Tech Team Year End Reflection
- Our group was to have done the Dear Grade 8 Me video. Our intent was to change it up a bit where we feature people from other grades simply giving advice to the upcoming grade 8s more than it being a letter to a person of the past. We made a list of responsible role models from each grade that would be great candidates to be filmed. Then we created a schedule to film and filmed the people who would answer our questions that we had made beforehand.
- We ran into the main problem that we lacked proper footage. We were not able to solve this problem as we did not finish this video in the way we would have wanted. The dates were not good to have the people filmed again, and the members including myself were all down to the wire as school was ending. Therefore, it was very difficult for us to find the new schedule and get the footage we needed. This problem occurred due to the fact that we had started this project to late in the year. Our original intent was to have had the video completed by April or May so we could look over it, make sure it met our standards, then send it to the middle schools so they could have an introduction to high school life. However, since we only began filming towards the end of April, we knew that we would be tight on time, and that the end result would have to perfect without any flaws since we would have almost no time to look over and change any mistakes. Next time we make this video, we should definitely ensure that we begin this project right from the beginning of the year and get filming done before Spring Break.
- I learnt how to improve my communication skills by working with people I had mostly not met before and working to get footage for our video. I had to work on my communication skills more than anything because I was the one who had to find all these people who would be interviewed and make sure their schedule fit with ours. I always had trouble talking to people I did not really know, and working on this project really helped me to step out of my comfort zone and approach others rather than the others approaching me.
- Reflection:
- Impact: If we were to have finished this project, it would have been a great way for the upcoming grade 9s to get to know this school better and the main advice to keep in their minds for high school life. Many will come in to the school worrying about the littlest things, but in reality there’s a central mindset to keep when in school. Some students will not know this so it would have been a great preparation for the new students. If we actually finish this project for next year, the upcoming grade 8s will have more advice to know for when they come to Riverside. This will increase the impact that they receive and make sure their high school life is nothing negative.
- The main problem with previous videos was that it was long and featured an extensive amount of information. The result is that students end up missing some details because they begin to zone out. To make this project more desirable to future students, we would have to ensure this video is short, but effective in advice. This would make a good video for teachers to show from time to time as well. If necessary and if possible, we could also send this video out to different schools because we would still share common advice for new students other than any advice related to our being a digital school.
- When we initially filmed, we filmed in only one spot: the second floor of the main foyer. By having different people filmed at different locations of the school, the students would be able to get a better idea of the layout and environment of our school. I think that if we can effectively create this video, the teachers could also choose to show it again to the students towards the beginning of the school year to emphasize their standards, needs, etc.
- We would definitely need to follow our initial schedule and stick to it because we were so late to get started that when we had flaws in our video, it was too late to change them. Our concept and theme of a video that “packs a punch” without being too long is still something we would want to keep for the next time we attempt this video, but sticking to the schedule and not giving Mr. Gee an aneurysm would be much more appreciated.
- I learned that making a video is never something easy, especially for our video. So many aspects come into play, such as getting the people we need interviewed and creating a schedule for them, renting a camera with good audio, picking each place we would film, and editing the footage to get the video format we want. I also learned that a timetable is present for a reason, and if one were to not follow that timetable and fall behind, the consequences would be major (us not finishing our video). Finally, I learned that I should be more passionate than I was for this video and be more willing to do more for the video. I believed I had the passion from the beginning, but with the schoolwork that started piling up, I began to believe that this video was less important and was more reluctant to do the work I needed to do to help make this video. Next year, I should definitely be more passionate and make sure I can put the same amount of effort I would put into any other courses.
Thank you for your honest feedback. I really appreciate the work your team put in.