September 15
Starting on the 6th of September until today I have been working on finding out the history of Criminalistics. I have been really concentrating on the founders and the origin in which it came from. I learned that the first police force in the modern age was created by the government of King Louis XIV. I thought that was pretty cool. Also I figured out that there are many definitions of Criminalistics but the one mainly used is the application of scientific techniques in collecting and analyzing physical evidence in criminal cases.
September 29
For the past two weeks I have been working really hard on the history part of my project. I have found out many inventions that have been created for the use of investigating crimes. Such as the microscope, polygraph, and even a finger print classification system. I also have been finding tons of research on the innovators of criminalistics. During my researching I have also been getting plenty of experience using pbworks. I have learned how to download pictures to my pages, download videos and even get a good grasp on the set up of my program. Even though some days I would spend working really hard on something such as downloading my video and in the end it wouldn't work, which wasted a whole day. I finally figured it out, but trust me it took lots of time and patience.
Stem so far has been a blast!! Also it has been a great experience. One thing I really like about stem is that it is a challenge and you have to work hard at it. I really think this class/program will be of much use in my future endeavors. Stem has taught me how to not rely on to many sources. It has taught me to work hard and buckle down when it its needed. It also has taught me to stay focused which we all no is not very easy at times.
October 12
Since the beginning of the six weeks I have created a wiki page on the history of criminalistics. I have put a ton of time and effort into making this project worth while. Making the web page was not an easy task to complete. I learned alot by doing this; I learned that Franklin D. Roosevelt created the FBI in 1901 and that Alex Jeffreys invented DNA fingerprinting. I thought that was very interesting to research. DNA is the most reliable resource!! I also found out that the word Polizeiwissenschaft means (The Science of Police). I am very proud of how my final project turned out and I hope when you look at it you learn something. Enjoy.
Stem is going really well. It is alot harder than I thought it was going to be, but when I put my mind to it i can really accomplish alot. I also like how I can go at my own pace to create valuable work, which helps to keep the stress low. I'm really glad that I got the chance to take this class to help me in my future.
October 31
We finally finished our history part of the class, we edited in the lab and also had to correct everyone else's projects. I really think my project turned out very nice. It took a lot of time and concentration but it was well worth it.
The first six weeks is over and its time to start a new project. During this six weeks I will be working on the current and future level of technology in the field of criminalistics. I have started to look up information, but this subject is a lot harder to find the right information on. Now I have to look really deep to find it. So far I have found a lot of information on tools and their advances that are used to identify evidence in a crime. Such as DNA testing and how it has improved in the last couple of years. It feels like this six weeks is going by way to fast, which is not a good thing. That means I really need so start spending most of my time concentrating on completing this new project.
November 19
During the last few weeks I have been working extremely hard. I have put together six animoto videos on animoto.com. They were a blast to make and I even created the music which I think is amazing!! I have typed my page and I still am editing it to make it look great.
Also I had my job shadow part one at the Justice Center in Mauston Wisconsin which was very interesting. I recieved the whole tour and even got to sit in a short hearing, when I say short trust me it was because the client wasn't there. Even though she wasn't there is was still cool to see their whole process. Today I am actually go on my ride along and im super excited. Its going to be a long night!
My favorite part of these past few weeks would be the research because there is some very interesting technology out there that they use to analyze data. It was really cool to read about how each one worked and I loved the colorful pictures.
December 8
For the past two weeks I have finished my last project on the current and future advances in technology in the field of criminalistics. I have also decided to do my demonstration video on fingerprinting analysis, which contain ink prints, latent prints, and prints with super glue! I am very excited for this one. I have practiced plenty of times and it is so much fun. It is really cool to see how something unseen to the naked eye, just using powder can become visible. I can't wait to finally record them and put it all together. Also I had to record a few second video on all the technology I have used so far for STEM. This few weeks have been a lot of fun and have helped me a lot to get a good idea on how concentrated people in this field have to be at all times. I can't wait to see the outcome of this new project!!
