Who do you think you are?

 Interview #1

Interview #2

Email to family member

Family Echo

4/28/2015

Read THIS blog post by a teacher. I mean actually read it. Take it in. Think about it. And then, write about it. What do you think about it? What is the teacher trying to say? In your own words explain what "the main event" is.


I think the teacher is absolutely right in saying that school prepares us for adversity in life.  I find it interesting to see how much he cares about his students.  I learned that teachers care a lot about students, much more than just the academic surface of it.  The teacher is trying to say that life is challenging, but that doesn't mean you can just give up when the going gets tough.  School prepares you for toughness in life to help you fight your way through it.  You can't just give up and lie down, you have to stand up and fight through the hardships.  The "main event" is never giving up.  It is a lesson that demonstrates how resilient people are.  Everybody has a shell, how thick is your shell?

4/16/2015

1. What was your stop motion animation about? Why did you choose your video to be about this? Was it because it was easy, because it would be fun, or it would be challenging? Explain your reasoning behind your project (and be honest). My stop motion animation was about a rubber band ball being taken apart.  I chose to do this because I thought it would look really cool.  I thought it was a lot of fun.  It didn't turn out exactly the way I wanted it to, but I think it would have looked really cool with more effort.
2. If you could rate your stop motion on a 1-10 scale. 1 being low effort and no very good and 10 being out of this world/mindblowing, how would you rate your project? Explain why.  I would rate it a 6 because it took a lot of time and a decent amount of materials.  The only reason is isn't higher is because my effort put into making it was lackluster.
3. In hindsight, what would you do differently the second time around? Better lighting? Time management? Explain yourself.  I would put a blank background behind it and make sure nobody was in the shot.  It also didn't help that I couldn't take all the pictures in one day which meant my camera angle changed a bit at the end.
4. Explain what makes your stop motion animation unique. How do you believe you thought "outside of the box" on this project?   I don't think anybody else had the idea of taking pictures as something was broken down so that you can see the process of something being destroyed.  
5. What grade do you feel you deserve on this project? Explain your reasoning.  I think I deserve an A because I put a lot of effort into making it, but due to complications it didn't turn out as well as it could have.  The pictures were interrupted by curious people and I ran out of time and had to finish taking pictures another day.  Overall, the idea was there, but my capture of the idea wasn't ideal.  I still had a lot of fun with the project though.

4/14/2015

3 day weekend... how was it? Give me a good story or something funny that happened this weekend. Go.

My weekend was really crazy! I had a soccer tournament in St. Louis, but I also went to Prom.  I played one game on Saturday morning, then drove back home to attend Prom.  It was a lot of driving back and forth because I drove back out on Sunday morning at 4AM to play two more soccer games.  The tournament went really well and we only lost one game.  I had a lot of fun, but was super tired once the weekend was over.

4/7/2015

Tell me ALL about what your idea is for your stop-motion animation. I need detail. Who is going to help you take photos? What props do you need? Where do you plan on shooting? EXPLAIN everything.

I am going to use a rubber-band ball and take it apart.  I will take a picture after each rubber band has been taken off and then when I'm done, I will play it backwards so it looks like it is being put together and then forwards so it gets take apart.  Adam Houghton and Grace Hermes will help me take photos.  The only props I need will be a rubber band ball.  I will most likely borrow a tripod to make sure the camera will be still.  I plan on shooting this either in the senior hallway or the classroom.  The senior hallway will be preferable because it has natural lighting and the photos will look better out there.  

4/6/2015

Tell me all about your weekend and please share photos!

This weekend was quite a lot of fun.  I didn't do much on Saturday except hang out with friends, but Sunday, being Easter, was quite busy.  Sunday began with an early morning trip to church.  Then I went to IHOP with my family and grandmother.  I asked Jenny to prom on Sunday morning also.  Finally, I went over to my grandparents house for dinner and we had really good food.  

5-Frame Storyboard

4/2/2015

What do you love most about this time of year? Explain why you love it.

My favorite thing about this time of year is the soccer season. The Spring soccer season begins and I get to play soccer again after the long winter break.  I get to see all of my soccer friends again.  I also love the weather warming up and the fact that the day last longer.  I hate when it gets dark early, but I love it when it stays light out longer.  Spring is a great season because everything begins to turn green and colorful again after the long winter.

