Because I made a podcast, the accessibility was fairly easy. All of my pictures on my website had alt text, and then in each podcast’s blog I included a transcription. To make the transcription, I upload the audio files into Word and then I had to listen to the podcast and read through the transcription to make sure there were no errors.
Media/Source Credit
I credited my sources for each podcast in their own separate blog. Only one episode had information sources that I needed to cite, so I put those links at the bottom of the episode’s blog. Then, every episode had a song that I used to start the episode, and I credited that at the bottom as well.
Information Accuracy
Because 2/3 of my episodes were interviews, and the questions were about their perspective on student involvement, they don’t apply to this. However, my one episode about “Why Getting Involved is Important” applies. I made sure my information was accurate by citing real life experiences and using peer reviewed journals.
AI Help
The only episode I used AI for was the first one, again the “Why Getting Involved is Important.” I used it to make an outline and a script for the episode. I outlined it by myself and then used Microsoft’s CoPilot to turn the outline into a scrift. I adjusted the script once it was generated to make it fit better to my format.
For my final project, I want to expand on my Coni101 podcast about student involvement in school. The first episode will be reused from the podcast module where I talk about how student involvement can impact your academics in a good way. After that, I’ll do two more episodes where I interview people who are involved in extracurriculars. One episode will be about balancing school, extracurriculars, and personal time. The other episode will be about students’ lifestyles before vs after getting involved in extracurriculars.
Word Cloud that shows most common Baby Names in New York City in 2011. The names that were the most common show up the largest on the picture.
The Story
The story being depicted here is that is that popular boy names are more commonly used than popular girl names. There are many possibilities for the reason behind this; there are more variations in spellings for girl names, boys are more likely to be named after other family members, or because parents tend to be more creative and unique when it comes to naming their daughters. Whatever the reason may be, the data speaks for itself, boy names rank higher than girl names.
Type of Media
I used a Word Cloud to depict the popularity of certain names. This media shows words (or in this case, names) that are more common as bigger and words that are less common as smaller.
Process of Making the Media
To make this chart, I used excel to organize the and then I used wordart.com to turn the data into a chart.
The data records the names and ethnicities of babies that were born in 2011 in New York City, the chart then shows the amount of babies with this name and where its popularity ranking. The trend that I noticed in this graph is that the girls’ names tended to have higher popularity rankings than the boys’ names, no matter the ethnicity.
Methods
To make this graph. I used excel to import my data. The original chart originally had about 69,000 names but I narrowed it down to 1,934 by using only babies who were born in 2011, and by cutting out repeat names and names that were misplaced in the wrong grouping. For example, the ethnicity and genders of the baby names tended to be grouped together, but throughout the chart there would be random white female names in the wrong group. Once I cleaned up the chart, I made a pivot table which was how I noticed that the girl names rank higher in popularity than the boys’. After that, I made a bar graph based on the pivot table.
In this video, I am talking about how getting involved in school extracurriculars leads to academic success. This is because it allows you to develop skills, attain a support network, and develop personal growth & confidence. In Alexander Astin‘s theory of student involvement, Astin discusses how doing extracurriculars lets you build relationships with the people around you on campus because that’s who you surround yourself with. Morris Rosenberg talks about how personal confidence is developed by surrounding yourself with people who care about you which then makes you feel better about yourself and you take pride in the things you do.
Attribution
The intro and title cards seen in the video were created by me on Canva. The first stock footage video I used was called “A middle age man teacher wearing glasses talking to a young man” from Mixkit by an unknown creator. The next video I used was “Young business team discuss design in modern office” also by an unknown creator, found on Mixkit. The last stock video footage was found on mixkit as well, it was called “Students walking in a university” also by an unknown creator. Lastly, the music was called “Travel Nonstop” by Squadda B and I found it on YouTube’s audio library.
Process
I found the process to be very easy because I have been making videos for a long time. I have been using adobe premiere pro for years so I knew how to use it to do what I wanted. I also thought filming the videos were easy, because Apple makes recording videos very accessible, so I didn’t have to go through the learning curve of figuring out how to use a video camera. I picked YouTube because I use YouTube for everything, so again I find it very easy to understand how to use it.
This is my test recording. I used my phone to record, a tripod for stabilizing and a mix of natural light and artificial light.
Information on Equipment
For filming, I am going to use my phone. I’m using my phone because while I would have liked to use a video camera but my computer doesn’t have a space for a memory card insert and I don’t have an adaptor. It also helps that I’m familiar with my phone’s camera whereas I would have had to learn how to use the video camera. For my stabilizer, I’m using a simple phone tripod. My lighting is a mix of natural and artificial light. I put my tripod up by a window, but I also have a clip on ring-light to keep the lighting as consistent as possible. I chose the lighting mix because I prefer the way natural light looks but I know that the lighting levels won’t stay the same throughout the process if I rely solely on natural light.
