Final Project- Color Vibe

Map of Color Vibe Course

Final Project Outline

     Stephen and I have decided to make a video of the Color Vibe that will be happening in town.  We plan to use GoPros to have our point of view as runners of the Color Vibe.  We also plan to do some regular shooting before and during of people running (with their permission).  We will have video of the run from GoPros, a regular camera, and also still shots.  We also want to get an interview of a runner.  We plan to have an interactive map of the path runners took on the Color Vibe.  We might have a text component as well.

We hope it comes out well!

Video Editing-Holly &Stephen
Video Taping-Holly&Stephen&runner
Writing/Editing-Holly &Stephen
Interactive Map/Multimedia tools-Holly&Stephen

Montgomery Covered Bridges -Video Project 2

Haunted Vermont Covered Bridge -Video Project 2 Story

     Stowe, Vermont is home to one of the most famous covered bridges in New England.

     Emily's bridge is famous because it is believed to be a haunted covered bridge.  There isn't just one story as to why or how it became haunted, there are three famous wise tales about the bridge.

     The three stories are all different, but they all have the same main character, Emily.

     The first story claims that Emily was thrown from her horse while going through the bridge on the way to her wedding.  Supposedly Emily died at the bridge because of being thrown off so hard.

     The second story took place in the 1800's when Emily hung herself from the rafters after being rejected by her fiance.

     The last story took place in 1925 and involved a new person, Donald.  Emily fell in love with him and got pregnant, and Donald didn't want to marry her.  Donald then killed himself by jumping off the bridge, and after Emily gave birth, she jumped off too.

     All three stories are considered myths, but the legend of "Emily" still lives on in the bridge.  People claim to see and hear things they believe are her ghost hanging around.

     Visitors of the bridge say they hear unusual noises like footsteps, a girl screaming, and tightening of ropes. Some people think they have seen a white figure and have left with scratches on their cars too.

     The real story though that locals of the area like to tell, is that the bridge everyone calls, "Emily's," really isn't the place that she died.

     Barbara Baraw, a woman from the Stowe Historical Society, claims that people should be looking at the bridge at the Gold Brook Road and Circle intersection. Baraw says that that bridge is higher and if Emily jumped, she probably did it from there.

     The historical records of Stowe show no information stating an Emily died from jumping off a bridge ever.  Baraw says, "It's probably just one of those wonderful stories we have in Stowe...it's a great story, but it probably didn't happen."

     Not everyone believes this is fake though, the bridge attracts people every year from all over.  The problem with this is that tourists do not realize that the bridge is located in a residential neighborhood, therefor visitors can be loud and out of control at inappropriate hours.

     Local residents in the neighborhood are trying to come up with ways to let outsiders know that this is still a residential area.  They want people to visit the bridge, but visit it in a respectful manner.

     They want to bring in people that really do want to see the bridge, and drive out people that are only there to cause trouble.  Julia Rodgers, a resident of the area, said "We basically want to make it very hard for the people that are causing the disturbances to come to the site, but make it easy for the people who just want to visit and enjoy the bridge."

     The community has tried to push this effort by putting up historical signs, and signs warning of bad behavior.

     Emily's bridge will still attract all types of people every year, like ghost hunters and curious teens to come find the ghost of Emily.

     The best time to get a paranormal experience at Emily's bridge is between the hours of 12:00am and 3:30am.

   




   


 

Video Project 2 Proposal

      Stephen and I are doing our second video project on the covered bridges in the Northeast Kingdom.  We plan to mention some history behind the bridges, where they are located, and plan to get different video shots of each bridge we can find.  We plan to have either Stephen or I be in the video speaking about each different bridge.  We also might use the drone to fly over the bridges and get different shots that way.  We do not plan to do an interview but we will use natural sound in our video. 

We hope it comes out well!

Our roles for the project are:
Video edit: Stephen

Video taping: Stephen/Holly

Writing/Edit: Holly

Video Project 1

     Kingdom Trials is a Mountain Bikers paradise. Each year thirty two thousand people come to Kingdom Trails from near and far; it is no secret to the Mountain Biking Community. It contains over one hundred miles of bike trails covering fifty parcels of land owned by locals and businesses, that have come together to form this one of a kind mountain biking destination.

