March 17 - March 22, 2009

1. Briefly describe what you PERSONALLY accomplished this week:

Throughout Tuesday through Friday the majority of my work time was filled with trying to finish up the project and making any last finishing touches on our science presentation. On Tuesday I was unfortunately sick and had to leave school early, so I was not able to accomplish much except for practicing for our science presentation that Thursday. Wednesday of that week was a half day, so we didn't have any official work time for our projects, however our entire group stayed after school to practice our presentation.

Thursday and Friday I mainly worked on transferring our website from my own computer to the school computer so that it may be uploaded onto our DPs. Doing this consisted of making sure all the articles were in place, if all the links worked, inserting images into pages, as well writing the content for various webpages. By the end of the day Friday I was able to accomplish the bulk of what needed to be done, however I will be spending the remaining project work time on tweaking our website and uploading videos/flash components.

2. Briefly describe what your TEAMMATE(S) accomplished this week:

Throughout this entire week Emily devoted her time to implementing music into all of her videos due to feedback from Spencer as well as the daunting task of uploading them onto YouTube. Emily utilized music courtesy of Dani Elfman in the videos, which I believe improves their overall quality. Emily also practiced for the presentation all throughout Tuesday as well as at home.

Chelsea's main focus of the week was finishing up her flash animation about microbes and preparing for the presentation. Like Emily, Chelsea practiced her part of the presentation on Tuesday at school and at home. By the end of the day Friday, Chelsea was almost finished with the flash, however needed to implement finishing touches.

3. Briefly describe how you and your partner(s) ASSISTED each other:

As a group we assisted each other throughout our presentation practices. We even stayed after school on Wednesday to practice it so that we would be successful on Thursday. Through the combined effort of our group our science presentation did prove to be a success and everyone performed well. In addition, while I was sick my group members helped me get informed about everything that I missed and what they were doing with their individual parts of the project.

Emily: Week of 3/15

1. Briefly describe what you PERSONALLY accomplished this week:

This week I showed one of my videos to my teacher, and got the feedback, “add some music.” So, I went home and sifted through the iTunes store until I finally decided upon an instrumental song by Danny Elfman called Give ‘Em Hope. After applying this music to all of the movies (and changing their credits to include the song) they are ready to be uploaded to our website. This week we also presented out chemistry presentation to the class where we taught our peers about wetlands, their benefits, as well as a little bit of soil chemistry.

2. Briefly describe what your TEAMMATE(S) accomplished this week:

This week Kathleen transferred our website over from her own computer to the school’s server and linked it to her DP! She spent the rest of her time updating sections we still needed to fill in (mission statement, etc.), tweaking pages, and checking to make sure all of our links worked. Chelsea continued to work on the flash piece for our website, and it’s looking great!

3. Briefly describe how you and your partner(s) ASSISTED each other:

This week my group had to work together to put on a good presentation for our class. We stayed after school to practice, and were able to rock the presentation!

Chelsea-Work Log 18

Your Name: Chelsea
Partner’s Name(s): Kathleen & Emily
Week: March 16-20, 2009

1. Briefly describe what you PERSONALLY accomplished this week:
This week I worked on finishing the Flash and I had my science presentation. So far the flash is coming along pretty well. Flash isn't a program that I know very well but with the help of Saul and knowledge from past projects I'm doing pretty good. I am almost completely finished with it but I still need to finish up a few things on Monday. This week we also had our science presentation which was pretty good. We knew our information and we were able to explain about wetlands.

2. Briefly describe what your TEAMMATE(S) accomplished this week:
This week Emily worked on finalizing the videos and assisted with tweaking the website. She added music to the videos and then uploaded them to Youtube. She also prepared for the science presentation that we had on Thursday.

This week Kathleen put the finishing touches on website and published it to the web! She linked the website to her dp so that we could see it on the internet. She also prepared for our science presentation that we had on Thursday.

3. Briefly describe how you and your partner(s) ASSISTED each other this week?
My partners and I have assisted each other in many ways. Over the past week we worked both individually and together to accomplish the most amount of work. We worked together to practice for our science presentation that we had on Thursday. This has been a great strategy for us because we have been either ahead or right on our projected schedule. At the end of the week we realized that we were pretty much done with our project so we were able to tweak our website and make little changes.

