Day 2 Reflections

Using the SST Experiential Learning Cycle, we went through the reflections with students.

		PUBLISHING	PROCESSING	GENERALIZING	APPLYING
SN	Name	What happened today?	What is the cause of it?	What have I learnt?	What should I do in the future?
1	Jayden	In the morning, we woke up and ate breakfast, then had a lecture on the radiojove and how the radiojove works, and then we got to see it in action. Then, we watched a movie related to astronomy called 'The Martian' We also went fox hunting again, this time as hunters instead of gamemasters At night, we had a lesson on telescopes and lenses, and how telescopes work. There wasnt much problems today, except for during the fox hunting, where the transmitters were difficult to locate	The signals from the transmitters probably bounced off walls, making them harder to detect. We however, managed to find one transmitter, at the top of the hill, where there were not much buildings. The gamemasters also probably hid the transmitters at somewhere hard to notice	I learnt that I should not give up easily and look harder, and that fox hunting should probably be played in a wide open area	Play fox hunting in a more open area with a lack of buildings
2	Clyde	After having our breakfast, We had a lesson on radio telescopes, using the INSPIRE and the RadioJove. We learnt about how the computer software is used to graph the the signals, how the signals work and the real-world applications of the radio telescopes. After having our lunch, we had a screening of "The Martian". It was a sci-fi movie about a man that was stranded in mars and had to sustain himself in the martian terrain while waiting to be rescued. It gave me an insight into the possibilities in Mars. Then, we went for another round of our fox-hunting activity. This time, I was the hunter. We were met with many challenges, and we were only able to locate one transmitter. Operating the receiver was very difficult, and it was hard to tell reliably where the transmitter (the "foxes") After dinner, we had a lesson on lenses and learnt about the ray diagrams and how the lenses work.	I think this happened because the signal was being reflected off the walls, and that there was much interference with our signals.	I have learnt that there is interference in radio waves and that what helps us can end up causing problems for us later.
3	Alex	In the morning, there was a lesson about radio telescopes. After the lesson, we went to one of the rooms where the the di-pole radio telescope was set up. Than, Mr Tan connected the radio telescope to a laptop to start data logging the sun. After lunch, we watched a movie called the Martian. Subsequently, when the movie ended, the sec 2s conducted the fox hunting and this time we were the hunters. We managed to find at least one of the transmitters. After dinner, there was a lesson on lenses conducted by Mr Tan. After that, we did imaging with Powerseeker.	The cause for not being able to find more telescopes were becaused there was a lot of buildings near where the transmitters were. Thus, the signal of the transmitters were bouncing off the walls.	I have learnt more about radio telescopes and lenses.	I should apply this knowledge in my physics alternative assessment.
4	Kevin	We attended a lesson on radios and how to draw ray diagrams and how it can be used in telescopes. We also watched the dipole radio being set up and the data being logged into a software. Then, we watched The Martian, which was about a man trapped on Mars and how he survives. We also went fox hunting, but this time I was the hunter. I had troubles locating the transmitter as the signal was either too consistent or too inconsistent. After fox hunting, we set up the Powerseeker and took pictures of ourselves.	I think this was due to the signal reflecting off the walls, so we did not know where the signal truly came from.	I learnt how the principles of ray diagrams, optics and lenses can be applied to making a telescope.	I can better understand how telescopes and other equipments that use rays work.
