Semester Reflection

Technology

Through e-Comm this semester i have learned a lot in my technology skills. For starters, i was never really that great with technology, especially not in animation. One thing i have learned is that technology is extremely complex. At the end of a project, when everything is clean and done, it looks like it was really easy and maybe effortless. But that is definitely not the case. There is a ton of work that goes into making a good video or animation. Having good technical skills is extremely important in e-Comm because that is really all we do. We do a lot of things but they all involve technology, so developing good skills in that area is essential for creating a good project. I have had many challenges in this area over the semester and year, but as i keep using the technology and working with it, i just get better and learn more. This year i really enjoyed the most recent project we did in animation, where we made a short film and used green screen for our background. I learned a ton in the technology skill from this project.

Collaboration

Collaboration is essential in e-Comm. With nearly every project we do, we are collaborating with at least one person. I believe that i do pretty well in this skill because i am definitely a people person. but there can still be some challenges. For example, the short film project we did in animation, i was in a group with 3 other people. For the most part i really enjoyed working with these people. I think we worked really well together, and even though we had some technical/scheduling issues, we still managed to get everything done and turn it in on time. I love working with other people and i think it is extremely important. Even though we may not always agree with someone else ideas, its still important to listen to them and work together. 

Communication

I would say that communication is probably the most important skill to have in e-Comm. If you are in a group with someone and they don't communicate their ideas, or what the can/can't do, the project is not going to work well. In the last project i did in animation, the short film, communication was definitely something we could have done a little bit better in. I felt like some of the members didn't give me exact details about the important things and decided not to do something last minute. In the end, this project turned out good, but i think it could have gone a lot smoother with more communication. This is for sure one of, if not the, most important skills to have.

Project Management 

I am going to be completely honest, this is probably the skill i could use the most work in. I have always had a hard time sticking to a schedule and turning things in on time or before. One of my recent projects in video, i turned in about a week late. I have grown a lot in this area and i am definitely better now than at the beginning of the school year, but there is always more room for improvement. This skill is very important because in the real world, a deadline is usually set. Once you are given a due date, that is it, you often won't be able to adjust it to your own schedule. So this  is definitely something important that i plan on continuing to work harder and harder at. 

Leadership

In our final project, the short film, i had to take a lot of leadership. I am perfectly fine with it because i love being a leader and feel like it is one of my strongest skills. My group for the last project was great, but we were all okay with either being the leader or not being the leader, so i just took the position. I think thesis a very important skill because everyones ideas and opinions get heard, but the later is usually the one who makes the final choices or who plans all the scheduling and makes sure they are always there. It can be hard to be the leader sometimes, because you may feel a little overwhelmed or stressed depending on the project, but tit is one of the most important roles and every single project needs to have a leader. 

Strengths/Weaknesses

A couple of my strengths are definitely when it comes to collaboration and leadership. I love to work with people a lot and i love the take the lead. I wasn't always someone who liked being in charge or liked working with a lot of people, but as my 2 years in e-Comm have passes, i have grown most in these areas. I am not perfect in these skills and could always use more improvement but i definitely do best in these ones. I keep working on these skills by taking on different summer projects in e-Comm and working with people i usually done. Some of my weaknesses would be in the areas of technology and project management. I am not good at using some of the tools like Maya, photoshop, and after effects. By using them more and more, i progress in using them, but i still need a lot of work. I also need a lot of improvement with project management. I tend to fall behind and turn projects in late or not stick with the schedule and just take my time with it. It is good not to rush projects, but you still want to meet the deadline. the last couple of projects i have had, have been turned in on time, so i can definitely see an improvement but there is always room for more.

What I've learned/What I'd change

Throughout 2nd semester i have learned so much. Ive learned more than i usually do most semesters. For starters, I've learned that there has to be some wiggle room when you do projects. Chances are, its not going to turn out exactly 100% how you envisioned it in your head, so their has to be room for change. This mostly applies to video and when we did he short film in animation. I have also learned again, how important those guarantees are to everything we do in e-Comm. every one of those guarantees has a huge impact on how smooth things will run and how good and quality they will turn out. This has been an amazing semester, so their really is not a whole, lot i would change. In animation, i would definitely turn things in more on time and do better quality work. There were even some things i don't even know if i turned it. It was kind of a rough semester for me in animation, but it is over and i am happy with how everything went. And same for video, there were somethings i could have done better on or turned on time but in the end i think i did a pretty good job and i am happy with everything.

Conclusion

This has really been a great semester. I am actually pretty sad to see everything leave, especially since i will not be in e-Comm next year, but it has been great. not only was this semester so good, but the last 2 year of e-Comm in general have just been amazing. I have made so many friends and gained so many relationships that i know will last for the rest of my high school years. I have learned so much and i am grateful for everything the teachers have done for me. Ive loved e-comm and i really will miss it a lot. This has been a pretty great experience and I've loved every minute of it, even the hard ones.