The Vibrant Video project was a short maker project that taught us the history of film making as well as many of the key steps to making a great video. Throughout the project Ms. Willemse told us the interesting history of film including the fact that the first film was of a man sneezing. The first larger scale film was of a train arriving and when audiences first saw it, they ran away because they thought the train was coming through the screen and would hit them. 

This project also taught us the process of how to make a great video. The first skill we learned was thinking like a moviemaker. We had to create a simple story with a soundtrack that set the mood. In order to keep track of my story, I wrote them down and ordered them how I thought they would go together. Then using an app called Clips, I filmed all the scenes I needed to tell my story. Then using Clips features, I added filters, stickers, posters, a soundtrack and other effects to my video to bring it to life. My film was about me reading and an exaggerated version of how I sometimes get absorbed by a book and pay attention to nothing else. 

The next skill I learned was framing shots and developing angles. To learn this skill we had to create a silent film in Clips using certain filters and posters to get an “old-time” effect. I am proud of how this video turned out and happy my friend could star in it with me. To further enhance the video, I first put the videos in iMovie to speed them up to get the look that old films have when people are walking around. I also think the music I chose fit the old fashioned theme and if you watch it without the music it looks weird. The music brings it to life.

The third skill introduced us to planning and shooting. We learned about writing a treatment, a logline, followed by a storyboard. For this skill we created a tutorial which we did as a group using an new iMovie feature. Before we started filming, we created and filled out a storyboard to grow in our planning skills and to make sure we included everything we needed to for the instructions to make sense. My team created a tutorial on how to use a vending machine which in the end turned out quite funny. 

The fourth and last skill I learned about in class, was about different effects I could use when making a film in iMovie. Unfortunately, I missed the class when we created the film with effect sequences because I was at volleyball provincials. However, I did see how a green screen can be used. 

At the end of the project, my class also had to film an interview but sadly I was sick the week they did it. I found it really fun to expand my knowledge about how to make movies and I know that will be very helpful for future PLP projects. In the future, now that I know more about making a treatment and a storyboard, I will include more of a planned out plot to my future videos. Laying out the angles and shots will help me get the purpose of my video across and using effects will make the video more interesting. 

The war to end all wars also known as World War One was the focus of this humanities project. Our driving question was “How might we use graphic novels to understand Canada’s involvement in WWI?”. To answer this question we did many activities and assignments but our final product was a graphic novel. The graphic novel we were to create had to be about a topic from World War1 and Canada’s involvement. I chose to do Women at War the ones holding down the home front. Before we could get to creating the graphic novel we had to learn about WW1 and how we were going to create the graphic novel. 

To start off this project, we looked at possible causes to WW1. We read about tensions in Europe especially with Austrian, Hungary and Serbia. We read about concepts like Nationalism, Militarism, Imperialism and alliances. Each one of things led to the growing tensions in Europe. I then had to write a paragraph about what we thought the main cause was of WW1. I had a lot of trouble choosing one because I believe there were many things that made WW1 happen. In the end, I decided that WW1 would not have happened at that time if it wasn’t for the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. Later, closer to the end of the project, we thought about the consequences of WW1, both the immediate and the long term ones.  For example, an immediate consequence was the loss of life and infrastructure in many countries in Europe. A long term consequence was the weapon development like the use of tanks, machine guns, and chemical warfare. These were created around WW1 in a larger scale and have been around ever since then. These two parts of the project connect to the curricular competency: Analyze Cause and Consequence. When I look back at my understanding, on Cause and Consequences, I think I did a very detailed job on this competency. I feel that I have a thorough understanding of the complicated causes of the war and also of the consequences. 

Aside from the Nelson Text pages we read, we read The War to End All Wars 1914-1918 written by Alan Cowsill. This graphic novel informed us about many battles in the war and gave us a visual about what was happening at this time. Many parts of the novel was from the perspective of a soldier which was a very interesting choice. I had only heard of WW1 with some facts but the soldier’s perspective helped me to understand what it was actually like to be in WW1. It was interesting to see how all the relationships between the countries such as the alliances that were made, who supported who and why they supported them. Another interesting part to see was the propaganda that countries would use to get more men to join. They would guilt them, scare them and make men feel that it was an honourable thing to do to make their country proud. The graphic novel mentions the story about the famous story about the men who took a break at Christmas. I wondered, if they could take a break and be happy together, then why were they really fighting? It seems like the war really had nothing to do with the average person. 