     This vast network of trails is maintained by the Kingdom Trails Association, which was founded in 1994 by locals with the goal of promoting the Northeast Kingdom’s natural beauty. The trails are unique because they are not your typical rugged and rocky mountain bike trails, but instead are very smooth. This is because the network was started by skiers in the 1980’s, bringing a unique and truly one of a kind network of trails.

     The trail system is even labeled similar to that of a ski resort with Green trails for the beginners, all the way up to the Black Diamond trails for those with experience. The network contains something for everyone, from leisurely trails through open fields on Darling Hill, to steep and rugged screamers down Burke Mountain.

     This has allowed Kingdom Trails to be voted as the Best Mountain Bike Trail Network in North America by Bike Magazine in their annual Reader's Poll. It has also been voted Editors' Choice in the Yankee Magazine Travel Guide to New England and has also been named Best of New England by Boston Magazine Travel & Life.

     The biking season runs from May through October 31^st. The exact opening date in May is dependent upon how bad the mud season is and how quickly the trails are brought up to riding level. This year they do not expect to have the trails open until mid-May.

     For most Individual aged 16 years to 69 years old a Day Pass can be purchased for $15 and a Year-Round Pass for $75 with lesser rates for those on either side of the age range. You will also need to sign a safety wavier because of the dangers of the sport.

     More information on Kingdom Trails can be found at the Welcome Center, which is located behind the Northeast Kingdom Country Store in East Burke. The Physical address is 478 Route 114, East Burke, Vermont 05832. You can also sign up your Day or Year-Round pass here and pick up a Bike Trail Map.

Holly Cannon & Steve Decatur

Video Project 1 Idea

     For our first video project, Stephen and I, are interviewing a student at LSC about mountain bikes.  We plan to have video of the student showing us quick fixes that people can do on their bikes and give tips on how to ride.

     The text component that we plan to have will be about bike trails all over Vermont, while mainly focusing on Kingdom Trails.  We want this to be related towards this area so students can learn more about the activities the NEK offers!

     The video will include sound bites from the interview as well as natural sounds.  The natural sounds will consist of outside noise and noises made by the bike.  Music will probably be played at the intro and end of the video.  We will use free online music for this component.

     The video will act more as a tutorial and a video that gives tips on how to fix bikes and become a better rider!

     We hope it comes out well!

-Holly & Stephen

Video: Holly
Editing: Holly & Stephen
Writing: Stephen
Interview: Holly & Stephen

Video In Newspapers

     The newspaper I chose to look at that produces video was the Chicago Tribune.

     The Chicago Tribune was an interesting choice because I never associated newspapers with video.  I have always looked at newspapers in the physical form, and the adjustment to them being online is still tricky for me to grasp.  Personally when I look for news online, I will use a news stations website.

     Anyway, I proceeded onto the Chicago Tribune website, where I found a link of just videos they have.    I went to that part of the website, and realized there were numerous videos about a lot of news in Chicago and worldwide.

     When you go to the website for the videos, they immediately start playing.  Before every video there is an advertisement, which got a little annoying.  There was also no way to stop the constant playing of videos unless you stopped it.

     Basically there was an automatic constant setting where the videos would continuously play, which gave zero time to absorb the news one just received.

     I could not find a way to choose a video to watch because they were all on this continuous playlist.  I also noticed that some videos were from news stations in Chicago, and only some were videos the Chicago Tribune produced.

     The videos the newspaper produced were different than news stations.  The videos were a little long 2-3minutes, and some were just interviews.  Instead of having a news anchor tell the stories or a reporter, sometimes just the person they interviewed would.  I found this to be interesting, and it was different than what I have always seen.

     In all the content of the news was still interesting because it was "news," and I did think the videos were professional looking based on the images and content of the stories.

     I prefer iReport over the videos from the Chicago Tribune for a few reasons.  I liked how in iReport users can become storytellers and show their first account of what happened as long as it is accurate.  This doesn't happen in the newspaper videos unless it is done through an interview.

     I did prefer the navigation system in the Chicago Tribune over the navigation in iReport.  On the newspaper's website it was easy to find videos because they were all in one location.  The only hard part was finding a way to search for the news you were looking for.  In iReport I had a lot of trouble navigating and found it confusing on where to find accurate news.

