29 August 2009

This is what I actually typed up for my Criterion G:

Criterion G
Problem: Students on the Mid-Pacific Math Team have difficulty finding all of the information they need to properly prepare for the monthly math events.

Inadequacies of the Current Situation:
Currently, there is no one, cohesive place in which information can be obtained. As the topics are diverse, ranging from Algebra I events to Trigonometry events, no one textbook contains all the information needed for a single meet. In addition, some of the topics are not covered in formal classes, or mentioned in the textbooks which students are required to have for school. Because of this, students must hunt down information, looking through older books which can only be found in the room of one teacher. This information can only be accessed after school, when the teacher is available, a time at which many students have other commitments.
And, as some students compete in events with information they may have never come across before, and have nowhere to access the information, studying is daunting task. While there are old tests, which provide questions answered in the past for students to study off of, students cannot begin to find a mathematical solution if they don’t understand what the questions are asking. Some of the terminology used in the events is such that one must know a good deal of vocabulary just to answer a simple question. If there was, for example, a source of information that students could easily use to discover new terminology and problem-solving strategies for an event, the entire process of studying could be much easier.

End-User: Students on the Mid-Pacific Math team

28 August 2009

In this entry, I will plan on figuring out the bare "bones" of what I'm going to write for my Criterion G, then later on type out a more detailed version.
I already have a good idea as to what the problem is- that the math team has difficulty finding information that will help them properly prepare for competitions. For the inadequacies of the current situation, I could go into more detail (as partially explained last time). The end-user would be math team students.

27 August 2009

Today we talked about Criterion G, and the format we would use when writing our report. Our teacher recommended a bullet point form, as follows:

Criterion G
Problem: ----
Inadequacies of the Current Situation: -----
End User: ----

26 August 2009

After receiving back my project ideas with my teacher's comments on them, I have decided to chose idea number 1. During my two years on the math team, I have noticed it is exceptionally difficult for students to gather information. No one book has all the information, and some of the topics aren't even taught in formal classes. I really don't want future students to have to go through that much trouble; and, if it was easier to get information, our school's team could have a higher general success rate. Because I am on the team, I have a good idea of what is needed.
Although option #2 is still a possibility, I don't know nearly as much about sports and would not enjoy doing research as much. If I was not as excited about my project, the quality of the work could suffer. I was not as enthused about Option #3 to begin with, and I decided to heed my teacher's suggestion of not using that particular idea.

23 August 2009

Problem	Possible IT solution
1. The math team does not have one cohesive place in which students can learn about each month's topics	Website booklet
2. The Class of 2011 needs to promote sports events and raise general awareness about the teams	Video Website
3. Students at Holy Family Catholic Academy, the school at which my mother teaches, need to be able to quickly reference English information.	Reference booklet Website