Emerging Technology Final Project

For my first interview I interviewed my grandma (moms mom).  To see the questions and answers to the interview, click here.

For my second interview I interviewed my grandma (dads mom).  To see the questions and answers to the interview, click here.

I wrote my persuasive letter/e-mail to my Grandma Penny.  To see my persuasive e-mail, click here.

On Family Echo I created a family tree.  To see my family tree, click here.

This is a Piktochart of my dads side of the family, the Elfstrands.  I am a very large percentage Hungarian. My ancestors came to Minnesota from Hungary.  There is a very large amount of people on this side of the family.  I also used the colors red, green, black, and white because they resemble the Hungarian flag colors.


This is a Prezi that shows part of my family from my moms side of the family.  In my Prezi I also used the colors red, green, white, and black again because they are the colors of the Italian flag.  My moms side of the family is mainly Italian.
 


My stop-motion animation film that I created spells out 'Mia Famiglia'.  That is Italian for 'My Family'.  I also colored it with green and red to show the Italian colors.  My stop-motion is saved in my student folder and is named Stop Motion Final Project.

Monday December 2

Right now on my project I am working on my Prezi and Infographic.  Over the break I collected interview question answers.  I interviewed both of my grandmas.  According to the checklist below I have completed the questions, persuasive email, and FamilyEcho.  I still need to finish the Prezi, Infographic, Five-Frame Storyboard, and Blog Post.  I just need to do the creative aspects to the project.  I think I am on track to have everything done on time.

• Interview #1 – 25 question transcript on Google Docs 
• Interview #2 – 25 question transcript on Google Docs (opposite side of family) 
• Persuasive Letter/Email – typed in Google Docs (sending is optional) 
• Simple FamilyEcho Family Tree Outline 
• Creative Prezi Family Tree – At least 15 family members, do NOT use a template 
• Infographic of your Family using Piktochart (or another tool you have discovered) 
• Five-Frame Storyboard OR Stop Motion Animation video
• Blog Post on Blogger for your entire project with all projects linked or embedded

Friday November 15

1. Zoe Krump

Zoe's video was markers spelling out the word love.  I thought that it was very creative and unique that she chose something to simple to do, yet people wouldnt think of doing.  I believe it is one of the best in the class because it has a unique different feel to it.  It was very artistic and different than others.

2. Dana Oudejans
Although post-it note videos are common for stop motion videos Dana executed it very well.  She made unique patterns with the post its and the video flowed very well.  It was a cool video to watch.

3. Kristen Sayegh
Kristen's video was of her writing her name out and coloring it in creatively.  I thought that again it was a simple idea, but her abilities made the video look very interesting.  The designs she chose and the was she wrote made it look very professionally done.

Wednesday November 13

My stop motion turned out ok.  I am not completely thrilled by it.  It took a lot of time to take the pictures and come up with an idea for it to just turn out how it did.  If I could grade it I would give myself a 60/60 because I did everything the rubric says and also I put quite a bit of effort into it.  I learned that it isn't as easy as it might seem.  Stop motion animation movies take a lot of time and persistence. 

Monday November 11

I have all of the pictures taken for my stop motion animation.  On Sunday my mom and I tried coming up with ideas of what to do and struggled.  We finally came up with something to do.  It ended up taking FOREVER to take pictures.  We started in the afternoon and it took a total of 5 hours.  I have all of my pictures and just need to upload and crop them on the computer.  I hope they turned out well.  It was a very long and stressful process.

Friday November 8

I am planning on doing an outdoor scene for stop-motion animation.  I am planning on doing it of my backyard and part of the sky.  The story I am going to tell is the day passing by and all of the things going on throughout nature during the day.  My video will be fun and different because I am going to take pictures from early on in the day up until very late when it becomes dark out.  I am going to be taking the photos by myself.  I am planning on taking the pictures tomorrow because I have soccer games on Sunday.

Monday November 4

So far I have used PicMonkey and PIXLR.  I like both of the used we have used so far.  I think PicMonkey is easier to use than PIXLR.  PicMonkey has everything that you can use labeled and easy to access.  When on PIXLR I was randomly clicking around trying to figure it out.  The good thing about PicMonkey is that it is very easy to use.  The bad thing about it is the fact that for certain more advanced features you need to pay for the program.  On PicMonkey you can edit peoples skin, eyes, hair, teeth, and much more.  You can also change the brightness, contrast, and coloring of the picture.  There are many effects to add to pictures as well.  Overall, I think PicMonkey is a good editing website.

Friday November 1

The main pro of photo editing is that you can make your pictures look much better.  By adding effects and many other aspects to pictures you can make them very unique and fun.  Cons of photo editing are mainly over editing pictures.  A lot of people add too much to pictures these day and make them look very fake.  Photo editing is fun and appropriate when you are putting something on a social media site and you just add an effect or something very simple.  Photo editing is inappropriate and too much when models are edited, advertisements are edited, or other things.  Many companies over edit pictures.