     Overall both websites could use a little bit of work in their video and navigation area.  The videos for each website are used differently.  In the Chicago Tribune they give you the facts and a story of what happened, whereas I feel iReport gives more videos of what is actually happening to make the viewer feel like they are there.

iReport Critique

     I first created an account for CNN iReport before I explored around on the website.

     I have mixed feelings about iReport because I did like how it had viewers own stories on current events, but I was a little confused with the website.  I am not the biggest tech person in the world, so I first explored around on my own but I was confused on what an assignment was versus an actual report.

     They did offer a tour for the "newbies" so I did it considering I was a little lost.  The "tour" was really a list of steps but it explained everything and was extremely helpful.
 
     This website offers a lot but I think it is important to know how to get an assignment, or what to post, how to join groups, meet people, and promote a story you found interesting.  All of this was explained, so after I did this I was ready to explore.

     The website started to grow on me because I realized it hosts a lot of different mediums.  There are slideshows with small captions and some that include stories.  There are hard news stories but there are also feature stories.  The variety on this website is abundant and I think thats definitely an advantage for its success.

     I also liked how its pretty international with some stories in foreign languages, so that is a great asset  because it helps people not involved in that country get an idea of what is going on.  I also like the idea of getting a video "vetted," because that means if CNN approved it which is pretty awesome to get your story out in the public.

     I do like the idea of this website, I just think it can be a little confusing at first if you do not take the "tour" to get all the details.  I like how people can submit stories and any type of media to then become "vetted" because its a good way to get credit for a well put together piece.

     I think it is a good website and I think it will succeed with the information it provides giving viewers a variety and allowing viewers to contribute.  The use of different mediums of media is really good on this as well, they have definitely taken advantage of the "new age."

Audio Slideshow 400-Word Story

 Do Snow Days Help Students?

     A recent Harvard study has found that snow days actually help students learn. 

     Public  Policy Assistant Professor, Joshua Goodman has found that snow days do not hurt student achievement. Instead, the study finds that when schools are kept open during snow storms that some students suffer.

     Dr. Goodman collected data from grades three through tenth from 2003 to 2010. The study focused on seeing how annual variations in absence rates and closures are related to student learning and achievement. This data was then compared to variations in snowfall across time and space.

     So what did all of that data and testing conclude? Closures have no impact on student learning but absences do.

     This is all because moderately bad weather prevents some students from getting to school while others will still attend anyway. On days when many students are absent, teachers often spend the following days playing catch up so that everyone is on the same page.

     When teachers have to play “catch-up,  it makes it harder for the them to keep the students that did attend during the storm engaged.  Not only did some students miss school during a snow storm, but teacher absences and tardiness also increased resulting in valuable class time being lost.

     On the flip side, when school is cancelled teachers can rearrange their schedule and cut out any down time that was previously planned.  This would result in no lost learning for the students.

      According to state laws there are a certain number of school days that are required to be held each year.   If the number of snow days exceeds that specific number, then they must be made up.

     The study concluded that schools in general are very well prepared for major disruptions that cause school cancellations but they are far less prepared for moderate disruption. The lack of preparedness for moderate disruptions leads to increased absences as some students are unable to attend school these days.

     Schools are looking for ways to get students transported safely, but sometimes the conditions are so bad that just cant happen.  The other option is to cancel school all together and make it up on a day when the weather will not be impacting student attendance.

      This doesn't sound like a bad idea considering not only will it benefit the students but it is also safer and more cost efficient.

     In conclusion, the study is causing schools to think of alternative ways to benefit students on snow days, even though the students would rather see their school name scrolling on the closing list news feed.

*Joshua Goodman*







Photos: Stephen Decatur  & Holly Cannon
Photo editing: Stephen Decatur & Holly Cannon
Audio: Stephen Decatur
Audio Editing: Holly Cannon
Sound slide editing: Stephen Decatur & Holly Cannon
Text: Stephen Decatur
Text editing: Holly Cannon
Music: Free offline from a free music source (freeSFX), and the soundbite is "Winter Storm"

Audio Slideshow Project

Audio Slideshow Synopsis

     Stephen Decatur and I will be working on our audio slideshow project together.  We plan to do our slideshow on the March 12th-13th, 2014 winter storm.  This storm happened last Wednesday into Thursday, and we took many pictures throughout the storm to add to the project.
   
