Teamwork & Leadership – Abhinav Kolachana

Media Reflection

Posted on November 30, 2021 by Abhinav Kolachana

Our idea was a magical tape that infected people as soon as they touched it, making for a deadly weapon against all of humanity. We started by looking at other videos about surrealism to get an idea and get inspired to create an awesome idea. Looking at surreal artists and filmmakers like Salvador Dali gave us an idea of what we needed to do to produce our surreal film. At first, we were having some trouble with coming up with our own original idea and trying not to copy from other sources. We all came together to create an idea using our brains.

Our planning documents enabled us to plan out what we would have to do filming wise and would enable us to be more time-efficient. We probably needed to have less detail in our scripts because we wrote too much in the script and we didn’t have enough time to film our surreal film. We used a kind of scriptwriting software called “Celtx” to write our script and make our storyboard.

The kind of technology that we used in our production was basic cameras, adobe premiere pro 2020 (editing) and scriptwriting software like “Celtx”. This technology was very important in our production because it enabled us to produce a film of high quality. If we only had basic editing software then we wouldn’t be able to do much-advanced editing. If we only have our computer cameras then we also wouldn’t be able to do much either.

Some things that went well were that we were able to finish our production to the highest standard that we were hoping for. For example, we made sure that we checked our film many times and get feedback on what we had to just increase the “watchability” of the film and make it more entertaining.

Somethings that didn’t go well was the time that we had. We had very limited time, so we weren’t able to complete the scenes that we had. For example, in one of the scenes, we needed a good scream with a video of birds flying away over top. Without the time we just had to work with what we had to produce this particular scene.

We could have improved our use of technology by learning how to use the “advanced features” in “Adobe Premier Pro 2020” and other brightness features in the recording aspect. We learned different filming techniques and how to properly position a shot. Using trial and error and looking at the shots we have filmed we strengthened our filming techniques. One thing that we would do differently next time would be to spread the work across all of our group members. This was because in editing one person had to do everything and the others just sat and didn’t do much.

We used a kind of editing software called “Adobe Premier Pro 2020” to bind all of our videos together. We used the “Ultra Key” function to use a green screen for our video effects. We used the silhouette function to create a cloudy effect on the edges of the screen, making the film more surreal. We used special effects downloaded from YouTube to make our film more surreal. Something that went well was that we learned lots about the editing software that we used and about special effects. We would have probably watched more videos about the software and asked for help.

I think the best aspect of our production is that our film turned out really well in the editing phase. Some areas that needed to be improved could be the actual length of our film. I learned about the different features that “Adobe Premier Pro 2020” has to offer.

One thing that we would do differently next time would be to spread the work across all of our group members. This was because in editing one person had to do everything and the others just sat and didn’t do much. We could do this by planning out the work and dividing it up better. We could also make a checklist or a backwards plan to show what we needed to get done in the end. If we did this then we would have less stress and we would have more time to fix up any other issues that come up during editing or if we needed to film any other things last minute.

Year 8 Lifeskills – Reflection on Neuroplasticity

Posted on August 25, 2021 by Abhinav Kolachana

Neuroplasticity:

I think the definition of neuroplasticity is being able to change your way of thinking. Neuroplasticity could also be described as a study of “growing your brain”. An example of this could be a growth mindset vs. a fixed mindset. A growth mindset is where you are positive when trying to learn something, instead of having negative thoughts. It is said that people who have a growth mindset “succeed” more in life. On the other hand, a fixed mindset is believing that you will stay the same forever, as in your knowledge and talent will stay the same until you die. These people are more likely to not succeed in life.

Training Your Brain:

Just like training your muscles to lift 100 kilos or run a marathon, you can also train your brain. Did you know that your brain is also a muscle? With this, there are many ways that you can train your brain. Naming 2, you could practice juggling. Juggling has been scientifically proven to increase your brain’s speed and muscle memory. Muscle memory is very important as well. Doing the same thing, again and again, will develop neural pathways. For example, if you were a rugby player and had an accident, in which you were paralyzed then your neural pathways would be immediately severed. Of course with less severe accidents like breaking your writing hand, you would need to learn to write again, because you haven’t been using your hand as much as before, and it would feel more unnatural. Another way to train your brain is to read books. Your brain processes thousands of things each day so reading helps with your brains understanding. You could also do this by looking out the window in a moving car, (noticing all the “scenery” outside). When you train your brain you need to keep up the training otherwise you will forget things and fall back in progress.

