoyed, what our strengths were, and what we were passionate about. This encouraged us to begin thinking about possible ideas for the project. Toward the end of the lesson, groups were beginning to be formed. I am leaning towards grouping in a pair with Thomas, who I know from my mentor group. Overall, this first lesson was very introductory and was all about introducing us to the project.

wk 1 wk 1 1/02

sammuffet — 2024-01-31 23:55:19 UTC

In this lesson, we learned about the creative processes of divergent and convergent thinking. Divergent thinking involves the brainstorming and forming of ideas. Convergent thinking is the decisive stage when all ideas are sorted and the best ones are taken. We practiced these strategies with various team games. First, we discussed various ways to tackle challenges, such as 'how to shave a monkey' and 'how to paint an elephant'. In pairs, we came up with as many possible solutions, being as creative as possible. Next, we continued practicing creativity by transforming 30 plain circles into simply anything that we could think of. There were bikes, stick figures, clocks, pizzas, and anything that we saw in the circle. The focus later switched to be more communication-oriented. In larger groups, we played a charades-type game in which one group member had to describe, in words or by acting, a particular object or thing. Overall this lesson was particularly about creativity and ideas, as I learned about the concepts of convergent and divergent thinking, although the 5 Cs of collaboration and communication were also featured.

wk 2 - 05/02

sammuffet — 2024-02-05 04:51:53 UTC

This lesson was about teamwork and collaboration. We began the lesson with an enjoyable activity of building a tower using only marshmallows, sticky tape, and dry spaghetti sticks. We completed it in groups so had to work together collaboratively. We had to share our ideas and come up with and execute an idea that we agreed on. Despite our tower not being the tallest, we still worked well collaboratively and practiced values like negotiation, inclusion, as well as critical thinking. Later we were given three cards that we had to use to create an idea for a product. The first time, we used the cards of 'clothing', 'medical practitioner', and a picture that we interpreted as a smiley face to create a type of auto-put-on clothing for disabled people. This was one of many ideas that came up from our ideation. We did this several times with different prompts.

wk 2 - 06/02

sammuffet — 2024-02-06 09:43:32 UTC

In this lesson, we covered the stages of problem-solving. We learned about the 4 stages of identifying and fixing a problem. The first stage is to discover a problem that is in need of a solution. Next is to define the problem and what the actual issue is. Next is to develop some possible solutions. The final stage is to create the solution and deliver it to go and fix the problem. After this, we did an activity where (in pairs) we went through the highs and lows of our lunchtime. After describing our situation to our partners, we took time to find a moment in their lunchtime when their situation was less than ideal. We then evaluated the problem at this moment and began finding some possible solutions.

wk 3 13/02

sammuffet — 2024-02-13 01:44:14 UTC

In this lesson, we were introduced to the 'Spin Off Project'. It involves solving the issues that young people face today. The task involves evaluating one of these issues in depth, by developing ideas about the problem, discovering the target user, gaining feedback from those the problem affects, and developing an empathy map. After establishing a deep understanding of everything surrounding the issue, we create a product to help fix the issue and advertise and display it in a short 2-minute infomercial. Overall this lesson we spent introducing ourselves to the first summative task and going into an in-depth analysis of what the task surrounded and required.

wk 3 14/02

sammuffet — 2024-02-14 06:41:59 UTC

In this lesson, we reviewed the Spin Off task again and formed the groups we would be in for the task. Next, we were given a short amount of time to come up with all the problems we can think of. We used creativity to come up with many problems and critical thinking to choose the best from the worst. After, we chose one to go into more depth with. We established some details about the problem, such as who is affected, how they are affected, whether is it actually a problem, and what needs to be fixed. Thomas and I chose food wastage, which is a problem that everyone contributes to and creates other disastrous problems such as starvation and global warming.

About Me

sammuffet — 2024-02-20 04:08:47 UTC

My name is Sam Muffet and I am in the 1003 Mentor Group. In my spare time, I enjoy playing and watching football (the proper one) as well as other various sports. I also enjoy watching television and movies as well as reading books and playing video games. In Action Project, I am most excited about being creative and using my imagination. I am also looking forward to genuinely solving problems effectively. I am sure that I will face challenges in Action Project, such as collaborating with new people, and being decisive and thinking critically. Recently, I completed the VIA Character Strengths survey and found out that my top strengths were humor, gratitude, judgment, love, and creativity. Of these five, I think that judgment and creativity will prove particularly useful in AP, as judgment will help me judge possible solutions and creativity will help me come up with a multitude of them. My four lesser strengths were hope, spirituality, self-regulation and humility. These may cause slight problems with focus and discipline throughout the task.

