Hello everyone! This is my ECMP 355 final project. It was so much fun to make and I hope you have as much fun watching it!
I chose to create a video that used stop motion. I got most of my inspiration for the fluidity of the video from one made by Britanick called, “The Awkward Meltdown.” I had wanted to do more of a picture video, but I needed the fluidity to make the hair look like it was growing. The only programs I used was iMovie and iPhoto sho sharpen and enhance the pictures. It was very simple to put all the pictures together and put words and music to the video. I hope it makes you laugh 🙂
Rebecca Black is an overnight millionaire due to her song “Friday” being available for download on iTunes. She was hoping for fame when recording the song and video, but gained publicity for unexpected reasons. It has been called, “the worst song every written.” With Lyrics such as “we, we, we so excited, we so excited.” and “I got this, you got this, now you know it.”, it is no wonder it has hit the top 100 songs on iTunes. Although this particular venture of hers brought her into the spotlight, her future achievements could be overshadowed by her past mistake (mistake in that it will alter her future, it was actually quite successful in the monetary sense). There have been many parodies made by which they are mocking the video and lyricism, all the while they are further propelling her success.
Her digital identity is forever altered by the choice to post the video. It is said “off the record” now that many employers looking into hiring will take into consideration the applicant’s digital presence. Any Facebook, Twitter, or other social media accounts will be people’s windows into your personal and professional life. It is so important to be wise in what you choose to connect yourself to online. Unfortunately, people do not always have the best discretion when it comes to publishing subject matter.
As a future teacher, I know that I not only need to be careful and critical of every word or image I place online, but also the things that could possibly placed online by others. The teachers in winnipeg that were caught simulating a striptease act did not think that their actions would leave the gymnasium; however, with the advancement of mobile technology the actions were filmed on cell phones, uploaded to Youtube. They were then suspended from teaching and lost almost all credibility as educators.
It is important to make sure you have control over your digital identity. That is the true moral of these stories. We need to be careful in what we, and others, say and do about ourselves.
Do you have a positive digital identity? How important do you feel it is to have twitter as a part of your online presence?
I was reading a fellow classmate’s, Mia Bell’s, blog post aptly named Blogging Is Hard. I completely agree with what she said. Blogging was something that I thought would be easy to do at the beginning of the class, but by now, I’m finding it hard to write even one post a week.
I find myself being very critical of the things I produce, whether it be a pice of my art, a song, or a blog post. I wish I could be more confident in what I write, but I think this make me think much more critically about the words I choose to use to get the message I want across; being critical is part of my artistic process. For me to create, I have to think, rethink, type it out, rethink, retype, and rethink again. It can get tiresome haha, but it really helps.
Do you enjoy using writing as a creative outlet? do you find it’s easier or harder to write at specific times of the day or week?
There is a lot to be said about the joys of group work. There is the opportunity to see ideas that may not have been apparent to you before through the sharing of group members’ ideas. You have the opportunity to connect with other students that you may not have known as well. There is also the joys of learning social skills (although this point is relevant mostly in the younger elementary level education). There are many positives to working in a group, but there are also some downfalls to the idea of working in a group.
I will address only my main concern with collective work, which is, the work may not be spread out evenly. As I was going through elementary and high school, when we were put into groups I was stuck doing most of the work. The other kids figured, “If I don’t do it, she will.” They were right! I didn’t want to get a terrible mark due to the fact that other students were doing what they were supposed to. Although most of the time there are group evaluations at the end of assignments or presentations involving more than one person, it does not always tell the full story. We, would never really know how accurate those are. I know that when I was in groups there were at least a few people that were really close friends and they would just give each other great marks because they liked each other, not because of their performance in the group work.
Have your experiences with group work been negative or positive? If you are becoming an educator, will you have a lot of group work for your students? What do you think is the prime age range for the effectiveness of group work?
Yes, it is important to take your school work, jobs, and other more grown up things seriously, however, what many people forget is that you need a little relaxation, fun, and simple splashing to keep yourself sane! I have been going a little crazy with final projects in my five classes and I feel like I’ve been working non-stop. I have a hard time remembering to take time just to stop for a minute or two. I have to set time aside to sketch, listen to music, take pictures, and read just as I have to set time aside to do homework. It’s all about balance.
This photo was taken during my grade twelve camping trip. We had just finished our finals, it was right before our graduation and banquet and we really needed to let out some steam from all that pent up stress our senior year had and was still putting on us. We ended up in a series of deep puddles splashing around in our rubber boots like we were five and it was amazing. That was one of the highlights of my year and it was all due to the fact that we decided to take some time for ourselves.
What do you do to take a breath in the middle of a hectic schedule? Do you take time out of your schedule to relax or do you power through until the very end?
The best part of making mistakes is that you get the chance to learn from them. That is something that I’ve heard since I was little, I actually heard it a LOT. Making mistakes is part of childhood, adulthood, immaturity, and sophistication. Mistakes are inevitable, but the important thing to remember is to take something away from the situation to better yourself as a person.
I know that I have had my fair share of bad judgement in a situation, for instance, I was 4 and my mom said that that day was not a day to buy a barbie. I didn’t like that. I threw a tantrum in the middle of the store and I was picked up and taken out by my mom. That’s not the worst or it, tantrums are normal for kids. I was so mad at her that I started screaming, “Help me! Help me! This isn’t my mother!” at the top of my lungs. My mom actually handled the situation very well. She put me down and explained that mommy would go to prison and that was the day that I learned what a foster family was. I learned from that, thank goodness.
Do you feel that there is something to learn in every situation?
There is almost nothing better than a good book when you’re feeling sick, bored, or just need a short escape.
I used to despise reading as I was growing up. My mind would wander and It would take me a good couple hours to get through a kids book. It took way too much effort! Now, however, reading is something that I try to make time for in my insanely busy schedule.
My favourite book of all time would have to be Redeeming Love. I know, that sounds all mushy and gushy, but it is a beautiful story. It is a retelling of the Bible’s book of Hosea in which God tells Hosea to marry a prostitute. God tells him to “Go, show your love to [her], though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods.” It’s a story of redemption, as you probably could have guessed by the title, and love and peace that surpass all understanding. I may not have sold you on the book, but I promise it’s a good one.
Do you like to read? What’s your favourite book? Any suggestions for good books? If you’ve read Redeeming Love, what did you think of it?
Much like this train track, I can’t see exactly where my future will be. All I can really do is hope and pray that I will know where I’m supposed to go with my life and career decisions. Sure, I can feel uneasy when it comes to major choices that have to be made, but who doesn’t? Who feels 100% about every decision they have ever made? If you have, that is amazing and I wish I had your confidence.
I do sometimes questions the decision I made to go into Education rather than Fine Arts, but I always come to the same conclusion. I am happy with the career path that I have chosen. Every time I tutor, I can see growth in the students I have taught. When I’m working at my job in after school care, I feel the bonds that I have created with the children I look after. For me, there wouldn’t be a more fulfilling career than aiding students in their growth intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually.
I do not often question my decision to go into Education, but when I do, I know that I have experiences and joys that drown out any concerns that I may think of.
Are there any experiences that have made you certain of the decisions you have made? If you weren’t in the career that you are in right now, what would you be doing?
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