1984 by George Orwell
With our Spies Like Us project, we read George Orwell's
With our Spies Like Us project, we read George Orwell's
Spy Trailer
Cannot upload yet :(. Too big. Must be uploaded to youtube.
Cannot upload yet :(. Too big. Must be uploaded to youtube.
Project Reflection
The main reason why I liked this project a lot is because I really like video projects. From the moment the project is described to us, I have a ton of ideas for how it can look, what the story’s going to be, what action scenes we will have etc… It seemed like a very fun idea to have us incorporate the history we’ve been learning into a movie trailer. I especially liked how we were walked through the process step by step to write the script because, without instruction, we would’ve been at a loss to where we were supposed to begin and where to go from there and the collaboration would be very downhill.
The only thing I feel like the project could’ve done with is critique. I believe that having some little (not too much) critique sessions before finalizing our script and after creating a rough draft of our movie would be good for our confidence and quality of work.
Group Reflection:
I think (or I wish) my group had planned times better and really made an overall effort to get together outside our school and work on/film our video. Also, I feel we could’ve done a much better job assigning the work equally.
Collaboration with others, so far, at this school has been difficult for me. Though I have been working very hard to improve, progress has been slower than my hopes. Every project that I’ve started has brought new hopes that collaboration will be better and easier. To some point, it has, but, most of the time, I still find myself struggling a great deal. Recently I have come to some successes. During this Spies Like Us film project, I noticed, by working with other group members, that I have a really high expectation for myself and my work. Though this is very good when working individually, it can cause stress and collaboration issues when working in a group. I find that, unless my partner(s) have/has the same expectation(s) for their/our work as I do then it is difficult for me to work with them. I figured this out when it happened that I got along and worked really well with one group member, okay with another, and I barely worked/talked with the other. The one that I collaborated really well with had a lot of similarities with me. The most important one, I noticed, was that we both had the same frustrations with our other group members. Our complaints and discussions led us to the idea that we both must have similar expectations for our work. We both, at all times, want “to produce something we can show to other people” and “be proud of”. We were happy to have found this similar trait but, as I think we both realized, it is rare. Not everyone has this similarity. This is what causes problems in collaboration. I realize now, that, from the very beginning of this project, I must’ve judged my group members on what I thought their abilities and expectations of work were and planned how I was going to work with them accordingly. I believe I did this out of fear. I have had several projects that have been very unenjoyable for me because I’ve attempted to push my unwilling group members to work harder and contribute more so that our project could reach my expectations. Doing this has caused so many problems and frustrations. That is why, at the beginning of this project (and maybe others this year), I did my best to avoid this out of fear. I just did it the wrong way… I should not have judged and closed myself from seeing my group members fully from the beginning. This probably (as you might see on their group reflections) made them feel like they were left out or controlled which is not what I want at all. My goal is to leave projects happy about the work I produced and the way I produced it. So I need improvement. This project really has brought out a kind of great understanding for who I am when working with others that will help me improve. I feel that, during this project (and even while writing this reflection), I have grasped of one of the things that has/can have great negative effect on my collaboration with others. I have not yet found, or thought of, a way to use this discovery to improve my groupwork skills but I am quite sure that it will come, but, of course, not perfectly. I am quite sure I will go through many many more processes/steps where I will attempt to improve on myself and my skills and discover new things about myself that I can reflect on, and then use, for further improvement. I expect these experiments (as I’ve mentally called them) and improvements to continue until I am content/happy with my skills as a leader and groupmember.
Jilian P.
Collaboration: 4
Collaboration: 2.3
Collaboration: 5
The only thing I feel like the project could’ve done with is critique. I believe that having some little (not too much) critique sessions before finalizing our script and after creating a rough draft of our movie would be good for our confidence and quality of work.
Group Reflection:
I think (or I wish) my group had planned times better and really made an overall effort to get together outside our school and work on/film our video. Also, I feel we could’ve done a much better job assigning the work equally.
