In-Depth Final Post – Let’s DANCE!

Hey everyone! Welcome to my In-Depth! My dance partner, Gyu Min, and I have been working extremely hard to learn a 90-second hip-hop dance routine and perform it for you all tonight, so I hope you enjoy it. Learning how to dance was a really interesting and fun journey, so if you’d like to see how it went, click on this first link below:

In-Depth Process Video

If you don’t have enough time to watch that, you can just watch the two different versions of our final dance routine. This first link leads to the routine with both of us in the same shot:

Dance Routine Version #1

And this link is two separate videos of us joined together (also included in the process video):

Dance Routine Version #2

Thank you so much to Kailey Huang for leading us through this journey and being a kind, supportive, and patient mentor. We’ve both learned so much from her and had a ton of fun in the process.

Don’t forget to comment any questions or feedback, and I will try to respond as soon as I can. Thanks for watching, and enjoy In-Depth Night!

– Indah

Almost There! – In-Depth Post #6

Since my last blog post, Gyu Min and Kailey have meted with me over Zoom call twice to rehearse our dance and finish the routine. Each call consists of a short review of the moves we have already learned, followed by some feedback from Kailey, and when we are ready to move on, we take on the next few steps of the dance. Kailey has made alters to our routine so it would work with us performing side by side via edited video, instead of in person. She has done an amazing job of keeping in touch with us and staying organized and patient with us, even though teaching dance over call is a lot more difficult than in person. We are not able to get the same feedback as we would if she were able to observe us from all angles, and it’s been difficult trying to explain different moves and getting proper help with our progress, but we are working very hard to try and make it work. Outside of our call meetings, Gyu Min and I have been submitting video recordings of us practicing our dance to Kailey so she can quickly edit them together and see what we look like side by side. We’ve been staying organized during this quarantine by setting dates to meet and due dates for the practice videos. My final presentation for In-Depth Night will consist of the viewing of our dance routine video (since it’s only 90 seconds) as well as a brief description of the process, how we’ve improved, and some key points that we’ve learned from Kailey. Next week, we plan to meet over call for the last time and finish our dance routine, followed by the final recording of our dance which I will edit into the final video. I am very excited to see how the dance will look once completed, and I hope to see everyone at In-Depth Night!

Here is an updated video on our dance progress:

In-Depth Dance Progress

My Ecological Footprint

The Plan:

The total size of my ecological footprint was 8.2 hectares. After comparing it to a few of my peer’s scores, I found that my score was around 1.03 hectares higher than their average score. Looking back on my scores and habits, I noticed that I gained the most points by owning brand new clothes, travelling a lot in cars, spending too much time on technology, eating farmed fish, eating too many dairy products, producing too much garbage, showering for too long, flushing the toilet too often, not avoiding disposable items, my family owning more than one car, and using too much equipment form my leisure activities. There was a lot of room for improvement in the way I went about my day, so I settled with changing the following 5 things. First of all, Taking showers under 2 minutes. I found that I waste a lot of water taking hot showers over 10 minutes when It is completely unnecessary and could be used for more important purposes. To not waste so much water I took cold to mildly warm showers and timed myself to make sure I didn’t run the water more than 2 minutes. I chose this because it was a simple and effective change to make, and even woke me up more in the morning. Secondly, I tried not to travel in a vehicle when I could walk or bike instead. The fumes produced by cars are extremely harmful to the environment, and we especially do not need to be using cars for a 5-minute drive with 2 people. So instead of driving to the post office to deliver a letter, I rode my skateboard there instead. Next, I spent less than an hour on technology for leisure purposes. Most of my day is spent doing useless and mind-numbing actions online or on my devices, so I decided to put them away and only used them when necessary. Next, I spent more time doing activities that do not require a lot of equipment. For example, instead of painting, I practiced dancing and singing, which doesn’t require any material at all. This saves some waste of materials and provides equal amounts of enjoyment. Finally, I tried to not produce as much garbage as I normally do. Garbage is one of the biggest issues polluting the earth and natural environments. By cutting down on the number of wrappers I unpackage, and other junk I throw away, I easily make a difference in the waste being produced.

