12th Grade
Blog #6
11/17/16
- I want to be able to display my VR on google cardboards so that it will be easily accessible and available for many people at once. I know Dr. Don has many google cardboards and I like this platform because I can have multiple people watching my VR at once. For the process of creating the VR I would like to write out the steps and have "stations." The people who did those steps would be the people explaining that part of the VR. For example one of the stations would be "Videography" and "Video Editing" where Mandalyn would be. There'd also be "Programming" where Stephanie would be, etc. We could have computers set up that show them how we did it and such. Then I could have a little section as "Producer" where I show my budget, researching process and brainstorming for my idea. I think if we show them the steps and programs we used it will show them that they can make their own VR's.
- Dewey's ideas are mainly made up of the same concepts behind project based learning. He believes in education that creates meaningful work and is hands on through activities. He also proposes that students be given genuine problems that can apply outside the classroom. With this kind of learning he believes students will be given the opportunity to learn to develop reasonable solutions to problems and test out their solutions. In the VR project we practice Dewey's ideas because we are given the opportunity to become the teacher. Dr. Don a lot of the time doesn't know how to do or has never tried to do what we are trying to implement in our VR's so we have to learn on our own. He gives us the resources but we have to figure it out ourselves. We also have to think of solutions when we hit roadblocks and try them out. Because this is something we've never done before there is a lot of trial and error in this process and we get to discover things on our own. The only thing I would say makes this project difficult is the money constraint. I feel its made it difficult to be creative and venture with different ideas because I'm afraid of going super over budget. I had a lot of ideas that I wanted to mess with and just try for fun to see if it would work but because I was too afraid to mess up my budget or not finish in time I decided to just go one way. Which is fine I think my project is still going to come out super cool but I wonder how much farther we could've gone with the project and what other cool stuff we could've created if I did;t have to worry about money or time.
- Pink argued that when a job goes farther than mechanical task, one that requires deeper thinking and creativity, money incentives don't work anymore. The pressure of trying to meet a certain amount of money makes the employee more concerned about the money than the actual job which then creates a lack of motivation and creativity. When there is purpose to a project we are more likely to try our best and excel at our job. I think this could be applied to school in the aspect of grades. Grades can be used as money and tasks could be done just for the grade. I've felt that when I'm doing a project that means something to me because it has purpose and its something I'm passionate about that I don't even worry about my grade. I'm so motivated to make my product great because I actually care about what I'm doing that the grade becomes of lesser importance to me because I know that my products going to come out great because it means something more to me than just a grade. And in the end I always get a good grade because my product comes out amazing because of the motivation and passion behind it. I'm not sure how this system could work in school other than creating projects that mean something to students. Maybe ask students what they wish to create or what they're interested in. Or give freedom in the project for students to focus on something they're interested in.
Blog #5
10/28/16
- What celebrations do you have for this week?
This week I am proud of where my project has come. We've made a lot of progress and its starting to look like a real VR. Me and Mandalyn also brainstormed an idea for a second scene that sounds really amazing and I'm super excited for it. - Cognitive dissonance is when you encounter a situation that is contrary to your world view of how things "should" work. When this happens, your brain will struggle with how to make sense of this contradiction and you can feel stressed, frustrated, and possibly depressed. Describe a time you have experienced cognitive dissonance during this project. How did you deal with it?
For the audio we set up phones with voice memos recording around the house and I really thought this was going to work. When we played back through the voice memos the next day we realized some were missing. This was very frustrating because the audio from the 360FLY was really low quality. This set my project back because we had to re-record all the audio in the studio which prolonged progress of my video. In the end though, it will be worth it because I will produce a high quality video. - How did your opinion of hashtag activism change/shift/evolve over the course of the week? Which one of the readings did you find most convincing?
My opinion of hashtag activism has not changed. I've always believed that social media is a good platform for awareness and making change. I still believe hashtag activism is a strong and larger platform to spread beliefs in a community and fight for change. I found the "#HashtagActivism- Turning Whispers Into Shouts and Fighting Stigma With Story," most convincing. The author shared the same opinion as mine, that hashtag activism is a powerful platform for activism.
Blog #4
10/21/16
Describe any concerns you have about whether the people you have hired will be able to produce a VR world that will meet your rubric's A criteria?
I'm mainly just concerned about the programming part of my project. For an A I said there would be two working text pop ups when you look at different objects and I'm really afraid this won't happen. The sound also is a little less quality than I would desire but Mandalyn's working on that. Other than that everything else my rubric has, has been accomplished.
