<iframe width="500" height="375" src="http://www.schooltube.com/embed/27b3ff3e001173ee2089" frameborder="0"></iframe>

Reflection of Project

I'm really interested in women's rights, and I always have been. When I was young my mom would bring me to some of her Women's Way meetings. So I thought it would be interesting to find out some more information about a topic that I've always been interested in. I started by talking about earning the right to vote, and came together with Marina and we combined the right to vote with other women's rights topics as well. 

I chose the format of a documentary because it's a format in which I feel comfortable creating a product that I will be proud of. I feel that people connect with visuals more than they do with simply reading something and our final movie is definitely something that I can connect with, so I think others will be able to as well. That makes the documentary more real and more interesting to the viewer. 

The parts of this project that were challenging were coming up with a specific timeline and story line to follow as well as finding primary sources that would look good in a documentary. Because both Marina and I had primary source docs from when we wrote our paper we used those, but then still had to find more to go along with our new thesis. On the other hand, some things that went well were coming up with a script and piecing everything together with smooth transitions and relatable topics.

If I were to do it again I would probably find more of a specific story, then look for documents that related to that story so viewers could follow along more intently, by following a story.  

In the process of doing this project, I learned both sides of the story of women's rights and why it's important that we have rights for women in this country, and that there are rights for women all over the world. I learned about the different movements and the stages of women's suffrage, and I think that now I have a proper understanding for what women's suffrage really means to the women in this country and how it relates to me. 

http://www.schooltube.com/video/27b3ff3e001173ee2089/Womens-Masculine-Role-In-Society

For this project to be submitted to the National History Day Competition in Philadelphia, I chose to present on women's masculine role in society because the time period I focused on was one of back and forth between women's rights and also how women stepped into a more masculine role in society that is present to this day. The format that was chosen was a documentary.  I chose this because it was easy way to make a visual time line of events, which was how the original paper I wrote had been formatted.  It was also an easier way to present sources such as pictures and videos. One problem I had was simply the time management, and making sure everything was put together and finished properly.  Another issue was making sure it continued relating back to the overall theme of debate and diplomacy, however just the topic of women's rights during the 1900 in general is one filled with back and forth between men and women and their acceptation in society.    
What went well was the amount of primary sources I had in the beginning and the myriad that I had in the end.  The putting together of the movie also went smoothly besides small technical difficulties.  I mostly had a script for the audio before because of the paper I had written on the same topic. If I were to do the project over again I would make sure to focus a bit more on the debate side of the argument and also make the movie longer. I would also tried to get it done in a more reasonable time.  During this project I learned a great deal about what it was like for a women growing up during the 1900's and also more about using the movie program on my computer. Also my knowledge of bibliographies and research was expanded by this project.  But mostly I am glad I learned and got to experience the experience of submitting something like this to a competition like National History Day.

Below is a hyper link to my NHD project that includes the process paper, annotated bibliography and the script of my performance.

Battling Bastard of Bataan: An account of a P.O.W.

Benchmark Reflection

I chose this topic because there weren't any other topics that interested me, and after reading the book, Ghost Soldiers,  I was so intrigued by this story that I never heard of before. I decided that the Bataan Death March would be something worth researching and would meet the topic of Diplomacy, Debate and Successes & Failures.

I knew that I wanted to perform long before I had picked my topic and that is because in school I've done a lot of projects similar to the other choices such as websites, papers, and documentaries. I wanted to do something different and I was attracted to the idea of performing because I knew that not many people would pick it, therefore my project might have a good chance of standing out.

I ran into trouble with the actual acting. I've  written many different pieces that were meant to be performed, but I've rarely had to embody a character and act. In Drama class, I would always struggle with characterization, so I figured that this project would probably help me be a stronger actor. However, now I feel as thought I've bitten off more than I could chew and while I am confident that I'll be able to perform in front of others, I'm not sure if it'll be the best quality. 

What went well with this project was the timing. I had a lot of time to write my script and because I chose to do a performance there wasn't much for me to work on except for practicing, which I think I could've done more of.

If I had to do it over I would maybe just have picked the easy way out and would've created another documentary, or I would've picked a different topic. I think that my topic was okay, but it wasn't anything that I felt particularly passionate about and it didn't stir my bones when I thought of it. I would probably pick a topic that I felt more connected to. I would also take my work more seriously. Because I chose a performance, I don't think I worked as hard as I should've and I spent a lot of my time slacking when I could've been rehearsing.

Throughout this project, I learned a lot about World War 2. I'm not sure if I was absent from school during that part of history class( I was sick a lot in elementary school), but I had a vague set of information on World War 2. Since researching the Bataan Death March, I learned  about America's past relationship with the Japanese and America's history in the Philippines. I also learned of some courageous men who survived the war and the horrible prison camps.

 DropBox: Link 

 

For my project I thought that a web page would be more exciting because I could add any aspect of my topic in any form that I wanted; Pictures, videos, essay’s etc.  Specifically for my project I had chosen to write a few paragraphs giving the background and overall information on the topic of interest. I then created a video that showed some of the pictures and videos that were primary sources of the Rwanda genocide. I put everything together using iweb, so that it be easier to put everything in a C.R.A.P formation.

            For the actual timing of the project was great. I had the project done six days before the actual due date, there fore was able to go over everything multiple times without worrying about the time rather or not there was enough of. This also enable myself to have a few of my peers look over the project and correct any mistakes that I may have been overlooked. The only fault that I ran into was the day I had to turn everything in. I was not in school, but I still managed to get my project in nonetheless.