The Reflection:

After applying these changes, I can say the easiest changes to adapt to were the length of my shower, spending more time doing activities that don’t require equipment, and not producing as much garbage. These changes were just simple actions that I could easily remember to complete and that didn’t hugely affect my day but affected my environmental footprint greatly. Not much in my routine was different than before, and I easily got into the habit of reminding myself to be mindful of each of these goals. On the other hand, spending less time on technology, and not travelling in cars was a little harder for me. Technology and social media is something that I find myself looking at for long amounts of the day. It was very tempting to grab back my phone and scroll through Instagram, and I did slip up a couple of times, but I tried my hardest to stick to my goal. As for transportation, It is so much more convenient to hop in a car and be anywhere in an instant, but I slowly learned to enjoy the ride to my destination and not just where I am going. Though it took some getting used to, it long skateboard rides or walks grew on me after a while. Some of the obstacles I encountered while applying these changes were breaking the habits I was trying to build or forgetting about the limits I had to set for myself. I only slipped up a couple of times, but it made me realize how much effort I had to put to build a good habit, even for a simple action. Some next steps I will take in the future will be to buy fewer clothes from fast-fashion brands and go more ethical or buy from thrift-shops if I need something that I don’t already have. Turning old clothes into something new is something I enjoy doing anyway, so that will be the next step I take into becoming environmentally friendly.

Well On Our Way – In-Depth Post #5

This week’s in-depth meeting was quite different from the others. Gyu Min and I had contacted Kailey through social media to schedule a rehearsal date this week, and briefly planned what it would look like. We settled on a Zoom video call, where we would go over the routine we had already learned and add onto it. I warmed up on my own before the call, and during the call, Kailey gave us time to go over our routine so far, taught us new moves, and gave us breaks to practice on our own and to ask questions. We mainly talked about our visions for the dance, what beats to hit our moves on, and how it would look side by side. By the end of our meeting, we had completed the entire first section of our dance routine and learned 14 new dance moves. Building onto this routine gave us some opportunities to include fancy and difficult moves that would be a challenge to perform. Gyu min is incorporating a kick-up move into his part of the routine. Kailey is also allowing me to choreograph some of my dance moves in sections of the routine, which is very exciting for me. For our final product, since we are not able to perform our dance live, we have decided to record ourselves separately and edit our dance into a video of us side by side, so we still have the duo effect.
Right now, something that is going well with our mentorship is that Kailey always checks in with us to make sure we understand what to do and how to do it, so there is very little confusion in the process. She has been very informative and helpful, but also very kind, understanding, and patient as we learn new skills and make mistakes. We are also discovering that we have strengths in some areas of dance and weakens in others. For example, Kailey and I seem a bit more flexible while Gyu min has more strength and stamina. We can use these differences to our advantage, but Kailey also helps us to improve the areas we are weaker in. I am very proud of our progress so far, and though It might not look like much yet, the effort we’ve put into learning and practicing each move is starting to pay off. All we have to do is finish the routine and perfect it, and then record our final product. We will be meeting next week on Monday to continue our rehearsals.

Here is the dance routine so far with just me:

In-Depth Dance Progress at home

TALONS Digital Literacy Assignment

Eminent

Eminent Speech | Eminent Research

My Eminent project consisted of a 5-minute speech about a person who I think is truly eminent. On Night of the Notables, (November 27th, 2019) I set up a learning center themed around my eminent person. My eminent person was Marilyn Monroe, and my display contained a red velvet tablecloth and carpet, cardboard film reels, a trifold with pictures of Marilyn Monroe and text describing how she was eminent, and a book on Marilyn Monroe. I dressed up as a ‘camera’ because the point of view of my speech was the camera that shot her footage.

2. I tailor my work to appeal to my intended audience and use language and visual design elements appropriate for them.

For my learning center for Night of the Notables, I made a sort of 3D experience by having a red carpet that stretched out from the table, and red velvet accents on the lockers around my station. I included props such as a camera, film reels, and a book. I dressed up and stayed in character to create a fun and engaging experience for the audience. When presenting my speech, I used expression, tone of voice, hand gestures, and moving around the stage to engage my audience and make my presentation more exciting.