March 9 - 13, 2009

1. Briefly describe what you PERSONALLY accomplished this week:

This week my group and I only got a total of about three days to work on our project because Thursday and Friday were devoted to camping in Julian. However from Monday to Wednesday I was able to accomplish all that I needed this week. I was able to finish our group's power point and other material for our science presentation. In addition, I took a break from our presentation and continued to upload articles as well as begin writing more articles for our website. I was able to upload all the articles for the conservation and chemistry page. I continued to do this throughout the weekend as well as tweak previous webpages.

2. Briefly describe what your TEAMMATE(S) accomplished this week:

Monday to Wednesday, Emily was dedicated to finishing all the videos for our website, which she was able to accomplish by Wednesday. She is also planning to upload the videos onto YouTube soon so that they can be embedded onto our website. From Thursday to Friday, Emily was able to serenade us with her wonderful voice and guitar skills.

This week Chelsea continued to work on the flash components for our website which is no doubt a daunting task, as Flash is not exactly our group's best friend. However, she is making way and is about a third of the ways done with it, which I'm quite excited to see.

3. Briefly describe how you and your partner(s) ASSISTED each other:

This week we all worked on editing our power point as a group. I was able to create a "rough draft" of the presentation then as a group we looked it over and made corrections were necessary. In addition we worked together to see who would say which slides, making sure to evenly distribute talking time.

However, aiding each other was not just limited to the classroom. At William Heise Park in Julian, we were all able to help each other in some way or another; whether it be through comfort, body heat, or even a borrowed jacket.

Emily: Week of 3/9

Your Name: Emily
Partner’s Name(s): Kathleen & Chelsea
Week of: March 9-13, 2009

1. Briefly describe what you PERSONALLY accomplished this week:
This week I finished all of the videos for our website. I made one on the overall topic of wetlands, one on swamps, one on marshes, and one on bogs and fens. This weekend I plan to upload them to YouTube so we can use the embedded codes for our website. I also helped divvy up the slides for our upcoming chemistry presentation. At the end of the week we all took a camping trip to Julian's William Heise Park.

2. Briefly describe what your TEAMMATE(S) accomplished this week:
This week Kathleen made the PowerPoint for our presentation that we will be doing this week. She also worked on uploading more articles to our website. This week Chelsea began work on the flash component that will be going up on our website. As she staed in her own blog posting, she is now about 1/3 of the way done.

3. Briefly describe how you and your partner(s) ASSISTED each other this week?
This week we all worked together to revise our PowerPoint (that Kathleen had already made nearly flawlessly). We also continue to sit near each other in class in order to give assistance if needed.

Chelsea-Work Log 17

Your Name: Chelsea
Partner’s Name(s): Kathleen & Emily
Week: March 9-13, 2009

1. Briefly describe what you PERSONALLY accomplished this week:
This week I finished the articles for the website and I started working on the flash. So far, the flash is about 1/3 of the way done and I should be able to finish it by the end of next week. On Thursday and Friday we went camping at the William Heise County Park in Julian.

2. Briefly describe what your TEAMMATE(S) accomplished this week:
This week Emily worked on finishing the videos for the website. Now the total amount is four of five videos. Emily also went on the camping trip in Julian on Thursday and Friday.

This week Kathleen finished up the PowerPoint for our science presentation. She also continued to upload articles to the website. At the end of the week she went on the camping trip in Julian.

3. Briefly describe how you and your partner(s) ASSISTED each other this week?
We continued to work individually to accomplish the most amount of work.
This technique has been working for us because we are able to finish a lot of work while being right on schedule. We sit near each other so we can be close if we need to ask questions or we just want to check in with each other. By sitting close we can help each other out as needed and complete our work.

Chelsea-Work Log 16

Your Name: Chelsea
Partner’s Name(s): Kathleen & Emily
Week: March 2-6, 2009

1. Briefly describe what you PERSONALLY accomplished this week:
This week I finished the articles for the website. I wrote an article about pollution and the article about conservation of wetlands. I also wrote about development can be stopped because of the land the builder wants to build on. There have been a lot of sites in San Diego County where projects have been cancelled or postponed because it may be a critical habitat. I also participated in an experiment that Andrew helped us with. We did two different experiments that were similar but used different methods. For both experiments we used a paper filter and activated charcoal to demonstrate how soil filters out pollutants. For the first experiment alternated layers of charcoal and filters then mixed the food coloring, which represented pollutants, in a beaker with water. As the water filtered through it became cleaner. With the other method for this experiment we put one filter on the beaker and then mixed the charcoal and food coloring in with the water. Then we poured the water through the filter and it removed a significant amount of the charcoal and food coloring.

