1 Single Solitary Person Completed Holiday Work

It was with great disappointment that I checked students' blogs over the holidays. I was hoping to read of great scientific ideas and potential discoveries. Alas, this was not to be.

One person managed to complete the homework.

That is all.

1

It was not an overly difficult task. Update your blog. Outline a potential idea. Get a parent to write a comment on your blog.

Several students have written very good proposals, some have given a rough idea of a possible topic but with no detail. Others have managed to write a blog that says "Yeah, I made a blog!" And a few students haven't even managed that.

I am expecting your blog will be serving as a record of your WASP project. I am expecting a list of resources you have used to be included and linked from your blog. Iam expecting that your blog will count towards a significant part of your assessment. I am expecting at least 1 entry every fortnight from now until the project is due. I am expecting that your parents will be looking at your blog and leaving comments as well. I have a lot of expectations. And so far my expectations have not been met.

Selecting a Topic

Your WASP topic needs to be in the form of a question. This question will provide the impetus and drive for your project. There are a number of suggested topics on the WASP site, however not all of them are written in the form of a question. If you choose one of these topics you will need to carefully read the information provided and decide upon a question. I have also emailed an extensive list of questions that could form the basis of a WASP project.

Your next task is to decide on a question for your WASP topic.

• What do you want to investigate?
• What are you trying to find out?

The more specific your question, the easier it will be

Part of your WASP project involves an investigation / prac or some sort of model demonstrating the knowledge you have gained through the project.

• What experiments do you plan to carry out?
• What model do you plan to construct?
• How do these relate to your topic?
• How will these help answer your question?

Any research project starts with what is called a literature review. Essentially this is a summation of knowledge that is already out there. Your literature review will provide key information about your area of investigation. If you have chosen your topic from the WASP site, you will have some research questions outlined already. If you have selected a new topic, the background questions will be decided through consultation with me.

Before you return from the holidays, I will be checking your blog for a post detailing the above information.

Welcome

Welcome to the 2007 WASP Blog.

This blog will be your central communication point for all matters WASP related. On this page you will be able to find links to other students' blogs, important information regarding submission dates and other useful information.

Your blogs will be an online record of all work that you complete for your WASP project. You will be able to write journal entries, upload pictures and receive comments from myself, your friends and family. Your blog will form an important part of your WASP project.

Your first task is to create your own blog.

Blogger makes this a simple task,

• simply create an account
• name it and
  
• choose a template.

Privacy issues are an important consideration when posting to the Internet. Note that the title of this blog does not include my last name. The hotmail account I used to create this blog is my junk mail account, it is simply an email address that I use when surfing the Internet.

You can title your Blog however you like, but I would like your URL to be in the form WASPFirstnameLastinitial eg www.waspseanr.blogspot.com is my blog address.

Once you have created your blog, I would like you to make a post to it. After you have made a post, add a comment to this blog and include your blog address.