Who Do You Think You Are?

Here is an interview condcuted with my grandma. It details her early life and family history.

This is an interview with my dad. I asked him questions about his childhood and older relatives.

A persuasive email that I wrote to my grandma can be found here. In it, I asked her to participate in the interview that I later conducted with her.

My simple family tree can be found here. I compiled it using Family Echo.

This is another family tree that I created using Prezi. It gives fun facts about each primary older member of my family.

This is a Pikochart infographic about my family. It compares both sides of my family.


This is a fun stop-motion animation video that I created showing the history of my creation though three generations.

December 2, 2013

Where are you right now on your "Who Do You Think You Are" project? What did you do over the break for the project? Did you interview anyone? Use the checklist below to figure out what you have finished, what you are still working on and what you still have to do.

I am almost done with my Prezi and have completed all interviews. Over Thanksgiving break I tried to collect more information about my dad's family over the phone, but he one aunt who knows our family history was on a cruise. I reaffirmed my mom's history with my grandma and grandpa. I will finish the Prezi today and the Piktochart sometime this week. My project will be awesome.

Stop-Motion Rankings

Student's Name: Colin Wolf
Video Idea: Skittle eating line
Why you believe it is one of the best in the class: It was colorful, intricate, fun to watch, and it made sense.

Student's Name: Andrew Fournier
Video Idea: Drawing of meteor hitting earth
Why you believe it is one of the best in the class: It was well laid-out, had smooth animation, and had humor in it.

Student's Name: Emma Friedlander
Video Idea: Spinning locker combo then opening it
Why you believe it is one of the best in the class: It was smooth, fun to watch, and different than all the rest.

November 13, 2013

How did you stop motion animation turn out? If you could give it a grade, what would you give it out of 60 points? What did you learn from creating this video?

Mine turned out great . It flows smoothly and the music pairs up with it perfectly. I would give it at least a 56. This taught me patience because i had to retake the 330-some pictures three times because my charger would flip in the kinked part halfway through the video.

November 11, 2013

 How far along are you on your stop motion animation? What did you do over the weekend to work on you stop motion animation? Do you have all your pictures today? Will you have all your pictures by the end of the hour? Give me a detailed updated.

I have finished taking my photos and I am ready to upload them to the computer. I brainstormed all weekend and took the photos yesterday. I have everything ready to upload and am ready to create my video.

November 8, 2013

What are you planning on doing for your stop-motion animation video? What story are you going to tell? How will your video be fun and different? Who is taking your photos? When are you taking your photos?

I plan on making some sort of synchronized swimming stop-motion video with pens. I am going to make some sort of cool-colored kaleidoscope type visual presentation and it will be very trippy. It will be different through how the pens multiply and "morph" into different shapes. I will be taking my photos this weekend.

November 1st, 2013

What are the pros and cons to photo editing? What are some examples of when photo editing is fun and appropriate? When can photo editing be inappropriate or too much?

 A pro of photo editing is bringing out vibrant colors in your picture. Just recently I Instagrammed a picture of crayons melted on canvas, adding a low-fi effect the make the colors pop more. It can also remove undesired parts of your photo like something in the background or something that could be deemed inappropriate for social media. A con is when people over-edit their photos, which can be deceiving and trashy. Fun and appropriate can include a black and white filter, inappropriate and too much can be writing all over your photo and airbrushing it to the point where it blurs.  

October 28, 2013

 What is your favorite web tool that we have used in class so far this year? Why is it your favorite web tool? What do you like about it? How can you use it again in the future?

I really liked the Piktochart tool. I have always loved reading infographics and creating one helped me learn how they work even better. I like the ease of use and how you can choose from different template layouts and themes. I can use it again for compiling information and presenting it in an interesting way. Infographics are much more fun to read than slideshows or other ways of compiling information.

Medical Marijuana

October 17, 2013

What makes a presentation memorable? What makes a presentation stand out and not boring? How are you going to make your presentation better than anyone else? How will you make it unique? Explain.