Monday October 28

My favorite web tool that we have used is Google docs.  It is my favorite because it is easy to use.  For making power points, essays, and any other presentations it is very efficient to use.  Prezi and other tools seem to be more difficult to use than Google.  I like that everything is in one place also.  It doesn't just have my documents, but also my power points, e-mail, and everything else.  In the future if I ever need to write a document, create a presentations, make a table, or anything in any aspect of computer use this web tool would be very useful.

Digital Presentation- Prezi

Monday October 21

On Friday I had a doctors appointment at the end of the school day and then went home.  After I was home and figured out the plans I went over to Natalie's house.  Valeria and Natalie were at her house just hanging out.  We decided to not go to the football game so Austin picked us 3 (and Natalie's sister) up.  We dropped off Natalie and her sister at the football game for them to cheer at the game.  Val and I went to Austin's house until like 11:30 then we slept over at my house.  In the morning Valeria, Austin, and I went to Smoothie King then Lifetime.  After Lifetime we went to my house and picked up my brother Logan who is a freshman at West.  Us 4 went to Panda Express for lunch.  Valeria came to my house for the day when we got home.  Later in the night we went to dinner with all 18 girls at Sunset's.  I had to leave early for babysitting though.  I babysat from 8-1:30 on Saturday night.  The family has 5 year old identical twins named Jamie and Jon Jon.  They also have an 8 year old girl named Sammy.  The girl had a friend over all night who also slept over whose name was Sarah.  Sunday morning I had an 8 a.m. soccer game.  We won, but I don't remember the score.  I then had to babysit from 12-7:30.  This family has a 3 year old girl named Irelyn, and a 5 year old girl named Mailyn.  Babysitting took up my whole day.  At 9 o'clock that night I had another soccer game.  We won that game also.  After that I got home around 11:45 and just went to bed after showering.  I tried to finish homework but couldn't stay awake.  That's my not so exciting weekend!

Thursday October 17

What makes a presentation memorable is by doing something unique during your presentation.  By adding videos, questions, etc. To make my presentation better I will most likely add in a video to make it more interesting.  I am not positive of what I will be doing quite yet.  I plan on brainstorming and hopefully coming up with ideas to help  my presentation.

Tuesday October 15

What I learned from the Ted Talk is the need to learn correct usage of technology.  Too many people are becoming connected causing them to not be involved with the real world.  They depend on their devices for everyday activities.  They use their technology devices to turn to when in need of someone to be there for them.  Making times that you can and can not use your devices is important.  This idea is especially important for children.  People are using these items at inappropriate times.  During funerals, dinner, breakfast, meetings, etc. people have began to be connected.  There is a time and place for the use of everything.

Monday October 14

What I like about the digital age is the ability to communicate.  You can more easily talk with others and be in contact.  It makes communication between parents and children much easier also.  I don't like that conversations are less person to person than in the past.  Positive ways I use technology are to get directions, find places to go, talk to parents, talk to friends, and a lot of other ways as well.  Some things that come along with it that I dont like is the need to always be using these items.  When with friends everyone is only on their phones, laptops, ipads, etc.  It gets annoying to have to just sit there when friends are just using those items.  Overall I think that technology is a good thing, but is over used at certain times.

Infograph

Tuesday October 8

On Friday I went to the football game with friends.  After that I went to Kenzi's house with Valeria.  We slept over at her house Friday night.  Saturday I had a soccer game in the afternoon and we lost.  After my game I went home and got ready for Homecoming.  We had a group of about 30 people.  We took pictures at Sam Selph's house.  Dinner was at Hereford House and the food wasn't very good.  Our plan was to not go to the dance, but at dinner everyone decided we should go to the dance for a little bit.  We went to the dance for not very long.  We were there for only 30 minutes maybe.  After the dance we went to Matilda's house for the after party.  I only went to Matilda's for about 30 minutes before leaving.  I left because I had an 8 a.m. soccer game followed by a basketball game.  On Sunday I woke up early for soccer and we won our game.  We lost our basketball game to Blue Valley North by a few points.  After that my mom and I went to The Fresh Market to buy groceries.  The rest of my day was spent working on homework and a family dinner (plus Austin).

Wednesday October 2

I do not know anything about infographics.  I'm not sure what an infographic is and have never heard of it.  I am guessing the purpose of an infographic is to show you information, but in a graphic form.  I am also guessing it has something to do with editing or writing papers because that is what we are doing right now.

