Magic School Bus Movie Project
The purpose of this project was to convey information through a creative and interesting film. Our class chose to be inspired by the Magic School Bus which resulted in some very amusing "research" done in class. As an individual, I think I did an okay job meeting the purpose of the project- I was primarily an actor so I didn't get much of a chance to put the actual information into the script, but I was able to contribute some information and proofreading. As far as acting goes, the film was very fun and enjoyable and I had no problems fulfilling my purpose in that respect. The class as a whole did a pretty great job conveying the information, we ran short on time and didn't end up being able to finish the film, but the information and the entertainment are still there.
I think as an individual my strongest points in this project were reading over and proofreading the script, and acting to the best of my ability. I'm a bit camera shy, so I found much of the time while we were filming, I was trying to hide my nerves. Seeing the final version of the film however, I feel that I did a pretty good job so I'm proud of that. I think the class as a whole had a very positive and uplifting attitude throughout the project, which made the whole thing more fun and overall resulted in a more beautiful product.
On a personal level, I think I could have contributed more to directing and script writing, since the acting job didn't involve much. I also think I could have talked to my parents more so they wouldn't make appointments for me during the school day, as I ended up missing several days of filming for this reason. As a whole class, the main challenge we experienced was that we were unable to actually finish the film. In the future, I think time management is something both me as an individual, and the class as a whole could work on to prevent these issues from popping up again in the future. Collaboration was a huge part of this project, and by acting and running lines with the group, as well as being one of the many people to proofread the script, I was able to contribute to what I think was the most successful group project of my Animas Career.
If I were to do this project again I would definitely like to feel the same degree of unity when working with my classmates, and I think the only thing I would change would to have a list of fallback jobs that need done so if anyone is feeling like they have nothing to do they can pick up one of those jobs. I really enjoy taking a more organic approach, particularly when it comes to group work so it would have been nice to know that everyone was contributing in some way and it didn't need to be so closely monitored. One thing I would change about the project is to have a set schedule with lots of time for editing, and actually stick to it closely so that we didn't end up running out of time and actually completed the film. I would love to keep the magic school bus aspect though, since I've always wanted to be Phoebe when I grow up so this was kind of a dream come true. Overall, I consider this project a success despite the unfinished final product, and know I'll use the lessons I learned for years to come.
I think as an individual my strongest points in this project were reading over and proofreading the script, and acting to the best of my ability. I'm a bit camera shy, so I found much of the time while we were filming, I was trying to hide my nerves. Seeing the final version of the film however, I feel that I did a pretty good job so I'm proud of that. I think the class as a whole had a very positive and uplifting attitude throughout the project, which made the whole thing more fun and overall resulted in a more beautiful product.
On a personal level, I think I could have contributed more to directing and script writing, since the acting job didn't involve much. I also think I could have talked to my parents more so they wouldn't make appointments for me during the school day, as I ended up missing several days of filming for this reason. As a whole class, the main challenge we experienced was that we were unable to actually finish the film. In the future, I think time management is something both me as an individual, and the class as a whole could work on to prevent these issues from popping up again in the future. Collaboration was a huge part of this project, and by acting and running lines with the group, as well as being one of the many people to proofread the script, I was able to contribute to what I think was the most successful group project of my Animas Career.
If I were to do this project again I would definitely like to feel the same degree of unity when working with my classmates, and I think the only thing I would change would to have a list of fallback jobs that need done so if anyone is feeling like they have nothing to do they can pick up one of those jobs. I really enjoy taking a more organic approach, particularly when it comes to group work so it would have been nice to know that everyone was contributing in some way and it didn't need to be so closely monitored. One thing I would change about the project is to have a set schedule with lots of time for editing, and actually stick to it closely so that we didn't end up running out of time and actually completed the film. I would love to keep the magic school bus aspect though, since I've always wanted to be Phoebe when I grow up so this was kind of a dream come true. Overall, I consider this project a success despite the unfinished final product, and know I'll use the lessons I learned for years to come.
Infographic Project
Some of the important skills I had going into this project were being able to research, and knowing some about infographics. When I was in middle school we did a project with infographics for our science class. These infographics were made on paper as opposed to using a computer, and so I was a bit concerned going into the infographic portion of this project as I have a hard time with technology, but I also really didn’t want to draw the whole thing out like I had in 8th grade. In the end however I was quite happy with the result and felt I had further developed my skills with technology.