How has your perspective on what constitutes reliable news changed? Do you think you are a more critical consumer of information? Why do you think this ability is important to your own life/ to the country?
I think I've realized that news isn't actually that reliable and this has made me more skeptical of news. Now instead of taking information at first hand I think about it and question what the person is telling me. This ability is important because in order to be informed progressive citizens we must question and dig deep into issues. Leave no room for deception or lies from big officials or people in power. We must question what people say and look at the different perspectives of an issue.
Describe any concerns you have about whether the people you have hired will be able to produce a VR world that will meet your rubric's A criteria?
I'm mainly just concerned about the programming part of my project. For an A I said there would be two working text pop ups when you look at different objects and I'm really afraid this won't happen. The sound also is a little less quality than I would desire but Mandalyn's working on that. Other than that everything else my rubric has, has been accomplished.
How has your perspective on what constitutes reliable news changed? Do you think you are a more critical consumer of information? Why do you think this ability is important to your own life/ to the country?
I think I've realized that news isn't actually that reliable and this has made me more skeptical of news. Now instead of taking information at first hand I think about it and question what the person is telling me. This ability is important because in order to be informed progressive citizens we must question and dig deep into issues. Leave no room for deception or lies from big officials or people in power. We must question what people say and look at the different perspectives of an issue.
Blog #3
10/8/16
- What’s working well so far? What problem have you noticed so far in this project and how would you fix it?
I think the way I’ve been organized and on top of checking in with my employees has made my life a lot easier and less stressful. So far the only problems I foresee are the editing process and programming. I’m worried we’ll run into problems and it’ll prolong my project and possible hurt my grade. Another problem I noticed was the money, because it was making everyone stress out and focus more on the money rather than the actual content of the project. However I feel Dr. Don’s done a good job of working around this by raising our budgets and setting more rules around the whole payment situation - What strategies do you find helpful when trying to work in a distracting place?
Whenever I’m working in a distracting place I try to either leave that area and go to a spot more quiet and independent. This normally always works because then I’ve separated myself from the distraction but in situations where this is not possible I just put headphones in and listen to music. This helps me because it blocks out my surroundings, puts me in my own little world and forces me to focus. - How can words be used by those in power to influence our choices?
Words alone when used in a certain way can have a powerful impact/ influence on anyone, so when it’s a person of power the effects are amplified. A person of power is someone we look up to and trust so their words can mean a lot to us. Whether they use their words for good or bad, we trust them. This makes us less inclined to question what they are saying and just accept their statements as true simply because we like them and they are powerful.
Keeping it Real
What what the most disturbing prediction in the Singularity reading and why?
The most disturbing prediction to me is the fact that lawyers and nurses will practically no longer be needed due to artificial intelligence. This idea is so odd to me, imagine going to the doctors and not having a human being diagnose you. It's a machine that can speak and examine like a human would. So many jobs would go out of business, how would our economy work? How would people make money?
In what way was the job fair/ interview process authentic? How could it be made more authentic? What did you learn about yourself through this process?
The job interview felt super serious and it was kind of awkward. It was hard to take it seriously because we all already know each other pretty well, we've worked with each other and we're all friends so treating each other seriously in that way was weird. It was super official though, like with the timing and the way it was set up. I learned through this process that I’m super prepared and responsible. I had questions ready for each job I was interviewing and I was taking notes with a notebook where I saw other producers didn't. I do the above and beyond and I'm proud of myself for that.
Does advertising shape or reflect our society? Should there be stricter regulations on advertisers? If so, what restrictions should there be?
Advertising to me doesn't seem to shape or reflect our society. I don't think it has that powerful of an effect on us. I think there should be more strict regulations on advertisements for little kids like being truthful and not encouraging the use of irresponsible items (like cigarettes, alcohol, etc) but once you're on adult you choose what you let influence you.
The most disturbing prediction to me is the fact that lawyers and nurses will practically no longer be needed due to artificial intelligence. This idea is so odd to me, imagine going to the doctors and not having a human being diagnose you. It's a machine that can speak and examine like a human would. So many jobs would go out of business, how would our economy work? How would people make money?
In what way was the job fair/ interview process authentic? How could it be made more authentic? What did you learn about yourself through this process?
