ignite talks

Kevin: Tattoos are an art.  Lots of people want tattoos, and they need to understand how to do it.

Phillip: Should we have more Artificial Intelligence?  We spend a lot of time with technology in this course so there is a connection.  Next I'm going to start building my presentation.

Araceli: Why does money make people feel and act certain ways?  Over break I tried to spend a day without spending money -- and I didn't make it.  I'm going to college out of the city and I want to plan for it.  I think that money does buy you happiness.

Erica: I changed my big question to: Are there really witches and curses?  Where I come from people believe in these things.  I thought about this when we read Macbeth.  I want to do more research and talk to people about this.

Brian: My original question was whether money is the root of all evil, but now I think of it in terms of the problems money causes.  Even if you're rich, how do you know if people like .  Next I'm going to do a survey to see what other people think.

Angel: How does the human body build muscle?  Most people think you just have to work out in the gym, but I've found that it's the gym plus nutrition and sleep/ recovery.  Lots of people quit on fitness because they don't understand this.  Next I'm going to research food and hydration.

Timoteo: My first question was motivation, and now I want to focus on what should improve about school.  To succeed you have to be curious and resilient.  Today's school makes us hate reading by giving us textbooks we don't like.  Teachers should be more passionate.

Hector: How should you wash your dog or cat?  You have to be careful with chemicals so that you don't hurt your pet.  I need to do

Luis: Will machines take our jobs?  My research says that by 2025 more than half of American jobs will be done by machines.  There is a connection to this course because we can use our blogs to avoid coming to class.  Next I'll put my research together into a presentation

Evelyn: [CROWDSOURCED IGNITE TOPIC]  I have trouble staying with an interest.  [Suggestions: guitar, culinary, ...?] This

Jenn: I see graffiti and I love it.  Over the break I went to Las Vegas and I saw graffiti everywhere, and I started wondering about why it's so important-- what makes graffiti art?

Ernie: My topic is space and I got inspired by the meditating we do in this course.  It's how I feel when I look up at the stars.  I go to the library and read books on space; recently I've been watching video online.  Next I'm going to do more research.

Aleah: I'm going to study Computer Science at Cal Poly, and over the break I did research on my major.  I focused on cybersecurity and coding. We have alluded to it in this course and now I want to go more in-depth.

Christian G: At first my masterpiece focused on careers, then life choices, and now hard choices.  How can we make hard choices easier?  I've learned that hard choices aren't really hard-- in fact, it's usually because we have at least two good options.  I'm starting to list the pros and cons to evaluate my choices.

Angeles: Does having a pet make a person happier?  Dogs are good influences on mental and emotional health. Next I will ask dog owners questions about their experiences.

Nathaniel: How can we manage time better?  Over break I drove to my grandparents' in Temecula.  The drive took 5-6 hours and I didn't really do anything.  This relates to our course because Preston gives us time where we can make decisions about what we do.  Next I'm going to gather more information about research.

Brenda: Safe sex is important to know about.  There are lots of diseases that are avoidable and it's important to understand our choices.  STDs affect people our age and doing research on this actually scared me.  I see a connection with Brave New World because there was so much sex that people could get infected if they acted that way in real life.

Jervin: How can an individual keep up with a country's culture and traditions?  I talked with people and did some research on this topic.  We have talked about this in this course, and I plan to start organizing my ideas.

Alejandro: We need to understand how the economy works.  I want to learn more about the role of business and the government.  Over the break I did some research and it looks like the U.S. is doing well.  I want to do more research.

Josue: How can you tell the difference between a good mix and a bad mix when a DJ is playing music?  I'm going to show you how to use a live app and work with a crowd to create an experience.  Over the break I researched videos on how people mixed and learned from them.  Next I'll simulate their styles.  This connects to Brave New World because the book shows how recorded music and sounds can manipulate people.

Irene: How will school change with technology?  People don't seem like they need teachers because they can just search out facts on the internet or use a calculator.  Next I'm going to talk to teachers to see what they think.

Christian M: Why are Republicans scared of socialism?  I'm independent and I want to understand this better because of the president, and when we read Brave New World it seemed like politics played a large role.

Lizbeth: I want to learn how to become a veterenarian.  It's important to understand pets' health and even their emotions.  I am doing research so that I can become a vet and teacher others about the importance of animals' health.

Janessa: I researched a robot that seems to have humanoid desires and emotions.  This seems strange and yet I also see a connection with Brave New World.

Cynthia: The way we perceive things can create a multitude of opinions.  I want to learn more about this through drawing and creating three different kinds of perspectives in visual art.  Now I need to figure out how to teach it.

Ricardo: When I started working and making money, I wanted to learn more about budgeting.  I go out to eat a lot and I wanted to focus on tracking where I spend, how I can save, and how to make money work for me.  I'm experimenting by restricting my expenses and learning how I can teach others.

Pablo: Why do we procrastinate?  

Eduardo: Is there life after death?  I have looked for information on the internet and the articles all seem to focus on religious belief.  This connects to Hamlet because his dad came back as a ghost.  Next I'll go into more details with the religions.

Rodrigo: Is there life after high school?  What will it be like?  Military?  College?  Work?  This is always on my mind and everyone in my classes is talking about their plans.  This interests me because I want to know more about our choices.

Victor: Do you think you're making the right decisions?  In my job I meet a lot of high school dropouts and they all say they regret not continuing their education.  They went for work instead of school, but it made me think because people who went for the money now regret it.  This connects with the decisions we make when Dr. Preston gives

Natalia: Why do we have the dreams that we do?  I had random dreams about falling (flying?) off of buildings and it made me want to learn more.  I did some research and learned that there is even a dream machine that images what people experience when they sleep.

Adriana: What goes into building buildings?  Creativity, engineering, and other skills.  I want to learn more about this-- especially the mind of an engineer.