The End?

Now that I have given my TED Talk, I can happily look back and be satisfied with the strides I made with this project. My final outcome was my video on stress and my video on sleep. Although my original goal had been to create videos for all five of the pillars, but with time, it became apparent that time would not permit me to make five, so I decided halfway to  focus on making two- on sleep and stress, topics that are especially relevant here. I’ve always relied on videos like Crash-course and Khan Academy to supplement my learning in the classroom and it has been tremendously helpful. Through this project, I hoped to make videos with the same level of information regarding health, but really try to apply it to the everyday lives of teens so that the videos could be relatable and useful. I think my unfortunate procrastination inhibited me from making all 5 videos, but I still think overall I succeeded. 

In addition, this project proved extremely useful for me as well because in the past, when video projects came up, I would shy away because of my inability to contribute to the editing and such. However, I have learned a lot, especially in regards to using the Explain Everything app. This semester, I have 3 other video final projects, and I am editing all 3 because I am finally able to. For those of you who do not know video editing, I highly suggest you learn how to do so since it is a good skill to have. There are some great YouTube links to tutorials for video editing that I have on my blog for you all to check out. 

My biggest takeaway was the experience as a whole. Having everyone choose topics that were interesting to them and seeing them further their ideas and plans these past 10 weeks was fascinating. For me personally, never having done a project that lasted this long, I didn’t proportion my time as well as I could have, but it has been a learning experience for college next year. Regardless, the project really enforced the idea that if you are actually interested in the material or area you are pursuing, you are much more inclined to continue and stay motivated. I do not really have any other questions after this journey, but if I had this class for another semester, I would proportion my time better and try other applications for my video editing. 

My TED Talk went relatively well (featured in my static pages). After watching it, I see that I need to decrease my usage of um's and like's, but the content was what I wanted to convey and the presentation was a decent length.  Preparing for the TED Talk was difficult because I was not sure what to include and what not to include, but after giving the actual talk, I have a better understanding of how to give presentations now.

On a closing note, thank you all for joining me on my journey in making health videos. Until next time!

Week 8: Time to Film!

**accidently saved in drafts and never posted**

5/12/15

In the midst of AP tests, I unfortunately could not find time to allot to filming my videos on stress and sleep. However, my scripts are completed (laid out in the static pages), and I am ready to film. I am now unsure as to where and how I should film. Suggestions are welcome!

My next problem is the Ted Talk portion of the project. I am still very unsure of what I will present, but I could possibly show a portion of one of my videos and discuss my research and video filming and editing process. 

So far, I have learned that I need to proportion my time more equally and that there are so many interesting facets to health. Time for the last stretch!

Week 6: Finishing Up Script #1

This week, I have been finishing up my script. With time, I have realized that I am going to make a video solely on stress, as this topic is most interesting to me and I feel as though I can really make this video nuanced and intricate. From my notes, I made a script that I think encapsulates the important information of the topic while making it fun and interactive as well.

Unfortunately, I would say I am at something of a lull in my process. My script is finishing, but the difficult part awaits: filming and editing the video. This will most likely be longer than the other parts of my process too.

My script will be in one of the static pages on the blog. I am still unsure about the length of my video, as I do not want to bore my viewers with 30 minutes of footage; however, I would also like to include all the information I originally wanted to. Also, I am unsure if youtube allows a 30 minute video. I will find out all these things and hopefully begin to film before the next post. And if this goes well, I will add effects and such to further engage the audience: anatomy students like ourselves.

Week 4: Sleep Script

1. Have you had any setbacks? How do you plan to handle them, or how did you already handle them?
2. What are the next steps in your process?
3. How can you apply anything you have learned to yourself, your school, your community, etc.? 

After further research. I have decided that I will use Explain Everything to make my videos. I will implement my video clips into an interactive video at a later point, but for now I have begun working on my script for my first video, which will be on the pillar of heath that is stress. Aside from the class notes that we took first semester on, I have also independently found relevant information about Explain Everything that I can add to my videos. 

