The last step of capstone is working on my final product. I chose to do a TedTalk because I don’t like making a video as much as standing up in front of an audience and having a slide show behind me and switching the slides as I want to. Well, in this case, recording myself and then showing everyone instead of actually standing in front of a smartboard and talking directly to the audience. The thing that I enjoyed most about making my final project was finding the pictures and getting to look through so many of them until I found the one I wanted for that slide. I liked this because I got to see a lot of really cool and interesting images in the process of finding the one that I ended up using. 

One of the challenges that I faced when putting my project together was thinking of the images that I wanted to use. I know I just said that I like looking at the images but that was after I figured out what kind of image I wanted to use. 

One of the things that I definitely don’t like about capstone is all of the deadlines. I absolutely HATE deadlines. They make me more stressed and when I am stressed, it is harder for me to focus. Also, since school is ending a week earlier, all of the deadlines have to be closer together and we don’t have as much time for everything. 

I am really excited about sharing my final project because I think that it is an interesting topic that other people should learn about. I also think that people can learn a lot about my topic because I think that I explained everything really well and hopefully when I am recording my final project, I don’t talk too fast and everyone can understand what I am saying.

The next step in my capstone project is doing an interview with someone that knows a lot about my topic. I was having a lot of trouble finding someone. I tried like 15 people, not exaggerating and it was the night before my deadline to find someone to interview and I found someone just in time. I was so relieved. Her name is Janice Cooper and she was a competition director for the gymnastics Olympics in 1984, 1996, and 2008. This was really good for me because my main inquiry question is about how the judging and scoring evolved over time and that is exactly what she could answer so that was really good. 

I had twelve questions. They were:

1.What was your role and responsibilities in the Olympics?

2. What were some of the main differences that you saw between the two Olympics that you worked at?

3. How has the process of judging and scoring in the gymnastics Olympics evolved over time?

4. How do the judges know what to focus on?

5. How do the judges know when to take away points and how many to take away?

6. How are the scores determined for each gymnast’s routine?

7. What problems has the scoring system caused to gymnasts?

8. What happens if the judges come across a tie?

9. What do you like most about your job?

10. What was the most challenging or frustrating thing about your job working at the Olympics?

11. How do the gymnasts handle their stress?

12. Is there additional information that you would like to share with me that you think would be helpful?

We went back and forth a couple of times to find a time that worked for both of us. But eventually, we found a time over the weekend that worked for both of us. I was really happy with the person that I found.

One of the questions that I asked her was my main inquiry question. I decided to ask her because I didn’t know what she was going to know and she actually had a lot to say about this question. A sub-question that she really helped me with was sub-questions 1 and 5. (the first and last one) Something that she taught me that was really interesting was that every year, the judges are tested so the people that are testing them can see what level that person should judge. 

Overall, my interview was a huge success. I think that the information that she gave me will really put my project over the top! She was the jackpot!

The topic that I am doing for Capstone is the gymnastics Olympics. My main inquiry question is, how has the process of judging and scoring in the Gymnastics Olympics evolved over time? 

Some things that were helpful in choosing my main inquiry question was my teachers one on one support, digging deeper, and not making my topic so broad. These things were helpful because when I met one on one with my teacher, she gave me the suggestion of a main inquiry question and I ended up using something really close to what she helped me come up with. 

One of the things that was challenging in the process of choosing my main inquiry question was narrowing down my question to be a little bit easier to research. At first, my main inquiry question was going to be about the entire Olympics but then I narrowed it down to just the Gymnastics Olympics and I think it is much easier. 

After I thought of my main inquiry question, I had to start thinking about my sub-questions. I had to think of five of them. Some of the ones that I thought of were, how do the judges know what to focus on when they are judging, and how do the judges know when to take away points and how many to take away. And three more. Some of the first sub-questions that I have didn’t stay. I ended up tweaking them a little throughout the process so they would be easier to research. 

Something that I have learned about myself as a learner is that if you want to accomplish your goal, you have to stay focused, and not overload yourself with too much to do. That is how you can be successful and learn a lot.