Genius Hour Evaluation

Blog Post 7

This week was the realization that my goal would not be met to get a geofilter accepted by snapchat within the time restraints of this class and this project. The filter idea was continuously becoming more and more of a project as all that I have submitted have not been accepted, and they never provide an answer as to specifically why it was not submitted. This makes it very hard to know what to do to your next submission in order to ensure that they do in fact accept it. For that reason, I have made the executive decision to stop working away at this and focus on the teacher education program, and all of the work that comes with this! It is unfortunate that this was the case, however I appreciate those who do actually end up being successful with the geofilter creation and acceptance. I also think that this is a very cool feature of the application and I appreciate it that much more, as there is a committee of people that either decide to accept or decline the filters - this would be a neat job!
Throughout the time that I worked at creating a geofilter for Stratford, a friend from home did end up being successful as a Stratford filter has appeared within city limits. I will add that this friend has graduated from computer sciences and knows what he is doing within the photoshop program, and has a large background in computer and design software.
I want to stress that this project was one that I knew would be difficult, especially as I had no previous experience using photoshop, or with design for that matter. Navigating the program was one of my biggest obstacles and it was hard for me to wrap my head around all of the tools that I could and should use in order to ensure that the filter was visually appealing. I think that with more of an understanding for the program would come a better ability to create a design that is likely to be accepted.
I also now know the rules as well as the criteria that it takes for snapchat to accept your filter, however am not a genius on how to follow all of these steps to ensure success.
This was a very interesting project for me, and am not fully giving up on it! Just giving up on getting a submission before this class ends!

Blog Post 6

This week I got some negative news again, my second submission filter was DENIED. I thought that this was a step up from what I had submitted last time, but I guess not. I spent more time and got help from someone who was familar with the photo shop program.

I also referred back to a YouTube video that was guiding me to create a filter that was sure to get accepted.. While consaulting this again I found a comment that I could relate to and began to get worried about the status of my geofilters getting accepted.

I continue to learn that this might be a harder project than I thought, and may need to find a genius that can assist me with getting one approved!

Blog Post 5

This week I revisited my design and realized that what I had needed to be revamped. I spent a long time working with photo shop and tried to navigate it looking at the different text tools that were there and effects that I could use. I also got a bit of assistance from a classmate who was familiar with the Photoshop elements program. I decided to add a new image, that of a hockey stick and changed up my fonts and colours to something that I thought was a lot cooler!
I resubmitted a new geofilter with a new description of why I thought that they should accept it. The waiting game begins again as they need to either accept or decline my new geofilter.

This looks like a happy picture, lets see if the second time is a charm! 

Blog Post 4

This week I made some big progress. I worked with photo shop for the first time and researched how to create a geofilter including all of the requirements that are included within snap chats guidelines. I even went as far as submitting my first draft of a filter that I created... Unfortunately my first try was not accepted by snap chat - tough crowd. I learned that my filter was not cool enough, and I need to take more time working with photo shop in order for them to accept my original artwork. This is leading me back to the beginning, I am going to come up with a new design to resubmit. This is going to include more of an original design, without using images from google and adding more detail including layering and colour. I hope that with time and playing around more with photo shop will lead me to create a geofilter that will be accepted!

Blog Post 3

This week I began by researching more about how to actually create a snapchat geofilter.I found that this is going to be more difficult then I had thought, because I need to learn how to use photoshop. I began by downloading their specific template, and this opened up adobe photoshop - all new to me. I played around on this and watched YouTube videos where people tried to explain how the program works, and how I can go from the template to actually adding my designs. This was a bit overwhelming since I could not figure out how to get past the first step that was shown, at this time I decided that I need to confront an expert, a friend that took web design in college, my next step is to call a friend... Hopefully he can help! I also need to determine what I want to add to the Stratford filter, specifically what designs I might add in with the word.
However, I did read the guidelines and I think that with his help I will be successful. I was also able to figure out how to set the boundaries for the filter and once it is created it will be a breeze for me to complete the boundaries and explain why the filter should be activated (genius hour project - they will have to accept it!!).

Blog Post 2
This week we looked at the assessment of genius hour, and the relevance that all projects will have within the language curriculum. I also learned how to create a PowToon, something that I have not previously heard about before. For that reason, I found difficulty in getting started and creating a toon that was engaging and using the different materials that were there. Finally, I embedded my google docs slideshow into my blogger so that people can view this, my mind was blown. In regards to my genius hour project, today I learned that there are specific criteria that have to be met by snapchat in order for them to publish your geofilter. I also learned that I am going to have to learn how to use photoshop in order to make my design come to life. My question then is, how am I going to  do this? And what program will I need in order to make my geofilter? From here I am going to construct research on different forums and sites further than the snapchat website in order to get different ideas of how to go about creating the geofilter. Then I will have to begin to think about how I want my filter to work and download a photoshop program that will allow me to make this. 

Blog Post 1

Hi everyone, thank you for visiting my blog!

This blog will document my journey throughout my technology in education course at Brock University. One of the aspects of the course is to create a question that will drive and document my focus over the next 9 weeks.
For the class I have come up with the following 'genius hour' question:
How can I create a snapchat filter? 

I came up with this topic because snapchat is an application that almost everyone uses and is continuously growing. My goal is to create a snapchat filter for my hometown because there is not one there yet, and I want to display to my contacts where I am!  This is an easy way to communicate with my friends as well as others to also document their locations.
I will measure my overall progress by the steps that snapchat suggests taking in order for the filter to actually become available. My overall success will come when the filter becomes active, and when I will be able to use it!

Copyright

Copyright is something that we must know about as we enter the classroom. Copyright ensures that the original author of the piece of work gets credit for it. The original author chooses who has the right to reuse or alter it. I personally learned about the 4 different copyrights (attribution, share alike, non-commercial and no derivative works). The creative commons is also a new concept and resource that was introduced to me, and will be a relevant tool in my future works, as well as when finding resources.
We have been doused with ideas of plagiarism throughout our university career, but further now is the idea of copyright. It is so easy for students to gather information from the Internet, that they must know how to do so properly, and as teachers, we must learn how to model the proper usage. I think the most important thing to teach students is how to locate the copyrighted images from Google. For me, this was a useful tool because I am always just copying and pasting these materials into my own documents without actually realizing if I have the proper permission to do so. Because of how easy it is, we need to ensure that this is taught so that proper Internet usage is learned and maintained as habit for our students.

Ribeiro, Lucelia (2008, June 30). Children at school [online image]. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/lupuca/8720604364/in/photolist-ehBnRE-9es4mr-5JUU5s-q3K1zE-99XWwh-99CMGB-99DbaH-4cPmgA-62Y6XP-8XHKbe-qpA85n-dkYFci-4E2zcQ-99DNn5-99GKB5-hT9xeh-9k5FFA-6wnx18-2RYxn-8GmvbX-bqVQtj-4Xtgen-9ayqsd-5ugLFE-7Cj5Uu-dVhuAM-nFobwz-3mrXAe-8vBWcM-BU5gpr-8vBWaH-dVkBcP-88BL8U-7q5H1P-6esCV2-4Xtgfr-o3wN4Z-5k2wrs-vhe14-6Wp8Nk-7M6JDi-97ZD6k-99AyvX-7xhTHi-5p2g39-ncBmoY-99AxoB-fwoBZm-5b495D-6Yv8t

Surran, Michael (2006, May 24). Students working on class assignment in computer lab [online image]. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computers_in_the_classroom#/media/File:Students_working_on_class_assignment_in_computer_lab.jpg

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