May 11th, 2015To start off the personal project process we had to fill in this topic proposal.
My topic of interest was traveling. This is because I enjoy traveling and experiencing new cultures. I would like my personal project to be something within the traveling topic. For my final project I would like to create a travel guide for teenagers traveling to Norway. This would be mostly related to IS or English, as I have to both research and present my information in the right way using the right language. I believe that the global context that relates best to my project would be "Personal and Cultural Expression" but this might change as I do not know much about this for now. The outcome that I would like to achieve is a travel book with the quality of a professional travel book. I will keep track of what I do on this weebly and I will be using google doc. |
May 12th, 2015
I had a meeting with Ms. Crothers to discuss my personal project idea. She helped me build on my idea and she also helped me think about what I would have to research. We thought about the global context and decided that "Orientation in Space and Time" would be the most suitable one. I will focus on the exploration of journeys part of the global context. I chose this Global context because my PP will require researching since it is about Norway. Even though I am Norwegian, I do not know everything about Norway, so this still makes it a challenge. Ms. Crothers gave me many ideas that will help me build on my personal project.
May 29th, 2015
For May 26, we had to fill in a personal project proposal that we had to present to a Goal Approval Panel. My Goal Approval Panel consisted of Ms. Shin, Mr. Young and one other teacher. In this meeting I told the teachers about my goal, and the purpose of my personal project. I also talked about the global context and the product/outcome. We were told that "at the end of the meeting, your teachers will either approve your goal or make recommendations for you to improve." The teachers I was assigned liked my idea and decided to approve it.
*Key points
Goal:
My goal is to create a travel guide for teenagers with enjoyable things to do in Norway that will make them appreciate Norway more.
What is the purpose of the goal? What do you hope to achieve?
The purpose of the goal is to learn how to write an informational travel guide and to get more knowledge of my home country, Norway. This will help me learn how to write to a specific audience since my travel book will be directed at teenagers. I hope to be able to make teenagers experiences in Norway more enjoyable as well as making it easier for the parents to know what teenagers enjoy to do.
Global context:
Orientation in space and time
Identify which part of the global context you will focus on:
The exploration of journeys
Explain why you have chosen it, justifying the relevance of your inquiry:
Product/outcome: My goal is to develop a high quality travel guidebook for teenagers traveling to Norway. I will investigate what teenagers what teenagers enjoy doing, and I will compare it to activities that are available in Norway. With this information I will create a travel book to improve their travel experience. Improving their travel experience will make them appreciate Norway more.
Criteria: Outline the specifications that will ensure your product/outcome is of excellent quality? How will you evaluate your product/outcome?
To ensure that my travel guidebook is good enough I will be talking to my supervisor, librarians, travellers, and teenagers. I will get feedback from them as to what I could change and what they like. Talking to a broad group of people will ensure that the quality is the best possible. I will talk to librarians to see if this is something they would like to offer in their library, and if it is good enough for them.
Research:
Researching will be a big part of this project. For every activity and place I include in my travel book there are so many things that I have to discuss. These are different ways of researching and how they will benefit me.
Media:
I can use media to research things like locations, prices, safety, hours of operation, and other things you need to know for the activities that are suggested in the travelling book.
Interviews:
Interviews are a good way of getting information from a directed group of people. Interviewing Norwegian teenagers could be a way to get ideas for activities.
Surveys:
Surveys are an essential part of my research process. I will have to make surveys to see what teens enjoy doing, since that is the main point of my book. I can also send out surveys when I am done with my book to see what people think of it.
Observations & experiences:
My own experiences will definitely benefit me while doing this project. I already have some ideas for activities that I will be including in my book. I will be looking at youtube videos from both Norwegian people, and foreigners that have travelled to Norway and have chosen to share their experiences. Mainly, I will have to look at travel books that already exist, like lonely planet to make sure that I include all the essential parts of a travel guide.
My goal is to create a travel guide for teenagers with enjoyable things to do in Norway that will make them appreciate Norway more.
What is the purpose of the goal? What do you hope to achieve?
The purpose of the goal is to learn how to write an informational travel guide and to get more knowledge of my home country, Norway. This will help me learn how to write to a specific audience since my travel book will be directed at teenagers. I hope to be able to make teenagers experiences in Norway more enjoyable as well as making it easier for the parents to know what teenagers enjoy to do.
