My Life Project Blog Post

1. Create a new blog posting and call it: My Life - Final Project

2. Post your My Life Project and answer the following questions:

3. 
A) Identify the different music in your project. 
I used the songs: September by Earth Wind and Fire, Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison, Change by Taylor Swift, and Live Like We're Dying by Chris Allen.
B) Tell us what songs you used and... 
I used the songs: September by Earth Wind and Fire, Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison, Change by Taylor Swift, and Live Like We're Dying by Chris Allen.
C) Why you chose the different pieces.
I chose the song September because that is the month I was born in. I chose Brown Eyed Girl because I have brown eyes. I chose Change because this video showed my progress over the years and my life as it has grown through the years. And I chose the song Live Like We're Dying because I feel that the lyrics are very inspirational to live every moment to its fullest.

4.Describe how you went about finding your information, pictures, and songs:
I went through all of my scrapbooks my mom has made for me, she always had her camera with her so I had plenty to choose from. For my music I went through my iTunes and played songs. I chose the songs that were best suited for me and this project.

A) What kinds of search terms/phrases did you use? (Give some examples.)
I used: Average costs of..., 67th Academy awards, Friends, Family, and There's a first time for everything.

B) What search engine(s) do you use most often?
I use Google for almost anything that i need to search for on the internet.

C) Did you find any unreliable websites or sources?
Looking at other student's projects, I have noticed that we have different information in the top 10 songs and academy awards slides. Maybe my source was not accurate.

5. What different kinds of technology did you use to compile your project? [Web tools, Mac tools, etc...]
I used Keynote, GarageBand, iMovie, iPhoto, iTunes, and the scanner settings on my laptop.

6. What are you good at...what went well for you in this project?
It was really easy for me to stay organized and on task for this project. Finding all the information and forming it into my project went smoothly because I did it all at one time. Once I finished the information, i scanned pictures and did all the fun things about myself.

7. With what did you struggle on this project...what was difficult for you?
I struggled with putting variety into my video. The slides are the same and  transitions vary some but not a lot.
8. 
A) Did you decide to use still slides? 
Yes, I used still slides.

B) Why or why not?  [If not, how did you convey your information?]
I used still slides because it is easier for the viewers to read the information presented on them.

C) Did you use a consistent theme throughout your movie?
Yes, I used the scrapbook theme in iMovie, and in Keynote my slides were the same styles too.

D) Why or why not?
It put the movie together and kept everything neat. It shows organization in my opinion.

9. Describe how you used video in your project.
I used a video made on Photo Booth from a bus ride. I exported my video into my iTunes, and then uploaded it to iMovie. I then cut and enhanced the features of the video.

10. For what other classes, situations, uses could this type of project be adapted?
I could use this for any class I wanted. This is a great way to put together a presentation used to persuade an audience with your point of view. It has so many varieties of how and what you can put into it.

11. How did your project use the transformative property of borrowed images, music, and information to comply with the Copyright Law of 1976? [...not just that you cited the information - citing is not enough...tell me how you transformed what you've taken into something new, etc., How did you transform the music, information, images, etc.?

I put my music into Garage Band and cut the different songs and enhanced the sounds. For the pictures, I scanned them onto my computer into iPhoto, i then cropped and edited the features, resolutions, and enhancements of the pictures. 

12. Would you do another project like this on your own? Why? Why not?
Yes, I really enjoyed putting this together. It brought back memories and it was a fun way to sum up my past 16 years.

Music Genome Project Blog

Part I: Post your Music Genome Project to your blog (not a link), reflect on your project, and answer the following questions in complete sentences:

Part II:

1. A) Identify your chosen musical genre

- I chose the genre Disney show tunes.

    B) say why you chose it.

- I chose Disney show tunes because it is a very popular genre.  There are many songs, tunes, and genres within it. There is a very wide variety of the music.

2. Describe how you went about finding your songs and information.

- I researched Disney movies. I especially looked into the older cartoons, because they are the more musical ones.

