Turn 2 For Youth

I was excited this week to hear about our next upcoming project: The Service Via Video Project. After coming back from winter break, the teachers of my Dig Cit class have decided to get us back in the swing of things by volunteering/partnering with local non-profit charities or organizations. 

My partner, Cole, and I were given the organization Turn Two for Youth. Locally based, T2FY collects new and used baseball and softball equipment that they give to teens all over the globe. Their organization has had collection up and down the east coast, ranging from Philadelphia to Florida. Our job is to create a video that T2FY could use to display their Junior Ambassadors program. Lucky for us, another student at our school, Jacob, volunteered to help us out with the video production. Jacob is quite the expert with the video and will be a great addition to our project!

As I was looking on the T2FY website and I saw that they were partnered with Chick-fil-A. I am a team member at Chick-fil-A and I have developed some amazing relationships with the upper management there. I hope to use my influence to sponsor a  baseball equipment drive at my Chick-fil-A location and possibly other chick-fil-a locations across the Charlotte area. What an opportunity to help others. 

Recreational Reflection

As the first semester of my Digital Multimedia and Global Citizenship comes to a close, the big, scary midterm creeps up to the front door of next week. We have a two or more page reflection on the Passion Project and our progress due by Wednesday of next week. Most of the class is freaking out right now, worried about the long hours of work they will have to put in over the next week to finish the paper WHILE they study and prepare for other course midterms as well. However, due to my extra effort during my Community Pitch, I will be able to breeze through this seemingly excruciating essay. 

About 3 weeks ago, the Dig Cit class presented our passion project to the community in our Community Pitch event one day after school. I took this event very seriously, as a chance for me to gather all my work and thought for my Passion Project. My project board was so very detailed, with over three or four pages of information on things like my progress, my mentor, my plan, my future, and my goals for my passion project. 

At the time, I did not realize how helpful all that work would be. But now, I nearly have my reflection finished and I have only spend 30 minutes editing it and pulling the material together. I am so glad that I worked harder earlier in the year so that I would have more time for studying for other exams now. 

Public Announcement!

         The past two weeks in my Digital Multimedia and Global Citizenship class we have created PSAs (Public Service Announcements) to present to our school. Each group of three or four students was given a different "hot" topic that is controversial today. My group was responsible with informing the school on the importance of your "Digital Footprint". 

A Digital Footprint is your unique set of digital activities, actions, and communications that leave a data trace on the internet or on a computer or other digital device. It can include things like Facebook updates, search histories, or even video downloads. Every time you like, comment, or edit anything online, it is recorded and can be traced back to you. Sounds kind of scary, right? Imagine, future employers or college admission officials having access to all of your tweets! Would you change what you post? 

The idea behind my group's PSA is to make high school student think twice about what they put out online. One bad Instagram picture can really ruin your reputation and effect your ability to succeed in the future. We want everyone to be careful while logged in.  

The Coming Conference

Imagine a Conference Room, filled with nearly 5000 of the most brilliant high school students from around the state. I see myself up on a stage with so many pairs of eyes staring at me, waiting from me to start my presentation, to open my mouth, to "impress" them with my technology skills. I see my friends on the front row, my peers, rooting for me, but nervous at the same time. I see myself nervous. I feel the pressure closing in from around the room, making the air thick and my skin crawl. I notice the beads of sweat on my palms, shaking just like my hands. I fear the silence of me, of the crowd, of my presentation. I know it is time to go out and show it all. 

But I am not scared. I am prepared. I have rehearsed my presentation. I am truly passionate about technology and know what to say, what not to say, and how to convince my audience that LNC inspires its students. I am not scared, NO. I am excited! I get to show off, to prove to the world, and possible future employers that I have what it takes. I know my stuff. I have be diligent for years with my school work. I have the record to show it. I am not scared of this platform. I am not scared of this Conference. I am excited. 

Yesterday, I applied to be a representative of my Dig Cit class for a Technology Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina. It will be held on March 2nd - 4th, and I will be presenting about my passion project and how the Dig Cit class has shaped me into a model online presence for the school and my peers. I cannot wait for this leadership opportunity. It will be an eye opening experience, one I will not be able to just breeze through. I am prepared to put in the time and create a presentation that will knock the socks off any educational Admin at the conference. I will update you all further if I get the position as the student spokesperson. 

Video Advice

This past week, my Dig Cit class interviewed a graduate of our school, Kevin Beaty, who is out in the work force and battling real world problems involving jobs and internships out of college. He was a real go getter and I saw a lot of my qualities and characteristics in him. He works in the film industry, an area I am not very interested in, but I did relate to his video journalism. Although he originally majored in Photography, Kevin recognized the importance of being multifaceted, and he explored the career opportunities of video production. 

I related to this because in my passion project, I am creating videos that will guide students through iPad repair. Unfortunately, we did not have enough time for Kevin to answer all my questions about video production. However, I did get a good sense of the time and effort that is required to put together videos. I also found a new respect for professionalism, and now understand the necessity for the videos to be appealing and interesting to my target audience, my peers and faculty. 

To speak further on my passion project, I am excited to work on my Quarter 2 deliverables. My soccer season is over, freeing up a lot of after school to work one on one with my mentor. I will come back next week with more updates!

The Big Pitch

Yesterday after school, my Dig Cit class had our community pitch, where we present our Passion Project to members of the community and school in order to receive feedback. It was an amazing turnout, as there were at least 50 people who attended! Every student in the class set up a both that community members could walk right up to and learn the ins and outs of that person's passion project. Thank you so much to those of you who did come out to support me and my classmates. 

My presentation consisted of about a 2 minutes explanation of my passion and how I planned on creating my website. My poster board was very detailed, highlighting both my website as well as my blog. Further, I talked about my involvement in the tech II class that really spurred on my passion. I enjoyed answering question from community members and seeing the smile on their face when they realized how helpful my project soon would be. 

My mentor, "Mr. Brian" also made an appearance! I actually used him in my presentation and he looked very happy to be involved in my project. Overall, the night was a complete success with everyone very happy about the ambitions of the Dig Cit class. Thank you all again if you came out to support me and my peers.

Creativity

     I am so glad that I used the "Time to Innovate" project in relation to my Passion Project. I was able to kill two birds with one stone, as they say. I created an interactive keynote presentation that walks users through the problems that students might encounter with their iPads. It starts with a satirical use of an into slide to break the tension, stating that by continuing to the next slide, the user was "embarking on a journey". By tapping on the button with that text, the keynote moves to the next slide. 

The next slide lists all the problems that could be encountered by students throughout the year as they use, update and play around with their iPads. The title of the slide says, "Are you having trouble with..." and then the slide lists wifi connectivity, using iCloud, glitchy screens, trouble sending or receiving emails, Accessing Self-Service, or watching videos as issues. Beside it are two buttons: maybe and nope. Selecting maybe directs you to the next slide to continue the journey, while nope guides you to a slide that says you lying because everyone has some part of their iPad they are having difficulty with! 

The keynote will be set up next to my poster board during my Community pitch and will be available for people to explore. I am sure that it will be a hit, or as much as a keynote can be. I am glad that I do not have to create another visual for my project and I am very excited for the pitch next Thursday!