Global context:
Orientation in space and time
Identify which part of the global context you will focus on:
The exploration of journeys
Explain why you have chosen it, justifying the relevance of your inquiry:
Product/outcome: My goal is to develop a high quality travel guidebook for teenagers traveling to Norway. I will investigate what teenagers what teenagers enjoy doing, and I will compare it to activities that are available in Norway. With this information I will create a travel book to improve their travel experience. Improving their travel experience will make them appreciate Norway more.
Criteria: Outline the specifications that will ensure your product/outcome is of excellent quality? How will you evaluate your product/outcome?
To ensure that my travel guidebook is good enough I will be talking to my supervisor, librarians, travellers, and teenagers. I will get feedback from them as to what I could change and what they like. Talking to a broad group of people will ensure that the quality is the best possible. I will talk to librarians to see if this is something they would like to offer in their library, and if it is good enough for them.
Research:
Researching will be a big part of this project. For every activity and place I include in my travel book there are so many things that I have to discuss. These are different ways of researching and how they will benefit me.
Media:
I can use media to research things like locations, prices, safety, hours of operation, and other things you need to know for the activities that are suggested in the travelling book.
Interviews:
Interviews are a good way of getting information from a directed group of people. Interviewing Norwegian teenagers could be a way to get ideas for activities.
Surveys:
Surveys are an essential part of my research process. I will have to make surveys to see what teens enjoy doing, since that is the main point of my book. I can also send out surveys when I am done with my book to see what people think of it.
Observations & experiences:
My own experiences will definitely benefit me while doing this project. I already have some ideas for activities that I will be including in my book. I will be looking at youtube videos from both Norwegian people, and foreigners that have travelled to Norway and have chosen to share their experiences. Mainly, I will have to look at travel books that already exist, like lonely planet to make sure that I include all the essential parts of a travel guide.
October 1st, 2015
Today I had my first meeting with my personal project supervisor who is Mr. Loste. I told him about my idea, and he really liked it. As he is a librarian that will benefit me greatly since he will know a lot about existing travelling books. For this meeting we focused on talking about how my personal project is challenging, sustainable, and personal. What makes it challenging is that it is different than other travel books, and there is a great amount of research that I will have to do before I will be able to make my final product. It is sustainable because if this is successful, this is something that I will be able to look back on for a long time. I have relatives that are from other countries than Norway, so when they visit Norway they will be able to look at it, and that is one of the things that makes it personal. I chose to do Norway because that is my home country and I would enjoy learning and researching about it, I believe that this is a project that I can work on until I am happy with the outcome.
For the next meeting with Mr. Loste I would like to discuss:
We will need to meet by the end of October to discuss these things, since we have an end of October Personal Project Check-In.
For the next meeting with Mr. Loste I would like to discuss:
- Learner Profiles
- ATL's
We will need to meet by the end of October to discuss these things, since we have an end of October Personal Project Check-In.
October 29th, 2015
Today Mr. Loste and I had a meeting where we discussed what my learner profiles would relate the most to my project, and be the best to develop and reflect on throughout the project.
The learner profiles I will be focusing on is being an inquirer and a communicator.
"As IB learners we strive to be:
Inquirers
We nurture our curiosity, developing skills for inquiry and research. We know how to learn independently and with others. We learn with enthusiasm and sustain our love of learning throughout life.
Communicators
We express ourselves confidently and creatively in more than one language and in many ways. We collaborate effectively, listening carefully to the perspectives of other individuals and groups."
Taken from ibo.org
Being an inquirer relates to my project because there is a lot of research that has to be done and I have to want to know things for this project to work out. While I am researching I have to want to know more about what is being researched.
There are many parts of my project that relate to being a communicator, such as keeping up with my process journal, talking to people to get their opinions, and the design of my book. This is something that I will have to work on throughout the project.
The learner profiles I will be focusing on is being an inquirer and a communicator.
"As IB learners we strive to be:
Inquirers
We nurture our curiosity, developing skills for inquiry and research. We know how to learn independently and with others. We learn with enthusiasm and sustain our love of learning throughout life.