7. I design my work with consideration given to aesthetics and design, such as consistent colours schemes, symmetry or organization of visual elements, and overall layout.

When designing my learning center for Night of the Notables, I made sure to make my trifold pop by putting bright colours on a dark background. I kept a consistent colour scheme of red, orange, and yellow. The red on the trifold matched the red of the velvet carpet and tablecloth, and the yellow represented stage lights or dressing room lights, tying into the theme of Marilyn Monroe and old-style film and theatre. I set up my station so that all of the elements led up to the table, and the film reels created a frame for the centrepiece, the book.

9. I critically assess research sources for Currency, Reliability, Authority, and Purpose

When researching my eminent person for my speech, I make sure that my resources are reliable by checking the citations, assessing the format of the website, and assessing the information itself. I try to pick sources that are accurate and will not contain false information.

15. My work demonstrates a positive, productive, and empathetic worldview

My project shows how Marilyn Monroe positively impacted the world, and how her influence has made the world a better place. I included her struggles and problems, and how she overcame them on the path to success. The point of my project was to inspire others and educate them on how the icons we know today became who they are. I was passionate about working on this project and put a lot of effort into making it worthy of being shared.

13. I attribute credit to ideas that are not my own by preparing a Bibliography/Works Cited and by using in-text citations

I took note of every resource I used to complete this project and assembled it all into a Bibliography. I’ve included my Works Cited in my research document.

PTI Presentations

Truth and Reconciliation Commission PowerPoint

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission project was a presentation I did in a group, as part of a unit learning about First Nations peoples and the struggles and resolutions we’ve made with them over the years. For our presentation, we created a skit of a debate, one side defending the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, another side against it, and one side unaware of what it is.

1. I use digital spaces to plan and execute collaborative projects with my peers

My group and I used PowerPoint and Microsoft Word to collaborate on ideas, research, and to share our script, as well as collaboratively work on the final presentation and slides. We were able to work as a group outside of school by communicating online and using the shared document at home.

10. I identify and discuss bias in research sources

When researching information about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, we made sure not to use sources that were strongly for or against it. We found sources that purely stated facts about the topic and made our own opinions about it as points for the debate. However, we did not include strong bias in our presentation, but rather bringing up points and sharing about it.

12. I look at controversial issues or topics from opposed perspectives to gain a more complete understanding

We did a bit of research on the different opinions individuals had on the Truth and Reconciliation commission to understand both sides of the debate and share those sides with the class. One side debated that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was necessary to make up for the damage caused to First Nations peoples in the past, and equity was the way to go about it. Another side defended that Canadian tax money shouldn’t go to the First Nations peoples and should be used to help all Canadians. We incorporated this debate into our skit, while still keeping the presentation unbiased and balanced.

Midsummer Nights Dream Vignettes

Script

The Midsummer Nights Dream Vignette was each scene from Midsummer Nights Dream put on by a different group. Each group had to change something about the scene, such as setting or period. My group decided to make all of the characters different sodas, and the scene took place in a fridge. We had to act out the scene with blocking and costumes, changing most lines in the script, but keeping some of the originals.

2. I respond to the work or ideas of my peers in a way that is compassionate and productive

As a group project, all of my team members had ideas and suggestions to add to the table. I made sure to listen to everyone’s input and consider all of our options when making final decisions with the group. I approached each meeting with a positive attitude and helped out my group members when they needed help. I also tried to ensure that my team stayed on track if we ever started to lose productivity. In response to my respect, my team members also listen to my ideas, and we worked effectively as a group.

 4. I constantly build upon or synthesize the ideas of my peers

My groupmates always came up with new ideas, and I made sure to consider all of them. Many times, I would add to their ideas with my own, making an even better solution than before. For example, one of my team members had the idea of changing the names of all our characters to food items. From that, I got the idea to change all the character names to soda brands. We ended up all agreeing to that idea and used it for our final presentation. My team members also added to my ideas many times, and this collaboration made for a very fun and interesting skit.