Friday September 27

My weekend plans are to hang out with Valeria.  I am going to spend every single day with her because she is so fun to be with!  She always puts a smile on my face and is so beautiful.  She is an amazing friend and always puts me in a better mood.  I am going to be with her non stop because that's how much I love her.  Tonight Valeria, Mackenzie, and I are going to Fortune Wok for dinner.  I also have soccer games Saturday and Sunday.  Along with two basketball games on Sunday.  I also need to get everything for homecoming finalized.

Wednesday September 25

I think citing work is a pain in the butt.  I don't like having to do so.  I don't think it is necessary for us to do all over throughout our papers.  Maybe just put the sources at the end but that's it.  I believe it is appropriate to cite work when you are directly using information that you find.  I think overall citing is a huge pain.

Tuesday September 24

I don't have a favorite book.  I don't read very often.  I actually don't mind reading and enjoy it if I find a book that I like.  I think if I were to take time out of my day to just read I would like it much more.  I hope in the future I find books that I like and start reading more.  I think that if I started reading it would be beneficial for me throughout life because it is very good for you.

Monday September 23

I enjoy writing.  If I am in the mood to write I can finish essays very quickly and they are easy for me to do.  Otherwise I get distracted from finishing them easily and have to end up just doing them at home.  I work better when writing at home because I can focus better.  Writing is an essential skill in life because if you know how it will help you with many things.  People who know how to write are most likely going to be more successful at doing so.  I think I will use this skill in college along with a job.  Writing skills can be used throughout your life.

Tuesday September 17

Creating an outline for a paper is important because it helps you create better projects and assignments.  It also makes your job a lot easier.  You have everything organized and ready to write about it.  I think outlines help me personally because I have everything together and ready to write when I have outlines completed.  I would prefer to use pen probably.  I like to be able to write because I can focus better I think.  Pen and paper is much more efficient for me when creating outlines.  Sometimes websites are very hard to use and take more time than they should.

Monday September 16

This weekend I didn't do very much.  On Friday I went to Lifetime after school and worked out.  I went home after that and Valeria was at my house.  Within a few hours there were 17 girls at my house to sleepover.  Half of the girls went to Chipotle to get dinner while the other half just stayed at my house.  That night we went to Brady's house for a while.  When we were at Brady's some of us left to get needles and an apple to pierce our ears.  After that we just went back to my house and talked for a while.  Valeria, Mackenzie, and I then got picked up and went to Qwik Trip to get everyone food and drinks.  The 18 of us all went to sleep after that.  On Saturday after all of the girls left my house around 11 I went to Lifetime again to workout.  After I worked out I picked up Valeria to go out to eat with her and Austin.  We went to Panera.  After that we picked Mackenzie up also.  Us 4 went to Austin's house and just hung out.  We were tired from Friday staying up late so we all slept.  After that we decided to go to Mr. Goodscents for dinner.  After dinner we went back to Austin's and didn't do much.  The girls then went to Mackenzie's house to sleepover but I went home because I had soccer and basketball games on Sunday.  On Sunday I had a basketball game at 12 and a soccer game at 9 p.m.  In between I had to meet my neighbor girl who I will be babysitting.  I also worked on homework.  When I got home from my game it was 11:30 so I went to bed.    

Wednesday September 11

I look up to my friends Sammy and Valeria.  The both of them have each lost their moms.  I can't even imagine how hard something like that would be.  They both still are positive and happy when I would be a wreck in their positions.  Everyday I see them in good moods it makes me so happy to know how strong they are.  Sammy and Valeria have helped me be thankful to be close with my mom.  When my mom and I argue and they talk to me it always makes me realize I dont have it that bad.  Also that I need to be thankful for what she does for me.  They both really bring me down to reality sometimes when something is going on.  

Tuesday September 10

Good email etiquette is having good grammar, format, and much more.  It is essential to have good email etiquette in the real world because if you do not have good etiquette the email is viewed as unprofessional.  When an email looks unprofessional it is also viewed as being more of an immature sender.  Having good email etiquette can put you ahead of others, especially others your age.  Most high school aged students are unaware of proper email etiquette.  Having proper email etiquette is a very important thing to know when entering the real world.

Friday September 6

If there was one issue that I could fix in the world I would fix I would choose cancer.  So many people lose loved ones due to cancer.  Cancer is unpreventable and awful.  Out of nowhere people get diagnosed with cancer.  Seeing someone go through cancer is a very hard thing to do.  Seeing anybody go through chemo is hard enough, but to see them pass away is even harder.  Many kids lose parents due to cancer and nobody should have to go through this.  Everyone deserves to have a healthy life and not have to go through all of these horrible things.

