Concerning the meeting with my tutor, I didn't find the time to actually make a meeting with my tutor. This was partly due to the overload of work that I encountered at the time, and also for the reason that during this first year I do not know my tutor very well.
If this idea had been brought about in another year, I feel that it may have been better for me as I may know my tutor a bit more and he can understand me a little. As it is this year, I had to ask around before even finding out who my tutor was.
Thursday, 10 December 2009
My Mentor
For my mentor, I decided to pick my step dad, who agreed to help me even though he didn't know most of what I was talking about. My step dad is the manager of the Harlow branch of Plumbase, so I thought out of eveyrone I could pick he would have the most knowledge of how things work in an industry and how things should be presented.
Overall I think the idea of a mentor is a decent one, athough finding a mentor that will be helpful with the subject that you have chosen is fairly hard, as well as finding the time with which to wait for them to look art your work and really go through it in order to find improvemented. It is because of this that I would say I'd have preferred not to have a mentor, even though I think that my dad did an excellent job of it.
In the end, I only really ended up giving my dad my paper to read through and recommend changes, and although he did not understand much of what I was talking about he tried his best to help me with it.
Overall I think the idea of a mentor is a decent one, athough finding a mentor that will be helpful with the subject that you have chosen is fairly hard, as well as finding the time with which to wait for them to look art your work and really go through it in order to find improvemented. It is because of this that I would say I'd have preferred not to have a mentor, even though I think that my dad did an excellent job of it.
In the end, I only really ended up giving my dad my paper to read through and recommend changes, and although he did not understand much of what I was talking about he tried his best to help me with it.
Sunday, 1 November 2009
CGI and Its Effects on the Film and Animation Industry
Literature Review
Doyle (2009) says ‘There are many movies that use their special effects and explosions to attract a crowd, while they barely bother to work on the rest of the movie’. She is talking about movies heavily influenced by computer generated imagery (CGI) selling themselves through just that, even if they do not have a strong storyline or acting. Another point brought up from Doyle (2009) is ‘Movie goers have always been interested in seeing something they've never seen before, for things to be bigger and better on the screen then they are in real life’. She is saying that the reason for CGI’s success lies primarily with people wanting to see new things on the screen, and that there is only so far you can take a film without using CGI.
‘Mist Haven’ (2009?) says ‘If something that isn't real looks too real, it will turn people away’. He/she is talking about the public’s reaction to CGI, more specifically fully CGI films with no real actors in them. According to Mist Haven CGI has a good effect on the film industry, with no real threat to actors’ careers. King (2004) says ‘It used to be said the camera never lies, but that was before computer graphics’, referring to the use of CGI in bringing historical figures such as Adolf Hitler, or Winston Churchill back to life on television.
In summary the effect that CGI has had can be taken in many different ways, but generally most people agree that it should not be used to try to sell a bad plot or acting – rather to supplement a good story. As for the overuse of CGI, it seems more opinionated than fact whether it is loved or hated in the film and animation industry.
References
Doyle C. 2009. Is Excessive CGI And No Plot Becoming A Trend In Movies? [Online](Updated 10 September 2009) Available at: http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2009/09/10/is_excessive_cgi_and_no_plot_becoming_a_ [Accessed 7 November 2009].
Mist Haven. 2009? Will Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) Actors Replace Real Ones in Movies? [Online] Available at: http://hubpages.com/hub/Will-CGI-Actors-Replace-Real-Ones [Accessed 7 November 2009].
King T. 2004. History gets a computer graphics make-over [Online](Updated 19 November 2004) Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/4025541.stm [Accessed 7 November 2009].
Doyle (2009) says ‘There are many movies that use their special effects and explosions to attract a crowd, while they barely bother to work on the rest of the movie’. She is talking about movies heavily influenced by computer generated imagery (CGI) selling themselves through just that, even if they do not have a strong storyline or acting. Another point brought up from Doyle (2009) is ‘Movie goers have always been interested in seeing something they've never seen before, for things to be bigger and better on the screen then they are in real life’. She is saying that the reason for CGI’s success lies primarily with people wanting to see new things on the screen, and that there is only so far you can take a film without using CGI.
‘Mist Haven’ (2009?) says ‘If something that isn't real looks too real, it will turn people away’. He/she is talking about the public’s reaction to CGI, more specifically fully CGI films with no real actors in them. According to Mist Haven CGI has a good effect on the film industry, with no real threat to actors’ careers. King (2004) says ‘It used to be said the camera never lies, but that was before computer graphics’, referring to the use of CGI in bringing historical figures such as Adolf Hitler, or Winston Churchill back to life on television.
In summary the effect that CGI has had can be taken in many different ways, but generally most people agree that it should not be used to try to sell a bad plot or acting – rather to supplement a good story. As for the overuse of CGI, it seems more opinionated than fact whether it is loved or hated in the film and animation industry.
References
Doyle C. 2009. Is Excessive CGI And No Plot Becoming A Trend In Movies? [Online](Updated 10 September 2009) Available at: http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2009/09/10/is_excessive_cgi_and_no_plot_becoming_a_ [Accessed 7 November 2009].