     Our audio slideshow will be like a story including pictures of before the storm began, while the snow was falling, and finally the aftermath.  We are planning on gearing this project towards Lyndon State College because all of the pictures were taken throughout various parts of the college.  We feel students and faculty at the college would appreciate and relate to it most.  We have numerous pictures from various stages of the storm, and it's very interesting to see almost a time lapse of how the storm just kept producing more snow.
 
     We plan to make the slideshow a little more interesting by adding in pictures we took of students doing various other things around campus on Thursday.  We plan to mention in the audio portion how the college decided to close on Thursday, and we are planning on showing images of students doing homework, hanging out, watching movies, walking with skis or snowboards, etc.

     This audio slideshow is supposed to demonstrate and show how the storm evolved and what students at the college did with their day off.  It will be informative in both the weather aspects and social aspects of students.  The audio portion will include students opinions on the storm, what they did during the storm, and what they think of the numerous classes being cancelled due to weather this semester.  There have been numerous snow days this year compared to past ones, and I think students opinions on missing classes would be an interesting addition to our project.

    We plan to add music in the beginning and end of the slideshow to make it more appealing and interesting.  It would also help the flow of audio and images go smoother instead of just jumping into us speaking immediately.  This is how we plan to execute our audio slideshow and what we plan to put in it.  The pictures will be visually appealing while the text will add information about the storm, student life, and student issues regarding class cancellations.

     We hope you enjoy it!

2 Slideshows and a Photo Gallery Critiques

   Slideshow without audio:

     For the slideshow without audio, I searched around and found a quick slideshow on the technique of cake baking.  I love to bake, so I figured this could be a fun slideshow to look at it.  It was a slideshow that contained 14 actual photos and an advertisement as the end slide.  It was an interesting slideshow that gave some helpful tips.  It started out with how to heat the oven and why the temperatures are different for one another, then went into how to weight cake mix, how to put them in the oven and check when they're done!  I wished they actually finished the cake and showed how to decorate it.  They finished the slideshow by telling the reader to cool the cake.  The slideshow did start out with a finished cake, but I think it would have been more interesting to add in how to decorate a cake.  I think the decoration is way more interesting than the actual baking process!  In the end it does come down to taste, but presentation is key!
     I do think this slideshow did tell the story well of how to bake a cake.  It gave useful tips, some that I did not know before.  I did like this form of slideshow because it gave step by step instructions.  I like how it did not have sound because if I was actually using this slideshow as I baked a cake, I wouldn't want to keep rewinding if I missed something that was said in the audio instructions, that is why I prefer to have the text and photos.  Without sound I think the reader can bake the cake at their own pace, whereas with sound it could get frustrating if you do miss a step.

The link I used: http://sweets.seriouseats.com/2011/08/sweet-technique-cake-baking-how-to-preheat-arrange-oven-racks-slideshow.html#show-179710

     Slideshow with audio:

      For the slideshow with audio, I decided to stay on the theme of baking.  I liked the idea to pick one main topic and then see how it differs with each type of media.  I chose an audio slideshow of a woman making pan-de-muerto. It was very interesting and something I have never made before or ever heard of.  She started off the slideshow with some information about herself and what she was going to be making.  I did like her slideshow because she spoke very clearly and everything she spoke of matched up with the photos.  I didn't like how fast it was though and I think this is the downfall of the audio slideshow.  If I am a baker trying to make the recipe as she speaks it on the audio slideshow, I think I am going to have a hard time.  I think this because if you miss something or are finishing the step that was given before therefore get lost on what you are doing/what you have done, then the whole recipe will get messed up and confusing!  With that being said, I did think she told a story about how to make the recipe.  I liked how she had captions on the pictures as well just to help the listener say they did mess a step.  She went through in a chronological order, so the audio and photos made the story move along in order.  I can't say that I liked the audio slideshow better than the slideshow without audio because they both had their positives and negatives.

