A multitude of setbacks created an unproductive environment when we began writing our script. Numerous work sessions saw little progress mainly due to a lack of motivation and brainstorming which would eventually lead to a time crunch if we didn’t pick up the pace. In order to move in the right direction, we thought of writing a rough draft instead of working on a final version. In addition, we also took frequent breaks which promoted longer sessions of focus. Through this combination, we were able to get over the first hurdle and began to build upon the foundation we gave ourselves. Referring back to the resources available allowed us to incorporate a satisfactory amount of vocabulary and further strengthen each line of our script.
Once our group had a fleshed out script we could study, all we needed was a good copy written on the criteria sheet we were given along with flash cards to aid our presentation. However, dividing these portions proved difficult especially because of communication issues and extracurricular activities that came up. A few solutions I considered before giving each group member their responsibilities was to keep the schedule flexible, trading tasks between one another based on availability. Through this, we could maintain a steady flow of progress and gain momentum on our preparation. Another thought that came to mind was to balance out how much time each member had to study. Based on extracurriculars, less work would be given to prioritize memorizing the script which allowed the group to stay on the same page when practicing our presentation.
Moving forward, I plan to use this experience as a lesson for future French skits in this class with a goal of working towards a more cohesive work environment when pairing up with classmates. By establishing this motive early on with my group, we can prevent hiccups along the way and divide more time between tasks. In order to achieve this, the most important factor would be communicating properly and staying on the same page.
If there is disagreement within the group, I find it helpful to…
Whenever the group has a disagreement with each other, I recognize everyone’s perspective of the conflict to create a peaceful solution. I find it helpful to figure out a medium between ideas that benefits the group while also allowing contributions from all parties. This creates a melding pot of agreements and disagreements which can be filtered out to produce a concord discussion. Especially during our brainstorming stage, it was evident that nobody could decide on a single suggestion or proposal. Before we agreed on doing a mutated bird (as shown above), our only ideas included an animal that farted a luring scent and a regenerative mutt using axolotl DNA. It took a lot of back-and-forth efforts to finally settle on a concept animal that worked for all of us.
I show that I value feedback from others in my group by…
Whenever it comes to group projects, I’m always open to feedback and opinions about my work whether it’s positive or not. This is because I value different perspectives from the people, I’m working with to output my best effort. I find it incredibly beneficial when someone critiques my work since a fresh pair of eyes helps me understand improvements I can make, especially when I’ve been staring for too long. I always ensure that I’m giving my full attention when someone shares their feedback with me to absorb as much information as possible. A good example of this was when I showed my group members the final copy for our capitol mutt. I compared both our rough draft and final copy, open to any suggestions and final touches they wanted me to add. Once I got the green light, I outlined the drawing and colored in the bird to use for our PowerPoint presentation.
I know the group is working well together when I hear/ see…
Initially, I was skeptical about whether or not our group would be able to work together without getting distracted, but I was quickly proven wrong. As soon as we organized a group together, we quickly got to work brainstorming countless ideas, most of which resulted in petty quarrels. Nonetheless, those disputes contributed into designing a detailed and in-depth mutt that we could pour a lot of information into. Once our PowerPoint was created, it was a matter of drawing our capitol mutation and inputting information to explain our animal. A group member and I took it upon ourselves to work outside of our class time and design a visually appealing presentation. We worked well together because we both had a clear goal to achieve and equally divided tasks to work on.
I show others that I truly value their contributions by…
A group project requires everybody to pull their weight and contribute an equal amount of effort into creating a presentation. While it can be done in one way or another, dividing the workload into smaller tasks for everyone to work on helps me appreciate each group member. This is because I know how much they’re contributing and the value they bring to the table. Working independently is something I’ve been accustomed to which is why I prefer working with a group to share my ideas and create a cohesive goal to achieve. I remember working on our PowerPoint presentation for our mutt and giving my group member the job of designing each slide. It turned out better than expected with visually entertaining transitions and animations throughout the entire presentation. I was heavily impressed and truly valued his contribution to our group because he made our project unique from the rest.