Wk 4 - 19/02

sammuffet — 2024-02-20 11:27:17 UTC

In this lesson, we learned about marketing techniques. We looked at the three philosophies of Pathos Ethos and Logos. Pathos surrounds establishing personal credentials and reliability, and getting the audience to trust you. Ethos surrounds evoking emotions in the audience, often getting them to feel sorry for a character in the commercial. Logos surrounds providing genuine facts and statistics to support your argument, making the audience take the commercial seriously. We also looked at marketing strategies that allow you to be more persuasive in a commercial. We practiced this by coming up with a short presentation attempting to help save the turtles. In ours, we made use of 'shocking the audience', 'action phrase', and many other strategies.

Wk 4 20/02

sammuffet — 2024-02-21 22:53:02 UTC

In this lesson, we created our groups. Me, Nat,e and Thomas formed a group together. We then began thinking of problems in our community. After a while of brainstorming, we came up with many ideas, such as bullying, drunk driving, and food wastage. After some discussion, we were leaning towards food wastage. The only problem with this problem was how we could link it to Glenunga at a local level, as food wastage is a very global issue. We then had another brainstorm, trying to think of how it links to the local community. We decided to select the problem of food wastage at GIHS.

Wk 5 - 28/02

sammuffet — 2024-02-28 04:52:43 UTC

In this lesson, we learned about the SCAMPER ideation process. We took our idea, the locker fridge, and made different versions of the product according to the letter in the SCAMPER acronym. We used our creative thinking skills to alter the original idea into creative new ones. Due to our freedom with this task, we came up with many strange and unrealistic ideas. From each of the letters, we had to adapt the idea accordingly. For R, for example, we had to 'reverse' the design, and for M we had to 'modify'. Overall, this task helped us realize the potential of the product, and realize what adaptations we could make to improve it.

Wk 5 - 27/02

sammuffet — 2024-02-29 01:22:31 UTC

In this lesson, we completed the '50 in 5' brainstorming strategy. It involved taking our problem and quickly creating as many solutions as possible in five minutes. We had our problem - food waste at GIHS - and created many strange solutions, which many were good and many were pretty awful. After this, we collated our ideas and took the good ones, and went into a little more depth. At the end of the lesson, we decided on one solution that was best.

Wk 6 - 04/03

sammuffet — 2024-02-29 01:50:05 UTC

In this lesson, we began working on the infomercial. Me, Nate, and Thomas began planning how the infomercial would be structured and what strategies we could use. We used the Planning An Infomercial Template to form the structure of the script. We began thinking about how we could make an effective infomercial. We remembered the Pathos, Ethos, Logos, and how we will make use of these strategies in our script. In our script, we allocated the first paragraph to addressing the issue and making the audience feel guilty and emotional about it. Next, we backed it up with evidence and created a survey for our peers to complete to use as evidence for our issue, and linked the problem to the local community. Next, we introduced our product and advertised its benefits.

wk 6 07/03

sammuffet — 2024-03-06 23:50:19 UTC

Prior to this lesson, I completed a lot of the editing at home. I took all of the footage that we had filmed in the previous lesson and collated it on a Clipchamp file. I used this site to edit and trim all the clips to the right lengths and form the beginning of the final video. I found royalty-free videos from the website Pexels.

wk 6 05/03

sammuffet — 2024-03-06 23:50:38 UTC

In this lesson, we quickly finished our script, allocated roles, and started filming. At the beginning of the lesson, we finished the script writing and planned the filmography of the infomercial. We decided what camera shots we could take and how long each clip could be. After, we began filming.

Wk 7 - 12/03

sammuffet — 2024-03-18 03:00:38 UTC

During this lesson we just watched videos. Our video was played first, which was a little nerve-racking, but we were confident with our work.

Wk 7 - 13/03

sammuffet — 2024-03-18 03:04:22 UTC

In this lesson, we continued watching the videos. Many of the other videos were very good and impressed me as an audience member.

Wk 7 - 14/03

sammuffet — 2024-03-18 03:07:29 UTC

After finishing watching the final videos, we spent the lesson updating our Padlet. During this time, we reflected on how we did the task. I think that our group worked well together and collaborated very effectively to make a good infomercial. We each had different skill sets, so we found it easy to decide what each person would do for the task (for example, Thomas is good at public speaking because of his interest in debating, so he did most of the talking in the video). One thing that we missed during our task was the implementation of music. In our video, we didn't have any music which caused it to be a little boring at times. We used a variety of persuasive techniques such as emotive language/imaging, relevant statistics, and a catchphrase. I believe that we used these quite effectively.

