Reflection
Throughout these past never-ending, sleepless months that is Personal Project, I have learned a lot more than just some facts. When I first chose depression to be my topic, I knew it would be challenging because it is such a serious topic and issue today. When dealing with such a sensitive subject, it is important to be aware of others that have dealt with this issue so I do no not offend them in any way. I obviously learned how to manage my time wisely, and I learned about Teenage Depression, but I learned about more than that as well. I learned that when I deal with such a sensitive topic, I have to put myself in someone else's shoes and have empathy for them in order to understand. It is difficult to understand what a depressed person experiences, but once you understand, the whole concept and idea makes so much more sense.
According to the feedback I got from the surveys and the personal project exhibition day, my video was very successful. Testing against my specification #1 (The video must be good quality), I asked a question about the quality, the length, and the music. People said that the filming and the clips were of great quality, and only two of the 19 people whom filled out the survey said that the audio was not. Only one person said that the video was too long. Overall, my video is high quality. Evaluating against my specifications #2 (This video must be powerful and effective) and #3 (This video must be informative), I asked about whether or not the video is effective (for both inspirational and educational purposes). Many people said that this video is effective for both an educational purpose and as an inspirational and motivational video. Only one From the 19 surveys that have been filled out, not one of them stated that the video was not effective in any way. Four people said that this video is only effective as a motivational video, not educational purposes. In order to make this video more educational, I should have stated more facts and statistics about depression. Although I wanted to make this video very powerful, I also wanted to make it educational and informative for people whom do not know a lot abut the topic, and I was not very successful in doing so.
*Refer to Process Journal Entry #9 for the survey and the feedback
*Refer to Process Journal Entry #10 for the survey and the feedback from the Personal Project Exhibition Day.
Teenage Depression falls under the Global Context of Identities and Relationships. This Global Context is broad, as it explores who we are. Branches of this context could be; beliefs, social aspects, health, human relationships, identity, what it means to be human, the list goes on. The reason why Teenage Depression falls under this context is because it deals with both health and a social issue. The social issue is Teenage Depression itself, and the health aspect comes from what Teen Depression may lead to (self-harm, suicide, etc.). Something that I have learned about this specific global context is how society can affect ones identity and how this change of identity can affect the relationships that person has with others and themselves. I have also learned more about Teenage Depression as an issue and also as a topic in general. I learned more about the effects and what leads to it, and I have more of an insight of what depression really is. I have experienced and battled with depression before, but after actually researching it and studying it more, I now have a completely different perspective and I realize how serious of an issue it is, not only for me, but for teens all around the world.
Throughout this whole personal project, I have really improved some aspects of being an IB learner and my ATL's. I have definitely become open-minded because throughout this project we are expected to take feedback into consideration and use it within our new and updated piece of work. We have to be open-minded to constructive criticism and ways to improve. When I sent out the surveys and asked for things that I could improve, I was open-minded. When I gave my poem to an English teacher to find out how I could improve, I was open-minded as well. I was also a bit of a risk-taker with this topic and my final product. It is a very sensitive and serious topic, and in no way did I want to make a mockery out of it, or offend anyone in anyway. This being said, some of my clips in the video were graphic which was a risk, but I am glad I took that risk because it added to the dramatic and powerful essence of the video. I was also reflective during this project due to the fact that we have to write a reflection based upon our work. I was also reflective when looking at the feedback I got from friends and teachers, because I had to reflect back on my work to see how I could improve. Lastly, I also improved my communication skills because I had to communicate such a serious topic in a way that could be effective and powerful. I did this through a video and poetry. I communicated a big issue in an artistic way, and that really helped me improve as a communicator and as an IB learner.
According to the feedback I got from the surveys and the personal project exhibition day, my video was very successful. Testing against my specification #1 (The video must be good quality), I asked a question about the quality, the length, and the music. People said that the filming and the clips were of great quality, and only two of the 19 people whom filled out the survey said that the audio was not. Only one person said that the video was too long. Overall, my video is high quality. Evaluating against my specifications #2 (This video must be powerful and effective) and #3 (This video must be informative), I asked about whether or not the video is effective (for both inspirational and educational purposes). Many people said that this video is effective for both an educational purpose and as an inspirational and motivational video. Only one From the 19 surveys that have been filled out, not one of them stated that the video was not effective in any way. Four people said that this video is only effective as a motivational video, not educational purposes. In order to make this video more educational, I should have stated more facts and statistics about depression. Although I wanted to make this video very powerful, I also wanted to make it educational and informative for people whom do not know a lot abut the topic, and I was not very successful in doing so.
*Refer to Process Journal Entry #9 for the survey and the feedback
*Refer to Process Journal Entry #10 for the survey and the feedback from the Personal Project Exhibition Day.
Teenage Depression falls under the Global Context of Identities and Relationships. This Global Context is broad, as it explores who we are. Branches of this context could be; beliefs, social aspects, health, human relationships, identity, what it means to be human, the list goes on. The reason why Teenage Depression falls under this context is because it deals with both health and a social issue. The social issue is Teenage Depression itself, and the health aspect comes from what Teen Depression may lead to (self-harm, suicide, etc.). Something that I have learned about this specific global context is how society can affect ones identity and how this change of identity can affect the relationships that person has with others and themselves. I have also learned more about Teenage Depression as an issue and also as a topic in general. I learned more about the effects and what leads to it, and I have more of an insight of what depression really is. I have experienced and battled with depression before, but after actually researching it and studying it more, I now have a completely different perspective and I realize how serious of an issue it is, not only for me, but for teens all around the world.
Throughout this whole personal project, I have really improved some aspects of being an IB learner and my ATL's. I have definitely become open-minded because throughout this project we are expected to take feedback into consideration and use it within our new and updated piece of work. We have to be open-minded to constructive criticism and ways to improve. When I sent out the surveys and asked for things that I could improve, I was open-minded. When I gave my poem to an English teacher to find out how I could improve, I was open-minded as well. I was also a bit of a risk-taker with this topic and my final product. It is a very sensitive and serious topic, and in no way did I want to make a mockery out of it, or offend anyone in anyway. This being said, some of my clips in the video were graphic which was a risk, but I am glad I took that risk because it added to the dramatic and powerful essence of the video. I was also reflective during this project due to the fact that we have to write a reflection based upon our work. I was also reflective when looking at the feedback I got from friends and teachers, because I had to reflect back on my work to see how I could improve. Lastly, I also improved my communication skills because I had to communicate such a serious topic in a way that could be effective and powerful. I did this through a video and poetry. I communicated a big issue in an artistic way, and that really helped me improve as a communicator and as an IB learner.