2. Briefly describe what your TEAMMATE(S) accomplished this week:
This week Emily worked on finishing the videos for our website. She added in the videos and pictures that we got from the San Elijo Ecological Conservancy. She has completed three out of the four videos for our website. Emily also participated in the experiments and filmed the process so that we could document and even use for our website.
This week Kathleen continued to research soil chemistry and she also started to write the chemical articles. She created outlines for the articles she plans to write and she also worked on our science presentation. She began working on the PowerPoint this week and participated in the soil experiment.

3. Briefly describe how you and your partner(s) ASSISTED each other this week?
This week we worked independently to accomplish the most amount of work. This technique has been working for us because we are able to complete a lot of work and be slightly ahead of our schedule. We sit at the same table so that we can be close to each other and if we need to ask questions or we just want to check in it is easy. By sitting close we can help each other out as needed and complete our work.

March 1 - March 6, 2009

1. Briefly describe what you PERSONALLY accomplished this week:

My main focuses of this week were creating science/chemistry articles for our website and getting our group ready for our science presentation in the next couple of weeks.

On Monday, I created outlines for the science article(s) for our website so that I have organized and clear writing, and now exactly what to implement in the articles. At this time I also began to look for various images to go along with the writing. On Tuesday I began to write the articles and got nearly half of it finished. I also continued to look for images. Wednesday, our group had our meeting with Andrew and I took time to edit our outline and turn it in to Andrew. In addition, by the end of that day I finished the science articles. Thursday was a great group day for us, because we conducted an "activated charcoal" experiment. This lab was very useful for us to help us gain a better understanding of the filtering power of chemicals, because the charcoal (actually just pure carbon) represented the soil in wetlands. Friday, I was occupied by other urgent business that I had to attend to, so I was only able to work for an hour of the work time. However throughout that hour I began our power point presentation which I continued to work on throughout the weekend.

Here are samples of what our power point looks like so far:


2. Briefly describe what your TEAMMATE(S) accomplished this week:

Emily's main focus for this week was movies, movies, movies! Throughout most of the week (Monday to Wednesday) Emily dedicated the majority of her time to creating the various short documentary films to put on our website. By Wednesday, She was able to finish two out of the four movies she was going to create, and got nearly halfway into the third movie. On Thursday she took a small break from her moving making to conduct a group lab and research about charcoal filters and their relation to wetland concepts. On Friday, Emily looked into microbes so that she will be well versed in the chemistry concepts for our future presentation.

Chelsea's week consisted of mainly working on finishing up her conservation articles as contributing to our future presentation. On Monday, Chelsea worked on pollution and development articles. Tuesday, she was finishing up her conservation articles as well as looking more into microbes so that she too would be well versed. By Wednesday, she was able to finish up the conservation and development articles as well as be a part of our meeting with Andrew. Thursday, in addition to being a part of the lab she wrote various quiz questions for our presentation.

On Friday Chelsea was unfortunately absent.

3. Briefly describe how you and your partner(s) ASSISTED each other this week:

This week was not only a week of working independently and pushing forward with our project, but there were many times that we were able to have more interaction with one another and aid each other. Creating our various quiz questions was a group effort and everyone contributed to it. Also, everyone played a key role in the lab we conducted with Andrew. This week was very productive and I'm glad to say we are still

Emily: Week Of 3/1

Week of: March 1st, 2009
Your Name: Emily Nuthall
Your Partners Names: Kathleen and Chelsea

1. Briefly describe what you PERSONALLY accomplished this week:

This week I continued work on the movies I’m making for our website. I have three out of the four movies complete, and I have materials for the fourth and final piece on my computer. This week my group also conducted an experiment involving a charcoal filter. We used a funnel, paper filter, and activated charcoal to mimic the layers of soil in a wetland, and poured colored water through it to see how it would remove the coloring. We filmed the process and plan to put it up on our website. We had yet another check in this week, and I’m glad to say we are still ahead of schedule.

