Salutations
Today is a day to celebrate, as our Maker term officially ends on Friday! It has been a jam packed three months of brainstorming, planning and filming up a storm. I have definitely noticed a huge ark in my learning. It is this ark that I would like to highlight. I went from being afraid to voice my ideas and sticking solely to protocol to becoming perhaps the most resourceful version of myself. Watch your back, Stephen Speilburg. I am a force to be reckoned with.
Empowered Learner
I have leveraged technology to take an active role in choosing, achieving, and demonstrating competency in my learning goals.
At the beginning of this adventure, (cheesy line counter: 1) I created my four shot film which displayed this competency really well. I used my amassed knowledge to not only creatively shoot this video, but also to communicate and collaborate with my team for the best result. I was especially proud of this video because of the our angles, use of camera effects such as blur and how we through truly composed each shot. We practiced venturing beyond the known world of our camera, and began using things such as water bottles, phones and reflections to make for a more intriguing experience. Although, we did encounter some complications when it came to being decisive, that is almost to be expected. It was the beginning of the year, we didn’t know each other very well and our groups were very large.
https://youtu.be/rB6QFp92g-A
At present time, I have created my RUN! video. This displayed my growth in the competency by not only reflecting what had gone well in the last one, but also through the evolution of my teamwork (cheesy line counter: 2). I went from being afraid to share my ideas at the thought of inconveniencing my group members to appreciating my own ideas. I am now a much more empowered learner and inspired collaborators than I was before, and I am probably easier to work with as well.
Knowledge Constructor
I can critically curate a variety of resources using digital tools to construct knowledge, produce creative artifacts, and make meaningful experiences for myself and others.
At the beginning of this year, my ghost town video best reflects the knowledge that I had. Unfortunately this video has made it somewhere into the web and I no longer know it’s whereabouts. It’s probably in Russia by now being used as an advertisement. My teammates and I, Rhiann, Gabe and Anders worked very hard to achieve our goal in this project, which we had made clear from the beginning, was the showcase a video that was different. By this I mean with styles of editing that are outside of the box, interesting transitions, and a compelling storyline. We added original music, different points of view, and I tried seven billion new apps so that we could create our “interesting transitions”. We used new methods to build up the atmosphere which we had never experimented with before. To say the least, we built up our knowledge when it came to technology and each other. And for that reason, this was a very meaningful experience for me. I could have perhaps done more revision on this video, as we got almost too much footage. It would have been a good chance for me to experiment with angles.
https://youtu.be/5eH-0WCYYds
Now, I would argue that I have evolved since then. We can see this growth in my French revolution video. I will be the first to admit that this may not be my best final product. It was the journey along the way which taught me to be a better knowledge constructor (cheesy line count: 3). I took the creativity and inspiration from the ghost town video, and built off of it. New editing tricks were involved, alternative angles were sought and costumes were made. I learned from my mistakes in the ghost town video, and I decided to use our extensive footage to create multiple versions of the same video. Therefore, I knew that we had put our best foot forward. This also helped involve my group as we discussed the pros and cons of each video. Not only did we get a better understanding of filming techniques, but we got to know each other. This made using our strengths much easier, and more efficient. In the future, I will continue to develop this competency by choosing a different and creative aspect to add to my project. Not only will this display my risk-taking and creativity, but it will include my passion. This will inspire me, and drive me on to reach for the sky. (Cheesy line counter: 4)
Innovative Designer
I use a variety of technologies within a design process to identify and solve problems by creating new, useful, or imaginative solutions.
When I first began this competency, my American revolution video was the best that I had to show for it. We were faced with a problem, which was “how can we show cause and consequence”, and we answered that problem with some killer lyrics. I thought that my group had great work ethic, and we collaborated well. The outcome was definitely new, as we used the present time to show not only what life was like back in the day, but to show consequence and differentiation. A triple whammy. Obviously, the final product was not very well thought out or well planned out. It looks like it was shot in one day (spoiler: it was). This was because we did not include different methods, and we did not innovate or get creative enough for this video to stand out. Nonetheless, I would argue that this video stands out because of how much I learned from it. I knew that I had it in me to be innovative and imaginative, I just needed to bring it out by breaking apart and planning for each step.
https://youtu.be/5Wqm1w1Vep8
In stark contrast, we see my Take Your Kid To Work Day video. I would consider this to be the polar opposite of our American revolution video. Whereas in the latter, I focused more on the preparation stage which made the production stage weak, I thought that I balanced myself well when it came to this project. I had learned from my American revolution video endeavour, and I thought outside of the box. I tried new styles of editing, I reached out to a popular creator who gave me incredible advice, and I began to come to terms with GarageBand. This definitely shows my growth as a learner. And although I am still nowhere near perfect, I now have the resources and means to pinpoint how I can improve. Soon enough, I will be unstoppable (cheesy line counter: 5).
Computational Thinker
I developed and employed strategies for understanding and solving problems in ways that leverage the power of technological methods to develop and test solutions.
https://youtu.be/_fIAvm0tbs0
The beautiful mess which best describes this competency is my Russian revolution video. I was really proud of how we displayed this competency through our open-mindedness when it came to trying new applications, and giving others a second chance. My revolutions group really impressed me when it came to this video and this competency. We leveraged our own knowledge and tested it as well as encouraging each other to step out of our area of expertise. Overall, this video definitely showed our knowledge and our passion for the video. The segment of Timmy talking does go on for quite some time, and that could have been solved by investing more time in revising. I planned on making my next jab at this competency sparkle (cheesy line count: 6) by taking extra time to review and revise.
https://youtu.be/bCn6mcWG4BM
We ended this one on a high note with our Meiji revolution video. I built off of all of the skills that I had succeeded in the Russian revolution video, yet I also took the time to do extra revisions. The result is a better concept with evidently a more well rounded product. Minor inconveniences still do exist, but I have learned that we must consider quality over quantity, which is a huge step for me. Now only have I grown in this competency, but I will continue to do so in the future.
Creative Communicator
https://youtu.be/eOCA8mC2N0I
https://youtu.be/g11u9Emn-kM