Communicators
We express ourselves confidently and creatively in more than one language and in many ways. We collaborate effectively, listening carefully to the perspectives of other individuals and groups."
Taken from ibo.org
Being an inquirer relates to my project because there is a lot of research that has to be done and I have to want to know things for this project to work out. While I am researching I have to want to know more about what is being researched.
There are many parts of my project that relate to being a communicator, such as keeping up with my process journal, talking to people to get their opinions, and the design of my book. This is something that I will have to work on throughout the project.
November 7th, 2015
These are the expectations that I will have to complete to be on track this month, and my first focus will be on ATL skills.
I am going to be choosing one specific ATL skill from some of the IB ATL skill categories which are research, thinking, self management, social and communication. Research: Media Literacy - Locate, organize, analyse, evaluate, synthesize and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media (including digital social media and online networks) Self management: Organization - Set goals that are challenging and realistic Communication: Communication - Give and receive meaningful feedback, and use appropriate forms of writing for different purposes and audiences. |
November 15th, 2015
At the start of this project I had already set a goal as to what I wanted this project to be but I would now like to make it more clearly defined so that I will be able to achieve a high grade band.
This was my previous goal:
"My goal is to create a travel guide for teenagers with enjoyable things to do in Norway that will make them appreciate Norway more."
To reach the highest grade band, your goal needs to be
"My goal is to create a travel guide for teenagers with enjoyable things to do in Norway during the summer that will make them appreciate Norway more."
This was my previous goal:
"My goal is to create a travel guide for teenagers with enjoyable things to do in Norway that will make them appreciate Norway more."
To reach the highest grade band, your goal needs to be
- clearly defined
- achievable
- challenging
- measurable
"My goal is to create a travel guide for teenagers with enjoyable things to do in Norway during the summer that will make them appreciate Norway more."
November 23rd, 2015
I would like to specify a bit more about my global context. My global context has to do with figuring out the meaning of when and where.
This relates to my project because I will be exploring a "new" location. Even though I am from Norway, I do not know everything about it as I have lived abroad for most of my teenage years. My project will require a bunch of research to figure out current things that teenagers enjoy doing in Norway. |
December 1st, 2015
The biggest part of my project is research, so I have figured out what I will have to research and put into my book by looking at other travel guide books, and thinking about my own travel experiences.
I will have to do research on:
I have already done some research on the design of the book. It will have to be something special that will be visually pleasing so that it'll attract people. Here are some designs I've looked at because they are simple, but still look good and underneath there are some designs that I have just quickly created that give a feel of what I would be able to create.
I will have to do research on:
- Locations
- Activities
- Meals
- Transportation
- Prices
- Accommodation
- Safety
- Necessities
- Catch-phrases/Key Vocabulary
I have already done some research on the design of the book. It will have to be something special that will be visually pleasing so that it'll attract people. Here are some designs I've looked at because they are simple, but still look good and underneath there are some designs that I have just quickly created that give a feel of what I would be able to create.
December 4th, 2015
Norway is split up into 5 regions, which is used to refer to them in a geographical way. There is Northern Norway (Nord-Norge), Trøndelag (Central Norway), Western Norway (Vestlandet), Southern Norway (Sørlandet), and Eastern Norway (Østlandet).
After doing some research on what the most popular travel locations are, I have decided on some main cities I will be writing about, but I will also be writing about things that may be out of the cities. I have chosen
|
Most travel guidebooks include key vocabulary that will be needed when traveling to a new country, and this is also true for Norway. I have decided on some words that definitely are needed and have put them in a google doc that is linked here. This will be updated as I think of more words that are needed.
December 20th, 2015
Since I have decided to focus my travel book on the summer, I can include more things for each place. I am estimating to have around 10 things for each location. In the start of the book I will have a map of Norway, and after that I will introduce Norway and give out practical information. After that I will put the top experiences. and I will then put together a couple of "tours" that include the must see things if you are staying in Norway one or two weeks. For each location I will have the accommodation and prices. In the very end of the book I will have the key vocabulary that is needed to know when traveling to Norway. If I have ten things for each place that will be around 4 pages, so I will then have maybe 20 pages for the locations.
