Action Project Journal by Fayyaz Ahsan

Wednesday Lesson 2 (26/7)

fayyazahsan — 2023-07-26 02:35:07 UTC

I was not present in the previous lesson as I had some problems with my timetable, but in today's lesson, I read the lesson instructions and looked over the action project website. I looked over what the course entails and the different tasks that will challenge me throughout the course. I hope to enjoy this entrepreneurial course and develop new skills that could help me later in life. I'm worried about the struggles of this course as I have never done anything like this (other than $20 Boss in Year 8). But I am excited to see what I can learn and achieve.

Lesson Reflection (Wed 26/7)

fayyazahsan — 2023-07-26 03:55:25 UTC

Empathy Definition
Empathy is about caring for someone and being kind to them. It's about putting yourself in another person's shoes and seeing the world through their eyes. Feeling empathy for someone is understanding what the other person is going through and reflecting on an appropriate response to relieve the other person.

5C's In Activity
The 5C's used in the activity were communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity. We communicated and collaborated within our small groups and then shared with the class. We used our creativity to generate ideas on different topics and used our critical thinking to shape our thoughts.

About Me (First Post!)

fayyazahsan — 2023-07-28 02:09:14 UTC

Hi! My name is Fayyaz and I am a year 10 student here at GIHS. I am very fond of reading books and making LEGO. Playing the guitar is another pastime of mine and I love creating and learning music. I love to play sports, especially cricket and soccer. I am an avid FC Barcelona and Liverpool supporter and Lionel Messi is the G.O.A.T (Greatest of All Time). I do love a bit of gaming such as Fortnite, CS:GO, Fall Guys and a bunch of other games. But when it comes to school, I am a focused and determined student and I try my best at everything I choose to do.

WK2 Reflection

fayyazahsan — 2023-08-04 00:07:46 UTC

Throughout this week, the Action Project classes merged and we were tasked to upgrade a person's lunchtime experience. It was originally decided to be about one's weekend and/or holidays but was later changed to changing the lunchtime experience. I partnered up with my good friend Moshir Moheb Moussa Gad (Moshir) Gayed and we exchanged interviews about our lunchtime experiences.

Monday's Lesson

fayyazahsan — 2023-08-06 01:41:38 UTC

My partner and I started the task by doing the first part of the task - finding a problem to solve. We interviewed each other and found some common problems that we came across. This was all we had to do in this lesson and we started doing an empathy map.

Wednesday's Lesson

fayyazahsan — 2023-08-06 01:47:15 UTC

We started writing in the empathy map in reference to our interview answers. We used the prompts provided to ask the interview questions more critically and more in-depth. Using the answers from the critical and deep-diving questions, we arranged them in our empathy maps. The next step was to create an insight statement about the problem. This means that we have to transform a plain fact into a pitch from Shark Tank. We had to create an emotive and intriguing line that will bait the consumer to listen to the problem.

Friday's Lesson

fayyazahsan — 2023-08-06 01:48:41 UTC

During the final lesson, we were tasked to finish off the slide presentation with a creative solution. We used a technique called 50 in 5 (or the shortened 20 in 2 because the lesson was short), which allowed us time to come up with any sort of solution to the problem we were tasked with. It could be practical or a creative, non-realistic solution, as long as it solved the problem, it counted.

After doing that activity, we pitched our craziest solution to our partner. Mine was to create a Ben 10 Time Machine Watch that could speed up, slow down or even stop time. My partner Moshir's solution to my problem was to create a merge between a lunchbox and a basketball. It would work both as a basketball and a lunchbox. It would solve my problem because it would track my position and come straight to me during lunchtime. During the pitches, we also had to fill out a Q&A sheet to put our partner on the spot and see how they can solve different flaws in their solution.

fayyazahsan — 2023-08-06 01:56:33 UTC

fayyazahsan — 2023-08-06 01:58:29 UTC

fayyazahsan — 2023-08-06 02:03:34 UTC

fayyazahsan — 2023-08-06 03:20:56 UTC

fayyazahsan — 2023-08-06 03:23:25 UTC

Monday WK3 Reflection

fayyazahsan — 2023-08-07 10:19:04 UTC

In this lesson, we were tasked to start our spin-off project. The spin-off project entails a group of three to create a 2-3 minute infomercial that defines the problem and creates a desirable solution for the chosen party.