Reproduction of an Organism: Common Dandelion

Research Notes

The Reproduction of an Organism project was a research-based project where we were given an organism to study and create a poster on how it reproduces. I got the Common Dandelion and presented my learning by drawing a diagram and labelling it with the different stages of reproduction.

11. I go beyond google and use databases to find scholarly research sources

When researching my part of the cell (the cell membrane) I made sure to look past articles and google and used textbooks and professional websites and resources to get my information.

7. I design my work with consideration given to aesthetics and design, such as consistent colours schemes, symmetry or organization of visual elements, and overall layout.

My final product contained a drawing of a Dandelion in the center, with smaller drawings of each stage of the dandelion around it. Each stage also contained a blurb of text explaining that stage of the dandelion reproduction system. The design was symmetrical and easy to follow along with, and the order was clean and equal between stages. I fine-lined the final product as well, to make the drawing and text pop and so the final poster seemed clean and finished.

DMA Animated Intro (flash)

Into Video

My Digital Media Arts Animated Intro was a short animation I created for myself using Adobe flash. I included an audio file for background music, hand animation frame by frame, and motion tweens.

8. I challenge myself to increase my technological literacy by working with apps, software, or mediums that I have not used in the past.

Adobe flash was a program I was not familiar with before working on this project. I learned about creating shapes and drawing in the program, how to insert music, how to code buttons and other functions, and how to create symbols. After learning all of these concepts I was able to assemble my animated intro using the skills I had learned. I challenged myself to create a complex product with many layers and pieces to it, and I discovered shortcuts and other skills in the process of making this animation.

6. I determine and use the most effective medium to present my work

The medium I used to create this product was determined for me, however, I determined how to use this program to complete my work. Hand-drawn animation frame by frame and motion tweens are two ways to make an object move. I could have also drawn my animation in flash or premade backgrounds and symbols in Adobe Photoshop. I determined the best way to accomplish the end product I wanted to achieve and followed through using certain programs and ways of animating to achieve that product.

The Beginning of Our Routine – In-depth Blog Post #4

This week’s In-Depth meeting started out the same as all our other meetings, with a brief warm-up and workout to get our muscles ready to dance. Afterwards, Kailey checked our ‘homework’ by having us show her what songs and dance moves we came up with for our final dance. I presented a song that I found called ‘Finale’ by AJR, and both Gyu Min and Kailey thought it would be a good choice for our final routine. I wanted to include body rolls and chest pops into the dance, and Gyu Min wanted to include footwork. After listening to the song over a few times, Kailey got an idea for what she wanted to do in terms of choreography, and we began forming the first few bars of dance for our final routine. The song sounds a little like old-fashioned theatre at the beginning, so the theme we are going for is 20s or 30s style, with a modern hip-hop twist. The process took a while, and we only got a small portion of the song done, but we perfected what we learned and promised to practice over the break.

So far,  the most difficult problems we have come across have been communicating outside of our In-Depth meetings, since we all have our own schedules and it can be hard to meet up more than once a week. Dancing is also a very physical learning process, and it can be hard to teach a two-person routine through words or not in person. However, the process is moving along smoothly in terms of making decisions and following instructions. Our dance routine is starting out well and we are practicing independently to make sure we can move forward at a good pace. Kailey is doing a good job checking in and making sure we are ok with how the process is going. Something we could do better is put out more suggestions for Kailey and take control of the routine ourselves, and even coming up with some choreography ourselves instead of having her teach us a whole routine. In our next meeting, I will make a list of suggestions we could add to our dance.