Mist Haven. 2009? Will Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) Actors Replace Real Ones in Movies? [Online] Available at: http://hubpages.com/hub/Will-CGI-Actors-Replace-Real-Ones [Accessed 7 November 2009].
King T. 2004. History gets a computer graphics make-over [Online](Updated 19 November 2004) Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/4025541.stm [Accessed 7 November 2009].
S.W.O.T. Analysis
A slightly overdue one here - my SWOT analysis. A SWOT analysis is where you look at your own Strengths and Weaknesses, as well as any Opportunities you might have, and any Threats.
Here goes;
Strengths
I feel that my main strength lies in thinking. I'm able to think most things through quickly in my head without having to write them down on paper, which I find quite helpful in solving problems. Another strength I have is that due to my learning styles being so varied (See VARK results), I can be quite a fast learner.
Weaknesses
The biggest weakness I have is motivation. I find it very hard to motivate myself to do things that aren't very entertaining, not to the point where they aren't done, but rather close to late (like this analysis). Another weakness I have is being ridiculously introvert, which makes it harder to communicate. Lastly, my handwriting is what I'd call 'awful' which can be a weakness sometimes - for example in GCSE English I got a C, which could've easily been higher had it not been for my handwriting.
Opportunities
Through being at university, I am opening up numerous opportunities for myself. Aside from the opportunity to learn many varied new skills, which is part of the reason I chose my course (Multimedia Computing), I also have the opportunity to meet new people and try out things I haven't done before. Hopefully by the time I leave university, I'll have not only much more skills in my chosen areas, but also more of a variety of skills that I have learned outside of my course.
Threats
My biggest threat is again motivation. It is what will eventually lead me to rush work and not do as well as I should, and needs to be fixed really soon before it gets me into trouble. Another threat to my work at univversity is my confidence. As that is not particularly high, it can prohibit me from getting certain things done. Finally, the last main threat I think would be concentration. While this is almost the same as no motivation, it differs slightly in that low concentration is usually because I worry about things too much. I tend to second guess myself too often on things I should be sure on, and end up putting the wrong thing down.
Here goes;
Strengths
I feel that my main strength lies in thinking. I'm able to think most things through quickly in my head without having to write them down on paper, which I find quite helpful in solving problems. Another strength I have is that due to my learning styles being so varied (See VARK results), I can be quite a fast learner.
Weaknesses
The biggest weakness I have is motivation. I find it very hard to motivate myself to do things that aren't very entertaining, not to the point where they aren't done, but rather close to late (like this analysis). Another weakness I have is being ridiculously introvert, which makes it harder to communicate. Lastly, my handwriting is what I'd call 'awful' which can be a weakness sometimes - for example in GCSE English I got a C, which could've easily been higher had it not been for my handwriting.
Opportunities
Through being at university, I am opening up numerous opportunities for myself. Aside from the opportunity to learn many varied new skills, which is part of the reason I chose my course (Multimedia Computing), I also have the opportunity to meet new people and try out things I haven't done before. Hopefully by the time I leave university, I'll have not only much more skills in my chosen areas, but also more of a variety of skills that I have learned outside of my course.
Threats
My biggest threat is again motivation. It is what will eventually lead me to rush work and not do as well as I should, and needs to be fixed really soon before it gets me into trouble. Another threat to my work at univversity is my confidence. As that is not particularly high, it can prohibit me from getting certain things done. Finally, the last main threat I think would be concentration. While this is almost the same as no motivation, it differs slightly in that low concentration is usually because I worry about things too much. I tend to second guess myself too often on things I should be sure on, and end up putting the wrong thing down.
Tuesday, 6 October 2009
Learning Styles and V.A.R.K.
I'm back, and this time it's writing about learning styles and the VARK questionnaire.
The VARK questionnaire is basically a series of questions with answers for each learning style. The person answering the questions is encouraged to pick the one that they would pick if put in that situation in real life.
For example: - How would you give directions to someone?
This had answers such as: Tell them, write it down, pick them up yourself, or draw on a map.
Each of the letters in VARK represents a different style of learning and the amount of answers you put for each determined how good you are at learning using that style. This 'should' give you a clear view of what learning style suits you.
V = Visual
A = Aural
R = Reading/Writing
K = Kinesthetic
Below are the scores I got from doing this questionnaire. I had a tendency to pick two answers for a large amount of the questions which suggest that I use two learning styles. The actual result I got was quite suprising - for a number of reasons.
The VARK questionnaire is basically a series of questions with answers for each learning style. The person answering the questions is encouraged to pick the one that they would pick if put in that situation in real life.
For example: - How would you give directions to someone?
This had answers such as: Tell them, write it down, pick them up yourself, or draw on a map.
Each of the letters in VARK represents a different style of learning and the amount of answers you put for each determined how good you are at learning using that style. This 'should' give you a clear view of what learning style suits you.
V = Visual
A = Aural
R = Reading/Writing
K = Kinesthetic
Below are the scores I got from doing this questionnaire. I had a tendency to pick two answers for a large amount of the questions which suggest that I use two learning styles. The actual result I got was quite suprising - for a number of reasons.