2. Briefly describe what your TEAMMATE(S) accomplished this week:

This week Chelsea and Kathleen did even more research on microbes and their role in soil. Kathleen even constructed articles for our website all about how these microns function. Next week we plan to re-do our experiment with actual soil, to see if it makes any difference. Kathleen also constructed our outline for the PowerPoint we will be presenting soon, and began creating the PowerPoint.

3. Briefly describe how you and your partner(s) ASSISTED each other this week:

Once again our ability to work independently has pushed our project along at a great pace. Being ahead of schedule will allow us to relax comfortably at our camping trip next week.

February 23 - March 1, 2009

1. Briefly describe what you PERSONALLY accomplished this week:

For me this week mainly consisted of a lot of research, specifically about the chemical components of a wetland. Also, throughout all my research I was able to utilize and improve my own resource skills and the way in which I conduct my research.

On Monday, I finished uploading all of the plant profiles on the website within the wetland book webpage. I also went into research about the chemistry behind wetlands, but I was finding that I wasn't getting what I was looking for. Luckily, our group talked to Andrew and he steered us into the right direction. So on that day, I began to look deeper into microbes/microorganisms and learned/researched new vocabulary concepts such as "biodegradation". Throughout Tuesday and Wednesday, I continued my indepth research on microbes, researching about them in detail. I took copious notes about what microbes are, what they do, the chemistry within them, and the key role that they play in wetlands. I discovered that two different types of microbes, Anaerobic and aerobic are the bacteria that break down harmful chemicals and recycle them into nutrients for plants. These microbes undergo a series of chemical reactions, one needing oxygen, the other not.

Here's an image of some of the notes I took, I was able to compile about 5 pages of notes utilizing various internet sources.


By Thursday, I was able to finish my essential research about microbes and begin working on the outline for our power point. The main reason why I researched the chemistry aspect of wetlands was so that I can implement my knowledge into the presentation outline as well as inform my other group members about what I learned so that we may be ready for our chemistry presentation. By the end of the day Friday, I was able to finish the rough draft of our outline.

One of my goals for next week is to begin working on the different chemistry articles for the website, and throughout the weekend I was reviewing my notes so that I can begin writing by the beginning of next week.

2. Briefly describe what your TEAMMATES accomplished this week:

Our entire group was busy with work as we are within the most rigorous points in our project, the half way mark.

Emily's work throughout this week mainly consisted of working on the different videos for our website. On Monday she continued to look up different pictures and videos, and by the end of the day she compiled enough for her to begin creating and editing videos. She also editted and revised her voice over scripts which will be the narration for the videos. Tuesday, she researched more images just in case so that she would have more than enough images and videos. In addition she looked into the wetland that we were going to visit this weekend, (which we did) and she finalized the scripts. Wednesday was a day of video experimentation for Emily. She tried using different video editing programs within our school computer, but by the end of the day they didn't fit well enough for Emily. Also, the computer had a few technical malfunctions. Luckily on Thursday, Emily brought in her beloved Mac and begin to crop, edit and compile videos for our informational videos. She continued on with this through Friday and some of the weekend.

Chelsea had some diversity in her week throughout this week, although she mainly focused on the various articles that she was writing. Monday, continued to write the articles that she began during the end of last week. She looked into research about vernal pools and how their habitat was saved through the halt of development in that area. This gave Chelsea an incentive to research and begin writing an article about how various types of development are stopped for the safety of different animal/plant habitat. She also briefly looked into creating the flash components, thinking about how to create them and developing outlines for them as well. Tuesday through Wednesday, Chelsea continued to research about vernal poles, write articles, conduct research and creating flash video outlines. She also finished her killer algae articles. On Thursday, she decided to look into microbes so that she can have information for the flash components, and by Friday she worked on articles about how to stop pollution in wetlands.

On a side note, we as a group went to the San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve in Encinitas. There, we took a small hike on a trial, taking in the nature we say as well as taking pictures of the beautiful scenery.

3. Briefly describe how you and your partners ASSISTED each other:

Similar to the way we've been conducting our group work throughout this project, we assist each other through the way we work independently. The more work we get done individually, the more work is done as a group. However, even though we work on our own separate projects, we are close to each other so that we can communicate about what we're learning or if we need any help from one another. This week, Chelsea and I aided each other in our research, because she gave me different websites about microbes and I lent her my notes about them.