Capstone Extra Movie Blog Post

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Making a movie might have been the most fun part of our Capstone project. We got to pick pictures, choose music, and share our research. The worst part about it was the recording because you needed to have the same type of recording in the same setting with the same tone. It was annoying especially when I was in a different place or had to speak louder because of background noise. But making a movie was still very fun and we got to share them with our classmates for advice and tips. In Cindy’s movie, she explained that when scientists wanted to share ideas, they could present them at a conference. Our movies and presentations were like that because we could present them in front of the class, with all our classmates and teachers watching.

Before the movie, we had to make a script. It wasn’t very exciting because we had to put all our research into simpler phrases to say. Also, I got my script corrected a lot. While the script was boring, it wasn’t hard or complicated. Before the script, we wrote an essay explaining the answer to our main question. What we were supposed to do was copy sentences or paragraphs from the essay onto the script and adapt it to make it match. So it wasn’t very difficult.

The movie was kind of the opposite – it was fun but hard. I think the most fun part was picking out a song because you could listen to music and think about the movie. In the end, I picked a song called Espionage, which was fitting because my topic was Cold War Espionage. It was too short so I had to start it up again on a slide talking about Aldrich Ames. It didn’t sound too weird and I was happy with it. But the most difficult part about the movie(other than recording) was picking photos. When Google searching, I had to use the “Tools” function under Images to set a Creative Commons license filter. That eliminated a lot of photos I wanted to use, but I found a trick. On Google Drive, when you use “Search the Web”, it automatically gives you free photos. There, I just clicked into the picture I wanted and double-tapped to get the file. Then I’d have a free photo. But when I didn’t have the photo I wanted, I had to search for something else or switch the topic. Sometimes, I happened upon a photo that was perfect for my movie but wasn’t free. When this happened, it was very annoying.

In conclusion, the final presentation/movie was sometimes fun and sometimes boring. It was sometimes hard and sometimes easy. In the end, though, I managed to complete it and make the best version of my video that I could. I hope that my whole Capstone project will be as successful as the movie. Because my Capstone is really a crowning achievement.

Capstone Blog Post #3

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Researching for my Capstone project was very boring. Also, it was challenging. That was because sometimes, I couldn’t understand the article I was reading or it didn’t have answers to my questions. I had a very difficult resource to understand and interpret, which ended up having only two sentences in my notes for it. Something exciting, though, was finding just the right paragraph with the answers I needed and extra information I didn’t think I’d need. While this nearly never happened, that just made it all the more exciting. Something I learned is you usually have to read a sentence or paragraph a few times before you find a connection between it and the question or topic. This applies to everything, even if you think you know what it’s about.

For my presentation, I decided to do a movie. This was because I didn’t want to memorize a script or talk to a live audience, which was what you had to do in a TED talk or Ignite. I already knew that I wouldn’t be good at it because I did it before. But movies had more features and options, so it was very clear which style of presentation I should choose. Some challenges I faced were recording and picking pictures(you can read more about my movie in my “Capstone Extra Movie Blog Post” post).

I learned that you need to always perfect and look for mistakes in your presentation(whether it’s a TED talk, Ignite, or movie) to make it the best you can. If you always think that your presentation is the best you can make, then you won’t be able to have a good enough presentation. This is important to know because then, you’ll always have a good presentation.

Immigrant Interview Blog Post #2

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For our video assignment, we had to have a two to four minute video with photos or videos that were two to six seconds, but they could be longer if you were narrating and needed to wait one second at the end and the beginning. Also, we had to have two seconds of black at the beginning and end. Because Adobe didn’t allow for that, we had to find a picture. I chose a zoomed in picture of a girl staring out of a window with lots of shadow. Also, we had to make it clear in the video about:

  • Where they’re from
  • Why they left
  • How they got here
  • Their Life today
  • Thoughts, feelings and sentiments about it all

Absolutely no “welcome to my video” or  “thank you for watching”

Finally, no videos allowed. Of course, my mom didn’t have any videos anyway.

Making the video was actually really fun, because I got to change themes, try out music, and search through photos. My mom had a lot of photo albums, but I didn’t use any of them. All my photos were from her iPad and iPhone. For my script, I copied some of the narrative into the script and then made it sound coordinated with the rest of the script. I took a long time choosing photos. Some I had to get from the internet, because the Stock images didn’t always work. There is one picture I’m still not pleased about, and that’s one with some people eating. I wish I had a photo of the family I was talking about, but my mom didn’t know where it was. I tried doing the voice-over in school, but there was way too much background noise. I ended up doing it all in my house. Something challenging was choosing which photo to use and finding them. For instance, I wanted a baby photo of my brother, Zongbo/Bob, but my mom only had a three year old photo.

I learned all about my mom, including her childhood, immigration journey, and reasons for her actions. I also learned how to conduct an interview, get more and better answers, and also come up with followup questions. Finally, I learned about making Adobe videos. I learned more about the features of Adobe, changing themes, searching through music and finding the best photos I could use.