My goal:
The ‘I can statement’ I have for myself moving forward is that “I can experiment with doing things in different ways.” For most, if not all of my projects this past year, I’ve always relied on using PowerPoint to present my work. While it’s both useful and reliable, overusing this program feels rather bland and boring because it’s the same cycle every time. I insert the amount of slides I want, input adequate information, and select pre-made designs and transitions. Instead, I can take steps to improve my work by using other programs similar to PowerPoint like Canva or taking a step back and sticking to traditionalistic ways by creating posters. Adding variety to my work is something that I’ve been lacking for a while which is why I chose to pursue this goal with the objective of improving in mind. By experimenting, I can expose myself outside my comfort zone and find new ways to express my ideas in a unique way.
Why is it important to remember who benefits from the advertisement when you view an advertisement?
Advertisements aim to promote products, services, and ideas that benefit the company or organization behind it. While many strategies are used to convey a statement to the viewer such as bandwagon or name calling, it’s important to recognize their main purpose. Understanding how advertisements persuade people to purchase products reveal hidden messages and what companies actually want from their viewers. Surface level details like facts and visuals cover up their underlying goal to influence consumer behavior and create profit. It doesn’t matter whether or not the product is bought or not because the content, messaging, and emotional appeal of an advertisement creates a connection between the viewers and the advertiser. A positive perception of one’s company can influence their target audience to purchase their merchandise later on whether they notice or not.
Choose one form of persuasion and explain why it is effective in persuading you/an audience: logical, ethical, emotional.
Compared to logical and ethical forms of persuasion, I believe that emotions play a bigger role in convincing people to purchase a product or service from an advertisement. This is because items that are sold using emotional impact manipulate the viewer to make decisions based on emotion instead of logic. Whether it be drawing pity or inspiring anger from an audience, persuasion is exceptionally effortless when emotion is added into the equation. Advertisers will use meaningful language in their adverts along with striking visuals and storytelling to invoke an emotional response that resonates with their target audience. This combination of techniques creates an effective advertisement that emotionally attaches with the audience on a personal level.
Choose an advertising technique and explain why it is effective in selling a product.
Bandwagon is an incredibly effective advertising technique because it falls into the category of emotional persuasion. As humans, most, if not all of our decisions are driven by emotion rather than logic which is why bandwagon is a plausible approach in creating an engaging yet persuasive advertisement. It engrains a herd mentality into viewers, a decision-making behavior where people desire to be normal by fitting in the crowd and copying others. Studies show that it takes as low as 5% of individuals to influence the rest of the 95% to follow the herd subconsciously. Companies use this to their advantage by manipulating their advertisements to create a ‘FOMO’ effect among their targeted audience.
Core Competency Reflection
Examples of where I communicated clearly and purposefully on this project can be seen in…
Since my partner and I shared a natural chemistry with each other (partly because we already knew one another,) the majority of conversations were clear and concise. However, it was during the shooting of our commercial when our communication mattered most. Nonetheless, there weren’t any problems conveying my ideas to my partner because he understood the vision I saw as soon as we shot our first clip. It was just a matter of trial and error when it came to getting the angle, quality, and distance of our product correctly. While there were a few mishaps and miscommunications with each other, we easily resolved our problems and continued working together proficiently.
Some things I thought about when dividing tasks among my group members was…
When it came to creating our commercial, dividing tasks was crucial especially because my partner and I had contrasting strengths that could make or break our project if used wisely. I realized early on that a poster was too simple for us whereas a commercial could properly put our skills to the test which we decided to pursue. We agreed to split the work where one person shot the recordings while the other edited them. This worked for the both of us because whenever we traded tasks, our progress was significantly slower due to lack of skill. PowerPoint wise, similar principles applied where one person agreed to type out the analysis of our ad while the other edited the final design. By playing our cards right, we ended up with a successful commercial that we were both proud of.