5	Kenneth	Today, we had a short theory lesson on RadioJove and what spectrums of light different cosmic bodies. Afterwards, we headed to the rooms of one of our groupmates and had a demonstration on how to obtain readings on solar flares. I found the lectures to be very informative and I was able to absorb a lot of information from it. After our lunch, we were given a chance to watch the movie "Martian", which was about an astronaut trapped on Mars and the methods he used to survive. Next was the Fox-Hunting activity. Today was our turn to be the Hunters and we were seperated into 3 teams. Unfortunately, our team only managed to find one transmitter. Finally at night we were given another lecture, this time on how telescopes worked and how lenses bend light. We also did imaging as our final activity for the night before retiring into our rooms. All in all, I find the day to be packed full of fun and rewarding activities and I truly appreciate the time and effort dedicated by our teachers into making the day a success.	The cause for not being able to find more transmitters was because the space we were given was not as open as I would have liked. I believe that due to the many buildings in our way, the singal being transmitted was bouced around and we were unable to get a proper lock on to its position.	Today, I learnt how light bends when passed thorough a lens and that there are different spectrums of light being reflected from different cosmic bodies.	In the future, we should get a more open space without any buildings to facilitate our Fox-Hunting activity.
6	Tony	Today morning, our Teacher-in-Charge Mr Tan gave us a lecture about radio telescopes. The lecture included the history of radio telescopes, the usage of radio telescopes as well as current radio telescopes. After that, we went to test out our very own radio telescope that we made. The telescope was simple: we had antennas strung around our building, which connected to a radio. The radio acted as a amplifier for the signals received from the antennas, which was then transmitted onto a computer that plotted a graph. This radio telescope can be used to measure electromagnetic waves, which it emitted by the Sun as well as Jupiter. In the afternoon, we watch a motion-picture production called The Martian. The movie was about an astronaut stranded on mars, and using clever scientific methods to survive, until he was rescued by others. Although I have seen this movie before, it was a good refresher, and I could understand more of the scientific jargon, such as the Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator. After the movie screening, we formed into groups and began our Fox-Hunting game. Fox-Hunting is a game that uses antennas equipped with radios as receivers, which can receive beeps from transmitters which are hiding around the compound. Our task was to use the antennas to find as much transmitters as possible. After going out to find the transmitters, I was quickly targeted by many mosquitoes, and within a few minutes, I already had two or three bites. In the end my group found two out of four transmitters in the field. In the evening, Mr Tan gave us another informative lecture on Lenses and telescopes. The lecture covered bi-convex lenses, focal points, and focal lengths. Mr Tan also talked about different types of telescopes such as the Schmidt-Cassegrain, and Newtonian telescopes. This lesson was very useful for me as I would be tested on this topic on the upcoming exams. The lesson was to prepare us so for astrophotography, which we did after the lesson. We connected a Celestron camera onto our Powerseeker telescope, and then linked it up with a computer. The only problem we faced was that the Powerseeker was too loose after being fixed onto the tripod. We realised that the tripod needed a screw to screw into the Powerseeker, but we could not find the screw. We then decided to place the Powerseeker onto a few boxes to act as support. After much adjustments, we could finally focus it onto a target we drew on a big piece of paper.	I did not pack any mosquito repellent because I did not think it would have been a big issue. Due to the warm and humid climate, I also did not wear long pants and long sleeve shirts as it was too hot which caused me to sweat. The cause of the problem with the mount was because we did not assemble the telescope before leaving Singapore. We were unable to determine whether we were missing something that impeded in setting up the telescope.	Throught the lectures, I learnt more about radio telescopes, lenses and how different telescope models function. I also learnt that there are many mosquitoes in humid and hot places near the ocean.	I should research more about the location before actually departing, so that I can prepare the necessary provisions that I may need. I should also try to assemble the telescopes before bringing them out, so that we can check that nothing is missing.
7	You Jia	Today morning we had a lecture on radio telescopes, and saw our universe through different wavelengths. We went to see the radiojove telescope that was set up. Mr Tan explained about the Radiojove and INSPIRE, and started datalogging on the Radiojove. We watched "The Martian" in the afternoon and Did fox hunting in the early evening. However, there were many mosquitos that bit and the weather was humid.After dinner, the group attended a lesson on lenses and different telescopes by Mr Tan and tried out Imaging in the conference room.We did not go stargazing because it was cloudy.We could also not actually use the avx mount as there is a slight safety issue due to not having a screw in the tripod.	We did not have long pants, long sleeves and no mosquito repellent.However if we wore long sleeves and pants we would sweat even more. It was also hard to find the transmitters in the fox hunting activity as the resort was large and the signal could be blocked by many sources of interference. For the avx mount, we thought that the box we brought it in contained the new tripod(with the screw) instead of the old one(without screw). It is possible that it was swapped sometime when i was not around for some activity.	We should bring fans and mosquito for every trip if the destination has a warm and humid climate. We should also not assume that the new equipment is not touched just because it is in the box.	We must bring fans and mosquito repellent and have 2 hours to set up all equipment to check before we leave.