I think this unit was actually really fun! I would want to do this again but with different people, subjects, and more! I got to learn a lot about my mom and was able to connect more with her. I was able to see my mother as a teenager, with friends and her husband, my father. She had the biggest, blackest eyes I’ve ever seen. While she looked a lot different as a younger person, my father looked like himself right now except with less wrinkles and completely black hair. Anyway, I really enjoyed this unit and would want to do it again. It really is fun.

 

Rube Goldberg Blog Post #2

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Rube Goldberg Blog Post #2

As I designed this Rube Goldberg machine, I had not foreseen as many problems as there happened to be. I knew some parts would probably cause problems, sure, but it simply didn’t occur to me I’d have to take out as many parts as I did. At least you could still see the similarities between my sketch and the actual thing.

Designing the Rube Goldberg contraption was never the problem – I probably had a thousand ideas of what to add in, at least half of them impossible. No, designing was easy. It was the building and collecting that were hard. Like I said, I hadn’t accounted for so many problems. So when those problems surfaced, I was unprepared for the sudden tidal wave. Because of this, I had no backups and simply didn’t know what to do. I was, although I’m ashamed to say it, ready to give up.

But just when I started to hang up my cap, a superhero called “Mom” (a strange name for a superhero, don’t you think?) came to the rescue, which is, of course, what superheroes are meant to do. Mom helped me see the problems from a different perspective, allowing me to fix most of my problems. Although, of course, that meant sacrificing my pulleys, seesaw, Jenga blocks… etc. Still, it worked, and my paper ball was in the trash (along with some balls, pieces of cardboard and other unwelcome items). 

There were certainly many lessons I learned, such as Don’t mope around and work on your projects or Don’t try and figure out fancy fonts for your We-Video and JUST GET IT DONE! You can see that the main point of focus was “don’t” rather than “do”. I’m afraid I must add yet another “don’t”, though, and that is Don’t give up. I was prepared to give up and Mom was as well (especially when I accidentally didn’t video it on the 6th try, which was our actual first attempt). Dad wasn’t really helping when he started telling us to video it, either. He only succeeded in making us more annoyed. Still, me and my mom supported each other, and we finally got through. So, just don’t give up. 

I probably spent about 2 hours on the video. Some of which was tinkering around with fonts and special effects. It had already gotten late by the time I finished, so I left the narration to the morning. I don’t know if I was supposed to do this or not, but I fitted all my narration for one image or video into 6 seconds. I wasn’t able to add any effects other than slow-mo and there were no transitions. If I’d gotten more time, then I’d probably fix up a few things, such as add a walk-through into my video or some type of effect. I know it said 3 to 5 minutes, but I had no way to stretch it, and I ended up just having it almost 2 minutes. Really, I was just grateful to have completed everything before the deadline.

I have said this for probably every unit I’ve done a reflection post on, but I have to admit, there’s not much else to say. So I’ll say it again: I’ve enjoyed it, really, but sometimes the deadlines get you stressed and I really wouldn’t want to do this again (maybe without deadlines, of my own accord and not having to worry about any specific rules). I think you’re probably getting bored of me saying that all the time. Maybe the next unit will be more exciting, or even worse than before. I just hope I will not have to type that one sentence once more.

Rube Goldberg Sketch

Rube Goldberg WeVideo

Argument Advocacy Reflection

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When we gathered as a group, all of us thought that zoos were the worst and the pro side was the easiest to research. Almost all the articles in our folders were supporting zoos, and they had good evidence as well. Besides, all the good reasons were on the Pro-zoos side. So, when me and Alexa were partnered up to be Pro, the only thing we were grateful for was the fact that it would be easier to find counters for Rylan and Jack’s reasons.

The first thing we did when we were paired up was collect more reasons and evidence from our unread articles. We made two pages in our notebooks for counters and reasons. Then, we began to find evidence. We soon realized that the articles couldn’t help us anymore, however, so we ended up just searching on the web for what we hoped to be statistics and graphs. We stumbled upon a gold mine when we found a website called In Defense of Animals, which not only had great reasons but also provided us with solid evidence. I found a type of mental illness called zoochosis which soon became my second reason. Alexa settled for health problems.

Alexa and I wrote our reasons with the sole purpose of outsmarting the other side. When ever they wrote something, we tried to find something to prove them wrong, but that would just end up with us groaning in frustration as we searched up the same phrase(with slight tweaks) again for possibly the 100th time. Yes, I think you can understand why I was so dissatified with my side.

Although I was glad with the fact I was on the “good” side, I had noticed a change in my group’s demeanor. We had originally been awkward and regularly talking about “Why can’t we have plastic bags? Or water? Maybe even cellphones!”, but now we became friendlier, seeking humor in every sentence spoken. However, as the deadline neared, the air became thick with competition. It was obvious – we were stressed out. Stressed that we’d be pulled aside for the rap that didn’t work, stressed that we’d get shunned about our reasons, et cetera. Also, if I’d asked my group what their opinion was a few weeks ago, at the start of this all, they’d have immediately replied, “Con zoos, of course!” Now, I was on an island of my own, with my teammates growling “Pro zoos” like hungry sharks beneath the waves. Sure, I was pulled by Rylan and Jack’s argument, and had thought of stepping in and becoming a shark myself, but the research I’d done had made me think twice.

