Utopia Reflection

Our goal of this utopian society project was to try to create a utopia in small groups. It started off during home learning when we read the giver and thought about what they considered a utopia and why. We were then told we were going to create a physical or digital model of what we thought a perfect world should look like, and what we should try to work towards in our future.

This project tied into many different subjects, because we had all been learning about various topics in our different MESH classes, then realising we would have to input the information we had learned into Our utopia. The connections to different subjects were: HASS- the main connections were liveability, which we learned about in home learning and in term 2, and civics and citizenship, which we learned about in term 3. When we were learning about liveability, we found out what exactly liveability means, and what makes a country liveable. In term 3, we looked into civics and citizenship. We learned about the different types of ruling such as monarchy, democracy, etc. We looked into the Westminster system and what we use in Australia. We also went on an online tour of the old parliament house. Science- We learned about sustainability in terms 2 and 3 when we created a sustainable house in pairs. This involved researching 25 sustainable features, designs, and behaviours. We then created a model of what we thought a fully sustainable house should look and function. English- the project all started when we read the Giver written by Lois Lowry in class. The giver was about creating a perfect society that inspired us to try to create a Utopia on groups. Another aspect that fits into English was the presentation and public speaking part. In English, we planned our presentation that we were going to present to the parents and guests in class. This included making palm cards, finding pictures, and making a presentation. Connected learning- In connected learning, we learned how to effectively use the laser cutting machines by creating a clock and a coaster. Some groups used their laser cutting skills to create their utopia by laser cutting trees and buildings. Although our group didn’t use the laser cutting facilities, many other groups did. InnovateEd- In InnovateED, there was a rotation of activities that we did that included engineering skills, ideating skills, and collaboration. We then implemented these skills in our groups which played a big part in the success of our group. We also learned about the UN global goals which played a big part in our Utopia because that was how we got accreditations and improved our Utopia.

Something that I enjoyed learning about was civics and citizenship because I was not too familiar with the topic and I was excited to learn about it. I found it a little boring at first but then I started studying the topic and found the HASS lessons more enjoyable. I was fascinated when we did laser cutting during connected learning because I was intrigued with the mechanics of the machine and I enjoyed creating the models on adobe illustrator.

The thing that I enjoyed the most was definitely the building stage of the utopia. Since I love art and craft, it was really fun to do things at school that I love doing and things that I am pretty good at.

A challenging aspect that me and the rest of my group faced was setting up our area before the showcase because it was really hard to decide were everything would go and how we should set it up. We had many decisions to make, which was hard because everyone had their own opinions. An example of a hard question is when we had to decide which sustainable house to use in our different partnerships within our groups.

Overall, if I had to redo this project, I would keep mostly everything the same, but if I had to change some things I would probably look into trying to get a few more accreditations, since we had all the features in our community, it was just the matter of preparing a pitch and going for an accreditation. I would also try to use more ASC capabilities because there were a lot of times I was sitting around doing nothing. there were many chances I could have used to be more productive, which could have improved our end result. This was a really enjoyable project because I had the chance to learn various skills that all tied into 1 project. I also loved doing this in groups of 3 because we all used our strengths together to do the best we could possibly do. I am really happy and thankful that I got to participate in this project because I had so much fun, strengthened friendship bonds, and learned so much more.

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