I have begun making a script that I will follow. The script is fun to make, and it is both interactive and informative, but I think that the area I will run into trouble at will be when I am filming the actual video and putting all the pieces together, as I am tech-challenged. I plan to use my sister in my videos as well, as another character. This first video will give me an idea as to if I will be able to make videos for every pillar, or if I am only able to film and perfect a couple. 

My goal for the next week is to continue on my script and finish it up so that I can begin filming. I aim to make my videos under 10 minutes long, as viewers tend to lose interest after that period of time. For my stress video, I will explain the different kinds of stress, the hormones behind stress, and include the class notes from the health unit. I will also include personal anecdotes and recommend stress lessening activities. These videos will hopefully educate viewers on stress and de-stress them as well!

Chugging Along: My 2 Week Progress Report

Now that my idea was set, my next steps were to figure out my way of making my videos. I was recommended the screen cast app "Explain Everything" by Mr. Orre, and after receiving an initial suggestion, I searched for similar apps, and came upon this website: http://www.labnol.org/software/record-screencasts-on-ipad-iphone/20958/

However after more research, I found that Explain Everything is in fact the best option. If anyone has any other ideas though, please let me know!! I proceeded to download the app and have since been watching YouTube videos to further my knowledge on the subject.
(including this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b00ZeszvjP4). I have learned a lot about the process, as well as learning that I know next to nothing about video creating and editing. This in itself has been a major setback, but the YouTube videos are extremely helpful. Next in my process will be to create scripts and begin to tinker around with the actual Explain Everything app itself. Then I can send a test video to peers to receive feedback on how to do certain aspects of the video making better. These goals are what I will focus on for my next two week period.

The Beginning: 20% Time & My Health Idea

20 Time. Passion Project. Genius Hour.

All different names for the same idea. In our case for 20 Time, we were allotted 20% of class time (Monday class periods) to work on our own, personalized, project. At first, I was opposed to the idea, purely due to my own laziness. However, as time passed on and I continued to brainstorm my own "passions", I realized that 20 Time was ingenious. In our traditional educational system, students unfortunately are not given much room to explore creative pursuits for themselves within the classroom. Ranging from volunteer work to intellectual endeavors, students just like ourselves stretched the boundaries of our conventional ideas of education and learning and made an impact for themselves and others. These kinds of projects provide the opportunity for real-life application and extension of the knowledge students have acquired.

 After giving this project much thought, I decided to combine three of my interests: health (the 5 pillars), YouTube, and helping/entertaining people.

From this, I was able to come up with a purpose and goal:
1) to learn video-editing and put it to use
2) to educate others on the importance of & science behind health in a fun, engaging way

The "essential question" that I asked next was: How can I learn video editing and inform people on health in a fun way at the same time?

With an essential question and a goal, it became clear to me what I should choose as my 20 Time project. I would film and edit a YouTube mini-series about:
-social health
-nutrition
-sleep
-stress
-exercise

The videos would include information from
-class notes 
-relevant outside research
-personal insight/ anecdotes
-everyday application ideas
-activities

I recognize that there will be challenges that I will face when completing this project, including the following:
-tech-challenged
-1 person filming
-informative + fun + engaging
-speed of progress

Moving forward, I plan to complete the following tasks:
-research the 5 Pillars of Health in depth to add information
-learn & perform video-editing
-brainstorm ideas for activities
-write script for video
-film activities and lectures 

For example, my general layout for my stress video could possibly be:
-explain different kinds/ cortisol/ detrimental effects/ how to control or lessen -personal anecdote on how I dealt with and controlled my stress
-stress-lessening activities
and for my exercise video:
-explain different kinds of exercise/ how much time/ benefits
-step by step sample workout activity
-how to incorporate exercise into daily life

In terms of measuring my personal progress, I will set dates for myself for when I should be done doing certain steps of the process, which I will further delineate in my next post.