8	Jia Chen	Today, we learnt how to use the RadioJove and what the data means. The data we collected showed the graph fluctuating more in the day time then in the night which Mr Tan explained later. Following that, we watched a move called The Martian. The movie was a science fiction movie depicting the life of an astronaut after being stranded on Mars and having to grow his own food. We then conducted the fox hunting activities, this time, it was the secondary 2s hiding the foxes and the other students finding it. While we were waiting for the others to locate all our transmitters, we started setting up the telescopes to the camera and tried taking several photos and adjusting the length of the telescopes to focus the telescope. Kit Hint and I managed to view a house on an opposite island, we found that the house was made out of wood and there were two lights on and a chair. We then used the camera and the telescope to capture items around the room and we managed to capture a video of Jia Ning rolling her eyes. We then focused the telescope on the door to capture the face of everyone that walks in. Finally, we had a theory lessons how the telecope works, how to draw ray diagrams, how the focal point is important in the clarity of the subject and how to determine the focal point. We then went out to capture stars but found that it was too cloudy and could hardly see any stars.
9	Kit Hint	Today, we started the day with a lesson on antennas, receivers and wavelengths. Through this lesson, we got to know more about radios and their uses, such as in radio telescopes, home appliances and communication. We then later operated the radiojove through a laptop and saw how a graph was plotted using data gathered by the radiojove, we noticed that the graph plotted was quite consistent and we left it over he course of a day to coninue plotting data. We then went for lunch where we got to try the resorts pizza. We then watched a movie titled the martian. It was about space survival and how one man survived alone in mars for 1 and a half years by salvaging and scavenging whatever he could find to survive. He was then later rescued with the help of his colleagues as well as his employers at NASA who worked tirelessly on finding a feasible rescue plan. We then went fox-hunting where the sec 2's were tasked with hiding all the foxes/transmitters. While the rest were foxhunting, the sec 2's stayed behind to assemble the telescopes with the CCD camera installed for imaging. Me and Jia Chen then went outside to calibrate the telescope where we were able to see and take a picture of the people on another island. We then went for dinner and had a lesson on how lenses work. We then got everyone to try imaging with the telescope.
10	Moses	We learnt about the different types of telescopes and also the concept of lens reflection and refraction. We drew diagrams to show how different distance between the two lenses can determine the distance away the object can be seen. We also watched a movie called 'The Martian'. It was fascinating as it was about a man who survived on Mars by himself for over one year. We also did fox hunting, and I was the mobile fox. It was amusing as I had to be on the move and also try not to be seen by anyone. We also learnt about a radio telescope. We first built a dipod antenna and hooked it up to the laptop. The results showed by the graph collected showed that the results fluctuate a lot. However, at night the graph fluctuates a lot.	We forgot to bring the tripod of the telescope we were supposed to use. We could have placed the telescope on another tripod. However, we did not want to risk the telescope dropping onto the floor and causing the telescope to break.	I have learnt that radio waves can help detect solar flares and prevent it from causing problems for us later, for example, the melting of electrical wires. I learnt that every lens has a focal point and one can use that focal point to use lenses like a telescope.