Wednesday WK3 Reflection

fayyazahsan — 2023-08-09 09:49:52 UTC

In this lesson, my group had another member, Eddie, and with him, we started the first part of our project. We looked through some issues in Elizabeth suburb as well as digging through some issues in the Playford council to see if there was any correlation. After finding some issues, we started doing the empathy map shown above and by the next lesson we should be set within what product we might produce to solve the problem.

Friday WK3 Reflection

fayyazahsan — 2023-08-11 09:20:56 UTC

In this lesson, we continued with the work we were doing in the previous class. We continued to work on our empathy map and used other ways to think of creative solutions to our chosen problems. We did another 50 in 5 (above) and came up with some appropriate and some "out-there" ideas.

Monday WK4 Reflection

fayyazahsan — 2023-08-14 23:39:40 UTC

In this lesson, we used the SCAMPER technique to evaluate an idea into seven different ways. S - Substitute, C - Combine, A - Adapt, M - Modify, P - Purpose, E - Eliminate, R - Rearrange is what these letters represent. This allowed us to think deeply and actually comprehend what our product could shape into.

Wednesday WK4 Reflection

fayyazahsan — 2023-08-16 08:13:00 UTC

In this lesson, we created a survey about our product. In the above picture, it shows the surveys other people created, which we also had to complete. We analysed the other surveys our group completed and saw some of the flaws either in their design or their survey. We also had some feedback given to us by our survey takers.

Friday WK4 Reflection

fayyazahsan — 2023-08-20 10:27:08 UTC

In this lesson, we reviewed our responses (only three sadly!) to our surveys we created and analysed how we can shape our product to better suit those who are affected by it. However, since we only got three responses, we didn't have much idea on how to change our product using the SCAMPER routine, but we had a brief idea on some changes we could do in order for our product to work efficiently.

Monday WK5 Reflection

fayyazahsan — 2023-08-21 12:48:50 UTC

In this lesson, we were given roughly five minutes to create a mini oral informercial to the class about saving the turtles. Each group was given a specific prompt to shape their oral informercial and ours was rhetorical questions. We looked at some other examples of informercial using Aristotle's "Ethos Pathos Logos" and some instructional videos on how to use those topics effectively.

Wednesday WK5 Reflection

fayyazahsan — 2023-08-23 10:16:30 UTC

In this lesson, our group started planning our infomercial on our chosen solution for our suburb. The above image shows the different stages of the planning for the informercial. Our group has already filled out the table above and we have a basic if not definite plan on how our video is going to turn out. We just have to create the script by the end of the week to start filming for it.

Friday WK5 Reflection

fayyazahsan — 2023-08-25 12:37:02 UTC

In this lesson, we continued to work on our infomercial, which would be due at the end of next week. We started working on our script and we finished our introduction and conclusion in the lesson.

Monday WK6 Reflection

fayyazahsan — 2023-08-28 10:00:45 UTC

In this lesson, we continued to work on our spin-off project, however, we started filming our video. We have the main components down and we have already planned whose doing what. All in all, we pretty much have this under control.

Wednesday WK6 Reflection

fayyazahsan — 2023-08-30 04:20:48 UTC

In this lesson, our group continued to record voiceovers and footage for our Spin-Off Project. We recorded some of the main features as voiceovers for the remaining few minutes that were left. One of our group members was not here today which was why we did some of the main footage recording in the previous lesson. All that is left to do is to compile the video and do several edits to finish it off.

Spin-Off Project Reflection

fayyazahsan — 2023-09-08 02:03:01 UTC

Done throughout weeks 5-7

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

fayyazahsan — 2023-09-10 02:00:40 UTC

I gained many skills during the creation of the final product. I was challenged to use new techniques that I had never used before, however, I found that these techniques can be used in not just business and innovation but in other sectors. I found a technique that I had used in another subject - Product Design. Because I was familiar with this design routine, it helped me coach my group on how to design our chosen solution to better suit the people of Elizabeth.

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

fayyazahsan — 2023-09-10 12:28:11 UTC

A challenge was to create something for the council that already wasn't in place or wasn't already being proposed as a solution from another group. We had made a list of possible ideas that could be our solution, however, some of those ideas were either too unrealistic, the solution had already been implemented or another group had taken the idea. We asked the teacher for some guidance and they said that the product could be the same but it could be repurposed for a different sort of problem. This helped our group to understand the task better and helped us guide our solution.