Wk 8 - 18/03

sammuffet — 2024-03-20 23:39:47 UTC

In this lesson, we simply worked on our Padlet. We had check-ins with our teachers for feedback on our Padlets.

Wk 8 21/03

sammuffet — 2024-03-20 23:41:10 UTC

In this lesson, we began a short task on the Sustainable Development Goals. I chose Goal 11, which is 'Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable'. Within this goal, I took the problem of people living in slums. Slums usually occur in urban areas in developing countries, particularly those in sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia. Although not a huge issue in Australia, poverty and homelessness are issues here. I did this short assignment in the form of a google slides.

Wk 9 - 27/03

sammuffet — 2024-03-28 00:56:52 UTC

During this lesson, we formed groups for our Innov8 Task, and I am going with Nate and Rohan. We showed each other our presentations and we began discussing which problem we would choose for our solution. My topic was living in slums/poverty which is from goals 1 and 11, Nate's had to do with inefficient and ineffective public transport (goal 11), and Rohan's had to do with pollution, particularly pollution in the ocean.

Wk 9 - 28/03

sammuffet — 2024-03-28 00:57:15 UTC

During this lesson, we continued discussing problems for us to use for our Innov8 Task. We began by deciding which of our three problems was the best and came to the conclusion that my problem - living in slums/poverty - was the best idea. We began forming ideas to fix this and thought about some possible solutions, such as making housing very cheap, improving education, and creating more jobs. From these solutions, we decided that the first one - making affordable housing - would be one that would be the most effective as well as the most doable. After, we began forming ideas to make affordable housing, and one particular idea was tiny home living.

Wk 3 - Pre-Spin-Off Reflection

sammuffet — 2024-03-28 01:30:54 UTC

So far, we have had a focus on teamwork, collaboration, and communication, as well as creativity and critical thinking. I think that all of these will be crucial for success in the Spin-Off Task. I think one of the challenges that I will face during spin-off will be making a video, as it is something that I haven't really done before. Despite this, I am looking forward to doing a new type of assignment which is the video.

Wk 10 - 04/04

sammuffet — 2024-04-09 01:27:41 UTC

In this lesson, we began watching a video about a past SharkTank product that was immensely successful as a business. We learned about how the owner was innovative and took an existing solution and made improvements to it to make their own solution. After learning about their product, we took the idea of modifying or adapting an existing product to improve it for our solution. This is what we began doing for the rest of this lesson.

Wk 10 - 02/04

sammuffet — 2024-05-23 03:09:28 UTC

In this lesson, as a group, we finalized our decision for our problem. We went with homelessness and the unaffordable Australian housing market. We then began conducting research into the problem. We found some serious stats about issues within our problem. For example, we found that over 120 thousand Australians are homeless and that the amount of homelessness is actually on the rise. Above is an example source that we found.

Early Innov8 Reflection

sammuffet — 2024-05-27 04:54:43 UTC

The current problem that we are focusing on is homelessness. We came to this conclusion by communicating and ensuring that we all agreed on the problem we would solve. By respecting each other's opinions and making sure we were all included in the decision-making process we were able to make sure we could

Wk 11 09/04 and 10/04

sammuffet — 2024-06-06 01:27:05 UTC

In both the Tuesday and Wednesday lessons we were working on our Padlets, updating them so that they were completed as much as possible.

Wk 11 11/04

sammuffet — 2024-06-06 01:31:04 UTC

In this lesson we did a communication challenge where we were put into groups and had to communicate a specific message to one specific group member, but you couldn't speak. This lesson was very fun and challenging, as me and Nate struggled to come up with ways to communicate the message which was 'climbing Mt Everest' to our partner Rohan, especially because we had to do it as quickly as possible.

Wk 1 - 30/04

sammuffet — 2024-06-16 09:57:22 UTC

In this first lesson of the term, we began recalling our knowledge of the task at hand, and remembered our chosen issue: homelessness. After becoming familiar with our topic and previous research, we reviewed the template for our presentation which covered everything that we needed to include in our presentation. Once we knew exactly what we needed to do to be successful, we began constructing our presentation.