Collaboration with others, so far, at this school has been difficult for me. Though I have been working very hard to improve, progress has been slower than my hopes. Every project that I’ve started has brought new hopes that collaboration will be better and easier. To some point, it has, but, most of the time, I still find myself struggling a great deal. Recently I have come to some successes. During this Spies Like Us film project, I noticed, by working with other group members, that I have a really high expectation for myself and my work. Though this is very good when working individually, it can cause stress and collaboration issues when working in a group. I find that, unless my partner(s) have/has the same expectation(s) for their/our work as I do then it is difficult for me to work with them. I figured this out when it happened that I got along and worked really well with one group member, okay with another, and I barely worked/talked with the other. The one that I collaborated really well with had a lot of similarities with me. The most important one, I noticed, was that we both had the same frustrations with our other group members. Our complaints and discussions led us to the idea that we both must have similar expectations for our work. We both, at all times, want “to produce something we can show to other people” and “be proud of”. We were happy to have found this similar trait but, as I think we both realized, it is rare. Not everyone has this similarity. This is what causes problems in collaboration. I realize now, that, from the very beginning of this project, I must’ve judged my group members on what I thought their abilities and expectations of work were and planned how I was going to work with them accordingly. I believe I did this out of fear. I have had several projects that have been very unenjoyable for me because I’ve attempted to push my unwilling group members to work harder and contribute more so that our project could reach my expectations. Doing this has caused so many problems and frustrations. That is why, at the beginning of this project (and maybe others this year), I did my best to avoid this out of fear. I just did it the wrong way… I should not have judged and closed myself from seeing my group members fully from the beginning. This probably (as you might see on their group reflections) made them feel like they were left out or controlled which is not what I want at all. My goal is to leave projects happy about the work I produced and the way I produced it. So I need improvement. This project really has brought out a kind of great understanding for who I am when working with others that will help me improve. I feel that, during this project (and even while writing this reflection), I have grasped of one of the things that has/can have great negative effect on my collaboration with others. I have not yet found, or thought of, a way to use this discovery to improve my groupwork skills but I am quite sure that it will come, but, of course, not perfectly. I am quite sure I will go through many many more processes/steps where I will attempt to improve on myself and my skills and discover new things about myself that I can reflect on, and then use, for further improvement. I expect these experiments (as I’ve mentally called them) and improvements to continue until I am content/happy with my skills as a leader and groupmember.
Jilian P.
Collaboration: 4
- When we were at school and working on it together, it was great but not so much when we’d go to our separate homes to work on it. This got better though near the very end…
- When we clearly assigned tasks or bits of work, she came through and did them pretty well but in such a way that made us worry about the quality of our work :(.
- She did a good job contributing and bringing props and materials.
- When we worked together at school she was very great and worked well. I think she is a koala :).
- She didn’t pitch too many ideas but she discussed them very well with us.
- As explained above, different views of good work.
- In the beginning (the research phase) I felt there was a difference in what she said she’d do and what she actually did. I found Cecilia and I would work and do her part for her late on the night before it was due. This was only really the beginning, it got better. She appeared to care the whole time.
Collaboration: 2.3
- I could see that, in class (when she was there), she attempted to contribute to our conversations but no other collaboration other than that.
- She came through with some good ideas for props and such for our movie.
- She brought materials for our movie.
- Not much working with us. Had trouble even finding her.
- As explained above, different views of good work.
- We found ourselves doing her part almost the whole way through and she needed pushing to pull her own weight.
Collaboration: 5
- Cecilia and I for sure work really well with each other and, as far as I could see, she worked really well with our other group members.
- She did not give off the feeling that she didn’t care but she did not really contribute props or materials. She was very honest about it though so that led me to believe she really didn’t have those kind of things and she would’ve brought them if she could.
- Very great. .2 point off because she did not pitch as much opinion or ideas when we were discussing the video as I would’ve liked.
- Works very well with others.
- Cares very much.
- :)