Project Utopia


Introduction

The Giver

Our introduction to this project was through reading the Year 7 novel, the Giver.  My class read this book and analysed the unique genre this story is presented in. The Giver is set in a utopian world, where every aspect of the community is perfect. This also linked deeply to our humanities lessons, as we were exploring liveability and the different components that contribute to a better world. For majority of the cohort, it was the first time we took a greater look into the phrases “utopia” and “liveability”, while exploring the vast number of ways in which we can incorporate perfection into our new project, and display these ideas on a vision board

The Global Goals

The UN Global Goals were focused on in great depth in the project. It was suggested that our group tried to incorporate as many of the goals as they could, whilst still being able to justify the reasoning behind their decision. Due to the nature of our design (cable cart), my group came to a conclusive decision about the goals that would best fit our system. We ended up focusing on Goal 8, and Goal 9:

Global Goals Diorama

By studying the UN Global Goals, I discovered that each of them relate to one another, and saw the unique connection the goals had to liveability. I also learnt the importance of their inclusion in a utopian society, and gained a better understanding of the challenges faced in the real world.

ASC Capabilities

To begin most of the Innovat-ED sessions, we were reminded about the ASC capabilities wheel. These were the various capabilities that we could implement within our group to achieve the most out of each session. My group had to particularly focus on two capabilities: Problem Solving and Effective Communication.

ASC Capabilities

During this project, communication was one of the key aspects for success. In each group, the members had to communicate effectively if they wanted any progress in their tasks, which was tricky, as there was limited time. We decided to use Microsoft Teams, so that we could have additional time to communicate any ideas, concerns, or suggestions outside of school time. After doing this and seeing the improvement in productiveness, I learnt the importance of effective communication, and its benefit in the real world

Talking to Paul Garbett

A factor that we coincidentally focused on withought realizing it was Problem Solving. After we had made the decision about our design linking to transportation (cable cart), we had to do a significant amount of research about the materials it would be made out of, the people who would be affected by its construction, and its main purpose. While doing this, we were struck with many issues about how the system would run, and how it would affect the local environment in which it would be built around. Our cable cart was powered by fossil fuels, due to it being the most effective energy source compared to others. By employing this provider of energy, we had to compromise some aspects of sustainability. Overtime, we had to use our problem-solving skills to find practical solutions to the predicaments, while not losing the main essence of our idea. This was difficult, but definitely improved my problem-solving skills.

Planning

During the project, our group was informed that we would be creating a vision board, which was made to illustrate the main idea for this task. Prior to beginning work on the activity, we were required to undertake in a severe amount of planning before we began to work on the genuine board. Planning in such a detailed manner showed me that giving a good amount of forethought into something beforehand, yields positive results for our final creation (vision board).

Making vision board

This was proven once we received our board, as we knew exactly where to place each image to contribute towards a clean, yet stylistic look. Whereas if we did not plan at all, the results may have been completely different. The process of creating this board taught me about the noteworthiness of planning, and the many ways it affects the final product.

Public Speaking

Performing Speech

Our public speaking skills were a major part of Project Utopia. Each group was required to present an informative speech in front of their class, and eventually on the morning of the showcase. I learnt the different presentation skills that I could have incorporated in my speech. I capitalized on hand gestures to grasp the attention of spectators, and used eye contact to make my audience much more attentive. In my personal experience, these tactics helped contribute towards a successful presentation. Along with these skills, I also discovered the benefit of speaking in a calm and dignified manner, which improved the overall tone of my speech. I found presenting to parents and special guests more difficult, as they were mainly people I didn’t know. However, if I felt any doubt, I used the public speaking skills I learnt in class to guide the rest of my speech.

Conclusion

My group at the showcase

In conclusion, Project Utopia was a very enjoyable experience. The process that lasted an entire term ended up teaching me information about the academic subjects in Year 7, ranging from Science, English and Humanities. My leadership skills were improved, along with my public speaking, communication, and planning. As I grow older, I hope I am able to use these capabilities in the real world, and apply them in my day-to-day life.