Texting and Driving

Tuesday September 3

A Public Service Announement is a non profit announcement put out to let the world know about something.  It usually is advertised in a way that is less expensive than other ways because it is non profit.  The purpose of Public Service Announements is mainly to just let the public know about something that is going on in the world.  If I could create a PSA my topic would probably be health related.  I would make it about an illness that is being spread at the time.  I would do this because it would inform the world about something that may be harmful to many people.  It could help prevent many sicknesses in the world if people knew ways to prevent and fight it.

Friday August 30

My hobbies and extracurricular activities involve working out.  I play basketball and soccer for the high school.  I also play for club teams.  Along with those things I go to lifetime everyday to workout.  I enjoy being with friends also.  I spend the little free time I have at home doing homework or at a friends house.  My favorite color is pink.  I love everything that is pink.  Most people who know me or are close to me know my love for that color.  My favorite sport differs depending on the season of the sport.  During basketball season I like basketball more, but during soccer season I like soccer more.  My favorite TV show is probably CSI, Criminal Minds, Law and Order or any show similar to that.  I dont have an exact favorite show.  I am a pretty flexible person to be around.

Who Am I Presentation

Who Am I from morganelfstrand

Wednesday August 28

Some qualities of a good presentation are to be outgoing and have a good presentation.  Talking in a monotone voice makes you not have as interesting of a presentation and people wont be as likely to listen and pay attention.  If you add pictures into your presentations that makes them more interesting as well.  When there are pictures added into presentations it makes it easier for the audience to pay attention because they have something to look at.  The same goes for colors.  When presentations have colors in them it makes them much more fun to pay attention to.  Adding sounds and animations between slides helps make a presentation more interesting as well.  Those are just a few of the many ways to make your presentation more lively and interesting.

Monday August 26

I agree with this statement.  I believe that is images posted on the internet are free game.  If you post something online everyone will be seeing it.  If you didn't want your images being used by other you shouldn't post it publicly.  Taking credit for an image that is on the internet that is not yours is not right though.  If you are using a picture and take credit for it when it is not yours I think that it isn't okay because you did not take the image.  You should be allowed to use these images if you cite them.  If you give the photographer credit for the image they took you should be able to use it.  Overall I think that it is okay to use pictures posted by others online.

Friday August 23

The importance of online safety and protecting your information is very important.  There are many people in the world who will look up profiles and find out information.  The fact that someone could know all of your information just from a social media site is scary.  To protect myself online I do not post personal information.  I never put my phone number, address, or other information out there.  I have never been exposed to an online safety issue yet, nor has anyone I know.  But there are many stories about things that have happened.  Many people are not very smart about things that they post or where they post it to.  As long as you as cautious and aware of what you are doing everything should be okay.  Online safety is a very important topic.  More people in the world need to be more aware of the severity of things that could happen to them due to not being aware of the outcomes of online safety.

Wednesday August 21

What I know about Web 2.0 is that the websites associated with Web 2.0 consume most peoples lives, especially teens.  The sites that I am on that let me post information are Twitter, Facebook, Vine, Pinterest, Youtube, and Ask.fm.  Although I only use Twitter and Instagram on a regular basis I still have made accounts for the other social media pages.  I ocassionly get onto Facebook to look at pictures people have posted.  I enjoy Pinterest as well.  Before bed or during down time is a good time to use Pinterest for me.  I use Twitter and Instagram quite often, I usually check those applications every couple of hours.  I use Instagram to post pictures on a daily basis.  I use Twitter to reply back to friends, say what I am doing, or post pictures. 

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Vine
• Tumblr
• Pinterest
• Youtube
• Myspace
• Ask.fm
• Instagram

Tuesday August 20

            After watching the clip of Ashton Kutcher’s acceptance speech what I took away is the importance and essence of having knowledge and thoughtfulness.  In the clip Ashton said that having knowledge and being thoughtful has more importance than other things in life, which I agree with.  I think people who are more knowledgeable and have a thorough education go farther in life.  Not only do they go farther but they also have extra knowledge known as common sense.  When people have common sense it helps for them to make the right decisions throughout their lives.  In his speech he also talked about being thoughtful.  I think that this has a major impact on people and the outcome of their lives and every day they live.  People who think about others and not just themselves have many more acquaintances and friends in their lives.  Being thoughtful and knowledgeable has a lot more meaning than what people truly think.

            I believe that the quote he said in his speech means that everyone has their own smarts.  Some people are smarter at certain things than others.  Billions of things have been invented and billions of ideas have been thought of throughout all of these years.  But along with those things there is a need and always will be a need for each and every person to make it into their own ideas using their knowledge.  Everyone is capable of making something their own.  Just because some people may be more successful than others does not mean they are less knowledgeable.  All people in the world have the ability to do things such as change, influence, build, and much more by using their own knowledge.  Everyone has their own unique ways and ideas when it comes to being knowledgeable.