Resilience/Grit:

Resilience is the ability to bounce back after falling. Again people who are resilient are more likely to “succeed”. Grit is similar to resilience and can be described as determination. For example, some activities that I think have developed my grit were camp. I had always looked forward to camp but never really figured out its true meaning. The reason we go on camp is because, as we are growing up we need to get ready to face the real world. The real world has many challenges and building our grit levels now, will help us in the future. Being resilient is also a good quality to have at a young age because you are ready for any challenges that you face.

Happiness:

“Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light” -Albus Dumbledore. The meaning of this quote is that you can find happiness anywhere, but only if that is what you want/seek. There is a story of a man who survived the holocaust and found happiness. He chose to smile every day even when his family members were being shot and killed right in front of him. I believe that happiness plays a very big role in everyone’s life. The Japanese use something called an “Ikigai”. This is a 4 circled Venn diagram of everything to find your Ikigai (happiness) and it consists of sections that are named. They are called, what you love, what you are good at, what you can be paid for and what the world needs.

InnovatED: Organising Chicken Shed

Posted on June 18, 2021 by Abhinav Kolachana

Term 2 InnovatED was all about Aquaponics and taking care of the chickens. This term we were tasked with taking care of the chickens and ensuring that they got the deserved care that they needed. The InnovatED facilitators divided us into groups and we all had to help each other out trusting they would help us out too. Given the task to make the chicken shed more organised we were on our way. We then decided to make a scrum chart to plan out what we needed to do to overcome this challenge. We were aiming to find a more useful way to organise the shed and use every inch of space to our advantage.

Me and my Group talking presenting to peers and considering feedback

ASC Capabilities

A capability that I learnt was being organised. Without organisation, our whole project would have not worked out. If we all split apart and did our own things then the group would not work. After all, we were the group that was keeping the chicken shed organised, so it would be in the best need that we were organised. I also learnt a lot about collaboration. We all had to listen to each other and use all the ideas that we had. I have also learnt that being ethical will be best for us but also for the chickens. We have to make sure that the chickens stay healthy and make sure that they lay edible eggs. If we added other chemicals then the eggs would not be edible and this would harm the environment.

Me and my group posing for the chicken shed

When we first opened the shed at the start of the project this is what we found. We tried to clean the shed as best we could with the resources that we had.

After doing the best that we could with the things that we had we then decided to plan out how we were going to organise the shed.

In conclusion, this project was really fun and I would do it all again if I had the chance. I would also like to experience the other projects too! Getting a good idea of what the whole InnovatED course is about would help me do better in this project. I also liked how the program forces us to work together as a team. This project was really fun and enjoyable for both me and my peers!

Christmas Market

Posted on November 27, 2020 by Abhinav Kolachana

The Year 7 Christmas Market took place in Term 4 in the common. We were tasked to create/improve on an existing product idea using pricing strategies, economic concepts and many more different and unique strategies. We were to sell our product to many ranges of students including staff. During the process, we had to use the design thinking process to make our product. We had to collect money and all the money that we raised would be donated to the Salvation Army. Our group spent days painting, producing, thinking and collecting for the Christmas Market.

We used the design thinking process to create our product. We first started with the phase of empathising. We asked a range of people questions about Christmas and what it meant to them. We then used the define phase to define what really is a Christmas present. Looking at ethical Christmas gifts we continued with our research. I and my group landed on the idea of creating Christmas wreaths, but to our unknowing knowledge, we would drop this idea later on. A product that we were satisfied with was Christmas ornaments. We then used the prototype phase to come up with a prototype of our idea. Finally, we were up to the phase where we were able to sell our product.

User Experience is … Design Thinking | by Iain Heath | UX Collective

One of the capabilities that I really improved on was ethical. Our product was made from all natural materials and was one of the more ethical products in the Christmas Market. Some of the other products used more non natural materials than ours and this was our strength. Many of our customers told us that we were one of the only stalls that were ethical and used all natural materials.

In the end, this project was very fun and stretched my circle of confidence. I will always remember this project sincerely.