Information on My Shot List
For my video, I plan to use a mix of videos of me talking and some B-Reel of footage of student. Using a mixture of these clips will format my video similar to a video essay. I think that if I filled my video of just me talking, it would bore viewers, but if my footage was all videos of students with my voice over top, that would make viewers feel unconnected to the content. Hopefully, I will be able to find the perfect mix of clips that doesn’t bore viewers but also doesn’t make the video feel like a podcast with stock footage. The main type of shots I want to get are students working, whether that be together or independently, the video’s topic is how getting involved effects students grades so I want to show the students studying or being academic. In addition, I will add students engaging in student involvement for the topic of finding a support network, because that part makes less sense to show students studying.
Picture drawn by Coni Vigna. This work is licensed under CC BY-SA
Podcast
The Process
I started the process of making my podcast by outlining and scripting it. I outlined it by myself and then used Microsoft’s CoPilot to turn the outline into a scrift. I tweaked the script once it was generated to make it more applicable to my format. To record, I used my phone’s microphone and the voice memos app. To edit the podcast, I used Adobe Audition, which I had never used before but I caught on very quickly because it is very similar to Adobe Premiere Pro which I have used in years past.
Hello, Listener. Welcome to Coni 101. This episode is all about the benefits of getting involved at school. Have you ever wondered why some students seem to excel in both academics and extracurriculars? This is because getting involved at school leads to better grades.
Extracurricular activities have students develop essential skills that lead them to success inside and outside of the classroom. Skills such as leadership, time management, and teamwork are taught in classes, but the full extent of them can’t be understood until they are applied in the real world. For example, students will learn a little bit about teamwork in a group project, but they won’t understand the full extent of it because at the end of the day they just want the best grade they can get. Working towards a common goal, making mistakes, and learning from them is really how students can learn teamwork.
While in extracurricular activity, students can also build a support network. When a student spends a lot of time with a specific club or job, they build relationships with other students and staff. Alexander Astin said, the student is spending time on the campus, thus increasing the likelihood that he or she will come into contact with other students, professors, and college staff.
This takes us to our last point, personal growth and confidence. When coming to college, it is a lot of students’ first time being independent and managing their life. In Nancy Schlossberg’s Marginality and Mattering, she cites a study by Morris Rosenberg who says, quote, mattering is a motive. The feeling that others depend on us, are interested in us, are concerned with our fate, or experience us as an ego extension exercises a power influence on our actions, end quote.
In conclusion, it is important for students to get involved because it teaches them new skills, it fosters a strong support network, and it leads to personal confidence inside and outside the classroom.
For more information on what I’ve discussed, you can check out my sources. Alexander Astin’s Theory of Student Involvement, Nancy Schlossberg’s Marginality and Mattering, and Morris Rosenberg’s Mattering.
So, if you want to boost your grades, consider joining a club, job, or sports team at your school. It might just be the key to your success.
For the podcast, I am going to be discussing why getting involved in school extracurriculars improves your grades. It will just be me talking, and I am going to record using my phone’s microphone and I will be reserving a study room in the library to record. I’m not exactly sure what my sound effects will be, but I was thinking the hustle and bustle in the CRUC could be cool.
My Rough Script:
Introduction (0-10 seconds)
Opening Hook: “Ever wondered why some students seem to excel in both academics and extracurriculars?”
Thesis Statement: Getting involved at school leads to better grades, let’s explore how!
Background (10-20)
For context, Alexander Astin describes student involvement as “the amount of physical and psychological energy that the student devotes to the academic experience.” That will be the definition I’m using when referring to student involvement
Point 1: Skill Development (20-50 seconds)
Explanation: Extracurricular activities help students develop essential skills like leadership, teamwork, time management, and problem-solving.
Evidence: Skills such as leadership, time management, and teamwork are taught in classes but the full extent of them can’t be understood until they are applied in the real world. For example, students will learn a little bit about teamwork in a group project, but they won’t understand the full extent of it because at the end of the day they just want the best grade they can get. A tea working towards a common goal, making mistakes and learning from them is really how student can learn teamwork.
Personal Anecdote: It also allows them to learn skills such as Canva or Microsoft Word from other students when classes don’t normally go over these applications. When I started working at SAE, I was working with a girl named Sky. Sky and I were tasked to make a post for the Instagram, letting people know that UMW’ club carnival had been moved inside. I saw Sky holding down the shift button while grouping objects that she wanted to move together. I had no idea this was a thing, and for years had been frustrated by the clicking and dragging method that would almost always pick up something that I didn’t want to be moved. Had I not worked with Sky on those posts, I never would have learned this much easier method.
Point 2: Building a Support Network (50-80 seconds)
Explanation: When a student spends a lot of time with a specific club or job, they build relationships with other students and staff
Evidence: Alexander Astin said “The student is spending time on the campus, thus increasing the likelihood that he or she will come into contact with other students, professors, and college staff… Retention suffers, however, if the student works off campus at a full-time job. Because the student is spending considerable time and energy on nonacademic activities that are usually unrelated to student life, full-time work off campus decreases the time and energy that the student can devote to studies and other campus activities.