Practicing was getting easier – we had grown familiar with the script, and now Rylan had mesmorized his introduction. Sometimes we’d boo at the other pair, all in good humor, of course. Though, a few times the teasing did go too far, ending in “Shut up!” or “You are so annoying!” Anyway, when the time for the “dreaded” recording came, we were ready. Nervous, with my heart pounding, but still prepared. Still able to talk. It honestly passed by rather quickly – I can barely even remember anything other than standing up and sitting down. All I heard was my own fear, keeping me from speaking too loud. But I still managed and I ended up finishing this unit successfully. And what else can I say, other than that my thoughts were exactly like all the other units? Fun while it lasted, but I still wish to never do this again.

Constitution Second Amendment Reflection

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When I chose this question (How does the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Second Amendment affect us today?), I had originally just been thinking of the Supreme Court and the Second Amendment. I’d only thought of the Supreme Court because, in all of the Second Amendment sites I had read, they all included some information on the Supreme Court and the Second Amendment. Out of all the cases, the two I kept seeing were Heller v. D.C. and McDonald v. City of Chicago. My original question was slightly different from the one I ended up with – it was aimed more at the Supreme Court itself, not the interpretation. But I think that my final question was more informative than the one I started with, and I’m happy with that.

When I was researching my project, something I found especially challenging was finding the right information, words, and pictures to help describe what I was talking about. As I took my notes, I realized the information was repetitive and didn’t include new info. For example, my first note-taking website (giffords.org) had mostly information on Heller v. D.C. and McDonald v. City of Chicago. Then, my second note-taking website (https://academic.eb.com) explained more about the origin of the Second Amendment and the start of the Supreme Court interpreting the Second Amendment. But then, in my last note-taking website, it was almost the same information I’d learned on “giffords.com”. So some of the information for the script was hard to get.

However, choosing the right words for the script was even harder! Sometimes I couldn’t explain some of the information I had learned, and when I had to introduce another slide, I could never think of a way to start it. It was the hardest challenge in making this project. Picking photos, although challenging, was thankfully easier. I was usually able to find photos on my 1st or 2nd search, and the photos were never too confusing. Everything other than those was a lot easier to accomplish. Through all those challenges, something that motivated me was thinking of completing this project. If I just pictured not having to do it anymore, I could do my work a little happier.

I think that I could’ve been a little more specific because I feel like my answer isn’t entirely connected to my question. My question was asking how the outcome of a Supreme Court case could affect us, but my answer only talked about how the interpretation changed throughout the years, not the effect of a case. So I was a little vague on that topic. Everything else, though, was pretty successful. I think that everything other than my answer was achieved to the best of my ability, with all my brainpower. I’m thankful that this has ended, but it was fun while it lasted(as painful as it was). I hope not to do something like this ever again, but I’ll probably still have to, so I can only hope that it will be less agonizing.

Buddies Reflection

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Today, we went to buddies. This time was extra fun, because we were teaching them how to use Chrome Music Lab! First, we brought our ipads and headphones. We went down to the kindergarten wing. Then, we found our partners and they went to get their ipads and headphones. Ms. Boyer said if we wore our headphones all the time, then we could sit in the hallway! Me and my buddy both wanted to, so we sat next to the doorway. It was very quiet, so we could hear the music better.

I first introduced her to the song maker. We liked it the most, and we decided to stay on it longer. Then, I showed her everything else. She said she couldn’t hear the music, so Ms. Furgatch asked someone else to help. After we figured it all out (it turned out she didn’t plug her headphones in!), we did a few more of the music “things”. She mostly stayed on song maker, but on my ipad, I showed her the music things she hadn’t played with yet. After a while, we had to go. I said good bye, and we left. I thought this was really fun, and I hope next time will be as fun as this time!

Character Traits Letter Reflection

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Dear Mrs. Boyer,

At home and in school, I’m reading about a fiction character. His name is Nate, and he is supposed to be based on the author. He and his school are both very creative, especially in the 4th book, Big Nate Goes for Broke. He’s also very good at working in teams. He is a good leader. Nate is usually also really funny. He can self-control himself and not do every crazy thing that crosses his mind. Nate’s also enthusiastic, honest, and brave. He has lots of social intelligence.

In each of his books, their is a different plot. As a six-grader at P.S. 38, he has dozens of rivalries, like different schools, a mean bully, seventh-grade champions, and lots more! Even his social studies teacher is his enemy. He personally likes cheez doodles, cartooning, and playing hockey. What he doesn’t like is on this list: Figure-skating, drawing girl’s hair, and homework. This is all I can tell you without giving spoilers.

Sincerely,

Jacinta

 

Image result for big nate pics

Big Nate Goes for Broke, the book