December 26th, 2015
I will be including a "Top 10 experiences in Norway" list and I have found activities and places that most other travel guidebooks may not have. These are things that are spread throughout Norway and are not placed into any specific order yet.
- Cycling in Røros
- Arctic Whale Tours in Stø
- Explore the Norwegian fjords
- Hike to the Pulpit Rock
- Experience Viking History and Explorers in the capital
- Stroll through Bryggen's narrow alleyways
- Island hop around the Lofoten Islands
- Experience Svalbard
- Visit the Nidaros Cathedral
- See beautiful nature and wildlife in Hjerkinn
December 30th, 2015
After doing my research on Oslo I found out that there were a lot of things to do and places to go, so I made a survey in Norwegian and sent it out to teenagers in Norway. I used a Facebook group called "Av Jenter For Jenter" (By girls for girls) to find as many girls as possible. This group has almost 60,000 members and includes girls 13- 26 years. The main problem with this is that I don't get guys opinions.
I also shared the survey on other social media, so that way I will get a wider range of people answering. The survey says that if you were not from Norway, and it was your first time traveling to Oslo which activities would you want to do. I then listed around 11 activities that they could choose from. I also asked them what area in Norway they are from so that I will get an idea as to if they have done activities like the ones in Oslo a lot, or other activities. The last question on the survey asked how old they are, since my guide book is for a specific age range (teenagers). If older or younger people answer it I will get an idea of what they like, as well as my directed audience. This will help, because very few teenagers will be traveling to Norway by themselves as it is a very expensive travel destination so I will need to know what older people want to do too. I will probably sending out another survey that is more directed at another destination or audience. |
January 2nd, 2016
I know I have to investigate exactly what teenagers like doing when traveling to another country, so I made another survey!
Link is HERE.
I shared this survey in the same Facebook group as the previous one, as well as sharing it on my Facebook, Instagram and email. Here is the survey are some of the responses I got:
Link is HERE.
I shared this survey in the same Facebook group as the previous one, as well as sharing it on my Facebook, Instagram and email. Here is the survey are some of the responses I got:
January 15th, 2016
Today I had a meeting with Mr. Loste, and the first thing we discussed was my goal. We decided that it would be better to have a short more on-point goal rather than a longer one. My new goal is now:
"My goal is to create an informative summer travel guide on Norway for teenagers."
We decided that it would be better to use informative than informational because of their different definitions.
Informative- providing useful or interesting information.
Informational- knowledge obtained from investigation, study, or instruction
This is why informative fits better, as that refers to useful information.
Another thing we discussed was my final product. Mr. Loste had a question which was "Do teenagers read?" This question made me think, because most teenagers don't read books, but they do go a lot on the internet. This is why I decided to do a blog instead of a book.
"My goal is to create an informative summer travel guide on Norway for teenagers."
We decided that it would be better to use informative than informational because of their different definitions.
Informative- providing useful or interesting information.
Informational- knowledge obtained from investigation, study, or instruction
This is why informative fits better, as that refers to useful information.
Another thing we discussed was my final product. Mr. Loste had a question which was "Do teenagers read?" This question made me think, because most teenagers don't read books, but they do go a lot on the internet. This is why I decided to do a blog instead of a book.
January 16th, 2016
Another thing Mr. Loste and I discussed at our meeting yesterday was that we had a struggle with communication as we were not getting each other Managebac notifications. This is why we have not been meeting as much, but I believe that as long as I keep up my process journal and communicate with him every once in a while it will be fine. Since we now know why our communication was bad, we can fix it.
I believe that email is a better way for us to communicate, which is why that is probably what I will use to contact him.
I believe that email is a better way for us to communicate, which is why that is probably what I will use to contact him.
January 19th, 2016
Your browser does not support viewing this document. Click here to download the document.
January 23rd, 2016 |
Today I finished my design specifications, which allowed me to finish the poster which was a little bit late.
Here are my specifications: I will know that I am successful if:
|
Today I set up my blog which will be my final product. It is a weebly but since I need higher resolution pictures, more pages, and maybe videos I have Weebly PRO which gives me access to a Domain web page. My webpage is norway4teens.com
I have started to gather pictures for my blog but it is taking a while as I have to cite all the pictures I am using. There is a link at the bottom of my blog titled "Works Cited" which is where I will put all my citations.