3. What different kinds of technology did you use to compile your project? [Web tools, Mac tools, etc...]

- I used Keynote, Garageband, iMovie, iTunes, and iPhoto. I used zamzar to convert all of my music and my video.

4. What are you good at...what went well for you in this project?

- It was easy to choose the music and get it put together in Garageband. Creating the actual iMovie was also a fairly easy task once I had all of my sources, pictures, music, and informational slides.

5. With what did you struggle on this project...what was difficult for you?

- What I struggled with the most was probably finding the history. Since it didn't really "develop" anywhere, besides in a studio in Los Angeles, there wasn't any culture or conversions to it.

6. Did you decide to use still slides? Why or why not? [If not, how did you convey your information?

- For some of my slides I did use still slides, there was so much information in them that I thought it would be easiest for the reader to just have it infront of them and it to not be moving. For a few short slides I did you ken burns effects. It added more creativity and variety to the movie.

7. For what other classes, situations, uses could this type of project be adapted?

- This project could be used for many other situations, such as in biology, a report on an animal or parts of a cell. It could also be used for a how to speech in speech class.

8. How did your project use the transformative property of borrowed images, music, and information to comply with the Copyright Law of 1976? [...not just that you cited the information, etc., but how did you transform the music, information, images, etc.]

- I used zamzar to convert all of my music from the internet (mostly YouTube) to my iTunes and from there into Garageband. All of the sources were then saved and cited. Images were also saved from the internet, probably searched on Google Images, and then saved and cited. Along with the information, I used Google to start my research and went from there.

9. Would you do another project like this on your own? Why? Why not?

- Yes I would. It was a fairly simple assignment, it just took a lot of time. It is great to be able to watch all of your information, music, and pictures fall together with the finished project and it puts the focal points of your project into a clear visual.

Culture iMovie Blog Post

1. Post your movie to your blog. Number and answer the following questions:

2. Identify your team's topic.

- My team's topic was Peoria Notre Dame Men and Women's Swimming and Diving teams.

3. Describe your role on the team.

- What I did for the project was edit the music and timing on the slide transition. I have had more experience with iMove than my other teammates so when they had something they did not know how to do I would help them or take over the task. I helped pick the themes for the slides, transitions, and texts.

4. What did you learn from being a part of this team?

- I learned that dividing up the work evenly, and then reviewing everyone's work and research is the best way to get the project done quickly and efficiently. Keep your group members updated on what you are doing and check their statuses on what they are doing too. Work together as much as you can so one person is not stuck with the entire project or you're not doing it last minute.

5. What went well for you as a team?

- We got all of our information and images together easily. Our research was accurate and on topic. We all had certain tasks, or we would all do research one day, and then pool all of our ideas together at once. We were on task every class and got the project done days before it was due, so we had time to add fun effects or add little details.

6. What did not go well for you as a team?

- I thought our project was done successfully without any errors or delays. The only thing is that we had to figure most of the very detailed things such as all the video complications out and get everything perfect for it.

7. Describe the process from storyboarding through the movie creation. Did ideas/concepts/focus change from one kind of technology to the other? If so, how?

- We took the storyboard and exported it into our documents. From there we made different slides with words, information, videos, or just pictures related to our topic. We just added more detail or found more appropriate things to add to the movie that were different from the storyboard. 

8. What new tools and techniques did you learn by doing this project?

- I already knew how to make an iMovie, but I discovered new tools and techniques to add the videos, enhance them and the pictures, find and add transitions to mix it up a little. I found many new themes and creative styles. I also learned how to insert and edit music into the movie.

9. For what other classes, situations, uses could this type of project be adapted?

- I can see me using this project for French class or Biology class. I can use it for big presentations in college, or once I graduate and get a job. It really captures the message of the topic because of the different effects, styles, and ideas you can throw into it to make it more exciting and a lot less boring.

10. How did you use the transformative property of borrowed images, music, and information to comply with the Copyright Law of 1976?

- I used a work cited at the end, which cited all my sources that gave the owner or creator credit for their work.

11. Would you do another project like this on your own? Why? Why not?

- Yes I would. It was a pretty straight forward project. It could be done very easily if you just followed the steps. I had so many opportunities to use my own creativities.

