Phinding Physics Poster (PPP)
Introduction and Drawings
For this project, we were to explore our knowledge about one of many physics concepts such as energy conversion, electric fields, Newton's Laws, etc. and create a poster that represented our understanding of this topic. This poster could be completed using an analogy relating to your topic that would help the viewer understand what you learned about without looking at an equation or text. For example, the metamorphosis process of a caterpillar to a butterfly would be a great example of energy conversion because the caterpillar is transforming itself from one thing to the next, and giving it life as another creature. Since my physics concept was "Energy Conversion: Wind Turbines", my poster had to revolve around an analogical reference about a transformation through spinning. Wind turbines take in wind and use it to generate electricity for distribution to many locations and places, so I took that general idea and connected it to a record player. An old school record player takes a regular spinning disc and makes music out of it. This specific object is changing from a spinning disc to music in an instant, and this is achieved simply with a needle and rotation. As you can see, in my first draft I tried to compare a wind turbine to a mixture between a spinning jellyfish and an electric eel, but that was not the most sensible of comparisons. Therefore, I wanted to take a more relatable example so that my poster would be more meaningful. Below, you can find all of the progress I made during this unit, from my first draft to my final poster for a Mini Exhibition.
For this project, we were to explore our knowledge about one of many physics concepts such as energy conversion, electric fields, Newton's Laws, etc. and create a poster that represented our understanding of this topic. This poster could be completed using an analogy relating to your topic that would help the viewer understand what you learned about without looking at an equation or text. For example, the metamorphosis process of a caterpillar to a butterfly would be a great example of energy conversion because the caterpillar is transforming itself from one thing to the next, and giving it life as another creature. Since my physics concept was "Energy Conversion: Wind Turbines", my poster had to revolve around an analogical reference about a transformation through spinning. Wind turbines take in wind and use it to generate electricity for distribution to many locations and places, so I took that general idea and connected it to a record player. An old school record player takes a regular spinning disc and makes music out of it. This specific object is changing from a spinning disc to music in an instant, and this is achieved simply with a needle and rotation. As you can see, in my first draft I tried to compare a wind turbine to a mixture between a spinning jellyfish and an electric eel, but that was not the most sensible of comparisons. Therefore, I wanted to take a more relatable example so that my poster would be more meaningful. Below, you can find all of the progress I made during this unit, from my first draft to my final poster for a Mini Exhibition.
Photoshop and Problem Set
Unlike the first set of drafts, we had to create the actual product for display using Adobe Photoshop. Utilizing the feedback we received after the second draft of our hand-designed drawings, we had to make a digital version of our idea, and implement it through the tools we had in Photoshop. As you will see in the various images I have posted below, the transformation between the pictures above and the digital images was huge. I felt like my revised drawing for the sketching portion was a little too crowded, so I wanted to spread out my next drafts. Honestly, I was able to receive some of the best critique that I have during my 4-year "career" in the High Tech system so far, which really gave me the opportunity to maximize the potential of my project. As you will see on my canvas, I started off my drawing with a central image, which was a record player. You can read about my connection in the section above. I also included this connection beside the central image. As my drafts were given critique to improve, I discovered the idea of labeling each main component of a wind turbine thanks to the ingenuity of Mr. Vetter, who was looking at my poster closely to see if there was anything I could change. After my check-in with him, I also added the pieces about the magnet and coil, which are two parts to make the generator of a wind turbine function correctly. With credit to dafont.com, I was able to download a font that was not a part of the regular Apple text library for my title, which allowed my poster to really "pop" and stand out. I managed my priorities, too, making the equation more of an afterthought then one of the centerpieces. When the audience sees a poster with a lot of text or a lot of formulas, they are more inclined to ignore it then to actually pay attention to it. That was one of the main focuses of this assignment for me: making my poster stand out in the pack. Since we will be displaying these pieces of artwork on the other High Tech High campuses of Chula Vista and Point Loma, I wanted my poster to be of the highest quality that it possibly could be.
The second step of this point in the process was creating a problem set for our Physics topic. This problem set would feature questions related to the information you included in your poster and what you would talk about in your presentation. These questions would appear in a few quizzes we would take at the end of the unit, with all of the questions generated by the students. One of the positives about life at HTHNC that I love so much is student input. Many teachers would have students research these Physics concepts in textbooks and then give quizzes with either questions that they found online or that they made up themselves. But this is where the real learning comes in. In order to completely understand what is being thrown at you, one has to comprehend the content from a different point of view. At the beginning of this project, we were purely sponges, if I must make an analogy. We absorbed as much information as we possibly could, answering as many questions as there were in our minds, and taking a new perspective on the concepts at hand. Then, for the latter half of the project, we had to squeeze all of that information out, and share it with the class. Of course, we wanted to make sure that the information was still there in the end, but we needed to make sure others had that same information, too.
Below, you will find a slideshow of my drafts for the Photoshop portion of the project and how I was able to consistently improve after each output. There are also critique sheets that I used to make changes, and my problem set. Thank you for viewing my page and I hope you enjoy the work below!
Unlike the first set of drafts, we had to create the actual product for display using Adobe Photoshop. Utilizing the feedback we received after the second draft of our hand-designed drawings, we had to make a digital version of our idea, and implement it through the tools we had in Photoshop. As you will see in the various images I have posted below, the transformation between the pictures above and the digital images was huge. I felt like my revised drawing for the sketching portion was a little too crowded, so I wanted to spread out my next drafts. Honestly, I was able to receive some of the best critique that I have during my 4-year "career" in the High Tech system so far, which really gave me the opportunity to maximize the potential of my project. As you will see on my canvas, I started off my drawing with a central image, which was a record player. You can read about my connection in the section above. I also included this connection beside the central image. As my drafts were given critique to improve, I discovered the idea of labeling each main component of a wind turbine thanks to the ingenuity of Mr. Vetter, who was looking at my poster closely to see if there was anything I could change. After my check-in with him, I also added the pieces about the magnet and coil, which are two parts to make the generator of a wind turbine function correctly. With credit to dafont.com, I was able to download a font that was not a part of the regular Apple text library for my title, which allowed my poster to really "pop" and stand out. I managed my priorities, too, making the equation more of an afterthought then one of the centerpieces. When the audience sees a poster with a lot of text or a lot of formulas, they are more inclined to ignore it then to actually pay attention to it. That was one of the main focuses of this assignment for me: making my poster stand out in the pack. Since we will be displaying these pieces of artwork on the other High Tech High campuses of Chula Vista and Point Loma, I wanted my poster to be of the highest quality that it possibly could be.
The second step of this point in the process was creating a problem set for our Physics topic. This problem set would feature questions related to the information you included in your poster and what you would talk about in your presentation. These questions would appear in a few quizzes we would take at the end of the unit, with all of the questions generated by the students. One of the positives about life at HTHNC that I love so much is student input. Many teachers would have students research these Physics concepts in textbooks and then give quizzes with either questions that they found online or that they made up themselves. But this is where the real learning comes in. In order to completely understand what is being thrown at you, one has to comprehend the content from a different point of view. At the beginning of this project, we were purely sponges, if I must make an analogy. We absorbed as much information as we possibly could, answering as many questions as there were in our minds, and taking a new perspective on the concepts at hand. Then, for the latter half of the project, we had to squeeze all of that information out, and share it with the class. Of course, we wanted to make sure that the information was still there in the end, but we needed to make sure others had that same information, too.
Below, you will find a slideshow of my drafts for the Photoshop portion of the project and how I was able to consistently improve after each output. There are also critique sheets that I used to make changes, and my problem set. Thank you for viewing my page and I hope you enjoy the work below!