Photo Editing

3/30/2015

Did you complete the photo scavenger hunt? What kind of fun pictures were you able to capture? Did you do all your photos at school or did you do some at home over the weekend? Share one of your favorites.

Yes I completed the photo scavenger hunt.  I was able to capture lots of fun photos of interesting items.  I did all of my photos at school.

3/27/2015

What do you know about photography and/or photo editing? Do you take photos? How do you take photos? Do you edit photos before posting them on social media? How do you edit them? Explain any background or knowledge you have about photography and photo editing. Do you like it? Do you have any interest?

I know that cameras take photos.  I know very little about photo editing because I never edit mine.  I take photos everyday though because they capture memories.  Most of the time, I take photos with my phone, but sometimes I take photos with a camera when on vacation with my family.  I don't post very many photos on social media and the most I have done to edit one would be cropping it.  I don't care much about photography as a career so I possess little interest in it at this time.  Photography, to me, is just a way to capture memories.

3/23/2015

Welcome back! Go ahead. Tell me all about your Spring Break. Include photos!

I stayed in town for Spring Break, but I still had a lot of fun.  I got my new car after I was rear-ended.  It was quite a hassle because the guy we were dealing with through craigslist wasn't very well-prepared and it took a lot more time than it should have.  On St. Patrick's Day, I had green pancakes for breakfast.  Finally, I had a soccer tournament at the Overland Park Soccer Complex.  It was fun to play soccer, but half of my team was out of town because it was Spring Break and we lost our games because of that. 

Animal Experimentation Prezi

3/11/2015

What are you doing for Spring Break?

I am staying at home for most of spring break, but I will be going to Silver Dollar City for two days with my dad.  I will be working on the weekends reffing soccer and will probably hang out with friends most of the break.  Because my car was rear-ended, I will also be looking for a new car on craigslist. Overall, I look forward to relaxing over spring break and taking it easy.

3/9/2015

Tell me about your weekend.

This weekend was very hectic.  It started off with Relay for Life which was a ton of fun.  I saw all my friends and had a really good time, but I left early because I had to referee soccer the next day.  I got to do two centers for some very boring, small-field games.  My mom and my sister left for their cruise on Saturday and will be gone for an entire week.  On Sunday, I did yard work and chores.  My dad and I went to look at a 2005 Honda Civic because my Infiniti G20 got rear-ended and is most likely totaled.

3/6/2015

If you were the Principal for a week at BVHS, what would that look like? What changes would you make? Why?

I wouldn't change very much because our school is already quite studious.  The teachers are great and do their jobs well because they care about the students.  I would only change the WiFi and what you can access on the WiFi.  I would put a shorter leash on it because most kids are well-behaved and don't do inappropriate stuff online.  The school already has a great atmosphere so I would most likely keep doing what Mr. Bacon is doing.

3/5/2015

List out 10 pieces of advice you would give someone on how to create an amazing presentation.

1. Only use a necessary amount of slides: only use as many as needed for your information.
2. Don't try to cram too much information into one slide: too much information can be overwhelming
3. Put some visuals on your slides to make it more appealing: people will fall asleep if your presentation is boring
4. Add repetition for important topics: repetition helps things stick better in people's memories
5. Summarize information rather than putting it down word-for-word: put it in your own words because it will be easier to understand
6. Create one that is unique and different from other peoples:  It will make it stand out more
7. Have confidence in what information you put on your slides: If you aren't confident about your information, then your presentation will be weak
8. Have good transitions between slides: makes it more interesting
9. Make text and visuals as large as possible to draw attention to them
10. Highlight what you are talking about: Shows the more important parts of your presentation

3/2/2015

This weekend was was uneventful, but I got to see my grandmother in her nursing home because it was her birthday.  I went to the store to get candles for her since she was turning 81 and when I went to check out the lady asked me "Oh, who is turning eighteen?"  My response was switch those numbers around and she returned with a quizzical look on her face.  It was very amusing.  My soccer tournament was canceled because of the snow again and I had to shovel the drive way.

InfoGraphic

2/24/2015

Use the internet to find an infographic about infographics. Place it in to your blog post. Read it and then give me the top 5 things you learned from it that will help you make a better infographic.

More likely to be read if it has good information with good graphical support.

It should educate and inform in a fun way.

Infographics are visually appealing and can draw in a better audience.

Include a diversity of sources and statistics

Make it easy to understand.