I have started to gather pictures for my blog but it is taking a while as I have to cite all the pictures I am using. There is a link at the bottom of my blog titled "Works Cited" which is where I will put all my citations.
January 25th, 2016
I have decided to not set up my blog by regions but by cities, as I will still get all the main things but make it simpler to use and make.
The cities I am doing are:
Oslo
Bergen
Trondheim
Stavanger
Svalbard
For the survival guide I am doing:
Visas
Catch Phrases
Money & Cost
The survival guide sections will be quite short and on point, covering only what is necessary to know.
The cities I am doing are:
Oslo
Bergen
Trondheim
Stavanger
Svalbard
For the survival guide I am doing:
Visas
Catch Phrases
Money & Cost
The survival guide sections will be quite short and on point, covering only what is necessary to know.
January 29th, 2016
I am mostly done with the research for my main locations. They will be linked below. The reason why I did my research like this is because I have learned that it is easier to paraphrase like this. You will see that I did not do this for Oslo since I already did this location earlier this year.
Trondheim
Bergen
Stavanger
Oslo
Svalbard
Trondheim
Bergen
Stavanger
Oslo
Svalbard
February 12th, 2016
As I said January 29th, I am already done with my main research, so all I will have to do now is put the keywords from the research into complete sentences, and put them where they belong with the pictures that I have already gathered. I think I am doing well considering there is still a couple of weeks till the exhibition. This is what I will be doing today, which you will be able to see on my blog. I also have to do the introduction for each location but that is the last thing I will be doing.
All my citations for the webpages I am using will be placed in the same place as where the citations for the images are.
I hope to be done with my product by February 24th, since I am going to Jeju the weekend before the exhibition, so that all I will have to do after that is design my poster.
All my citations for the webpages I am using will be placed in the same place as where the citations for the images are.
I hope to be done with my product by February 24th, since I am going to Jeju the weekend before the exhibition, so that all I will have to do after that is design my poster.
February 22nd, 2016
We are getting homeroom time this whole week to design our displays for the exhibition.
On my display I want to have: Learner profiles, ATL's, Global Context, Goal, Research, Map of Norway, Topic. Pictures of Norway.
For each of these I don't want to write much more than what is necessary on these posters, because I think that it is important that people are able to read what it says from a distance. The main colours of my display are going to be white, red, blue, and black.
I made a google slideshow that has everything I am going to print out on it.
My dad will be printing this out at work, which will ensure that they are good. Also, I will be printing the images at home plus since it is not so expensive and it will make a big difference with how good it looks.
On my display I want to have: Learner profiles, ATL's, Global Context, Goal, Research, Map of Norway, Topic. Pictures of Norway.
For each of these I don't want to write much more than what is necessary on these posters, because I think that it is important that people are able to read what it says from a distance. The main colours of my display are going to be white, red, blue, and black.
I made a google slideshow that has everything I am going to print out on it.
My dad will be printing this out at work, which will ensure that they are good. Also, I will be printing the images at home plus since it is not so expensive and it will make a big difference with how good it looks.
![](http://www1.weebly.com/weebly/images/file_icons/pdf.png)
Personal Project Exhibition Poster | |
File Size: | 3935 kb |
File Type: |
February 23rd, 2016
I am going to Jeju in two days, so I am going to finish my blog today by doing the introductions for all the locations. These will be short and on point
Beautiful Bergen..
Bergen, Norway's second largest city is surrounded by beautiful mountains and idyllic fjords. Downtown Bergen is a modern and popular area among young people. There is always something to do in Bergen, whether it includes enjoying nature, history, or shopping.
Oslo, Norway's beautiful capital..
Oslo, the capital of Norway, is on the southern coast by the Oslofjord. It's widely known for it's history, museums, and beauty. Oslo offers many restaurants and a wide range of shops, and there is something for everyone here!
Stroll through Stavanger's historic buildings..
Stavanger is the fourth largest city in Norway. Stavanger has a bunch of scenic attractions, including the world famous Preikestolen ("the Pulpit Rock")! Another well known thing in Stavanger, is their cute historic houses which give the city an enchanting feel. Stavanger is the most known city in Norway for their oil, which is also why the Norwegian Petroleum Museum is located here.