One of the main things that I did was doing enough research on my subject to allow me to understand my topic well enough to put it into an infographic that was educational and clear for others. Another main thing I did was my infographic, it was a new thing for me to use venngage but I did my best to create an infographic that was eye catching as well as informational.
I know this is a very common answer, but one of the difficulties I faced was creating an infographic, because I have not used venngage before and I’ve never been that great with technology in the first place. I also had issues with venngage because I had to resize my entire infographic piece by piece to fit the page, which was one of the most tedious and frustrating things I have ever had to do in my high school career. Other than that issue this project was pretty straightforward and easy for me. I worked well with my partner because we both shared more of a “divide and conquer” mentality when it came to the work as opposed to wanting to work on every single aspect together.
Sometimes I am not very technology friendly, so I am always worried that I won't do a good job whenever I get assigned a project like the infographic. I was worried about whether or not I would do a good job on my infographic because I had not used venngage before, but I had done an infographic before so I had a small idea of how it should look. I tried to learn how to use venngage as quickly as I could, and after I got the hang of it I was able to create a cool infographic.
I already kind of new that human beings more than likely could not survive on mars, but I did not know that much about the temperature on the planet, for instance I did not know that in the afternoon on the planet mars, it is warm enough for something to live but then as it gets later in the day the temperature gets below a survivable temperature.
I wouldn't spend so much time trying to learn venngage, and I would have tried to create an infographic that has a bunch of information but not so much that it doesn't get attention because there are too many words.
From this experience I learned a lot about patience, and also that group collaboration can actually be very helpful and enjoyable if done right. I do however wish they we had had a few tutorials or something on venngage as that was a very frustrating setback to deal with, and I feel that I could have produced more beautiful work if I was more familiar with the software.
I am a very visual learner, so the infographic was actually quite helpful for me despite the struggles I had with the program. For me seeing information laid out and organized is one of the best ways I can categorize it in my brain in a way that it will stay. In future projects the main thing I will be bringing forward is my newfound appreciation for group work, and my new knowledge of how I work best in groups. I will also bring the understanding that I need to put at least an hour of work into learning any new programs I will need to be using so that they may be as helpful as intended.
One of the main things that I did was doing enough research on my subject to allow me to understand my topic well enough to put it into an infographic that was educational and clear for others. Another main thing I did was my infographic, it was a new thing for me to use venngage but I did my best to create an infographic that was eye catching as well as informational.
I know this is a very common answer, but one of the difficulties I faced was creating an infographic, because I have not used venngage before and I’ve never been that great with technology in the first place. I also had issues with venngage because I had to resize my entire infographic piece by piece to fit the page, which was one of the most tedious and frustrating things I have ever had to do in my high school career. Other than that issue this project was pretty straightforward and easy for me. I worked well with my partner because we both shared more of a “divide and conquer” mentality when it came to the work as opposed to wanting to work on every single aspect together.
Sometimes I am not very technology friendly, so I am always worried that I won't do a good job whenever I get assigned a project like the infographic. I was worried about whether or not I would do a good job on my infographic because I had not used venngage before, but I had done an infographic before so I had a small idea of how it should look. I tried to learn how to use venngage as quickly as I could, and after I got the hang of it I was able to create a cool infographic.
I already kind of new that human beings more than likely could not survive on mars, but I did not know that much about the temperature on the planet, for instance I did not know that in the afternoon on the planet mars, it is warm enough for something to live but then as it gets later in the day the temperature gets below a survivable temperature.
I wouldn't spend so much time trying to learn venngage, and I would have tried to create an infographic that has a bunch of information but not so much that it doesn't get attention because there are too many words.
From this experience I learned a lot about patience, and also that group collaboration can actually be very helpful and enjoyable if done right. I do however wish they we had had a few tutorials or something on venngage as that was a very frustrating setback to deal with, and I feel that I could have produced more beautiful work if I was more familiar with the software.
I am a very visual learner, so the infographic was actually quite helpful for me despite the struggles I had with the program. For me seeing information laid out and organized is one of the best ways I can categorize it in my brain in a way that it will stay. In future projects the main thing I will be bringing forward is my newfound appreciation for group work, and my new knowledge of how I work best in groups. I will also bring the understanding that I need to put at least an hour of work into learning any new programs I will need to be using so that they may be as helpful as intended.