Data update 1

 1. What dataset will you use for your final report? (Title of your dataset, include a link to it) 

2. Describe the dataset. What kind of data does it contain?

3. Is there anything about your data that you don’t understand? (I.e. what a column heading means) how will you find this out?

4. What are some questions you hope to answer with your data? List at least three. (You don’t need the answers at this point)

1. Animal Control Inventory (Lost and Found)  https://opendata.vancouver.ca/explore/dataset/animal-control-inventory-lost-and-found/export/?disjunctive.breed&disjunctive.color&sort=date

2. This dataset contains information about lost and found animals, including their breed, colour, date of entry, name, sex, and current status (e.g., lost). Each entry seems to represent an individual animal.

3. One column that might need further clarification is the "Sex" column, which includes entries like "F/S" and "M/N." These abbreviations likely refer to whether the animal is spayed/neutered. To confirm this, I would refer to any accompanying documentation for the dataset or consult with someone familiar with animal control records.

4.

   - What are the most common breeds of animals reported as lost?

   - Are there specific times of the year when more animals go missing?

   - What are the most common colours or patterns of animals that go missing or are found?

Tracking global data on electric vehicles

 

The data visualizations on the Our World in Data page, “Tracking global data on electric vehicles” for electric car sales are generally well done, providing a clear and interactive look at global trends. They use simple line graphs to show how sales have grown over time, making it easy to understand the overall pattern. The world map gives a useful visual context, showing which regions are leading in electric car adoption and which are behind. You can hover over different countries on the map to see specific numbers, which adds an engaging and personalized way to explore the data. The colours used in the charts help differentiate between countries without being overwhelming, making it easier to compare trends. Alongside these visuals, there are notes and explanations that help explain what's happening in the data, like how policy changes have impacted sales.

However, this simplicity also has some drawbacks. The line charts and maps give a broad view but don't go into deeper details, such as how economic factors or technology developments have influenced sales in different areas. Including other types of charts, like scatter plots, could provide more insights into these relationships. The map shows the big picture well, but it would be helpful if users could zoom in on specific regions or countries for more detailed information. By relying mainly on line graphs and a single map, the page misses the chance to show other important comparisons, like how electric car sales stack up against total car sales in each country. Also, with so much data and interactivity available, some people might find it overwhelming, especially if they're not used to analyzing data. Offering simpler guides or breaking down some of the information into smaller sections could make it easier to understand.

Overall, these visualizations do a good job of showing the global state of electric vehicle adoption. They follow many good practices in data visualization, such as being clear, using colour effectively, and providing context. But they could be improved by offering more detail, a wider variety of charts, and making the information more accessible for all viewers.

Summer 100WC

...the light was so bright...
http://100wc.net/

One step, two steps... the cottony sand beneath my feet danced with the silky fabric of sea water as they floozies forward and back… ancient soft melody of the nine sisters dribbles my eardrums… notably peaceful and amiable. But is the great deep sea really as calming and companionable as it seems on this cloudless twinkly night? NO! Its mood changes as exceedingly as we breath in and breath out, and as extreme as a suppose ‘love’ turn on one another. Look at the tower of light, the light was so bright it guides the ships to safety. But one push of the button, it will be the cause of the ships’ annihilation…of my extinction.

Genius Hour Docs: Cakes 101

The link to our Prezi:
http://prezi.com/vj0-ykpfz2mv/present/?auth_key=cmheahg&follow=054jkd1fnbzf&kw=present-vj0-ykpfz2mv&rc=ref-27733217

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B554LwLelZArck1Id1dmNDRRVFk/edit (Process Log)
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B554LwLelZArWmF4blBNbFVKUlU/edit (Proposal)
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B554LwLelZArQzdRdzZ0SWpWNUk/edit (Rubric)

Motivation By Tony Gurr

Tony Gurr's blog post was somewhat confusing, even after reading it several times. After the first few pictures, I was lost. I had to re-read the post again, at least 2 or 3 times. The style of his blog captured my attention even though some of the text seemed a bit off topic, but the pictures had strong meaning behind them.

I'm scrolling through the blog reading the post from the very beginning to the end, but i stopped at this picture...

I was laughing at this picture for quite a while. I mean look at each of the students in the class, and it totally relates to our classrooms today. You have students eating lunch, talking so much during class, daydreaming, sleeping, fooling around, and the list goes on. Every class room is unique and different, but it seems like there is a lack of  motivation and management in the classroom, but it should be about classroom leadership. I agree with Tony that classroom leadership is better than classroom management. Anyone can manage a class, but very few can take leadership in a class. By watching other students take action in classrooms this could make other students motivated to try as well. We need leadership in our classrooms, not for our teachers to motivate us, but our peers and our friends. Depending on certain teachers, there's minimal motivation given to students. For example, someone is failing math class and gives up on studying for the provincial; this shows that the teacher lacks motivations for their students and it seems like teachers just want to teach the course and move on. Isn't the main point of motivation to make sure students are engaging the in course.

We need great teachers to be like this...