Home of untouched nature and wildlife..
The Svalbard islands are located halfway between Norway, and the North Pole. Svalbard's unique wildlife and artic nature has fascinated travellers from all over the world for a long time. Three thousand people live on the Svalbard islands, in addition to a few thousand polar bears. Most of these inhabitants live in Longyearbyen, which is a small community that has developed into a modern community. This town has a lot more to offer than you would expect from such a small community.
Charming Trondheim..
Trondheim isn't particularly famous for beautiful fjords or breathtaking northern lights, like most other Norwegian cities. However, Trondheim is Norway's third largest city and it has it's own charm that is unlike the others.
I think these are pretty on point summaries of these cities.
Beautiful Bergen..
Bergen, Norway's second largest city is surrounded by beautiful mountains and idyllic fjords. Downtown Bergen is a modern and popular area among young people. There is always something to do in Bergen, whether it includes enjoying nature, history, or shopping.
Oslo, Norway's beautiful capital..
Oslo, the capital of Norway, is on the southern coast by the Oslofjord. It's widely known for it's history, museums, and beauty. Oslo offers many restaurants and a wide range of shops, and there is something for everyone here!
Stroll through Stavanger's historic buildings..
Stavanger is the fourth largest city in Norway. Stavanger has a bunch of scenic attractions, including the world famous Preikestolen ("the Pulpit Rock")! Another well known thing in Stavanger, is their cute historic houses which give the city an enchanting feel. Stavanger is the most known city in Norway for their oil, which is also why the Norwegian Petroleum Museum is located here.
Home of untouched nature and wildlife..
The Svalbard islands are located halfway between Norway, and the North Pole. Svalbard's unique wildlife and artic nature has fascinated travellers from all over the world for a long time. Three thousand people live on the Svalbard islands, in addition to a few thousand polar bears. Most of these inhabitants live in Longyearbyen, which is a small community that has developed into a modern community. This town has a lot more to offer than you would expect from such a small community.
Charming Trondheim..
Trondheim isn't particularly famous for beautiful fjords or breathtaking northern lights, like most other Norwegian cities. However, Trondheim is Norway's third largest city and it has it's own charm that is unlike the others.
I think these are pretty on point summaries of these cities.
February 28th, 2016
Today I went to school to set up for tomorrow's exhibition. At this point I believe that I am "done" with my product, at least for now. I think that for this blog there will always be things that I can add on to it, but right now it has activities all around Norway.
One of my specifications had to do with advertising, so that my blog will get attention. The main way I will be doing this is with small cards that say the website link on it. My mom has a friend that works with creating business cards, so we will be getting cards from her. I will be giving these to people at the exhibition tomorrow.
One of my specifications had to do with advertising, so that my blog will get attention. The main way I will be doing this is with small cards that say the website link on it. My mom has a friend that works with creating business cards, so we will be getting cards from her. I will be giving these to people at the exhibition tomorrow.
Other than this, I will also be using social media to advertise my blog. Most of my friends are already gonna know about this, so I have asked my parents to share the website on their Facebook accounts.
February 29th, 2016
I was very happy with how my display for the exhibition turned out! It was very simple, but the font size was quite big so people were easily able to read what it said.
My project was not that popular among the younger children (as expected haha), but high school students, teachers, and parents liked my idea. I think that parents and teachers with teenagers especially liked the idea since it will help them for traveling. A lot of people pointed out that this was a good idea, and that there should be more travel blogs with teenagers as their main audience. Throughout the day I noticed some strengths and weaknesses of my blog. A strength was the "top 10." A lot of people really liked this because it covers all of Norway. While people were looking at the top 10 section they all seemed surprised, which I understand because those are some of the most beautiful places in Norway. A weakness was that I kind of lost my target audience, and especially since I hadn't said exactly what ages my blog was directed at. I got asked some questions about what ages it would fit for, and that is when I realized that it was a bit more spread out than I would've wanted. I didn't think about getting comments from people until lunch time, but after that I got quite a lot of comments from students, teachers, and parents. I read these and there wasn't much constructive criticism so I don't know what else I could change. |