Make Your Own History
Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance
In today's world, the skill of communication is essentially required for success, so it's no question it'd be one of our biggest learning goals in our course. We were assigned to create a podcast along with a microsite to complement each other. The project was done in random groups, so it focuses on improving our collaboration and cooperation skills with our peers to ultimately produce the best results possible.
3 Important Moments in Preparation
Watching Jean Kilbourne's Killing Us Softly 4 lecture influenced my thought process towards challenging our social world. I was assigned to watch the lecture and provide annotation for the most memorable moments within the lecture, and provide a summary at the end. One quote that resonated with me sums up how advertising subconsciously helps our brain develop ideas. This assignment helped me Develop habits for engaged reading as it felt awkward to annotate videos, but it turns out, my annotations helped enhanced my understanding of the message of the lecture.
Another pivotal point in developing my ideas for the podcast was having to reflect on my first couple weeks of the course. Through a blog, I reviewed our work and identified the course objectives we have targeted after 2 weeks. This assignment connects with our Openness objective: the willingness to consider new ways of being and thinking in the world. I thoroughly enjoy the ability to think of our general public and topics relatable in my own life; it helps stimulate learning significantly. My favorite lines from the blog were:
Though developing habits and changing perspectives carry great benefits, receiving positive feedback from others proved to give me the most confidence, an overlooked aspect of writing. Through peer reviews and comments from Professor Haas, I gained a better understanding of how to write as I consider myself an inexperienced writer since I never enjoyed having to write regularly. Thus, targeting one of our course objectives: Understand and practice the conventions of academic writing. Receiving approval from my Professor is refreshing, which is why it's one of the highlights of the course in general.
3 Features of Podcast Production
For our podcast, I volunteered to be the host, but that decision was met with much doubt because I was never the one to act as the "leader" role in group projects. Knowing I would most likely get the most speaking time presented some stress, but as I worked with my group more often, I started to feel much more comfortable the more we met. After enough practice for our final recording, I felt as though being the host was no longer as nerve-racking as I thought. Here are some of my notes from practicing as the host.
In addition to being the podcast host, I was also the podcast editor. I definitely struggled during the process of editing as iMovie isn't the best editing software to use. I learned some new skills within editing, like merging clips together and adjusting the speed of the recording. Although the editor role was a bit more frustrating than I expected, I am still pleased with our product.
As for coming up with the script of my speaking parts for the podcast, I centered the topic around fairy tales. Although I didn't grow up watching Disney fairy tales, the messages behind them are similar to those of Shrek, Toy Story, and countless other films, where a woman awaits the rescuing of a man. The segment in which I spoke was about the recent changes in Disney films where women are portrayed to be more powerful, specifically in Mulan. I highlighted the differences in theme and impact of Mulan compared to older Disney films.
Looking Ahead
The making of the podcast was by far the toughest challenge of the course so far. Going into the project, I had a lot of uncertainty as the project seemed daunting with the number of instructions given. Ultimately the project was nowhere near as brutal as I envisioned it to be. Stressing out on a project I didn't even begin wasn't smart; now, I have learned to first fully comprehend the task at hand before forming impressions on an assignment.
While making the podcast, I learned how to accommodate others. During our final recording, one of our members ran into some unfortunate internet connection issues, so he could no longer record with us at the same time. We came up with the solution where he could send in his individual recording then adjust our podcast accordingly. Another lesson I learned was to be optimistic when working with others. One session may not have been very productive, but that doesn't mean the next session can't be productive too.
The most notable takeaway from creating the podcast in terms of content was the idea and hidden meaning of the word "princess." While researching, I came across an intriguing quote from a podcast episode called Mulan - True To Your Heart, "I never referred to my kid as 'princess.'" Many young girls idolize Disney princesses, which causes detrimental effects on them as they grow up. Their perception of beauty is flawed because they believe looking and acting like a Disney princess is what it takes to be "beautiful."