Looking at the War to End All Wars 1914-1918 graphic novel prepared me to create my own graphic novel, which was the final product. This final product would show the curricular competency of Create Effectively which means “Effectively incorporating technical and narrative writing within a comic panel”. My chosen topic was Women at War=: those holding down the home front. For this topic I needed to research, use at least two sources, create a 5 W page, storyline and story board before I could even start the graphic novel. My topic was more challenging then I thought because I could not find exact dates and events of women here at Canada because most people were paying attention to the War and not as much as to what was happening here in Canada. Another challenge for me was creating the images for the graphic novel. Because there were not many photographs in my sources, there were not many to trace to then use for the graphic novel. I also found it very hard to actually to draw. However, when I look at my final product, I believe I was able to communicate what I wanted to say. 

Overall, when I think about this topic, I think that WW1 was a waste of life. I recognize that it is hard to understand all the different perspective, thoughts and ideas that went into the war. I might never fully understand why it happened and what the point was. It seemed like a lot of tension over land and power and at the end of the war it looked quite similar even with some land and power shift. I would hope that today we would have better ways of dealing with regional and national disagreements.

“The 7 habits of highly effective teens” by Sean Covey is the book that we have been focusing on for the past three months. In maker, for this project, we have been working on answering the driving question “How can I use the 7 habits to be my most effective self”? We were given the option of reading three books: the one for people, teenagers, or a graphic novel, and I chose to do the one for teenagers written by Sean covey. The book was separated into four parts and for each part we completed a workbook and a choice board activity. To answer this question I have read, practiced and shown my understanding of the 7 habits. This final blog post is titled “Believe in Good” because our final product will demonstrate how in the future I am going to use the 7 Habits to be a more effective teenager. 

The Process

Highlights from my Choice Board Assignments:

I am really proud of most of my Choice Board assignments. They were all different and all showed the part of the 7 habits I needed to show representing my understanding of my learning. 

• • Paradigms: For my first choice board I took a photo up close of my brother’s hair and then a photo further back. You can’t tell what the first photo is without seeing the second picture.
  • Private Victory: For my second choice board I used the app Sketches Pro to create notes with graphics. These notes were about each of the first three habits to show how my brain remembers the learning from this section. The images represent an idea.
  • Public Victory: For my third choice board, I created a Keynote animation that clearly shows habits four, five and six. My focus was on visual representation.
  • Renewal: For my last choice board, I created a playlist to represent the four sections of habit 7, Sharpening the Saw. 
  • Overall, throughout the choice boards I was able to grow my skills in using ipad apps I had not used as much as the others such as animating in keynote. I showed I was a creative communicator through the variety of ways I represented my knowledge of the 7 habits. 

Highlights from the Workbook:

• The workbooks made me think about the 7 habits and how they could apply to my life. For example, I found it very interesting to look at my personal bank account assignment and discover how many withdrawals I have in a week. 

Highlights from the Notes Chart:

• My notes chart helped me to remember the main ideas of the 7 habits, especially when I was doing the choice board activities. Using my ipad to construct my understanding was one way I showed myself to be an empowered learner. Even though my notes to some people, may not make sense, they help remind me about what this whole book has been about which is developing habits that will make me an effective human.

The Final Products of My Learning

Our final product needed to demonstrate my learning of the habits by connecting them with the core competencies. This meant that the habits would be shown within three products to relate to the three core competencies: communicating, thinking, and personal and social. Even more challenging, we also needed each product to focus on communicating knowledge in a different style such as visual, audio and kinesthetic.

Communicating/Visual

With a focus on the communicating core competency, I chose to represent my learning of habits 5 and 6 in a visual way. I decided to create a photo Collage of group projects. This visual display demonstrates my growth in collaboration skills. We have had a variety of projects that require working in a group such as DI, Revolutions on trial, metaphor machines. Seeing all these photos showcases all the skills I have to use when I work in a group.

The next competency I reviewed was thinking which I chose to represent my learning of habits 1, 2, and 3 in an auditory way. I created an audiobook recording of me talking about future jobs I could have and ways I could accomplish those goals. 

The final core competency are personal and social skills which I chose to connect to Habits 4 and 7 in a kinesthetic way. Since building relaxes me and allows me to show my creativity, I decided to make a fort. I like to be in comfortable places and forget the world around me. I also love being with my family/friends and decided that building with my friend Maya would be something we both enjoy and a way for me to recharge.

All of these assignments and products ultimately are good evidence that I am becoming more of an empowered learning and that I can construct and communicate my knowledge in many, many, different ways. I will continue to build my skills in the 7 habits and bring good into my life.