I knew my group is working well together when I heard/ saw…
I knew my partner and I were working well together because of our natural chemistry which allowed us to brainstorm a plethora of ideas. We built off of each other’s opinions and discussed ways to properly execute our plan of action. By going above and beyond to create a commercial instead of a poster, we were able to challenge ourselves in a rewarding way that complemented our strengths together. Countless ideas bounced around our many discussions and when I saw how our work was coming together, I took pride in our ability to go above and beyond.
Highschool is a place I’ve dreaded throughout my middle school years especially because it was a big jump academically and I wasn’t mentally prepared. However, I learned that I shouldn’t scare easily to something that I cannot foresee because my freshmen year at Centennial was incredibly different from what I had in mind. As I near the end of my first year of high school, I’ve realized the incredible things that I’ve done despite many hardships and struggles in both my first and second semester. First semester introduced a plethora of obstacles including three academics (Math Honors, Science, Social Studies) that I had to juggle and a new volleyball season for me at Centennial. It was incredibly challenging trying to balance school and sports at the same time, spending late nights and early mornings to keep up with homework. I had to explore outside my comfort zone as I confronted Math 10 Honors with an eager mindset to learn different fields of mathematics. I was no longer dealing with simple equations like before and was quickly presented with new concepts and formulas like polynomials and trigonometry. The repercussions of skipping Math 9 began to show as my grades quickly plummeted. Persevering was my only option and with enough hard work, I found success and reaped what I sowed ending the class with an 84%. However, my success wasn’t exclusive to Math Honors because I ended up with flying colors in every class. I was able to overcome this burden of challenges by learning to ask for help from others and keeping a positive mindset in stressful situations. I forced myself to learn from others rather than learning on my own because I finally met a level playing field where my academics skills were finally put to the test. These same principles also applied to volleyball where the nets were higher, the players were taller, and balls were hit faster. My athletic capabilities were simply no match for this environment, so, I learned how to play smarter by learning from better players. My ups and downs cultured me into the volleyball player that I am today, and my team was able to place third in our district. My second semester gave me a lot more freedom now that most of my academics were out of the way and my volleyball season was finished. I enjoyed the electives I chose this year because it gave me the chance to discover and improve on strengths and weaknesses about myself to grow as a person. This is reflected in my Metal/Wood and French class, both of which are polar opposites to each other yet match my natural skill sets. Metal/Wood allowed me to refine my hands-on crafts and creativity in unison with my proficient dexterity while teaching me that perfectionism shouldn’t collide with the quality of my work. French on the other hand enabled me to continue learning more about languages and speech in conjunction with my adept learning while recognizing that pronunciations and accents take time to gain proficiency at. These experiences are incredibly valuable to me because I still have many questions about myself that I am yet to answer but with enough time, self-growth will prove to be an invaluable investment for my future. I believe that my grade 9 year was a time of growth and self-reflection with many struggles and successes that tested my mental capabilities. While I still have much more to learn, my freshmen year at Centennial definitely marks the start to becoming a better person and will be a memorable time for decades to come.
Thesaurus.com proved to be an incredibly useful tool when writing because it solved a big weakness of mine which was adding variety and complexity to my sentences. My vocabulary isn’t necessarily bland; however, it lacks taste and personality which I strive to improve upon. By learning fresh synonyms to common words using an online thesaurus, I can bring my writing to life with a few simple changes.
A Useful Educational Video
Near the end of the metal portion of my Metal/Wood class, my teacher began introducing us to MIG welding, a topic that I wasn’t too confident in learning because of how dangerous it sounded. Initially, I couldn’t seem to grasp any of the information I was being taught but when my teacher showed this video on the projector, I was able to absorb a lot of the fundamentals. Of course, I repeated this video a few more times at home to fully understand the machinery I was dealing with, but I was able to gain enough confidence to weld for the first time (even though I wasn’t good at it).