A memorable presentation has to have interesting information presented in a fun way. To make it stand out, add color and fun graphics that relate to your topic. I am going to blow my audience away by projecting my voice, connecting with them, and seeming interested and passionate about my topic. The uniqueness will come from new information and a creative presentation tool. This way, the audience will not be bored out of their minds and will actually learn new things.

October 15, 2013

 What did you learn from the Ted Talk yesterday? Did you find it interesting or accurate? Explain.

I learned that we truly are letting technology take over our lives. I found it interesting that we are slowly withdrawing ourselves from human contact more and more every day. I think it is accurate that we use text messages to have personal conversations, when really it should be by phone or face-to-face. We needs to start weaning ourselves off of communicating by means of technology, and get back to the old-fashioned conversation

October 14, 2013

What do you love about the "digital age" that we currently live in? What do you dislike about it? What are positives ways you use technology in your life? What are some things that come along with technology that you don't like? Explain.

I like that we can always be connected and entertained with things like texting and Netflix. I dislike that companies and the government can track where we are and what websites we visit. I feel like that is an invasion of privacy. I use technology to educate myself and stay connected with relatives who live far away. I don't like that I am always on my phone or some sort of technology. I feel that, as a society, we need to wean ourselves off of technology.

Medical Marijuana Infographic

Tuesday, October 8th

Tell me about your Homecoming weekend (whether you went to the activities or not!). Tell me about what you did over the weekend.

On Friday night I went to the BV football game against Northwest. We lost but it was still a great game and I had a ton of fun! On Saturday I got new khakis at Macy's for homecoming then started getting ready. I picked my date up for pictures at 6 pm, and when pictures were over at 7 our group went to Sugo's for dinner. It was really good and not that expensive. After that we went to the dance for about an hour then back to a friend's house for the afterparty. I got home around 1:30 and had an okay time.

October 2, 2013

What do you know about infographics? What do you know about them? What are their purpose?

Infographics are charts with visual representation of the data they contain. They are common on the internet, and are more interesting to read than a page of statistics or a list of information. Their purpose is to inform the reader about whatever topic they cover. They look like a lot of fun to make.

September 27, 2013

What are you weekend plans?

Tonight, I plan to go to the Blue Valley football game and go to a friend's house after. On Saturday I work a double shift at California Pizza Kitchen, and when I get off I am going to go to my friend's birthday party. On Sunday I am going to get a new shirt, khakis, and Sperrys for homecoming. I think that this weekend will be a good one.

September 25, 2013

 Most students view siting work as 'a pain in the butt'. How do you feel about it? Is it necessary? When is it appropriate to cite work? What's the importance of it?

I feel as if it's a pain in the butt. Giving a link to the website is necessary, but including what kind of source it is, the year it was published, all in a specific format is just stupid. It is appropriate to cite work when you use information that is not from your brain that you found on another source. It's important because it gives credit where credit is due.

September 24, 2013

What is your favorite book, magazine, or publication? Why?

My favorite book is The Art of Racing in the Rain. It is a fantastic story about a dog and his close relationship with his owner, who is a retired formula one race car driver struggling to keep custody of his daughter after his wife died from cancer. the book is written from the point of view of the dog, Enzo, who has very realistic human thoughts and emotions. His goal is to be reincarnated as a human, as the thing he hates most about being a dog is not having opposable thumbs and the inability to convey his emotions and thoughts. It is a deep, thought-provoking book that is absolutely fantastic. 

September 23, 2013

Do you enjoy writing? What kind of writing do you enjoy? Why is writing an essential skill in life? How will you use this skill in the future?

I truly enjoy writing. I have loved it ever since second grade, when we were assigned a short story about Halloween. My teacher absolutely loved it and recommended that I keep writing. Writing lets my  mind flow onto a page, unrestricted and free. It is actually one of my favorite hobbies.

September 17, 2013

What is creating an outline for a paper important? Do you think it helps you personally? How would you prefer to outline a paper - pen and paper or an online tool? Is there a different way you know if that would prefer to organize your thoughts?

Creating an outline gives you an idea of what your paper will consist of. It definitely helps me because I know what order my thoughts will go in on my paper. I'd prefer an online tool, because it allows me to do research and outline at the same time. There is no other way that I'd like to organize my thoughts for a paper. It is simply the best.