The job interview felt super serious and it was kind of awkward. It was hard to take it seriously because we all already know each other pretty well, we've worked with each other and we're all friends so treating each other seriously in that way was weird. It was super official though, like with the timing and the way it was set up. I learned through this process that I’m super prepared and responsible. I had questions ready for each job I was interviewing and I was taking notes with a notebook where I saw other producers didn't. I do the above and beyond and I'm proud of myself for that.
Does advertising shape or reflect our society? Should there be stricter regulations on advertisers? If so, what restrictions should there be?
Advertising to me doesn't seem to shape or reflect our society. I don't think it has that powerful of an effect on us. I think there should be more strict regulations on advertisements for little kids like being truthful and not encouraging the use of irresponsible items (like cigarettes, alcohol, etc) but once you're on adult you choose what you let influence you.
Blog
9/23/2016
Engineering:
I am the producer of a Virtual Reality project which means I am in charge of hiring people and making sure my vision follows through with this project. So far I’ve had to use my organization skills in sorting and figuring out everything I need such as employees (skills/ talents needed to create this.) I’ve had to sort out for how long I will need them and create a timeline of my project, keep it very organized so when we do start creating this project it runs smooth and on time. In creating a budget I’ve had to determine where my money will go and how much of it to make sure I stay in budget. A lot of the skills I’ve been using are organizational, time management and calculations. I know once the project starts I will definitely need to use my leadership skills. I will have to lead and supervise a team of people to make sure this project gets done. This is one of the challenges I think I’ll face. I’m very independent so most of the time when someone isn’t picking up their slack I want to pick it up myself, but in this case I won’t be able to do this. This being said, my goal for next week is to make sure I stay organized and have everyone completing their tasks at the time I need them to. I want to really be able to put my foot down and if someone's not doing the work they’re supposed to be doing I will have to fire them.
English:
Studying further into propaganda and doublespeak really opened my mind to how ignorant we can be and how much we truly are deceived in society. This has made me very sad about reality. To think this is the kind of reality we live in, that we’re being lied to by the people who are supposed to lead us it’s very saddening. Leaders are supposed to inform the public and use their power for the good of the people, but through propaganda and doublespeak they do the exact opposite. It makes me think about when people do turn to virtual reality or television or online games, is it possible that they’re creating a world for themselves that is better than our own? This makes sense, if our world is so messed up and corrupt wouldn’t you want to just create your own world? This is where virtual reality scares me because imagine how terrible our world can become if instead of fighting to change issues in our real world everyone begins to create their own artificial worlds, meanwhile the real world is going to trash. All these questions raised about our reality and society are a little scary to think about it. But I think it’s something that must be addressed.
Engineering:
I am the producer of a Virtual Reality project which means I am in charge of hiring people and making sure my vision follows through with this project. So far I’ve had to use my organization skills in sorting and figuring out everything I need such as employees (skills/ talents needed to create this.) I’ve had to sort out for how long I will need them and create a timeline of my project, keep it very organized so when we do start creating this project it runs smooth and on time. In creating a budget I’ve had to determine where my money will go and how much of it to make sure I stay in budget. A lot of the skills I’ve been using are organizational, time management and calculations. I know once the project starts I will definitely need to use my leadership skills. I will have to lead and supervise a team of people to make sure this project gets done. This is one of the challenges I think I’ll face. I’m very independent so most of the time when someone isn’t picking up their slack I want to pick it up myself, but in this case I won’t be able to do this. This being said, my goal for next week is to make sure I stay organized and have everyone completing their tasks at the time I need them to. I want to really be able to put my foot down and if someone's not doing the work they’re supposed to be doing I will have to fire them.
English:
Studying further into propaganda and doublespeak really opened my mind to how ignorant we can be and how much we truly are deceived in society. This has made me very sad about reality. To think this is the kind of reality we live in, that we’re being lied to by the people who are supposed to lead us it’s very saddening. Leaders are supposed to inform the public and use their power for the good of the people, but through propaganda and doublespeak they do the exact opposite. It makes me think about when people do turn to virtual reality or television or online games, is it possible that they’re creating a world for themselves that is better than our own? This makes sense, if our world is so messed up and corrupt wouldn’t you want to just create your own world? This is where virtual reality scares me because imagine how terrible our world can become if instead of fighting to change issues in our real world everyone begins to create their own artificial worlds, meanwhile the real world is going to trash. All these questions raised about our reality and society are a little scary to think about it. But I think it’s something that must be addressed.