A Useful Educational Image
In my French class, we are currently reading a book that takes place in Chateau Frontenac, however, we were never shown a picture of the actual hotel. Today, my teacher projected a slideshow of Chateau Frontenac and its interior which helped me visualize the setting of the story. Until now, I haven’t fully realized how grand this hotel was which gave me a new appreciation of the architecture and history of this place.
An Inspirational Quote
Stop letting people who do so little for you control so much of your mind, feelings and emotions.
-Will Smith
The reason I chose this quote is because it embodies who I am as a person which I strive to change. Sometimes, I let others influence me with their thoughts and opinions which I dwell upon heavily to meet their standards. However, there’s a fine line between being influenced and being controlled which I believe I’m in the latter half of. This quote opened my mind to a new perspective in life, one in which I’m in control of instead of being controlled. I learned to rely less on what other people think to make myself feel whole.
Works Cited
“Thesaurus.Com – The World’s Favorite Online Thesaurus!” Thesaurus.Com, 13 May 2024, https://www.thesaurus.com/.
TimWelds. MIG Welding Basics For Beginners. 2022. YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc9fBVq9NlE.
Stress is an incredibly vulnerable topic for me, especially because it ties into my mental wellness which isn’t a strength of mine, but a weakness instead. Not only does it motivate me to make important decisions in life, but it also brings discouragement when I’m faced with a difficult task. School, family, and sports are among my most common stressors and it’s difficult to say whether or not I can juggle all three at once. What I do know is that stress has definitely taken a toll on me both physically and mentally. I’ve always been burdened with high expectations, self-conscious thoughts, and constantly being with to others. Because of this, I’ve always had a relatively low self-esteem especially during middle school and even early into high school. While there are many ways to cope with such stress, I found that listening to music provided a sense of comfort and relief that no other outlet could provide. It helped me escape from reality that is school, family, and sports, even if it was only a temporary solution. Most, if not all my screen time comes from using Spotify for hours at a time and I even listen to music in my sleep. Whenever there’s a stressful situation in my life, Spotify and a pair of AirPods is all I need to face the problem.
Core Competency Reflection
I find it easy to be part of a group.
It’s easy for me to do group projects and activities because I always keep an open mind and establish common interests among others to find common ground. Not only does this create an early relationship with one another, but it also gives me the opportunity to get to know other people that I haven’t met. Chemistry is key in group activities, so, it is important to form bonds as a team early on. Through this, we can easily create achievable goals and strive to make our best work through our combined efforts.
I am kind to others, and support others when they need it.
I always lend my support to classmates and treat them with kindness and respect because you never know their situation and whatever they may be going through. Just because someone treats you worse than you treat them doesn’t mean they’re rude or selfish. Instead, they might be expressing some of their pent-up anger from personal problems at home, with friends, etc. Whenever someone comes up to me for help, I’m always willing to provide as much as I know to help them understand the material properly.
I demonstrate respectful, inclusive behavior.
Inclusive and respectful behavior is something I’ve always demonstrated in the classroom, with peers, and during group discussions. Not only is it common sense, but it creates a sense of belonging for other people who may not feel like they fit in. Even if I disagree with what the person is saying, I can either keep it to myself, or express my opinion in a way that benefits the discussion. An inclusive environment means a more productive workspace because nobody has to worry about their identity, culture, and family background.
A) How did the use of AI assist you in developing this project
Perplexity is a powerful AI tool where you can ask it any question big or small. In this case, AI assisted me in finding valid arguments for why violence was justifiable in a revolution. In fact, Perplexity also gave me the sources it used to find its information so I could cite it later on. On another occasion, I had to choose two of the three arguments I wrote and find three pieces of evidence to support each one. This task proved difficult, but luckily, I could simply ask Perplexity to find examples for both arguments. If I didn’t like the answer, it gave me or if the information was too little, all I had to do was tweak my question to produce a better reply.
