Morgan's Self Evaluation

To be honest, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to stay in this class and debated dropping it within the first two weeks.  As a user of social media, but not a lover, I was skeptical if this class would be beneficial for me.  However, I decided to continue with the class as Jeremy explained that the skills and tools we would learn would help students get jobs after college. 

I would describe the first few lab assignments as uncomfortable yet important.  Not only were Callie and I uncomfortable with our camera handling skills and approaching random students, but not all students were well responsive to us either.  This created a little bit of a discouraging feel.  However, I felt this feeling disappear as we began to make news stories and were assigned larger and less amateurish projects. 

I feel that Callie and I made a great team.  We were both dedicated to our projects and worked together to help plan out our trips, questions, filming, and editing.  With similar personalities, we helped each other get through the awkward situations, rough patches we hit in our projects, and were able to make things fun. 

As soon as I became more comfortable with the tasks assigned in this class, I was more open to using the tools we learned in class.  Flickr, Podbean, Storify, YouTube, and Google Maps were all very simple apps that I can now say I am confident in using.  I had the hardest time with Blogger and Twitter.  Blogger was only difficult as I had trouble remembering to post 3 times a week.  After planning out when and what I wanted to blog, it became much easier and less of a chore.  Twitter has always been a challenge for me mostly because it is hard for me to grasp the reasoning behind why people care what I have to say in a 140 character space.  I now understand why Jeremy and many others love it and see its benefits, however, I just don’t think it is for me.

I am very happy that I stayed in this class as I know I have learned a lot.  Truthfully, I have learned more in this class than any other class at Lehigh.  I don’t think I was ready for all of the work as soon as I signed up, but as soon as we got adjusted, the assignments became fun.  I can now say that I enjoy making new stories or documentaries.  And I have to admit, the behind the scenes access this class allowed me and Callie at the Iron Pigs game was unbelievable and very awesome.  I know that the tools and skills I learned in this class will help me in the long run and I am thankful I had the opportunity to experience all the things we did. 

Callie Burrows: Self Evaluation

I have to admit that I was very intimidated by this class at the start. The information learned in this class was said to be invaluable by past students and I knew by taking this class I would be pushed completely out of my comfort zone. I was right. As soon as I realized this, I made it a goal to stick with the class no matter what and embrace the uncomfortable situations I would be put in.

In the beginning, I felt very awkward and nervous about our lab assignments, which required us to go out and film Lehigh students and eventually local members of the community. It wasn't until after finishing our first News Style video that I felt more comfortable with using my camera, planning out interview questions, interviewing subjects and editing film. By the time Morgan and I filmed the News Style video I was more confident in my skills which helped me, in partnership with Morgan, to create a well-reported and informative news story.

As more video assignments were given to us, I became even more and more comfortable and although I still find conducting interviews to be a little awkward, editing film and piecing a story together is now a passion of mine. Putting together the interview footage with the B roll and making the perfect combination of those two plus some narration done by Morgan and I was a challenge but a fun challenge.

Throughout the semester I could tell I was growing. I grew as a Journalism student but also as a person. In terms of Journalism skills, I was able to join the Twitter world and hold my own, something I thought I would never do. Also, I was able to remember to blog three times a week and acquire a following of fellow foodies! Handling my little video camera became second nature and uploading videos to YouTube was a simple task, something that had started out as a long and intimidating process. In general, I feel much more comfortable interacting with the web and all of the options made available on the web including Storify, Podbean, Flickr, YouTube, Twitter, Google Maps, Weebly and Blogger. Before this semester I was skilled in writing and the traditional elements of Journalism; however, now I feel as though I am skilled in the more modern elements of Journalism that are required in this era.

As a person, I have become more outgoing and a better communicator and persuader. Often times subjects were at first hesitant to be on camera or to speak with us in general so it was essential to learn how to make people feel comfortable with Morgan and I, and trust us.

I am happy to say that I achieved my goal and was able to stick with the class, even when times were difficult or uncomfortable and it was SO worth it. I can confidently say I learned more in this class than in any other class at Lehigh and these skills will be helpful to me as I develop my career and move forward in life.

Iron Pigs baseball in Allentown, PA

Our documentary video on the Iron Pigs baseball team!

Podcast with Dana DeVito of Moravian Book Shop

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Here is our podcast with Dana DeVito, the general manager of Moravian Book Shop in Bethlehem PA!

Final Project Plan: Hidden Lehigh Valley

Hidden Lehigh Valley

Morgan and I have set out to find the “hidden gems” of the Lehigh Valley and surrounding area. Although I have been a student here for 3 years and she is completing her second year, neither of us really knew much about what there was to do in the area, besides some of the usual activities students partake in during their free time. We figured if we were clueless on this, most likely other people were too. We plan to create a sort of informational, educational and fun directory for Lehigh students and locals.

Our news stories will feature a video on this year’s restaurant week and information on the one coming up this summer as well as a video on the Allentown Fairgrounds Farmers Market. We will include interviews with some of the vendors as well as some of the people attending the market. Hopefully this will not only draw traffic to the venue but also motivate people to check it out, especially since the farmers market on campus is only open seasonally.

Our podcast will be with an event planner from Arts Quest regarding the wide array of festivals and events they put on each year. These range from Musikfest, to Celtic Fest, to First Friday and Christkinlmarkt.

The Ironpigs baseball team will be the feature of our documentary-style video. We are in the process of setting up interviews with a few players and the hitting coach. We will also include input from those attending the games.

Our two written side-bar stories will feature the Crayola factory and the historic Moravian Book shop.

On our site we will be including a photo slide show documenting The Banana Factory and the variety of classes and events held there along with the various art galleries housed there. We will also be including a Google Map to show interested locals where the following places are so they can check them out on their own time!

                  -Ironpigs Stadium (Coca-Cola Stadium)

                  -Allentown Fairgrounds Farmers Market

                  -Banana Factory

                  -Arts Quest

                  -Restaurant Week Venue

                  -Crayola Factory

                  -Lehigh Valley Zoo

                  -Martin Guitar Factory

                  -Sands Casino

                  -Moravian Book Shop

                  -Touchstone Theatre

                  -Stabler Arena

                  -Bethlehem Municipal Ice Rink

Also, we will include a resource guide with a variety of links, addresses and quick-look information.

Overall, the theme of our site will really be to get people excited about going out to local venues and exploring them. We hope that this will develop the Lehigh community’s relationship with local businesses and establish a positive vibe between the two. 

Final Project: Google Map

View Hidden Lehigh Valley in a larger map

Podcast with Army 1st Lt. Jake Fry

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Compiling my first podcast was not that hard of a project as I initially thought.  The process of converting my audio was very simple.  The only part of this project that I had difficulty with was the actual conversation with 1st Lt. Fry.  I found it difficult to have an average everyday conversation with him instead of it sounding like an interview or too pre-planned out.  Other than that, I thought it was a good experience and I am going to try more of them for my personal blog.