January 19
For the past 6 weeks i have created a video presentation on Forensic Fingerprinting consisting of Latent Prints, Ink Prints, and Burification Dots. There wasn't much research involved except to find instructions to do the demonstrations, but that wasn't hard at all. It was a great experience for me. I really learned a lot from it and I know it will be useful for me in the future. In the ink fingerprinting section I showed how they take the prints with an ink pad and paper. In the Latent fingerprinting I showed how to find and lift prints that are unseen to the naked eye. Which was super hard because sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. It took tons of practice. During the Burification portion of the video I showed how to analyze and compare Dots, Islands, and Ridge Endings in a print to identify a suspect and compare prints! It truly was a great experience to be able to complete this project.
February 3
I have now started the next six week project on the informational background part of criminalistics. It consists of places of employment, salary, the job outlook, training requirements and physical require
ments. Also the everyday job life, and education. I will be adding more categories and information as time goes on. Right now its a slow process since all of the work is done by researching on the computer or ipads. It is a good break though, since our last project was a huge challenge and took plenty of time.
ments. Also the everyday job life, and education. I will be adding more categories and information as time goes on. Right now its a slow process since all of the work is done by researching on the computer or ipads. It is a good break though, since our last project was a huge challenge and took plenty of time. February 16
I have finished putting my wiki page together on the informational background part of criminalistcs. It contains information on the places of employment, salary, job outlook, hours, benefits, training requirements, physical requirements, everyday job life, education needed and also colleges that carry forensic science as a masters or bachelors degree. I also have put together two interviews. One with a professional in this career and the other with a post-secondary educator. I am very excited to see their answers to my questions asked. This 6 week project has been pretty slow and relaxing since alot of the time used is computer work. On the other hand it will provide you with a lot of information when the project is completed!
March 1
In the last six weeks I have completed my two interviews with a professional and a secondary professional on the education and career options for a forensic science tech. I was very glad to be provided with lots of useful information. I have also completed my pbworks page with information covering many topics such as the educational background and career options for a forensic scientist. I have also completed my commercial. It's about what forensic science is used for and how it can help close a case! This six week project I thought was pretty exciting. I learned how to do professional interviews correctly and also how to use xtranormal.com to create a commercial.
March 17
For the next twelve weeks I have teamed up with Mikaila Novak to complete a project. We are putting together three episodes of a t.v. show called "Playing with the Dead." Also we are creating a web site using Blogger.com that will hold our videos and as much information as possible on our two fields of work. We will be linking a face book page to our website also that will hold some information. So far we have our three scripts written and are beginning to collect supplies and props that will be needed to make the show look as professional as possible. Also we have put our welcome page on our site and have began formating how they will look. The website part of this project will be the toughest. It is definitely going to take a lot of time and effort to finish all these tasks in such a short period of time. Wish us luck!!
April 1
In The past two weeks Mikaila and I have made great progress. We have both almost completed our separate pages on our Blogger web site. They are both very designed to fit our personalities! Also we have written our three scripts on Playing With The Dead. I am very excited to start rehearsals next week and begin filming. We have accomplished a lot so far and are continuing to do so. We are just waiting for our forensic jackets to come in. They have been shipped but are running a little behind schedule. I am mostly doing editing on our web site while Mikaila has her mind going with ideas for the show! April 12
I have been continuing my blogger website. Most of my time is spent editing my pages and making them look more attractive. Also I have put together a slide show of forensic science pictures to add to my main page. I just haven't decided if I am going to create a song to put as a back ground or not. Also Mikaila and I have been patiently waiting for the last of our props to come in, but its hard to be excited since it has put our filming two weeks behind. We are trying to do as much as we can now by finishing the scripts and assigning parts so that when everything gets here we are all ready to go!
April 28
I have almost completed my blogger website, there is only a couple more things that I have to add. Lately Mikaila and I have finished our forensic jackets. We had to paint the word forensics on the back of a blue wind- breaker. Trust me spray paint is not a good option, but they look pretty amazing I do have to say! Now our cast has been getting together during 3b and ELT to practice so we can start filming on sunday the 1st.
May 26
I have completed our video on goanimate.com for our last 12 week project. It has taken a lot of time and concentration to get this video completed on time. It is about 10 minutes long and I hope it is interesting to watch. I made the characters to have the same personalities as the people they portray. Goanimate is a great site to use for creating videos, it has so many options. It has been a stressful last couple of weeks but I think we pulled it off. Now I have to link my blogger page to my pbworks page after I download my video to my blogger page. I am really going to miss stem it has been a great experience and so much fun!
