Elena Blogs for a Change

Today in STEAM class we learned about the 3D rollercoaster simulation. Basically, it's like and animated roller coaster ride, where you get to experience what it's like to ride your roller coaster. We haven't yet started it, but Mr. Aringo showed us the basics of the activity, and he thinks we will be able to start next Monday. I'm really excited, because it looks like a lot of fun. I just hope I follow all the roller coaster physics  and don't crash the cart or anything bizarre like that!!                                                               What the simulation should look like from the passenger view.

Today in STEAM class my team and I developed a drop in our roller coaster. What we did is, we have a track, and then it suddenly ends, dropping the marble a few inches onto the other track about 8 inches below. We haven't yet made it work completely but we're working on it, and I think that once it'll look really cool!

So today was good day for our group. We finally found our groove, since we had never really clicked as a team. It was nice to finally communicate nicely. unlike how we used to argue about where to place each coaster part. Also, we finally found a good design that wouldn't fall apart as we assembled it. It's still a bit wobbly, but we have three more days to stabilize it. Anyways, I thought it was cool to see our group strengthen and our roller coaster become rideable!!                                                                                                        

In STEAM I an currently still working on my coaster project (which I will be on for a while). Anyways, as I worked on my project, I was stumped. I wanted to connect two two-way-tracks, but when I tried to intercept them, the tracks wouldn't math up. I thought I was doomed, as my aspect of our collaboration would not work. Then my idea hit. It was quite a bright idea, but I had not yet thought of the shapes. Here's why: My idea was to cut a normal track in two, and connect one of the halves on each side of the intercepting two-sided-tracks. The problem was, my two sided tracks went sideways, and the normal track was completely direct. So, the idea was trashed. I knew I was on the right track, but my initial idea needed to be tweaked.  I decided to ask Mr. Aringo. His advice was to keep my original layout, but instead, change the "straight track" idea to curved tracks, so that they would come in and fit into the double connectors. I am currently working on buil...

                                                                                                                                               A group consults a plan. Kind of like how we did in our                                                                                                                             ...

Today in STEAM we continued to work on our paper coasters. We created new paper parts, so that we could connect them to the main ride. When we thought we'd finally finished, we experimented with the marble, and when we were expecting glory..... it failed. So, we had to try to look about it in a different perspective and ask ourselves these questions: -Why didn't it work? -Where did we go wrong? -What can we do to improve upon our project At the end of class, we concluded that tomorrow we are going to ask Mr. Aringo for some advice on our ride, since clearly, it needs to me remade. Reflection and thought

Today in STEAM I learned how to incorporate my idea in the team project. Explained simply, we basically just had to make a paper roller coaster draft as a GROUP, and each person had to contribute an aspect of their own. I thought this was  good way to practice team skills, and also a good way to learn more about paper roller coasters.  Minions work together to achieve a goal, kind of like what we did. 

Today in STEAM we tinkered with some paper rollercoaster parts. We have not yet built the ride, but Mr. Aringo thought it would be a good idea to learn how to use these paper contraptions before actually building something with them. So, we look the paper and folded it according to the instructions. I thought tis activity was ok. It wasn't that fun, but we have to learn it somehow. Besides, it's going to help us build our actual paper rollercoaster. When we build our real paper rides, I'm going to apply all the skills I learned during this activity.  

Today in STEAM we played the amazing coaster creator. I finally got around to making it, after fiddling with funderstanding coasters for a while (see previous blog). I named my ride Electric Yellow Shark, and I put the mass at 3 carts. Then I built my track. An initial hill, a slightly shorter hill, an even shorter hill, a mini loop, and an ending curve. I had to make many attempts, since of course I couldn't do it first try. I thought this game was amazing, and I can't wait to physically build a ride, which we will do later in the semester. If I could change anything about my coaster, I would have put more loops in it, because I found out that that was a better way to gain energy than the hills. Overall though, this game was a bomb, and I highly suggest trying it out!! What I would have been like riding my coaster creator coaster!!       .

Today in class we played a new a game about roller coasters. I didn't get to play it yet, but I did see the introduction, and it seemed like a lot of fun. First you get to customize your roller coaster, and even name it, like "magenta mega squid," or something. Then your draw out the hills and loops. Finally, you get to test it out. The passengers scream as the ride goes on, but if you make a loop to big for it's capacity, the coaster stops, and you fail. I learned that that you must not build the loops higher as the ride progresses, but start big and THEN decrease. The reason for this is because the small hill/loop will slow the coaster down, and reduce the energy, which is needed for the big hills. Next time, when I actually play, I'm going to take this information into consideration, so I don't spend too much time in frustration like last time, when we played the other coaster game. A sneak peak at coaster creator!!

Today I learned how to share my work onto blogger.com. How to add gadgets and pages were part of this experience. To do this, we had to fill out a Cornell notes sheet based on sharing work, and then we were sent to try on our own. I really enjoyed this experience, and I think it will really hep me in my future tech life. Although, if I could change one thing about this project, I might work on specifying the instructions a little, to make them more clear. I found it a little difficult to follow these instructions, but overall, everything went smooth. So there you go, sharing is caring, wether it's online or physically, it will always make a satisfying impact in the end.                                                                 Share your work!!

Today in class we built a roller coaster online. Mr. Aringo gave us a sheet of instructions, telling us to go onto a link connected to teamaringo.org. The app showed a coaster track and several obstacles, which you had to build and customize for yourself. Some of the features included loops, hills, and flats. I built a roller coaster with an initial hill, and three loops. It took me a while, but I finally adjusted the friction, gravity, and mass so that they would go along with the ride. The final product was a well functioning roller coaster (I hope). Next time though, I'm going to try to get the hang of the game quicker. Because for a chunk of time, I was just putting the coaster through a ton of obstacles it wasn't adjusted for, and I got kinda frustrated that my ride wouldn't obey. But I got the hang of it soon, when I really thought about it and connected the facts with the ideas. My advice would be to really think about the reality before going all out, because the d...

                                                                                                                                                              Yesterday in class we learned about the physics of a roller coaster, and the regulations they have to follow. We learned about blackouts and redouts, which can occur while on the ride. A black out is when not enough blood is reaching the head.  A redout is pretty much the opposite. It is when TOO much blood is crowding the head. Incidents like this can cause death. But we don't have to worry. Inspectors check the rides and the tra...