Webgift Description and Reflection

DESCRIPTION

This web gift was an intriguing idea for an assignment. I worked closely with Jacquie during VirtCamp and learned a great deal from her. I wanted to make her gift something special, and show especially her that I had made a stretch in my learning. Then I remembered something that Margaret said at VC that has really stuck with me. She said, “Friends are those people that carry your stories.” I wanted Jacquie’s story of perseverance, motivation and celebration of victory to be carried by all of us, so I decided to make a very short video synopsis of our Lego project.

I had shot video with my camera and had some stock footage from our Secret Agent video. I used windows movie maker as an editing tool, and just dove in. As I played, I found little tricks and even found some help in the help menu. In retrospect, I feel fortunate to have been away from an internet connection while working on the video. Otherwise, I would have reached out for help and not benefited from the useful frustration and figured it out on my own. (I know that runs counter to the DL theory, but I have to get over being frustrated and quitting when I don’t get it right away).

I was able to add transition narratives and a score of music to give it a little mood all with relative ease. I did run into a little snag, however, when it came time to post my gift. I tried to put it on my webpage, and I could not get it to work. I tried changing the format, but was unable to. I reached out to Brent, the technology cowboy. He suggested posting my video on YouTube and simply putting a link on my webpage. This was also something that I have never tinkered with before. I created and account, downloaded my video and watched it all in about 15 minutes.

The experience was another confidence builder and has raised the threshold of my abilities a little bit more. I now look forward to the next challenge.

REFLECTION

When it comes to learning technology, I feel like a blank canvas. I watch others with sheer envy of what they can do with a workstation and an internet connection. I decided to make this video after watching to group presentations on the last day of Virtcamp. I wanted to attack something that I did not know and be able to demonstrate some level of proficiency with a technology to new me, without quitting.

The experience was very positive and rewarding. I did make a stretch, though small in retrospect, and figured out Windows Moviemaker. It is a simple program to use after a few tries. The learning, however was deep. I was initially revisited by my fear of becoming frustrated or failing to produce at all. I am starting to become comfortable with the idea of trying and sticking with it. In addition, it was helpful to not be connected to the internet, as I would have put out a help call and waited for reinforcements to arrive. This way forced me to work through my struggles and figure it out. Overall I am pleased with the process of the product and will find time, in the near future, to improve on the product.