This week, Ethan spent more time indoors but it didn’t seem to bother him too much. He was plenty busy and still got in some fresh air by going jogging in the morning. We all went together when the weather was nice. The beach here is fairly quiet in the morning, so plenty of distance from other people.
Here’s Ethan’s week…
March 22


Carl: This was an interesting video using pool to demonstrate how an ellipse of a certain shape and size would allow you to sink the pool balls no matter where they hit the side of the ellipse.
March 23





Ethan also made the following videos on this day.
March 24



Carl: We did this together. We took turns navigating the rover with verbal instructions from the other person. Only the navigator could peek. The goal was to collect five objects in five minutes. You had to wait 10 seconds after receiving instructions before you could move the rover. This was to simulate what it’s really like to control the rover from Earth.




Carl: The Tell Your Story program was offered by the library. It was originally an in-person program but they moved it online. Ethan had to submit something he wrote, which would be critiqued by other participants and eventually published as an e-book. Ethan had to provide constructive feedback, highlighting positive aspects of another writer’s work, as well as things they might want to consider improving. The e-books will be published in June or July. Ethan is using the “Adventures of a Piece of Paper” comic series he made a couple of years ago.





Carl: Next week, Ethan will take live taekwondo classes via Zoom. The instructors will be able to observe each student as they practice. This online class will count towards testing for Ethan’s next belt.

Carl: Ethan’s mom wrote everything in Korean for Ethan to translate.
The videos that Ethan made and published today.
March 25









Carl: Ethan redid these based on feedback from the beta reader in the Tell Your Story program. He has to scan the books afterwards and share them with the instructor for publishing.

Carl: The participants in Tell Your Story had to create a book cover using Canva. Ethan learned how to make a drop shadow effect. He also took feedback from his mom and incorporated it into the cover design.

Carl: Ethan watched a tutorial about the 12 principles of animation and wanted to create his own animations afterward. We installed Final Cut Pro X and he learned about keyframing and wireframes. He also made the stick figure in Graphic and imported it into Final Cut Pro for this project.

March 26









Carl: This is the finished book cover Ethan made for Tell Your Story.

Carl: The teacher is the Tell Your Story teacher, Patricia.




Carl: This was in JavaScript.




Carl: Ethan read this because the field trip about poetry talked about the fun poems in this book. The instructor mentioned how Carroll used made up words and how that’s ok. Ethan enjoyed learning that you could use whatever words you like, even made up ones.
The videos Ethan made and published today.
March 27

Carl: Khan Academy had a live stream teaching Algebra.