What is the most successful part of your final infomercial?

fayyazahsan — 2023-09-10 12:28:52 UTC

The most successful part of our informercial has to be the video. We had fun making it except for the person who edited it almost two days late of the due date (me!). Nonetheless, we still had fun making the video because we enjoyed the task. Our group contributed to every scene, including voiceovers and live-action scenes, so everyone had an equal amount of glory in the video.

What did you learn from watching your peers’ infomercials?

fayyazahsan — 2023-09-10 12:29:01 UTC

I learnt how I should have put more stock footage instead of stock images to show the reality of the product and how it can function. With stock images, it's not clear how a product may work and for the next summative assessment, I will make sure I keep this in mind. I also noticed that the introduction of our video was a little too long. Since I was in a rush to edit and finish the video for submission, I couldn't really edit it properly. Next time I will keep in mind to have enough time to prepare a proper introduction and also to keep my pitches short, sharp and shiny.

What did other groups do well?

fayyazahsan — 2023-09-10 12:29:25 UTC

I wasn't here for the first part of the viewing in Wednesday's lesson (due to aquatics) but from what I saw in Friday's lesson, I was impressed with how each group produced a quality video. Some of them were embarrassingly funny while some of them were as if they were true professionals of their company. One group even created a logo for their solution which was a nice touch and added more authority to their solution. I reflected on the group that presented with a logo and picked out some of their attributes that weren't present in ours. I found that in our video we have very few stats and facts and this was covered up by our group's funny side. Although this was an enjoyable task, there are things to improve for the future such as adding more facts and figures to add more depth to a solution.

TERM 3/4 HOLLDAYS

fayyazahsan — 2023-09-10 14:17:49 UTC

Monday WK8 Reflection

fayyazahsan — 2023-09-13 02:06:17 UTC

In this lesson, we viewed some of the spin-off project videos that were left. We went through most if not all of them and then we started doing the following summative assessment. It is a similar task to the spin-off project but we are being practical with the product. The product that we used in the spin-off project was a starter for the Innov8 summative assessment. Because we did the spin-off project, we have a basic idea of what to do for the Innov8 task.

Wednesday WK8 Reflection

fayyazahsan — 2023-09-13 03:09:13 UTC

In this lesson, we watched one more spin-off project video before continuing on on our problem hunting for our Innov8 task. I added at least one problem per group to show that I am thinking of problems and I also added some possible solutions (even though the solution thinking process starts much later). During the next lesson we will pick our groups and at the same time share our problems, also possibly come up with some solutions to them as well.

Friday WK8 Reflection

fayyazahsan — 2023-09-15 05:41:56 UTC

Throughout this lesson, we decided on our groups to do the Innov8 summative assessment task. We also shared a document with each member to jot down our ideas based on the given prompts. We started to share our ideas and we also started to come up with some possible solutions at the same time. The problem that we have decided as a group is procrastination among adolescents of high school.

Monday WK9 Reflection

fayyazahsan — 2023-09-18 11:24:41 UTC

In this lesson, we revisited our groups and revisited our possible problems. We discussed in our groups some research based on some of the possible problems we can create a solution too. We also created a mini script and mini pitch to present a problem as well as a solution to the other group members. The teachers also went around the groups and listened to each of the group pitches and provided feedback. The research gathered for the pitches can also be used for our Innov8 Group Project.

Wednesday WK9 Reflection

fayyazahsan — 2023-09-20 12:17:42 UTC

In this lesson, we continued on from the last lesson, which was creating a mini pitch for our chosen problem. One of our group members was away the previous day and our group had to explain to him what to do. After that, I started to create my own pitch from the research I gathered in the previous lesson. I had only used one site to create my pitch, but I had looked over a range of sources before using the one site. That one site had a ton of explanations on what procrastination is and how it affects different groups of people. This was exactly the type of information I needed for my pitch.