11	Adam	Today, we learned about telescopes by using the Radio JOVE lesson in the morning before discovering how to collect data from the radio telescope by connecting the antennae to a receiver, followed by the program in the computer. We saw the graph that it was plotting and it was fluctuating up and down but between the same range. We had also watched The Martian in the conference room, and we surely enjoyed the movie. After that, we were deployed to hide the foxes, aka the transmitter, around the resort so that the other members who were going to play the fox hunting game and try to find the foxes. One of your friends, Moses was in charge of being the mobile fox, walking around with the fox. Unfortunately, two groups of hunters found him by following the signal of the radio waves. We learned about astronomical lenses and how we can use formulas to find what were the characteristics of the image we see, depending on the distance between the lens. We drew diagrams to try and understand the relationship between the length of the lenses and the image we perceive. Lastly, we used the telescope to image objects from very far away and made sure everybody had a chance to use it. Unfortunately, we could not attach the telescope to the tripod so the things we could image were very restricted as we just placed it on a box, on a table.	The collection of the data was not successful at the start so they had to try again until it worked. While waiting for the game to end, we were helping set up the telescopes before realising that we might have brought the wrong tripod or left something crucial in our school. This was because the telescope we were supposed to use could not be attached to the tripod securely enough, so for safety reasons, we could not use it. We could have placed the telescope on the tripod anyway and hope for the best but we were not going to risk the telescope dropping onto the floor and everything braking.	I have learnt how radio telescopes work and how we can use it to identify anomalies in the sun. We also always need to check that everything works and has the necessary parts before bringing it to another place to use it there. In this case, we do not use the telescopes very often, so it is easy to forget crucial parts that that put together the whole telescope. If we had put everything together before this trip, we would have known that the bolts were missing and it would not be too late before we left for Barelang.	We can remind one another in case we forgot anything and we can set aside one day to put together everything to ensure everything works as planned and there is nothing that will hinder us from carrying out the activity. It is such an awful feeling when you realise a small item can cause your whole event to fail so this process of checking is crucial to the success of activities throughout the trip.
12	Adiel	A splendid day it was. In the morning, after breakfast, I went through a lesson on radio telescopes through the use of Radio JOVE lesson materials. Afterwards, we proceeded to check out how the receiver could capture an input in order for it to be processed into data that could be plotted on a group. We watched The Martian afterwards and observed the use of concepts of Physics in the movie. Later that day, I participated in a Fox Hunting game for the second time and it is more successful this time, if I were to consider the main objective as the number of transmitters found. Lastly, at night, we went through a lesson on Lenses, the use of ray diagrams to explain how a telescope with lenses work to produce an intended image.	I am more successful in the Fox Hunting this time due to the different strategy my team used which is to scavenger every corner of a certain area instead of heavily relying on instinct or just giving up and finding another transmitter.	One thing I have learnt from the lesson on antennas and receivers is how we could built a large receiver and a the same time save money. A "Very Large Array" formation consists of a row of radio telescopes placed in a "fan" formation to mimic how a large receiver works. This saves the extra cost of building a large receiver. This time, during the Fox Hunting game, I learnt that perseverance is key. Despite failure the other day, my new team decided that we should be more meticulous in finding the transmitters. We split the job of finding it in the same area but in different corners so as to not waste time and quickly mark out areas that have been search. The lesson on Lenses uses what I have learnt in Optics. The lessons make use of ray diagrams to explain how a telescope with lenses work.	In the future, I should look back at these events in order to not repeat any same mistakes (wherever applicable) and constantly remind myself of relevant concepts that I could use the same field of study.