Wk 1 - 02/05

sammuffet — 2024-06-16 10:49:16 UTC

In this lesson, we continued working on our presentation. Early on, we decided to split the task between a slideshow, and a script that we would read from. This would allow us to keep the audience interested by using visuals and images on the slideshow, whilst also providing large amounts of information without being boring. In the previous lesson, we had created a document and a Google Slides to use for our script and slideshow, during this lesson we just worked on it.

Wk 8 - 20/06

sammuffet — 2024-06-24 06:07:34 UTC

In this lesson, we spend a lot of time printing out and preparing posters, business cards, and brochures for the expo after school. We had brought in everything else we needed, such as sweet treats for people listening to our pitch, and Nate's cardboard model for our concept house. Another thing we made sure to have prepared was the 5-minute slideshow in case we were selected in the top 3, and had to do our entire pitch. This meant that we needed to reprint our script and ensure that any changes to the product we had made were updated on the presentation. Before the lesson's end, we had fully prepared ourselves for the Expo.

Wk 8 - 18-19/06

sammuffet — 2024-06-24 06:28:35 UTC

In this lesson, we were finishing off our posters, and really making sure that everything was planned correctly. We began thinking about how we would organize our posters, brochures, models, and business cards on our stall. We wanted our stall to be very visually appealing, but also interactive for the person we're pitching to. We knew that the cardboard and the Fusion Models needed to be close to the person, so they needed space on the table. The same with the brochures and business cards, as the person needed to be able to take one easily if they wanted, so they needed table space also. This meant that the posters had to go behind the table and on the pin board (provided we got one), which was a good decision, as it meant that they could be more eye-catching and easy to read.

Wk 7 - 11/06

sammuffet — 2024-06-24 07:41:08 UTC

Now that I have the digital design completed, I need to develop an estimated price for this house. To do this properly and accurately, I need to go into extreme depth about the costs. Prices of all types of materials, labor costs, and other things are what I need to consider when calculating a total cost.

Wk 7 - 13/06

sammuffet — 2024-06-24 07:41:33 UTC

In this lesson, I continued researching the cost of building the concept house. I had to first make a list of everything that would be needed to construct the house, and then find how much of it I would need. Once that was complete, I had to research how much they cost. Once I knew both how much I needed and how much it cost, I could calculate the cost of that material. By the end of the lesson, I had done this for the timber framing, corrugated iron paneling, fiberglass insulation and window glass.

Wk 6 04/06

sammuffet — 2024-06-24 07:41:50 UTC

in this lesson I have continued work on the concept design. By the end of the lesson I was finished constructing the walls and some of the windows. I also helped Nate develop some of the pamphlets and posters.

Wk 6 - 05/06

sammuffet — 2024-06-24 07:41:58 UTC

In this lesson, I finished the digital design of the concept house. It turned out looking pretty good, and despite its simple design I think it will still provide the audience with a good example of our product. I chose to display some of the optional wall materials, choosing timber and corrugated iron. This digital design will be used to create a physical scale model of the concept house. Nate will make this out of cardboard, and it will be able to be taken apart into individual rooms.

Wk 5 - 27/05

sammuffet — 2024-06-24 07:42:39 UTC

In this lesson, we received the feedback on our Innov8 marketing pitch and used it to plan what we needed to do before the expo. The feedback we received was that we should include a prototype for the audience to view, to include an estimated final cost for one of the products, and to address the fact that our solution does not fully solve homelessness and other issues are contributing to it that aren't related to the housing market. We used this lesson to come up with a plan for exactly what we were going to work on from then until the expo. First, we decided that it would be best to develop a model as a concept for one of the houses. We then planned that we could use this to develop an estimated price. We also decided that to help solve homelessness, we would make a slight change in profits, donating a portion of them to shelters and rehabilitation centers. With all this planned, we got to work making the concept as well as posters, business cards and pamphlets.

Wk 7 - 28/05

sammuffet — 2024-06-24 07:42:49 UTC

In this lesson, I began developing a fusion design for a concept of our product. I began by coming up with a floor plan. I thought about a standard-sized tiny home and decided to include 1 bedroom, 1 kitchen, 1 living room, and 1 en-suite bathroom. I mimicked our product, thinking about what sized rooms I would need. I decided on a large room for the living area and went with a 3.5 x 5.5 meter room (red). I combined the bedroom and en-suite into one room (purple) that was 5.5 x 3 meters. Because of the large living room, I only needed a small area for the kitchen and went with a 3 x 3.5 mete area. The overall area of the house is 46.25m squared, typical tiny homes are around 55 meters squared and under. Now I was happy with the plan, so began constructing the design, which I did for the rest of the lesson.