Friday WK9 Reflection

fayyazahsan — 2023-09-22 12:13:41 UTC

In this lesson, we presented each of our pitches to the class teacher and received feedback from her. Miss Sugars took our group's pitches and we each received individual feedback. Aaron pitched on the importance of health and how so many people lack proper physical health. Eddie talked about the causes and effects of single-use plastics, and I talked about the mental effects of procrastination. All of our pitches were good and Miss Sugars provided constructive feedback on what was good and how we can move forward. At the end of the lesson, we chose to do procrastination for our Innov8 Project.

Monday WK10 Reflection

fayyazahsan — 2023-09-27 02:30:36 UTC

In this lesson, we used the 50 in 5 technique to come up with both extravagant and boisterous ideas as well as some realistic ideas. We then used some flashcards to narrow down our thoughts and to help us think within certain boundaries. We had started a how, now, wow matrix but we ran out of time, however, we did start it and in the next lesson, we will discuss further ideas and how to classify them into the matrix.

Wednesday WK10 Reflection

fayyazahsan — 2023-10-01 05:58:30 UTC

In this lesson, we organized our ideas from the previous lesson into this how now wow matrix. This matrix allows people to think critically about their ideas and how they may fit in the real world. We organised our 50 ideas from the last lesson into the matrix and kept our idea of procrastination in mind.

Monday WK1 Reflection

fayyazahsan — 2023-10-16 22:54:12 UTC

In this lesson, we revisited what we started during the last weeks of Term 3 and continued to create solutions to our chosen problem - procrastination. Although we realised that we couldn't take away procrastination like deleting an app, however, we can reduce the impact of procrastination on people. Above is the list of solutions that we discussed during our lesson, ranging from simple solutions like making a to-do list to something more ambitious, like an AI procrastination chatbot. We chose to create a website that creates a personalised email subscription with advice and some tips to help the person overcome procrastination. We then used SCAMPER to refurbish our idea and provided a brief description on what/where it can be used.

Wednesday WK1 Reflection

fayyazahsan — 2023-10-18 23:08:12 UTC

In this lesson, we started creating our presentation as a Google Slides. We were discussing solutions as well as a brand name and logo. We followed a template the teacher provided and started filling up some of the slides with the appropriate responses. We each tackled a different part of the presentation - Moshir worked on the brand logo, I started working on the content (starting with the explore/expand part), Eddie worked on the product, and Aaron worked on the visual representation of the presentation.

Monday WK2 Reflection

fayyazahsan — 2023-10-24 09:24:20 UTC

In this lesson, we continued working on our slideshow presentation, just trying to smash out all the required slides and providing enough information about our product. This is due by the end of the week and we are kind of falling behind but we had a very productive lesson and we got through a lot. Eddie was working on the chrome extension and creating it while the rest of us - Aaron, Mosh and I - were grinding the slides. Aaron handled the product and its specification, Mosh handled the logo and graphic designs and I worked on finishing the rest of the slides, filling it with appropriate information and graphs.

Wednesday WK2 Reflection

fayyazahsan — 2023-10-25 23:02:54 UTC

In this lesson, we finished our slide presentation with only the conclusion to complete. We have discussed with our teachers about our approach, pitch and our solution to the problem. The teachers said that our pitch was approved for presentation in the next lesson. After completing the conclusion, we are set to present our pitch to the class.

Friday WK2 Lesson

fayyazahsan — 2023-10-28 12:33:34 UTC

In this lesson, we finalized some results and finished our slides presentation ready for class presentation. We decided who was speaking on what slide and where to read off of. We thought of some last-minute changes before submitting at the end of the lesson. We discussed any what-ifs and what to do when anything goes wrong. Other than that, we are ready to present our solution to the class.

Monday WK3 Reflection

fayyazahsan — 2023-11-05 23:01:13 UTC

In this lesson, we presented our Innov8 project - Procre8, our solution to procrastination. We received good feedback on our presentation and were asked critical questions about our product. Some of the feedback was to change the name as it was suited to the judging panel. Another addition we had to consider was adding functionality and purpose of the presentation as it was not clearly stated during the presentation. Other than that, our presentation was very informative and we provided a good solution to an inflicting problem.

Wednesday WK3 Lesson

fayyazahsan — 2023-11-05 23:14:19 UTC

In this lesson, we listened to the other presentations and tried to reflect on how we could improve our presentation. We learnt that we should include more facts and figures to prove that our solution will reduce the problem.