Garageband Blog

1. What tools and techniques did you use to create your podcast? [be specific...10 pts.]
I used the application Garageband.  For pictures, I searched Google images, and looked further through the results.  I used iPhoto to store my photos.  I used the microphone on my computer to record my voice for the podcast, and then I used the tools in Garageband to edit the sounds and my voice.

2.  How could you use a project like this in other classes? [2 pts.]
I could use this project in other classes by recording a presentation about something, as in for speech class we have to conduct an interview with someone and record it, I can use my newly learned skills with Garageband to record it.

3.  In the “real world,” how could podcast projects be used (In what careers/businesses, etc.)? [2 pts.]
You could use them for presentations in a meeting, inserting pictures for visuals.  It can give a better visual of the idea rather than being put on the spot.

4.  In this project, what did you get good at doing? [2 pts.]
Organizing my photos and timing them in with the music, jingles, and my recorded voice.

5. What was the most difficult part of the assignment? [2 pts.]
Probably recording my podcast with only a few studders or mess-ups.  It took a few times and it still wasn't perfect. 

6.  Would you do a project like this on your own? [2 pts.]
Yes, now I can easily record my own podcasts for whatever reason.  I know how to use all the tools and if not, I can watch the tutorial for it.

Storyboard Blog Post

1.

2. My group chose to do a story board on the men & women's swimming and diving team.  We chose it because my two other group members are part of the women's swim and dive team, so we had two inside sources, and one of our classmates is on the men's swim and dive team, so we had another inside source.

3. We used images from google, like goggles, swim suits, swim caps, fins and paddles.  We also used images from actual Notre Dame swim meets and team gatherings.  We chose them to give a visual of what the team looks like and what meets are like, we gave images of equipment needed for practices and meets too.

4. My two other group members had all the information we needed since they were on the swim team, and I gathered information from our other classmate who is on the men's team.  We wrote our ideas down in a Google Doc, and then pooled them together into slides and the storyboard.

5. It outlined the process of each slide in transition.  It gave a more clear visual of what the final product what look like.

iPhoto Reflection

1. Which search terms did you use to find images (for the letters of your name and the images that describe you) and why?
I typed in a letter and then images, for the letter "A" I searched "A images".  It seemed to be the most logical and simple way of finding images in the shape of the letter that I was searching for.
2. What skills did you use/learn in this project?
I learned how to make an iPhoto slideshow.  I learned how to export the video and post it onto this blog.  I know how to make an album, and edit pictures in iPhoto now too.
3. Describe how you might use these skills and apply them to a real-world situation.
If I ever need to make a presentation in a class or for a business i can just put all my pictures into iPhoto and make a slideshow, it is a lot simpler and quicker than using PowerPoint.
4. This was a more creative project than our first 2. Did you prefer it or the more cut and dry assignments in Word and Excel?
Yes I did prefer this over the other two projects.  We searched for things that were related to us and put ourselves into the slideshow.

Blog About Charity Appeal Letter

1. List the name of your business and its charity.
The name of my business is Precious Moments. The charity is a telethon to raise money for the American Red Cross.
2. What skills did you use/learn in this project?
I learned how to enter contacts into Microsoft Excel, and then merge them into a Microsoft Word document.  I typed my first business letter.
3. What was the easiest part of this project? What was the most difficult part of this project?
The easiest part of the project was entering all the information into the cells in Microsoft Excel. The most difficult part was understanding how to get the mail merge, but once I understood how to, it was pretty simple.
4. Describe how you might use these skills and apply them to a real-world situation other than writing a charity letter.
I can now add contacts into my Excel and have an address book in there.  For future business letters i know how to transfer my contacts into the Word document quickly and easily.
5. Did you learn something new during this project that you did not know before?  If so, what? [Your response to this question can be related to the information, skills, or process of the project.]
I learned how to mail merge contacts from an Excel document into a Word document.  I added the contacts with a business letters, so all of my contacts had a letter addressed and written specifically to them.