Wk 4 - 21, 22, 23/05

sammuffet — 2024-06-24 07:46:04 UTC

In these lessons, we completed our Innov8 pitch, and watched all the other groups complete theirs as well.

Wk 2 - 07/05

sammuffet — 2024-06-24 07:53:02 UTC

In this lesson, we made some major decisions surrounding our presentation and planned how we would fill out the template. A major thing that we decided to include in our presentation were slides that were about a hypothetical - to envision either what the issue is, or to envision what our solution might look like. In the end, we decided to use both of these ideas in our presentation. This idea was taken from the template - the idea of shows the issue from the perspective of someone experiencing it, to make the audience empathize and feel for the issue more. We used a character 'Philip' as an example of the problem. We did the same later in our presentation, with 'Jennifer', who was a potential client, and it helped us outline what one of our solutions would look like.

Wk 2 - 09/05

sammuffet — 2024-06-24 08:32:14 UTC

In this lesson, we thought it was time to come up with a name for our product. We began by individually trying to come up with names ourselves, but we lacked a good combination of being catchy and being informative. With the permission of teachers, we turned to AI. We described our product to AI and asked it to come up with several names for it. It provided a list of them, and although most were pretty ordinary, some were better. Standout ones were CozyCube and Modpod, and after consulting teachers for their opinions, we decided on Modpod. For the rest of the lesson we continued to work on the script and slides.

Wk 4 - 13/05

sammuffet — 2024-06-25 05:47:38 UTC

In this lesson, we simply continued working on the script and slides. After this lesson, we had completed almost all the segments of the presentation. Segments that we have not yet completed are the shareholders, lifespan, and much of the comparison to other products slide. The script is nearly complete also. One major thing that I did this lesson was create a logo. I took our name, ModPod, and constructed a small visual that showed the name inside a house.

Wk 4 - 14/05

sammuffet — 2024-06-25 05:47:51 UTC

In this lesson, we finished off the slides and the script. This took up a large portion of the lesson as we still had a fair bit of work to do. Once the entire presentation was complete, we needed to divide it into three, so we could decide who would say what when we presented. Once this was done, we printed the script into cue cards for us to use to present.

Post Innov8 Reflection

sammuffet — 2024-06-26 03:07:58 UTC

Aspects of other group's presentation that were really strong were when they spoke clearly and concisely, as well as when their presentation had a lot of visual appeal. Aspects that weren't as successful were when groups read from their laptops, as it made them look a little disorganized, as well as if they had large blocks of text on the presentation, as this didn't hold the audience's attention. Some ideas that I thought were really good, were the safety watch that has an emergency button that calls 000 in case of an assault or kidnapping. Another device that I thought was good was the washing machine that cleans the clothes with only as much water as is needed. Some feedback that we were given:

our solution, the ModPod, didn't fully solve homelessness, and we needed to at least address this
we needed to include a prototype
we needed to have an overall cost estimate, not just price per square meter

One Capability that we struggled with a little bit was communication. Throughout the presentation, we often left audiences confused with what our product was, as it is a rather complex idea. This is definitely something that we will need to work on before the expo. Other things that we will need to do before the expo is really consider the feedback, so address the other forms of homelessness, develop a prototype and find a possible cost estimate.

Post Expo Reflection

sammuffet — 2024-06-26 08:02:33 UTC

Reflecting on the Expo, I think that we worked very successfully, developing a product that could have genuine success in the future if someone believes in it and puts in the work. I am also proud that we chose a genuinely devastating issue to try and fix, as in my eyes, homelessness is an incredibly concerning problem that could become a big issue in the future. I think that overall our group worked hard to develop our solution, and worked especially hard to exhibit it in the Innov8 and expo.

Elements of our expo that I thought worked well were the pamphlets and business cards, as it allowed people to remember us if they enjoyed our pitch. The elements of the physical and digital concept design also worked well, as it allowed the audience to interact with our presentation, to either move around and examine our digital design, or take apart and rebuild the physical version. The posters were good, but they could have been more eye-catching.

One capability that our group excelled in was collaboration. We made use of multiple collaborative strategies to maximize productivity and quality of work. Often, we split the task at hand up into multiple parts so we could each do what we were better at. For example, I completed the digital version of the concept design, as I had experience with Fusion 360 modeling software, whilst Nate completed the physical cardboard version, and Rohan completed the posters. This didn't mean that we abandoned each other either, as I was sure to assist Rohan with the graphic design side of the posters which he needed help with. Overall, we collaborated incredibly well together, which allowed us to complete the task to a high standard.