Monday WK4 Reflection

fayyazahsan — 2023-11-06 23:30:45 UTC

In this lesson, there were two things that we had to do - we could do a padlet reflection or work on our presentation with the given feedback from the judging panel. I had already done a similar reflection on Monday's WK3 lesson so I worked on the presentation. The main feedback was to change the name. We looked at different logos and graphic designs to select a name when we came across several good ones. The name that we chose was ActiStudy and we had several good designs that we could go through. We, however, was missing Mosh and we wanted to make a group decision on the name so we haven't full committed yet but we are leaning towardS ActiStudy.

Wednesday WK4 Reflection

fayyazahsan — 2023-11-09 10:46:03 UTC

In this lesson, we received more feedback to improve on. We spoke about the other two major changes that we discussed on the day of the presentation. We filled in with Aaron some of the things we missed and caught him up on the things we need to improve. Other than that, we worked on the feedback throughout the lesson and started thinking about the 1-minute pitch we had to give on the expo night.

Friday WK4 Lesson

fayyazahsan — 2023-11-13 01:04:31 UTC

In this lesson, we talked about the changes that the teacher said we should. We also decided on the brand name and colours - TaskCube - and our logo is an unsolved Rubik's Cube which solves as one finishes their work. We aim to create some posters to pin up on the night of the expo.

Monday WK5 Reflection

fayyazahsan — 2023-11-14 04:14:33 UTC

In this lesson, we finally decided on a logo (shown above) and finished our slideshow edits based on feedback from the panel. We also divided the roles, with Mosh working on the slides, Aaron working on the logo, Eddie working on the product/extension itself and I was working on creating an enticing poster that will attract people to come visit our stall. This was our overall plan but we did want to make a bunch of posters but later agreed on making them during the next lesson. Other than that, it was a very productive lesson.

Wednesday WK5 Reflection

fayyazahsan — 2023-11-15 12:00:48 UTC

In this lesson, I worked on another poster including facts and stats about how procrastination can be so inflicting and negative. I also made some changes to the slideshow regarding the stakeholders - I removed the information and replaced it with a subscription service that includes different perks with our product. Other than that, it was a very productive lesson and we also slightly changed our logo (we took our the outer circle and left it with the cube. Apparently the teachers approve it like that).

Friday WK5 Reflection

fayyazahsan — 2023-11-19 21:12:16 UTC

In this lesson, we were doing some touch-ups on our posters, our presentation and our one-minute pitch. We didn't have anything to do because we were ahead in our work and we were just putting the finishing details in our materials. We did, however, create another poster highlighting a key aspect of our project and that was basically it.

ACTION PROJECT FINAL REFLECTION

fayyazahsan — 2023-11-22 03:31:06 UTC

I am able to present my ideas vividly across a wide range of people. I can collaborate with my peers effectively to produce an actual solution to a wide problem that affects many people if not everybody. I can answer questions from the audience with a probable answer and I can engage the audience in our discussions about the product.
My communication has improved due to the expo and I discovered that I have a good "presenter's voice". I was supported by my team, especially Moshir, who helped me shape the pitch that I present to our audience. My creativity has improved because I worked collaboratively with my group to produce an idea. Working with my team helped all of us develop and grow our 5C's stronger and we all learnt a lot from this experience.
I could use some of the strategies to create a certain medical procedure that targets a specific problem in the body. The same could be done for a medical product and/or medication which could potentially revolutionize healthcare. I could even use some of the techniques to emotionally help the patient to open up about the origin of their problem, which would help me come up with the appropriate diagnosis.
Some of the questions that we were asked were very complicated to answer because we hadn't thought about how to answer them and how to incorporate them into our product. However, we did work on how to be more inclusive towards our audience and our consumers. We thought of possible flaws and prepared an answer to those questions.
What I have learnt as a learner from the Action Project is that I need to be open-minded and hear other ideas besides our group's idea because it could be beneficial. Our group did judge some of the other groups too harshly and we need to respect that their ideas could be really helpful for a selected audience.
I learned how to search for a problem that affects everyone and I worked collaboratively with my group to come up with a supposed solution. This helped improve my communication, critical thinking and creativity. This course involved a taste of entrepreneurship and starting a business and I now understand the struggles of coming up with an effective solution.