B) How did you ensure that the work you created was still your own, rather than just a product of the AI
At its core, Perplexity is a faster way to research in which you ask it a question and it gives you a direct answer with the sources it used. Compared to a search engine like Google, you ask it a question and it gives websites related to your topic, but you have to manually read through and find usable information which takes time. Most of my work was done with the help of AI but instead of using Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V for the entire project, I took the time to rewrite each of the answers Perplexity gave me to avoid plagiarism. Most of vocabulary Perplexity uses is rather sophisticated and way beyond 9th grade level so it’s obvious whether or not someone’s written work is AI generated.
C) Did you agree with the position you had to argue? Why or why not?
I’d say my position had a lot of valid arguments, but I still stand neutral when it comes to the justifiability of violence. While violence isn’t necessarily in our human nature, it has definitely shaped society to what it is today. There is only so much good and bad in the world, and it is a matter of balancing those two through violent and non-violent actions. Some say violence is innate in our human anatomy while others say it is influenced through social and environmental factors. In my opinion, violence is like energy where it cannot be created nor destroyed but transferred from one form to another. Violence will continue to be present in society shaping it into what it is now, and what it will be in the future whether it be protests, wars, conflicts, etc.
Core Competency Reflection
My strategies for collecting relevant information for specific tasks include researching multiple websites and comparing one another. Through this, I’m able to filter out important information that I can use for my argument. Perplexity also comes in handy since I don’t have to waste time researching something I can’t find when I can simply ask the same question to AI and get a direct answer. If that doesn’t work, I ask for help from other people who are researching the same thing as me. We can collaborate with each other if we’re both having the same issue and work together to find a solution. My last resort is to ask the teacher for further assistance if all else fails.
When I need to work collaboratively with people I don’t know well, I’m usually direct with them and take the initiative. I work with their strengths and weaknesses and suggest tasks that they might be good at. Throughout the project, I communicate with them to find what my goals are and what their goals are to find common ground. From this, we can work together properly without any issues and collaborate our ideas. However, the most important part is to get to know them and build a mutual relationship.
Q: Why is internet safety and being positive important?
A: To answer this question, we first need to understand what digital footprint is. In simple terms, digital footprint, sometimes referred to as a “digital shadow,” or “electronic footprint,” is data that you leave behind when browsing the internet. Whether it be the websites you visit or the information you share online, digital footprint can be divided into two categories. The first one is an active digital footprint which is data that you intentionally give out through things like posts on social media. The second category is a passive digital footprint which is the opposite of an active digital footprint in which data is left unintentionally through means of unwanted cookies, location tracking, etc. This is why staying safe online is a big factor in the present and in the future since your actions can make a difference when it comes to things like job applications. Many factors go into why digital footprints and internet safety matter. Take cybersecurity for example. When companies and their digital footprint catch a hacker’s attention, ransomware attacks that hold their personal data can take place with threats to sell it on the dark web. Another example would be a person’s/company’s reputation online from the public content they post to the comments they receive. This can either impact them positively or negatively which equates to having a positive or negative digital footprint. The internet is a big place but by simply staying positive online, you won’t have to worry about your digital footprint negatively affecting you.
Q: What are examples of unsafe and negative activities?
A: When it comes to unsafe and negative activities, quite a few will come from social media. Things like oversharing information online can make it easy for cybercriminals to infiltrate your account and access important information like where you live or what school you go to. This is why you should never take pictures in front of the street you live in or share your any of your plans online. Another example also takes place on social media involving negative comments and remarks toward someone. See, doing this is a one-way trip to a negative digital footprint because anything you post online more or less stays there. When you go to a job interview and the manager mentions a nasty argument you had online how many years ago, it’s hard to explain yourself. Straying away from social media, visiting unsafe websites is another unsafe activity because any confidential information you share on there won’t be confidential anymore. Always look at the URL of the website and if it contains the letter “s” for secure in https:// as well as the padlock symbol beside it. This way you know you can trust the website when you put in personal info likes passwords, payment details, etc.