- V = 5
- A = 9
- R = 4
- K = 6
As you can see, I got a very varied result. The questionnaire gave me a pretty good score for all of the styles of learning, with Aural learning standing out massively with a 9.
This would mean that I actually have a very good grasp on each style of learning, so can take information from any source if needed, but Aural more so than the rest.
Reflection
One of the reasons I was suprised with this result is because I had seen it before. I remembered doing something on learning styles back at college for my key skills course - and I got the same sort of result there. This is why I tend to agree with this questionnaire.
As for what it means for me:
I think the reason why Reading/Writing came off lower for me is because although I love reading and have very good spelling and grammar, I can't read anything I don't find interesting. I read through a book I find interesting very fast and can't stop myself from reading more, but workbooks not so much. Writing I tend to avoid as much as possible, as I have awful handwriting which is kind of embarassing.
So I can see why R/W would be lower than the other styles of learning. As for them all being quite high figures I can only say a little about without making it look like I'm trying to 'big myself up'. I have found it very easy through school and college to pick things up and remember them, never having to revise and still getting high grades. I actually revised for an exam once and done worse than usual - another thing that may tie in with my low R/W score. I'd guess that this is due to using more than one style all of the time making it more of a deep learning experience.
Lastly Aural. This type of learning came up very high on my questionnaire with a 9, which suggests that the best learning style for me is from listening. I agree with this to an extent, but I'm not completely sure how it stands out so much from the others. While I am more introvert than extrovert, and prefer to sit and listen, I don't think I learn more from that than I would from say, doing something or by looking at charts etc..
Overall, I'd agree with the varied learning style result I got, but not completely with the higher score of Aural learning. I think while it is a big part of my learning style it doesn't stand out quite so much as the questionnaire suggested. For improving my learning I don't think I need to change too much. While Reading/Writing is slightly lower, it is also a necessary part of almost all work and I will eventually improve with that if I carry on learning using all 4 methods like I am.
Monday, 28 September 2009
Learning Line
Hey all!
So, this is my blog for Learning and Skills Development. It should contain a lot, if not all of, my work on the subject and maybe some other things if I feel like it.
First up is my learning line. I really don't have much experience anywhere apart from the general schooling, so I started thinking of other things I've done which might give me some sort of helpful experience in life. I'll go into them in slightly more detail here.
At the beginning is of course Primary Education, which then follows on to Secondary Education - pretty simple. I took Double Science, Business Studies and Art as my additional GCSE's. While in secondary school I had to do a two week work experience which I done working in Asda. Not very glamourous, but I learnt a lot while there.
Next up is Harlow College. I took here a two year course for a BTEC National Diploma in IT, which I completed successfully and got a DMM mark for. While on that course we were required to do some key skills qualifications - these were Application of Number, Communication and Working with Others.
Lastly, the more obscure ones. While in college I played for a 5 a side football team. While not a massive learning experience there were some skills I picked up while there which are useful. Finally there is Online Gaming. Now this one makes me sound very bad, but honestly it was a MASSIVE learning experience, which laster for a few years. The biggest learning aspect comes from the community factor. I met a lot of people, from a lot of different places around Europe. Even now I'm still in contact with a lot of them and even pop on for a chat sometimes.
The biggest learning however was when put in positions of responsibility. For example, handling a large group of people - explaining things to them, setting assignments to certain people and telling them how certain skills they have that will help out. I picked up a lot of leadership and social skills during this time, as well as improving my multi-tasking and ability to think things through.
So, this is my blog for Learning and Skills Development. It should contain a lot, if not all of, my work on the subject and maybe some other things if I feel like it.
First up is my learning line. I really don't have much experience anywhere apart from the general schooling, so I started thinking of other things I've done which might give me some sort of helpful experience in life. I'll go into them in slightly more detail here.
------------------------------------------------------------
At the beginning is of course Primary Education, which then follows on to Secondary Education - pretty simple. I took Double Science, Business Studies and Art as my additional GCSE's. While in secondary school I had to do a two week work experience which I done working in Asda. Not very glamourous, but I learnt a lot while there.
Next up is Harlow College. I took here a two year course for a BTEC National Diploma in IT, which I completed successfully and got a DMM mark for. While on that course we were required to do some key skills qualifications - these were Application of Number, Communication and Working with Others.
Lastly, the more obscure ones. While in college I played for a 5 a side football team. While not a massive learning experience there were some skills I picked up while there which are useful. Finally there is Online Gaming. Now this one makes me sound very bad, but honestly it was a MASSIVE learning experience, which laster for a few years. The biggest learning aspect comes from the community factor. I met a lot of people, from a lot of different places around Europe. Even now I'm still in contact with a lot of them and even pop on for a chat sometimes.
The biggest learning however was when put in positions of responsibility. For example, handling a large group of people - explaining things to them, setting assignments to certain people and telling them how certain skills they have that will help out. I picked up a lot of leadership and social skills during this time, as well as improving my multi-tasking and ability to think things through.
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