Carl: This was a live class on Facebook.
March 28

Ethan had a very busy week, learning new things about history, math and getting into animation by using Final Cut Pro and Adobe Animate. We still went out for some fresh air by going jogging when the weather was nice but also kept our physical distance from others.
Hopefully, this blog provides some inspiration for the families wondering what to do with schooling during this current coronavirus situation. Hope that you and your family are staying safe and healthy.
Spring Connection:
My I Can… statement
I can get better at making new equations, and figuring out new equations.
My photo
I put in this image, since I was having a hard time copying yours.
My strengths
Complete these statements related to your I Can … statement
I feel I was really good at:
Figuring out those formulas was hard, and so was figuring out how to prove Heron’s formula, which said that if you have a triangle and you know it’s side lengths, you can figure out the area. (a, b, and c are the side lengths.)in fact, if s = (a+b+c) / 2, area = sqrt(s * (s-a)*(s-b)*(s-c)).
Thank you for your reflections Ethan, you are exceptional at figuring out new equations and finding new ones too.
I want you to notice:
That the above photo does not at all look like area = sqrt(s * (s-a)*(s-b)*(s-c)). so, I proved that they are in fact, the same! here is khan academy explaining it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZu7IZLhJRI
You are so resourceful at finding math equations and proofs which are of interest to you.
My stretches
If I could change one thing, it would be:
I would want to make a formula that solved both even and odd numbers.
because:
It can be a hassle to remember if it’s even or odd, and remember 2 formulas.
You have to use different equations based on whether the number is odd or even?
I know you are on Brilliant, have you seen these questions: https://brilliant.org/practice/area-of-triangles-herons-formula/
I guess they have challenge quizzes too.
I know you love visuals:
Heron’s Formula: a Proof
The area S of a triangle ABC, with side length a, b, c and semiperimeter s = (a + b + c)/2, is given by S² = s(s – a)(s – b)(s – c).
Heron’s formula is named after Hero of Alexandria (1 century AD. The formula is a specialization of Brahmagupta’s formula for cyclic quadrilaterals. For, after all, every triangle is a cyclic quadrilateral with two coalesced vertices. I find the proof presented below rather amusing because it exploits the dissection of a triangle induced by the presence of the incircle.
Self-reflecting is a tool to deepen your learning, thank you for engaging in this. You can use it anytime as you learn and evaluate new infomation:
You are an inspiration Ethan and your passion for learning is infectious. I wonder what new innovations and ideas are going to spark and ignite as a result of your passions.
This was your submission for the Fall Connection:
I can … I can get new ideas, build on others’ ideas, and add ideas of my own, or combine other people’s ideas in new ways to create new things or solve problems. | Here is my example: I know I can because I figured out that, if you have a number that is even, and you add that to the next lower number, like n+(n-1)+(n-2)+…+3+2+1, you can rewrite that as (n+1)*n/2, or (n^2-n)/2, and from that, I figured out that, if you have an odd number, n, for n+(n-1)+, etc. +3+2 +1, that is n*(n+1)/n or ((n^2-n)/2)+n | My learning goal is:I can get better at making new equations, and figuring out new equations. |
Now for the Spring Connection:
Please complete the following questions – you can use photos, videos, audio, drawings, stories, artifacts, or anything you want to answer the questions.
To edit and type right in this content block, double click on the title of this block. Make sure to press “Save” when you have completed it.
To print these questions, click here and choose print. Once complete, you can upload as a part of your Observing for Learning.
My I Can… statement
I can get better at making new equations, and figuring out new equations.
My photo

My strengths
Complete these statements related to your I Can … statement
- I feel I was really good at:
Figuring out those formulas was hard, and so was figuring out how to prove Heron’s formula, which said that if you have a triangle and you know it’s side lengths, you can figure out the area. (a, b, and c are the side lengths.)in fact, if s = (a+b+c) / 2, area = sqrt(s * (s-a)*(s-b)*(s-c)).
- I want you to notice:
That the above photo does not at all look like area = sqrt(s * (s-a)*(s-b)*(s-c)). so, I proved that they are in fact, the same! here is khan academy explaining it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZu7IZLhJRI
My stretches
Complete these statements related to your I Can … statement
- If I could change one thing, it would be:
I would want to make a formula that solved both even and odd numbers.
- because:
- It can be a hassle to remember if it’s even or odd, and remember 2 formulas.
Hello Natasha!
how are you?
I’m fine, just learning some new stuff.
here are the answers to your questions!
How has the week been progressing for you, Ethan?
My week has been great, I’m just learning math at home, doing science problems at home, hanging out with my friends online… that sorta stuff.
I make sure to get outside and exercise every day. What have you been doing outside most these days?
Well, I jog almost every day (my mom made me), but that’s pretty much it! On Sunday, I did a 10-minute workout at home on youtube.
Does it feel like homeschool as usual or have some things shifted?
Well, I still feel normal, just that I can’t go out and play and hang out with my friends. That’s it. COVID-19 hasn’t affected my life much at all!
I am sorry that this class was probably canceled due to covid-19? It was an in-person class, wasn’t it?
Actually, The class finished before the COVID-19 things. So I got to finish my city. and yes, it was an in-person class.
Are you able to work on some more of the designs at home? Do you some inspiration or new ideas?
Yes, I am able to work on my ideas and designs at home. And yes, I do, from the class. I’m thinking about adding more parts to the city, like an apartment building.
Do you draw your designs first before you build them in 3D?
No, I don’t draw my designs first. Actually, I just start building and see how it goes.
Thanks,
Ethan
ps. I really liked the videos. the one with the fog was really cool, but you had a typo with the URL. it should have been https://vimeo.com/69445362, not https://https://vimeo.com/69445362. 😉 Also, you said that the oceans came from comets, that’s wrong. the oceans actually came from asteroids! 😉
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