Students need to try new things and experience real-world examples and opportunities not just worksheets and tests, otherwise, how are students going to be motivated and how are they going to learn? If our society lacks motivation than how can we encourage the next generations to do the same if our teachers aren't pushing students and little harder and faster to success. With more choices and voices our classrooms can be a bit more welcoming. Learning should be about doing things that bring joy to yourself and others around you. 

I agree with Tony's post on motivation, sometimes we need to change the way things are being taught. Just by giving students a bit more freedom for choices when it comes to work in class, such as assignments and tests students will be a lot more content. Students have to be the first to motivate themselves, and teachers need to allow these changes of students taking over their learning, and to make learning engaging for both students and teachers.

Motivation - By Tony Gurr

Initially as I scrolled through Tony Gurr's post on motivation  I was super confused. I quickly scrolled down and all I really saw were pictures with a few sentences in between each. This style of portraying a message was new to me, I've never really seen it done before. I had some doubts of course, how could Tony portray a strong message through a series of pictures? This definitely intrigued me, and I scrolled back up to truly read through the entire post. 

 

  As I was reading through the post I found myself entertained and mentally agreeing with pretty much everything he mentioned. One picture that really hit home was:

I believe everything within this picture is true. Think about it, if you didn't like someone why would you take the time to listen to their voice or thoughts or opinions. It may seem harsh to put it that way, but hey we're a bunch of temperamental teenagers here. The fact that we go through so many troubles already with friends, family and school already takes a toll on us. Now add in a teacher we dislike and you have the final missing piece to your puzzle of why we just give up on learning. No matter how good of  a person you are it is highly impossible for you to sit there for 2 hours for 10 months trying to absorb information from somebody when you truly dislike them.  

  The second point I believe is 100% true. Majority of tests are about memorizing facts. We study and study and study and try to drill these facts in to our little brains. We finish the test, and then toss away all that information aside, to be forgotten. Personally, I think testing does motivate students to learn but learn in a "bad" way. It's true we do learn facts when we memorize but tests encourage us to memorize all these facts to get a good grade, but never actually utilize this information and learn from it. I believe when you mark somebody on a test, it's like you're marking someone on how well they can memorize facts and information. We don't learn from memorization. We learn from expanding, using the knowledge, applying the knowledge on things etc...  Therefore the more you test, the more we try to memorize, and in the end less information has been absorbed. 

How would you feel if you had no voice to speak your mind? Everyday, us kids unwillingly go to school. We sit there for 6 hours while teachers pile on a bunch of homework and tests. We sit there, listening obediently to the teacher who most of the times do not give us many choices or allow us to use our voice to speak up. Through all 16 years of my life in school, it is rare to hear a teacher ask, " What would you guys like to learn in this course?" or "What do you guys want to do?" I believe we should be treated as equals in the classroom instead of the teacher having all the power. It's OUR education, so why can't we have a say in how learn things, or what we should learn? By giving us more choices and voices, it creates a more open and welcoming environment in the classroom. This is the ideal environment for kids and I can guarantee you that kids will thrive. 

  I fully agree on what Tony had to say. In order for kids to gain motivation to learn, we need to change the ways we're being taught. It's the little things such as more choices, less tests, new ways of gaining knowledge. It's not only the teachers responsibility, the students must also motivate themselves. If both can be achieved then I believe that is when kids will truly be learning. 

Motivation By Tony Gurr

      Tony Gurr's blog post was some what baffling. I wasn't use to the way of presenting as Tony Gurr has presented his blog. His style of displacement caught my observation and interest. Therefore I refreshed the page and read the post again until I understood what Tony Gurr's post meant. The words seemed to be off topic at the beginning but reading it the second time while relating to the images made me laugh often from the easy jokes that lures the readers in. For example in the beginning when Tony Gurr explained that long lasting passion burns from the inside, he also dared the readers to contradict him. Here I believe he both created a strong hook and also taught the second lesson of teaching: a voice. Tony Gurr posted this blog post to educate others, he made an example of asking for the learner's voice by asking them to contradict him. I may be reading into it too much but here I think that this is a great lesson in teaching others of how to teach.

      In the end I made a conclusion: I will not become a professional teacher.

      Why? I do not trust myself in holding the decision of a child's future. Just as Tony Gurr's post says: (If the student does not like me or does not have an inner passion for the subject which may require tests or other events, he or she will not learn well.)

      I agree with this image, teachers should give the students a reasonable amount of voice and choices so they don't feel as if they are prisoners.

      I also understand that a teacher can only create an environment and provide encouragements to the student to be motivated to learn, not to create motivation and try to stuff it down the student's throat. Motivation is ignited by passion, and passion can only be lit by the owner, not a by stander. Emotions can only be obtained by the individual, not by others because it is the individual's emotions, not others. Again teachers must be open, suggestive, encouraging...

      Tony Gurr's one of the last images made me laugh too. Ms.Pushover considers if she has choose the right career when all the students are goofing off. Here it is very sad because she did not realize that all children has those times of fooling around. She is not only wasting her own time, she is also throwing away the precious few years that the students have which will determine the rest of their life.

      

 Learning and teaching is everywhere.
Students and teachers are everyone.