Q: What are steps everyone can take to be positive and to stay safe?
A: Many steps can be taken to stay safe online and to be positive to others. Creating a good and especially strong password is a good start because internet security is important. Preferably, you want a password consisting of 12 characters or more with variations in capital and lowercase letters and even numbers to increase strength. A good password is hard to crack but make sure you don’t use the same one over various platform. This is to avoid hackers from accessing multiple personal platforms of yours at once. Referring back to question two, avoiding harmful and unsafe websites is another way to stay safe on the internet. The URL’s you visit should always start with https:// and never http:// because the “s’ stands for secure. Nobody wants their personal information being sold on the dark web because the website they visited was unsecure. Last but definitely not least, checking your digital footprint is an excellent way to see what information you’re sharing online intentionally and unintentionally. Putting your first and last name and any variations of it into a search engine like Google can provide information of what others can see. Depending on what you see online, your digital footprint can encourage you to be more positive online to leave you in a positive light. If there are any negative results concerning you and your online reputation, contact the site administrator of that website to see if it is removeable. Out of the plethora of reasons I could state, I found these three of top priority and importance. I think it is important to maintain a positive digital footprint surrounding these three steps.
Works Cited
Security, Canadian Centre for Cyber. “Digital Footprint (ITSAP.00.133).” Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, 12 Jan. 2022, https://www.cyber.gc.ca/en/guidance/digital-footprint-itsap00133.
What Is a Digital Footprint? | IBM. https://www.ibm.com/topics/digital-footprint. Accessed 21 Sept. 2023.
“What Is a Digital Footprint? And How to Protect It from Hackers.” Www.Kaspersky.Com, 8 Sept. 2023, https://www.kaspersky.com/resource-center/definitions/what-is-a-digital-footprint.
Personal/Social Competency Reflection
I think my experiences as a digital citizen, such as making online friends, playing video games, and browsing the internet have influenced my choice of course/hobbies/teams because I’ve been exposed to electronics at such a young age. From my first iPad to my first desktop computer to my first phone, I’d like to think I have a lot of experience using the internet safely but realistically, it’s the opposite. I spent most of my time playing video games and I didn’t really care about what I searched online, nor did I really know what a digital footprint was. As for the influence it had on me, I think it’s safe to say that quite a few of my hobbies have arisen from using the internet every day. I remember watching a YouTube video on Volleyball back in elementary school and since volleyball season was just around the corner, I decided to try out the sport to see if I liked it. Fast forward to high school and I’m now on the junior team as a middle blocker. This shows that a passion early can come a long way if you invest enough time and effort into becoming proficient at it.
Some of the ways I work to build and maintain online relationships are talking regularly with the person and catching up if we haven’t talked in a while. And while online relationships don’t work the same as relationships in real life, it’s good to keep bonding over the same topic that got both of you into a friendship together and to continue to find things in common to expand it. Even then, always keep in mind that online relationships won’t last forever and that it’s completely normal to move on discontinue your relationship with them. Do remember though that digital footprint also plays a role in online relationships because the messages you send count as a data which means that it most likely stays on the internet forever even if deleted. If you end your online friendship with someone on a sour note, they can easily leak any messages that leave you in a bad light so make sure to keep that in mind.
I know that my digital footprint can have both positive and negative consequences, including the comments I post online, the messages I send to friends, etc., so I adjust my actions to avoid oversharing unwanted information online to keep a low profile. In general, I don’t prefer being well known for doing something whether it be good or bad, but I’d rather have a digital footprint that paints a positive picture of me online. If I do post online oversharing is the last thing I want to do because that would mean 5.3 billion people can see unwanted information like my last location or where I’m going for vacation.