 

Here is a video of our routine so far:

Dance Routine

Practice, practice, practice – In-Depth Blog Post #3

This week’s In-Depth meeting with Kailey and Gyu min was very successful. We began the meeting with Kailey leading us through a quick 5-minute warm-up which included cardio, repetitive dance moves, stretches, and other movements to a quick music beat. Once we were all warmed up, we reviewed the basic dance moves we had learned in our last two sessions. We practiced the kick-step-back, the step-together, and the newest move we learned, the step-together-arm movement. We worked on that move a little longer, perfecting the arm movements and chest pops which we were having trouble with. She constantly reminded us to extend our arms to the fullest and to focus on every part of our body, so no movement was limp or half-way. She also told us to connect our movements so that on each beat we hit, the rest of our body naturally moves the way we want it to. I learned that hip-hop is a lot about hitting the beats in the music, and the movements often come naturally if you let yourself feel the beat. Something that went really well during our session was that there was a lot of improvement in our dancing after only two practices, and we could easily take Kailey’s advice and apply it to ourselves. The three of us communicate very well with each other, and we ask a lot of questions to clear up any confusion. Dance and movement can be hard to explain, and not being able to exactly describe a technique is a big obstacle in learning dance. However, Kailey does a very good job using analogies and examples to help us improve, and we always clarify with her when we are confused. After practicing, we were running out of time, so Kailey told us for homework that we had to collect a few songs we would be interested in dancing to and come up with a few dance moves of our own to add to our final dance. Originally, I had planned to learn an already existing dance. However, Kailey seems confident that we are able to choreograph our own dance with the skills we have already learned from her so far. I am skeptical on how that will turn out, and I’ve expressed my concerns to her, but we’ve come to a compromise that we will try making our own dance to a song of our choice, borrowing moves from already existing dances and of course with the assistance of our mentor. Next week we are bringing our songs and moves to the table and will be beginning to discuss and assemble a rough version of our final dance.

Video of our third meeting: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NybQboxfC4eVntO8-QKqur22UQVtyBzW/view?usp=sharing

First Steps – In-Depth Blog Post #2

Our second meeting with our mentor, Kailey, was very productive and went smoothly. Kailey frequently attends hip-hop dance classes outside of school. She describes her classes there as physically straining, but also a lot of fun. I have a feeling this is what our sessions will be like as we meet with her more. We started out talking to her a little more about the history and background of hip-hop, and she made it clear that there are many sub-genres of hip-hop and it is a very umbrella-like term. The genre she would be teaching us is House because it is the most basic hip-hop dance and the closest to what we described to her as our ideal style. She gave us a few pointers to keep in mind, such as how hip-hop is about hitting the beat and staying controlled while keeping loose and flowing movement throughout the body. After that, she showed us a few warm-ups that she does in her dance class, and really made us sweat by having us repeat her. These warm-ups were everything from sit-to-stand ups, pushing legs up, and yoga. Once we were all warmed up, she delved right into teaching us our first dance move. This move doesn’t have an exact name, but we called it the kick-in back-in since that’s all your legs are doing. It took us a while to really get the gist of it, but once we broke it down and practiced a few times we were ready to move on. We also learned a step-together step slide move, which also describes the movement of the feet. I found it interesting how my partner Gyu min and I have very different ways of learning the moves. For me, adding impulsive arm movements help me to get in the swing of the move, but for him, the arm movements made it more difficult. Though we are starting on very different levels, I am confident that we will be able to groove together by the end of the project. By starting with teaching us the very basics of dance, Kailey is evening out the field and making sure we are fully prepared to move forward before jumping into the final projects. If I were to mentor someone I would make sure they have a solid foundation before diving into the final product. For our next meeting, I am hoping to learn a few new basic moves, and maybe even start learning some small routines.

My Eminent Project – DL Semester 1 Reflection

My 2019 Eminent project consisted of a 4 – 5 minute speech on an eminent person of my choice, and a learning centre about that person to present on Night of the Notables. We worked on this project for around 2 months and everyone in the TALONS program had to choose a different eminent person. When we started the project, I used my independent work habits to complete research, planning, and constructing all on my own. I was able to bring my creative input and descriptive writing skills into my speech and learning centre. I also used organization skills to set deadlines for myself and plan out my speech structure and learning centre layout. However, some challenges I faced were memorizing my speech and confidently delivering it in front of my peers. I spent a lot of time practicing to ensure that I was prepared for the speech day. Finding good resources and certain information on my eminent person was also difficult at times, but I used what I could find and included the most important points. In the end, I am very proud of my eminent project and all the elements came together perfectly.

Eminent Speech.docx