Team
AndySavannah Christian Middle School, GA, United States
AkashSavannah Christian Middle School, GA, United States
TylerSavannah Christian Middle School, GA, United States
TylerSavannah Christian Middle School, GA, United States
PatrickSavannah Christian Middle School, GA, United States
FarazSavannah Christian Middle School, GA, United States
Age Range
15 & under
Coaches
Bonnie FurnanzSavannah Christian Middle School, GA, United States
Linda FidlerSavannah Christian Middle School, GA, United States
Category
Science & Technology > Astronomy
Audience
Ages 12 and up
Language
English
Site Features
Online Activity / Game
Science / Lab Experiment
Quiz
Teacher Resources (Lesson Plans, Worksheets)
Video / Sound
Team Collaboration
The NEO team worked well together over the past 9 months. Each member helped to arrive at the site’s title. We chose this topic because of its global importance and the interest that space evokes. The team communicated by email when not in school and met daily during the school year to work on the different aspects of the website. We began by selecting individual topics and by dividing the research and writing assignments among the 6 team members based on their strengths.
Tyler proposed the topic to the other teammates and they all decided upon the outline. He and Andy were selected to work on the technical and design aspects of the site. Tyler designed the template by collaborating with his teammates and deciding that black, representing the vastness and openness of space, would be an appropriate color for the site. After this, he and Andy worked to design the menus. After completing his own work, Tyler helped others with their pages.
Andy was the only student who knew how to create a menu. This process took several months and after this was completed, he helped other team members with their work.
Patrick, a new addition to the team, fit in well and always had an opinion to express. Selected as a writer because of his skills in this area, he had no problem asking questions and help from others to assure that it was the direction they wanted to go with the site.
Akash helped create the flash components of the site and designed the index page. One of the editors who read over the site and checked all of the links, he spent a great deal of his free time researching and working on the site. His enthusiasm for the site was contagious and often spurred us on when we were tired.
Faraz quietly worked on his portions of the site. He interviewed NASA engineers on 2 different occasions for the interview section of the website. Faraz worked on editing the site to find problem areas. He also created games for the site using the 3D program, Alice.
Tyler (Ducky) used his writing skills to create many pages. He also learned how to do flash so that he could work with Akash on the flash pages. A new member of the team, he really appreciated how each member would stop what he was doing to help anyone who needed help.
Overall, our team had a great experience. We worked well together and learned how to do many new things in order to create our website. We evenly divided the work and when we finished our own tasks, we helped others. We all learned a great deal about NEOs and now we each have our own opinions about the probability of a NEO strike to the Earth.
Team Diversity
The NEO team is diverse in cultural and religious backgrounds. This diversity allowed us to look at topics from different viewpoints. It also helped us with completing our site as our different work ethics and habits complemented each other. Some of us had a broad overview of what we wanted the site to be while others were more concerned with the details. Both of these viewpoints are necessary in order to have a successful team.
Akash’s parents came from Guharat, India, to the US in the 1980s. A 1st generation American, Akash has lived in New Jersey and Georgia. He practices the Hindu faith which has helped our team with the development of the site, especially in the religious aspects contained in The End of the World Theories (TEWT) section of our site.
Andy, of German and Scottish descent, has a father who lived in Germany for a period of time. Although Andy has lived in the US all his life, his hard work ethic comes from his heritage. Of the Christian faith, he was able to give thoughtful insight on TEWT section.
Patrick’s grandfather was born in Czechoslovakia. His parents were both born in Michigan and lived in different cities until settling in the city where Patrick was born. Because of the many places his family has lived, Patrick was exposed to different viewpoints and opinions. He also is of the Christian faith and was able to give insight on TEWT section.
Tyler, of both Irish and Filipino descent, has grandparents born in those countries. After immigrating to the US, the families settled in Georgia. Because of his extensive travels, Tyler was familiar with the geography and history of many countries. Of Roman Catholic faith, Tyler is very intellectual and was able to conceive of many parts of the website.
Faraz is of Indian and Pakistani descent whose parents moved to the US in their 20s. A 1st generation American, Faraz travels often to India. Of the Islamic faith, he is very passionate about his religion and its beliefs and was able to give insight to the development of TEWT pages. His strict work ethic was very helpful to the team.
Tyler (Ducky), of English descent, whose ancestors came from England to the United States hundreds of years ago, has lived in Virginia and in Georgia. He is also of the Christian faith and was able to give insight on TEWT section of the website.
The NEO team’s diversity was key in the development of the website, especially in TEWT section. Our diversity in work ethics and viewpoints helped us come together to create an interesting and informative website for all ages.
