Techniquest

I went to Techniquest science museum in Cardiff Bay on Sunday 30th December 2012 with my boyfriend Ben and my twelve year old cousin Callum. Afterwards Ben claimed that while he enjoyed Techniquest and playing on the exhibits he said that it was not very educational and he believed that neither he nor Callum had learnt anything. In my short time studying an education degree I was able to refute these claims and proved that while they had not realised it he and Callum had been learning – Kinaesthetically. They had learnt that a possible explanation for lots of ships sinking in the area known as the Bermuda triangle could be attributed to large amounts of Methane gas being released from under the seabed which decreases the density of water causing ships to sink. They also learnt that it is possible to move a very heavy industrial hook with just a small magnet if you are patient and pull the rope attached to the magnet in just the right way. Ben was able to communicate with Callum with just a whisper even though he was about 15 metres away because of two giant dishes that reflect sound waves. I learnt that when confronted with interactive science toys 26 year old men regress into children.

Inspirational TED talk.

Adolfo Kaminsky made huge sacrifices throughout his life in order to save the lives of probably thousands of people and that is why I find this video inspiring.  Adolfo made forged documents for people who were persecuted by political regimes for thirty years and never once received payment for it. He worked for resistance groups in France, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Columbia, Peru, Uruguay, Chile, Mexico, Algeria, and worked for Nelson Mandela’s anti-apartheid party. In the TED talk about her father Sarah Kaminsky talks about the sacrifices her father made in order to pursue this selfless path. He was forced to abandon his older children in order to protect them and was always broke as he always refused payment so that he would not have to forge documents for any cause he did not consider to be just. She attributes some of his motivation to the possibility of survivor’s guilt as he was able to leave the Drancy concentration camp where many of his friends died due to his Argentinian citizenship. Whatever Adolfo’s motives I think he is a selfless person and should receive more credit for the work he did, for the countless lives he saved and for the sacrifices he made to do it. 

Xtranormal.com

www.xtranormal.com is a website designed for making animations. I found this website very easy to use and simple to navigate. There is a video on the homepage where a teddy bear reassures me that if I can type then I will be able to make an animation. There is also a 'How to' video which can be reached by using a 'How to' tab on the homepage. The 'How to' video features an animated Gandhi guiding you through how to make an animation.
            I had to log on through my Google mail account and agree to let then site use my information before I could start my animation. The offers a basic package that is free to use and also offers an educator package that costs $10 per month and a professional package that costs $50 per month.
            I found the process of making an animation very easy to use and there is a lot of choice for characters and settings. Once you make an animation it gets saved and you can then access it again through the 'My stuff' tab on the homepage.

Catchphrase Animation

Mr Potato Head Finds Love

Mind Map about reflective learning

This is a mind map about reflective learning. I drew on past experiences of learning when creating it such as learning I've undertaken in the work place through training and day to day learning on the job I also used academic experiences like school and distance learning courses.

Rugby

In last weeks visual communications lecture I found a website and a blog about rugby and compared the similarities and differences between the two types of publication. The website looked more professional than the blog, they both had facebook and twitter links, the website had hyperlinks to and advertising from betting websites but the blog had no advertising, the blog discussed things other than rugby, where as the website did not provide information about anything else. The website had a lot of photos where as the blog only had a handful.

              If I was going to create a publication about rugby for my own interest it would probably 'Top 10 Fittest Rugby Players from Around the World' I would find images of rugby players from around the world and rate them on their attractiveness. I would create a small biography for each of them state which country they live in, what team the play for, if they are single, their age and any hobbies they have. I would allow members of the public to add things onto the website and comment.