The link I used: http://www.finecooking.com/item/21467/audio-slide-show-how-to-make-pan-de-muerto 

      Photo Gallery: 

      For the photo gallery, I decided to stay on the theme of baked goods.  I found two links because I was not sure which one would count more as a photo gallery. Both links are very similar in the way they are set up on the page.  One link is a photo gallery of how to bake a cake and it shows pictures of the ingredients needed, mixing, and the final product.  The other photo gallery I found was from an actual bakery and they had pictures of the different decorated cupcake designs they do.  I realized that by looking at both websites, telling a story through a photo gallery is very difficult.  For a photo gallery, one has to click every individual picture just to see it.  That gets hard to tell a story when sometimes the reader is not sure what order the next picture is, do you go down or across?  I also noticed that no text was involved on either website also making it hard to tell what is exactly going on.  In this case, I think adding sound to both photo galleries would just make it more confusing.  The problem here isn't sound, the problem here is that the story just can't be told through a photo gallery.  In my opinion adding sound doesn't make the story, one can rely on images to portray a story.  The order, and how specific a picture is, is what actually makes the story.  By looking at all three types of media, I would say I preferred the audio without sound to be the best one.

The links I used: http://www.stockfreeimages.com/5071844/Baking-a-cake.html
and http://lyndells.com/cakes.php?type=decoratedcupcakes

Tourism Businesses brought to the Mountains?

     I have seen a lot of short films and documentaries lately about Mt. Everest and K2.  These two mountains are very extreme climbs and have unpredictable conditions.  Personally, when I think of these two mountains I think they should be left to be climbed by the experts/the experienced.  K2 does not have a "tourism business" attached to it, but that doesn't mean one day it won't have one.  I think that that is the way these mountains are going.  Climbers always look for the next extreme, and I think that is starting to pass down to the average person that has a little bit of money to spend on an extreme experience.



     The idea of there being tourism for Mt. Everest is very interesting to me.  With all the controversy of safety for mountains of this extent, I am confused as to how this could be a tourist attraction.  People now seem to want more, they don't look for the casual hike or climb, they just immediately go to the extreme.  Both mountains are completely different climbs, but I am certainly not signing up immediately to climb either!  I never thought a mountain would become a tourism business.  To me that is so silly to make a profit off of a climb.  I understand how they are making it a business, but it just doesn't seem right to me.  But hey if everyone wants that experience and the only way to get it is through the business, then I won't stop you!



 

     This clip I have added is just about how the Sherpas lives have changed with the business and how their lifestyles have changed.  It brings up some interesting points.  Some Sherpas get their money and realize they want more and leave to go live in Europe or the US.  I recommend checking it out, it gives a good perspective to see from the people that do a lot of work for Everest.

Preserve the Parks

     Really awesome project I have been seeing more on television recently.  It started a few years back and it is really cool how the Nature Valley company filmed these parks and made a google maps type of thing out of it.  Just a neat way of virtually taking people to some of the worlds greatest and most beautiful places. Check out the link below to learn more about the project:



http://www.naturevalleytrailview.com/

The RA Experience isn't the "typical college experience"

     When you think of college, you probably think of parties, all-nighters cramming for midterms and lots of freedom. However the college experience is not the same for everyone. This is especially true for Resident Assistants, also known as RAs. RAs are there to enforce policy on weekly rounds to keep residence safe and happy, solve roommate conflicts, assist residents on a day to day basis and build a strong sense of community through social and educational programing. 

    Since RAs wear so many hats their college experience differs in a major way compared to that of the typical college student. The first being that as a college student you can blend in with the crowd, but as an RA you are constantly center stage.  What I mean by this is not that a typical college student can’t be an important player on campus, but that if a typical college student chooses to, they can sink away into the shadows and remain largely unknown.  An RA on the other hand does not have that luxury.  Everyone recognizes you as an RA either from rounds, and programing. Unfortunately because of this RAs are constantly connected to their job and have to worry about how they portray themselves even when they are off campus. For RAs it’s life in a fish bowl.

     

      The second way a typical student and an RA differ is the experience itself.  As a typical college student you are free to come and go as you please. You can stay out late, you can go to parties whenever you want and you have very little worry of any consequences for poor choices. As an RA however the life style is very different. RAs get 14 nights away a semester, the rest of those nights you have to be sober and in your room by 2AM. That means any parties you want to go to, you have to plan out days in advance and request the night off regardless of whether you are on duty or not.  Then of course there is the time commitments, RAs have programing, weekly meetings, duty night, lockouts, conflicts and so much paper work. All in all it is probably a fifteen-hour a week job, which means you can kiss your social life good bye!