            The longest part of the project was they making of the video. The pictures weren’t to difficult to find, but trying to get video was almost impossible. I would find different pages with amazing video but I had no way of downloading them. This is partially what made me add the part of my website that had links to other pages. I wanted the viewer to get the entire feel of what had happened in Rwanda and what other way to do that than to have actual footage of the genocide taking place?

            But, overall the project went pretty smoothly. I kept looking and I am satisfied with my final design. If I had to change anything about this project I would probably have interviews with some victims about the entire event. The interview would be to bring the audience closer to allow them to connect and hopefully feel what the victims have felt in Rwanda. 

For our history benchmark we wrote papers as though we were entering the NHD competition and then we proceeded as such and either made a website, a performance, or a documentary. I decided to make a website about my topic which is Religion in schools and the debates people make about it. Click Here to see the website and information.

Nailah Adam

March 4, 2011

NHD Benchmark Reflection

 

            Johniera and I chose this topic because Ms. Laufenberg suggested when we were searching for project ideas. We chose to present it as a  documentary because there was an endless amount pictures available to us to show the Indian boarding schools and the affects they had amongst the students. We ran into trouble when my computer broke 3 weeks prior to when it was due, which limited us in having a lot of time to find pictures. Disregarding the stress that came along with it, the final product turned out nice. The collaboration and communication went well in our group. If I could do it over, I would add more video. I learned about the Native Americans and the trials and tribulations they went through, throughout the times of European explorers. I also learned about how their heritage was desecrated through the times because of the boarding schools.

Click this to view my National History day benchmark !

Reflection on this Benchmark:

      At first looking at this benchmark outline, I was going to do Hitler as my topic, but I couldn't really get the theme out when doing and researching him. I went to go talk to miss Laufenberg and she gave me this topic because in class when we spoke of the Atomic Bomb I was really interested in it.
     After deciding on The Atomic Bomb I looked at the choices I had to do this project, when I seen live performance immediately wanted to do that. But when I thought about it i realized that it would be really hard to reenact The Atomic Bomb because I really can't make a bomb fall. After I realized that I looked at the other choices and saw website. I started to try and see what I could do if i made the website before I picked it. After realizing that I could do that I picked it. Since I wasn't going to perform my NHD project, instead of making a whole website I choose to do an iWeb for my benchmark.
    The most trouble this project gave me was finding primary sources, secondary was easy. Finding websites and videos taken from the exact same time the Atomic Bomb was really hard to find. I went to all different websites looking to see if the information was taken at the same time as the topic. After I found a couple I went looking for pictures and videos. The pictures were really hard to find because before I used them I had to make sure they were from the same day. I was thinking just because they were black and white that it was from the same date. But it wasn't. Looking for primary sources had to be the hardest part of this project.
    The things that went well were the information. Putting the information together was the easiest part of this project. Usually putting information into a project is the hardest part. But there was so much information that I was so easy. All I really had to do was but it all together and write the report.
    If I did this project over I would take my time picking the topic and see if the information would go good with the theme before deciding the topic. Not taking my time blew so much time again that I could have used to help me look for primary sources. Because of the picking the topic in such a hurry, I lost valuable time doing this benchmark. I feel like if I can do this project over, take back the time that I lost, my project would me 10 times better. Not that it isn't good, but the primary sources would be.
    After doing this project I learned so much information about the Atomic Bomb -Moral Debate. I learned why it happened, what it effected, and what was the damage that it caused. Doing this project I am really proud of my outcome project because I really think I took enough time to research about the topic and I gathered a bunch of information on this topic.       

Vichhay Roeung

Earth Stream

USH – Laufenburg

Benchmark Reflection

 

            There were many aspects of the project that affected my choice of topics. Mainly as this topic was based off a boarder topic, if the United States should had been involved in World War II. Which what I did was focused on what they did most that was based on diplomacy and debate. Thus, as I looked through the history of the United States involvement in the war, I founded out that they were in an allied relationship with Britain since World War I and that Britain was one of the major forces of the Allies.

 

            I selected the category of website as I was doing it as a solo project, which website building I thought would be a fast and easy process for an individual task. I used the website method as it was an easier presentation method which I knew how to work. Using the program Iweb as it was just a simple drag and drop process while other method would require coding HTML. A long and tedious process, which I find could be done faster and easier with Iweb.                    

 

            The problems that I ran into while working on this project were actually making it visually appealing and informative in a way that always lead back to my thesis. Problems that included flash animation, so that the website could be visually appealing but also interactive besides just having hyperlinks. But I had no knowledge of hot to use flash until I had some help in making simple animation. Beside problems that were electronically, there were the occasional moments that I was procrastinating which slowed down the completion of the project.

 

            What went well in the project was the assistance that I had from other students. One student, being Robert Boardwater taught me how to do partial flash animation, useful both as a skill and for this project. The primary source that I used for this portion was actually the easiest as there was actually a old radio recording of Churchill’s speech that spoke out to the United States that they were willing to fight if they were given the tools.

 

            If I were to do this again, what I would change is the amount of procrastination I had during the time we had to do the project. As when I was working on it, it was actually easier then I imagine and I believe I could do a better job if I had known this earlier. Such as providing more links or information that could be useful in the website or the visual aspects of the website. Which there were many things that I learned from this project, things that involved the level of my ability and how I confronted the problems ahead.