Halfway through each year in PLP, we complete a celebration of our learning called a Mid-Year Presentation of Learning (an MPoL). This is where we reflect on what we have learned over the course of the year.

At the start of this year, I wrote a goal that I would work towards over the course of the year. I had said that I wanted to make my work more personal. After experimenting with this goal, I have decided would like to update my plan. I believe that I have found a way to improve my learning and accomplish this goal. More on that later.

 

So far this year, I have learned lots of new skills.

In Science I learned more about our ecosystems, and how we affect them. I also learned more about how living things reproduce through cell division. I also learned about chemical compounds as well as electricity. In Maker I perfected my videography skills, and created a film which I am very proud of. In Humanities, I learned about geography and the history of the Canadian west, with a visit to Alberta. I also learned about revolutions, and argued my points in a court of law. I also wrote a slam poem about the consequences Industrial Revolution.

 

One of my other biggest successes was with my Storm the Barricades video. When we started the project, we had a plan to do a simulated courtroom battle with a jury and two sides. As we neared the end of the project, we realized that we would not have the time to complete this. We only had a few weeks left, and needed to figure out how to work around this. We put our heads together and came up with a new plan. We had just over a week to make a video that showcased our side.

My group worked very hard. I was in charge of writing the script. I had to be done our script in a couple days. Otherwise we would not be able to finish the project in time. My other group members did a great job with costumes, filming, and editing. I think that our final product was great. It looks really impressive for something we made in a week.

My favourite piece of work, out of everything is my First Film, which I made in Maker. The project was themed around James Cameron’s Avatar (2009). I was tasked with making a film that dove into the movie’s themes. I chose to focus on racism against Indigenous people, as I believe that it is a very important topic. I storyboarded, wrote a script, and worked as hard as I could. I even reached out to a educator at UBC who specialized in Indigenous education for an interview. I used the footage to create my final piece of work.

The video reached a multitude of people on YouTube and at our exhibition. Many people have seemed to really like it, and I think that it touches on some very important topics. I learned a lot from this project, and really felt like the video had to be perfect with everything that I was discussing. I would say that it is my favourite thing that I have created throughout my education. In the future, I would like to do more projects like this were I have the opportunity to talk about important topics in big, high effort products.

 

However, while my First Film is my favourite piece of work, it was not the one that I enjoyed making the most. At the very start of the year in Maker, during our Vibrant Videos project, we were told to create a short video based on a questionnaire we filled out. The video was about our inspirations. I was really exited about this video, and I spent a long time drafting ideas for visuals and deciding my filming locations. I spent the weekend working away on my video. I went to multiple different locations, and had different costumes. I spent hours editing it all together, and I was having a great time. I really liked what I had created and I really enjoyed the process.

This showed me that the best way to soak in my learning was to enjoy it. Often when I work, I find myself having a hard time staying focused. This can lead to me creating lesser work. This all changes when I enjoy what I am doing. If I can focus less on pure quality, and more on my enjoyment, the quality will increase by default. This is what I am going to focus on for the rest of the year. I will accomplish this goal by incorporating my passions into my project in order to make more thoughtful, personal, and passionate work.

I have had a great first half of this year. I have learned many new things and have created many amazing pieces of work. Unfortunately, Maker and Science are coming to an end. The rest of the year will consist of Humanities posts. I am exited to continue my learning going forward, and I am looking forward to the rest of the year.