Project Utopia

Posted on October 18, 2020 by Abhinav Kolachana

About Project Utopia:

Project Utopia was a school project that spanned from Term 2 to Term 3. We were tasked to create a perfect society for citizens to live in while making our city fit the standards of our citizens. I thoroughly enjoyed this project as we were always very busy. We always had something to do and there was never a dull moment during this project. There was also a lot of arguing and debating about our decisions as a group, but in the end, we all agreed on an idea. If I could do anything differently I would rehearse our whole presentation together as a group a couple more times. Sometimes we would forget when it was our turn to speak and we would just be standing there looking at the audience awkwardly.

*My group and I talking to Ken Wyatt (The Minister for Indigenous Australians)*

How this all started:

This all started when we were exposed to the novel “The Giver” by Loris Lowry in Term 2. We had to discover the problems with their “utopia” while slightly touching on S.P.I.C.E.S.S (The Geographical Concepts) and the Liveability factors. In science, we had to build a sustainable house which would save energy and water. Combining all these projects would lead to our later discovery of Project Utopia!

UN Global Goals:

The UN Global goals are a group of goals that humanity was set to achieve by 2030. These can include zero hunger, quality education and life on land. We had to find a way that we could solve one of these goals and apply them to our community. I learnt all about the different goals and real-world problems. The Global Goals are very important in sustainability and in the whole project. I also learnt that if we achieve the global goals by 2030 then all our lives would be impacted, and we would have a more sustainable life. They are trying to create a sustainable future for all of us.

Our Constitution:

In our Utopian Society, we had to write a constitution of how our city was going to be governed. I learnt about different types of governing like Dictatorship and a Commonwealth in Humanities. Our constitution was very successful as many parents congratulated us on achieving this level of writing. We were very proud of our progress in writing our constitution. I also learnt about the rights and responsibilities of the citizens in any community, city or country. In the end, our constitution turned out very successful and we are very proud of what we achieved. Down below is the Constitution of Gloposita. Feel free to browse through our constitution.

The-Constitution-of-Gloposita Download

Public Speaking Skills:

My public speaking skills started a little rocky, but I grew to become a more confident speaker with my body language and posture. I learnt that in the end, the only thing that matters is the audience. They are essentially the people that we are presenting to anyway, so their attention is the most valuable part of the presentation aspect. I also learnt about different expressions and tones while presenting. For example, you could use a convincing tone to try to convince the audience to sideways with your idea. You could also have a firm or hard tone to indicate the important parts of your presentation. This could include your best idea, an important feature or even to grab their attention and make them more interested in what you are talking about.

Me explaining our society to some parents

Resilience (ASC Capability):

Resilience is bouncing back up when things go wrong. This whole project, I had to learn that you should never call it quits before you fail. You should strive forward and achieve what you want. During this project, we as a team had to build our sense of resilience and even if we failed, we had to keep enduring and keep on trying until we succeeded. “Failure is the first step to success” I learnt that the right thing to do when you fail is to try, try and try again until you succeed. I had a lot of troubles during this project but, a few calming breaths and pep talks later I was back on track. Resilience is a very important capability that everyone should have.

Collaboration (ASC Capability):

Collaboration is the definition of working together and teamwork. I had to collaborate with my teammates and make sure that we were all on the same level with our work. We all covered each other’s mistakes and helped each other with our different parts. At the end of the project, I learnt that two heads are better than one and that you can accomplish anything if you collaborate and work with people. Additionally, I found that collaboration is a major aspect of Teamwork and working together. ‘Teamwork Makes the Dream Work’. Everything is a Win-Win situation if we collaborate and watch out for each other.

*Bird’s Eye View of our city in CoSpaces*

Showcase Evening:

I loved having the parents come and tell me about their expertise in different jobs. It was also very nerve-wracking when the parents would ask you a question about your Utopia. The question would either relate back to the script or be something about our community. Sometimes the nerves would get to me and I would mess up my script but, thankfully I could pick up where I left off. Some parents would also mispronounce the name which was funny, but irritating at the same time.

My thoughts about Project Utopia:

In conclusion, I loved doing this project as there was always something to do; we were always busy with our work. This was a great learning experience as we had experts to guide us in our thinking. This project taught me many life skills that will benefit me in my later life. These include collaboration, organisation and leadership skills. In the end, this project will stand out in my life as by far the best project I have ever done!