Video Reviews

Smart Homes Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kdd41G0q7Nw&feature=youtu.be

 

I found this a very engaging video mainly for the visual design aspect of the approach.  Firstly the video does a good job simply ticking off the required boxes of the assignment, making sure everyone contributes to the presentation and overall conveying information about smart homes in a succinct and easily understood way.  More than that though what I really liked about it was the approach of having the various group members sketch out pertinent images on a white board while the narration played over it.  There’s something about that particular action that really engenders a blended sense between classical education tactics like white board sessions and the digital new frontier of education through media learning.  It reminded me most of the Khan Academy videos that also utilize a more hands-on visual aesthetic to their complimentary imagery.  If I was to raise a critique however it would be that some of the narration felt a little shakey at times and could’ve been a bit more polished but that's a small gripe all things considered. 

Amazon Web Services Video 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muotZg0wCuI&feature=youtu.be

The Amazon Web Service video definitely came off as seriously ambitious and to a certain degree managed to achieve the lofty goals it set for itself.  I very much enjoyed the amount of audio work that went into this video, a good degree of sound mixing and music work helped make this video infinitely more memorable.  Alternatively the visual portion of the video was more mixed especially given the narration that wet with it.  While some of the video sections were very well done and informative as the presentation went on the information became a little more cluttered and unclear, especially when the narrator entered into an analogy about tools and birdhouses that was ultimately more confusing than helpful.  It also felt very much like there was going to be more after the initial spurt of narration and I would’ve liked to have heard from all the group members not just the one, still I understand Amazon Web Service infinitely better now than I did before watching this video.   

Presentation Reviews

Virtual Reality Team

I thought the virtual reality team had a lot of very intriguing images and presentation format but kind of fell flat in their actual presentation.  You get the sense the presenters are somewhat uncomfortable up on stage in front of everyone and the presenters often came off very quite and shy or stuttering.  I realize that everyone has some amount of anxiety when it comes to public speaking but it left the group feeling decidedly unprepared in my opinion.  It definitely felt like it was more rewarding to just read the information on the slides and examine the images rather than actually strain myself to make out the mumbled and quiet speech of the presenters.  They did seem well informed during the question and answer portion of their presentation so that was refreshing. 

Interactive Cartoons

This team came off very clear and well spoken, all the presenters felt thoroughly prepared and were easy to hear and understand with proper enunciation and a full command of the topic at hand.  However their information felt a little shaky, while the presentation was adequate I can’t help but feel let down as I’m still unsure what exactly defines an interactive cartoon.  Additionally I don’t quite comprehend how exactly an interactive cartoon is separate from say a flash game or various other examples of interactive animations.  I feel like a more stringent definition of terms would’ve really bolstered my understanding of the material here.  I also felt like we didn’t get much grounding in terms of cons just all the pros. 

Off Day: Group Work

            Once again I’m unsure if any learning journal is actually assigned for this date but I intend to post one regardless.  With class canceled to allow us more prep time on our projects our group met up for the first time outside of class to discuss the upcoming presentation along with the matter of the 3-minute video.  This is the first physical group meeting we’ve ever had not counting brief conversations in class between talking points and so forth and the results were less than encouraging.  Luis seems very quiet and timid though willing to put in the work necessary to help make these projects a major success but Anthony seemed reticent to most of the suggestions.  My biggest issue with Anthony is his irksome habit of only providing problems and no solutions, most of his time during the meeting was spent fretting over a lack of official guidelines for what the power point and video should entail.  While I certainly appreciate Anthony’s concerns towards structure he came off more distracted than anything else, like he was simply treading water and marking off time till one of has to leave and he could escape our company.  Discussing audio recording for the video was even worse as he constantly shot down my suggestions and brought no personal initiative to the table, it may be necessary to nursemaid him through the process entirely or alternatively simply cut him out of the video all together.  Our current plan is simply to do voice over with still images as that’s the easiest option for our various busy schedules with me acting as central coordinator.  I have no doubt that Luis will provide his audio as despite his shy exterior he’s demonstrated consummate professionalism and follow through but as I mentioned I have some definite concerns about Anthony’s ability to work as a team player or provide me with what I need in a timely manner.