Digital Media Project
This project began as a way for me to explore a subject I have become very passionate about: linguistics. Although the course is not typically taught at the high school level, particular elements of the field are applicable to studies in the English classroom. I chose to examine word formation for several reasons. My class was studying morphology at around the same time that I had to come up with a project idea. I felt like I had learned enough from the lectures to be confident in my information, and I also knew there was much more to be learned. I wanted something that was both interesting and challenging.
Although my initial intentions were simply to further educate myself on a subject I am fascinated by, I ended up forming my presentation on the basis of “teen slang.” I think I searched about thirty websites for unique words that are usually created and spoken by young people. The results were very interesting. I was familiar with most of the words, yet there were a few I had never heard of before. There were also a few websites for parents (created to help them understand what their child means when he or she says “krunk”) that gave inaccurate definitions compared to the ones I learned when I was in high school. One of the greatest opportunities I disovered in the process of creating this project was the chance to “play” with words. Many of the words I ended up choosing, such as “legit” and “BFF” are used regularly by many teens. Students can connect with their own dialects, and they want to know that their words are “legit.” I hope that my clip will one day help students understand that language is diverse and powerful in many ways. The idea of keeping an open mind toward language can lead to minds opening in other areas. Although I tease language throughout my clip, I also validate it. I think this type of validation could be significant to teens, especially since they are usually thrashed for their language both in and out of English classrooms.
Overall, the creation of this project occurred as a series of multitasking. I felt as if I could not find the pictures until I knew which example words I wanted to use. And I also felt the opposite. Some of my words were chosen simply because they matched funny pictures, while others were chosen before any images were found. As I have already stated, I searched many websites for teen lingo. I ended up using only words I was familiar with. Most of my background knowledge came from my linguistics text book and lectures in Dr. Palmer’s class.
After I had written my script and matched pictures to each type of word formation, I decided to record my script. The process was a little frustrating. I had to keep adjusting the volume and changing the devices I was using. It truly was a relief to finish recording because I felt like I had already completed the majority of the work. I had all the parts I needed to complete the project. It took me a while to figure out how to match my sound clips to my pictures. The process was very meticulous. I chose not to use the transition effects because I wanted my actual slides to produce their own transitions. For example, when I was speaking about initialism, each letter of the initials came up at around the same time as I said it. I wanted it to look like the video was texting. I was also really adamant about repeating some of my visuals. For example, I used the same “plus” and “equals” signs to show how words are created. I think it is important to have that kind of consistency, especially when you are teaching students who have probably not been exposed to the concepts before the lesson.
Honestly, I cannot say my skills are where I want them to be yet. There were some effects used in the examples shown in class that I am not sure how to reproduce. However, I am excited about the new skills I have learned. This is the first time I have ever created a movie using PowerPoint and MovieMaker. I definitely had to “do my time” when it came to learning how to use these applications. For example, I did not know there was a “duplicate slide” option in PowerPoint until I had already spent a half hour trying to get my slides to match. Although I read some of the instructions for MovieMaker, I believe that I learned the majority of my skills through actually trying to use the program. I had fun trying to create effects with my word examples in PowerPoint as well. Now that I know how to use these applications, I feel more comfortable in using them as teaching resources.