This takes us to out last point:
Personal growth and confidence (80-100 seconds)
Explanation: When coming to college, it is a lot of student’s first time being independent and managing their life. Confidence is crucial for a student’s success, and they gain it through those newfound skills and support network.
Evidence: In Nancy Schlossberg’s “Marginality and Mattering” she cites a study by Morris Rosenberg, who says ‘mattering is a motive: the feeling that others depend on us, are interested in us, are concerned with our fate, or experience us as an ego-extension exercises a powerful influence on our actions’ This leads to students caring about their academics and work. Students who feel they matter are less likely to act out and ruin what they have worked for.
Conclusion (100-120 seconds)
Summary: It is important for students to get involved because it teaches them new skills, it fosters a strong support network, and it leads to personal confidence inside and outside of the classroom
For more information on what I’ve discussed you can check out my sources: Alexander Astin’s Theory of Student Involvement, Nancy Schlossberg’s Marginality and Mattering, and Morris Rosenberg’s Mattering: Inferred Significance to Parents and Mental Health Among Adolescents.
So, if you want to boost your grades, consider joining a club, job, or sports team at your school. It might just be the key to your success.
My Audio Recording
Reflection
This topic is about how getting involved at school improves your academic success. I found this topic interesting because one would think that the more involved you get, the less time you have to focus on school. However, I have learned from personal experience in high school and college that my grades improve when I get more involved. I just used the microphone on my phone for my test recording and then used my AirPods to listen to the recording. I used Copilot to help me format the script. I needed some assistance because the way I was formatting the script was turning it into an essay. Copilot helped me with the timing and breaking up the ideas.
Picture drawn by Coni Vigna. This work is licensed under CC BY-SA
My favicon is a hand slapping emoji. It is a reference to a fictional website called “The Slap” which is used as a blog site on the show Victorious. Victorious takes place in the same universe as iCarly, which my website is named after. I thought this was a cheeky homage to both shows and it didn’t take too much skill to draw which was helpful because I have never seriously drawn on a computer before.
Picture drawn by Coni Vigna. This work is licensed under CC BY-SA
My header image is based on my personal motto: “You can’t spell iconic without Coni.” I’m not the most talented artist, so I found it was easier to make the header mainly text based, but the colors and design reflect my girly personality well. I decided to use that header as opposed to something else because I couldn’t find a specific image that represented me. Even if I could, I was struggling to find an idea that took up all the space. That was how I landed on my slogan. It’s cute and there’s no awkward, empty spaces.
The Process
I found the process for this project to be extremely challenging. I was originally going to use Vectr to make my images, but I found that website to be way too difficult to invest my time into, especially when I’m paying for Adobe Illustrator. I knew there would be more tutorials and help for Adobe and since I pay for it, I know I’ll continue to use it in the future, so that was the software I used. However, Adobe was also very frustrating to work. I think it’s good that this project made me finally sit down and figure it out, but in the moment it was terrible. I’m happy now, that I have a better understanding of it, although there are still things that confuse me, and things that I think are harder than they need to be. The favicon was made mostly with the pencil tool. I used it to make the hand and the yellow “slap” lines around it. Those were both made in 2 separate layers and then a third that I used to color the background all white. For the header, I used the pencil to make the pink squiggly frame, but the brush was used for the majority of the art. I freehanded the writing and the hearts.
File Types
Both the files were downloaded as PNGs. I know from my experience with using Canva, that PNGs are better for detailed and more high quality work (although, I don’t know if anyone can call this work high quality.)
Copyright is important because it prevents people from losing credit or money for hard work and forces other creators to be original. It ensures that individuals receive recognition and compensation for their hard work and originality. This incentivizes past creators to keep creating because they know their ideas won’t be stolen. Additionally, it forces others who want the recognition that comes from creating to develop new ideas and not coast off of others’ innovations, which benefits individual creators and contributes to the growth of various industries, ultimately enriching our society.
I chose the copyright that I did because I don’t care if others copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format. If another artist remixed, transformed, and built upon my work, I would be flattered. However, as the original creator, I deserve the credit for being the source material. I think it’s also helpful to consumers who discover my work through another artist; they can easily locate me and my work if they want more content. For the most part, I don’t care what my work is used for as long as I’m credited.
Using Others’ Work Ethically
In order to use someone else’s work ethically, it can’t be copied or passed off as one’s own; it should be built upon or used to inspire another piece of work. This could be done by using the original piece as a foundation to build upon or by combining elements from the original creation with new ideas. Furthermore, the original creator must be credited when one piece of work inspires another. Crediting helps acknowledge the artist’s contribution to the work and ensures they get the recognition they deserve.
