Hello everyone, and welcome to my blog.
`We have finally completed the first sector in Maker. In it, we did some goal setting and video making. All of our skills that we had to show were the videos. In total, we made 3 videos. Along the way, we did some goal setting and read a book called “ What Do You Really Want”. It taught us about goal setting and how to do it properly.
The what inspires me video
This was our first video that we made. In the video we had to talk about what inspires ourselves. We used the “what inspires you” form from the book to help us with that. We just had to use what was on the form and put it into the video. This was an individual project, and it had to be made using Clips. Want to watch it? Click here.
A silent film on goal getters in action
This was our second video, and we did it in groups. We had to choose a story in which a person had achieved something by setting goals. We could either choose someone in our group, or someone that was in the “What Do You Really Want” book. There were these people that accomplished something in their lives and their stories were in the book. My group chose someone from the book. The video’s silent, except for some background music. This one was also made in Clips.
The story of this person:
When Kylie was just eight, she was diagnosed with cancer. While in the hospital, she hated having to lug her IV pole while walking around. It was heavy and awkward, and she would often tripped over the pole’s tubes. Years later, when her fifth-grade science class was instructed to invent something that solved a problem, Kylie knew what she wanted to do. Her goal was to invent something that made it easier for kids having chemo to move around. That something turned out to be a backpack that Kylie, with her parents’ help, made to work just like an IV pole. Kylie’s teachers saw how helpful her backpack is, so they submitted it to the Connecticut Invention Convention. Since then, people have contributed over $50,000 dollars to Kylie’s fundraising campaign. The money is being used to produce the backpack.
Tutorial video
The tutorial video was our last one, and it was also done in groups. This one had to made using iMovie. The teachers expected our videos to:
- Use iMovie storyboards to create our tutorial
- Teach our viewers a chosen skill in a clear and effective way
- Include titles and posters to help teach the viewer
- Include various creative shots and angles to provide our video with style
- Include voiceovers, and an appropriate soundtrack or music.
- Be 1 -2 minutes in length
My group chose to do a tutorial on how to play the trombone, because two members of our group, including me, are trombone players. Our video storyboard was: someone wants to play the trombone, so they search it up on YouTube. Then it showed the other trombone player showing how to assemble the trombone. Next, I came in and show how to play a simple song on it. Lastly, we showed the person who wants to play the trombone practicing and eventually being able to the simple song.
In between each video that we made, we learned some movie making skills from guides for moving images notes. From it, we learned the history of film making, loglines and treatments, storyboarding, and the different shots and angles. These notes helped us make better videos.
Goal setting
We also did some goal setting in Maker. There are a bunch of forms that are in the book that helped us set goals. I make a document on Pages and titled it “Goal Tracker”. Like the name said, it is a place where I can set goals and keep track of them.
In my goal tracker, there are a couple paragraphs on goal reflections and Think It Ink It prompts. A few of them are about what career I want in the future. We learned that to set the best goals, it has to be SMART, or SMARTER.
S stands for specific—easier to accomplish.
M stands for measurable—trackable.
A stands for actionable—add verbs.
R stands for relatable/relevant—stage in life, current situation. See if it can be done.
T stands for time-bound— needs to have a timeframe, or deadline.
E stands for evaluate—look at the progress, and reflect on it.
R stands for reward—celebrate, reward yourself for completing your goal.
Using the SMART(ER) strategy, we made a goal ladder. A goal ladder is where you can map out all the steps that you are going to take to reach your goal. At the top of the ladder is where your goal is, or the destination that you’re trying to reach. Each rung on the ladder represents each step, so the first step you’re going to take would be at the bottom of the ladder. Once you complete a step, you move up the ladder, getting closer and closer to reaching the top. Both the goal and the steps needs to be SMART(ER)
The last thing that we did for goal setting is looking at the 10 Strategies to Stay on Task. This is in part four of the book. Staying on track can be challenging at times, especially if your goal is a long term goal. I think that strategy #1, Timing out the next week or month in relation to your goal, is very helpful. If you can map out what your timetable is going to be and when you can spend some time on your goals, then you would have a better chance at succeeding.
Through all the lessons in Maker, I was able to learn about movie making and goal setting. I liked learning how to make a good video, all the editing technics, and the different shots and angles that we can use to make a good film. The thing that I didn’t enjoy doing was the goal setting. I know that setting goals is important, but I just don’t like doing it. I’m glad that I now know how to set goals the right way, though. I think that being able to set goals properly is really good for if you want to accomplish something, big or small.