13	Jun Hua	Today's weather was fine and dandy, we had to wake up early in the morning so we could experience the wonderful activities in stored for us ahead. We watched a movie, did fox-hunting and had some theory lessons! The Martian was a wonderful movie screening although I had already viewed this cinematic before. Fox-hunting was phenomenal, we managed to unearth 2 transmitters compared to 0 transmitters the previous day. Although it could've been because we had 4 members instead of 2 this time. Lastly we had theory lessons held by our wonderful CCA teacher, Mr Tan. He shared with us knowledge about Radio Jove and even about how to draw ray diagrams and how lenses would perform their function in a telescope. It was a very insightful learninge experience indeed.	The logical explaination corresponding to the results of 2 radio transmitters being found instead of 0 like the previous venture was because I learned from my mistakes from yesterday. I practiced good teamwork with my group members assisting them more often than not such as covering a part of an area to ensure the we had a wide coverage over the vast area while reducing the chance of missing it.	As cliche as this may sound, I learned that teamwork makes the dream work. As seen from the results of fox-hunting, it proves the point that working as a team can prove to produce great results. Other than that, I learned more about lenses which would prove to be helpful to me as I am studying the subject commonly known as Physics.	I should keep up my effort to be more of a team playa instead of it being a one time thing. I should also try to be more focused as sometimes during the theory or movie I would be on a fool's paradise due to my exhaustion caused by my sleeping schedule and the lack of content that makes me more engaged.
14	Andrien	Today we learnt how to use the RadioJove and to collect data. The data that we have collected showed a fluctuating graph. In the afternoon, we watch a movie - The Martian. After that we played fox hunting and we went to test out the powerseeker to capture images. Then we had the lesson about lenses from Mr Tan and we all get to each take at least 1 photo per person.	We brought the wrong mount for the AVX Telescope and left the correct mount in school so we could not use that telescope to view and to capture images from far	I have learnt that every part of any equipment is very important as if there is a missing part from the whole set of equipment, the whole thing may not even work properly.	I should help to think of ways to solve the problem that we have.
15	Zachary	Today we had some lessons on radio telescopes. The program was called radiojouve and it thought us the theory of radio telescopes and more. Next, we set up and began logging radiation from the sun with our radio telescope. After that, we watched a movie: the martian. it was very nice i guess? Then, we had some fox hunting activities. Similar to yesterday. Lastly, we did telescope imaging. We used the telescope to take photos of things such as JiaNing's face.	We did not bring the correct tripod and we were not able to use the telescope to image space stuff.	i leart the different types of telescopes such as refractors, newtonian and reflector telescope types	CHeck what we bring is the correct item we want to bring.
16	Ernest	Today mr tan conducted a lesson on radio telescope called radiojoves. We learnt about some radio telescopes and the physics behind them. After that, we went to the radio telescope constructed yesterday and talked more about it. Afterwards, we watched the movie The Martian. While I read the book, the movie was still interesting. Later on, we went for a foxhunt where we found the mobile one and a stationary but only with the help of another group. Finally, we had a brief lecture on lens physics and brought out the telescopes to use as phototakers.	We could not find the foxes as we did not look carefull in certain areas, especially towards the end. we were impatient to find them and coupled with the fact that we were inexperienced did not find as many as we could.	Experience is important when about to perform an activity	Look for a way/read upon future activities and any adivice i can find.
17	Madhulika	In the morning we learnt about the basics of radio astronomy. We learnt about the Electromagnetic Spectrum and more about the Gamma rays produced by the smoke alarms. We also learnt how to calculate the wavelength. We also learnt how radio telescopes work and why placing many radio telescopes in one area will be more efficient. Also we talked about different places on earth that have radio telescopes eg. Mauna Kea and their usefullness as they're able to measure the levels of co2. Later, we watched the movie Martian. The movie was amazing and very interesting as it depics a man surviving on Mars with limited amount of food and basic needs, it has some astronomical concepts of holding onto a person and rescuing him in space. Then, while the others played fox hunting, we help set up the telescopes to do the imaging, however the tripod and the telescope did not fit together, i guess we had brought the wrong one. We also tried doing the imaging, it was quite fun focusing on different stuff around the room. It was very educational too. At night, we learnt how to draw the ray diagram and about lenses. It was quite interesing on how lenses work and how the image will change when we place them at different distances. We also learnt about the structure of telescopes.	We didnt bring the correct tripod to do the imaging	I learnt to be quick-thinking as I had to look for other methods to place the telescope and do the imaging	I must be focused and spontanius.