April 6: Journal Entry #21

I found the rubrics provided to me to be very helpful. These rubrics outlined what was expected of me in regards to this SDA, whilst also being vague enough to allow me to make choices during the production of the podcast that were independent of rubric; the results of which were quite successful. The timeline provided to me, and other emcers for this assignment was reasonable, I was able to discover an interviewee, conduct the interview, and produce the podcast within the time frame awarded to me. 

This assignment was extremely effective at gathering information to aid me in answering my essential question of "How does the exploitation of other developing regions such as the middle east compare to how Africa has been exploited?" due to the fact that I had the privilege of convening with an expert who was extremely comfortable with this topic. The most difficult part of this assignment was editing. I have never enjoyed editing, but it was particularly hard for this SDA due to the fact that I had to sift through over one and half hours of audio which was, as you could imagine, very time consuming. The most rewarding part of this assignment was the interview itself due to the fact that I gained a considerable amount of knowledge from my conversation with Ms. Schmidt. If I had the opportunity to interview a different expert I would attempt to use a different editing software to compose my podcast due to the fact that WeVideo can be very clunky at times. In regards to how my conversation with Ms. Schmidt affected my perspectives on this topic when compared to my research of articles I found the information she gave me to be more impactful, and I credit this to the fact that Ms. Schmidt was able to give me clarification and answer any questions I had regarding the topic at hand, whilst articles were less impactul de to the fact it was significantly harder to have my questions answered.

 Podcasting worked very well for this assignment, and in to be quite frank I would have chosen a podcast even if other SDA options were presented to me due to the fact that interviews are almost entirely reliant on audio, and so are podcasts; naturally they compliment each other which makes for an excellent SDA. In regards to if the limits placed on me by technology had any affect on my creation of my SDA I would disagree with the notion that a superb editing software is necessary to create interesting content. Throughout the entirety of this academic year I have used WeVideo near exclusively to create my SDA's which, as you probably know, is a very rudimentary editing software, but I was still able to create quality content with it. Technology has never limited me in EMC, the only thing that has truly limited me in this class is my willingness to take risks and my ability to capitalize on opportunities. If I was tasked with creating another interview SDA for EMC I would create another podcast for several reasons, the most important being that the medium of podcasts compliments interviews very well.

Spring break has begun, and over this break I hope to catch up on some reading. Currently I am reading The Trial by Franz Kafka which I have been meaning to read, but was unable to as a result of homework & exams, but I now have the privilege of being able to indulge in my favorite pastime, reading, as a result of this break.