      

      With all of this being said, being an RA is great; you gain leadership experience, fond memories and compensation. It’s a lot of work and your typical college student experience is transformed into to something drastically different.   It is a job you will never forget, and something that opens so many different opportunities.  Just think, some of the great leaders in the worlds were once RAs too!

If interested in applying to be an RA for the Fall 2014 semester, fill out the application at http://lyndonstate.edu/offices-services/housing-student-life/ by March 14^th!!!

Your RA’s,

        -Stephen and Holly!

Resident Assistant Podcast

Podcast Outline

Holly Cannon and Stephen Decatur’s Podcast Project: 

The RA Life 

       Our podcast is going to be about what it is really like to be a Resident Assistant (RA) on campus. Stephen and I are both RA’s so we thought it would be a funny idea to share our experiences along with fellow RAs as well. Our podcast is going to be humorous while informative!

I. Intro
          a. Typical things we hear from residents about RAs
II. About
          a. What is an RA
          b. When did we become an RA
          c. Why did we become an RA
          d. What is a typical day in the life of an RA
          e. What are programs that RA’s have to put on?
III. Weirdest Experience
          a. Interview done with fellow members of the staff and asked them to describe their oddest experience on the job
          b. Share our own experiences
IV. What do we hate and like about the job?
          a. Discussion about pros and cons of it (No interviews just me and Stephen)
V. What do you always carry with you as an RA?
VI. How can you become an RA?
VII. Closing
VIII. The 400-word story will be about how being an RA is not the typical college experience.

Numbers 1 through 10

Random Numbers!

Podcast Critique

     For this assignment, I decided to critique the Family Adventure Podcast and Stuff You Should Know.  Both podcasts were very different from one another, but I did that on purpose just to see how different podcasts can be.  I realized that they do not need to follow any sort of structure, they can be pretty much whatever you want.  I did listen to two episodes from each podcast, and so far I have not been won over.  I am a visual person, and just listening to something without any visual I always find difficult.  I start to get bored and my mind always wonders.  I did like how both of the podcasts I chose were very updated and they produced podcasts regularly.  I tried my hardest to stay focused and this is what I found out!

     First I started to listen to the Stuff You Should Know podcast, and it was kind of interesting.  The titles on most of the episodes are funky so they draw you in that way. The titles are what really caught my interest.  I listened to two shows, one was Could you live without a refrigerator? and the other was Will computers replace doctors?, and two men were speaking (they spoke on all the episodes).  Both shows were not what I thought they would be.  I thought they would be comedic, but they were actually serious and informative talks.  The refrigerator one spoke about going green and how to do that.  It did have a lot of information and opinions, and it got a little boring.  Most of the podcasts run for more than 30 minutes, which is ok,but they seem to drag on a little.  I thought in both episodes, they started to repeat themselves a lot.  The episode about Will computers replace doctors? was a little lengthy just like the other episode.  I started to tune out because they just spoke casually.  They weren't drawing me into what they were talking about after the first 15 minutes (they started to loose me).  They would occasionally throw in some interesting/kind of funny story in the middle which did catch my attention, but then they would loose me again.  I may go back to listen to their episodes because they update them frequently, but I will probably not listen to the whole thing.  I also listened to these through iTunes on my computer.

     The second podcast show I listened to was Family Adventure Podcast.  This one was definitely more interesting than the first one I listened to.  I chose this because I love the idea of traveling and adventuring.  I love the idea of a family doing it together even more!  I would totally do something like this later on in my life.  With that being said, I listened to two episodes and they were Family on Bikes....The Fogel Family Crosses Continents!  and Drinkald Family- Sailing from Turkey to Australia! Both of these episodes were somewhat lengthy, which again lost my attention a little bit.  The style of this podcast differed from the other one.  This was more of an interview type of show, whereas the Stuff you Should Know show, was more of just two men discussing topics.  I liked the interview style more just because it gave different perspectives, and it keeps it fresh.  It introduces new topics with new stories each podcast.  I would probably come back to this podcast more than the other one, but again the length is a little long so I may not listen to the whole thing! I also listened to these episodes on iTunes on my computer.

Writing Exercise 3

Springfield High School Manual Updated

Springfield High School's Board of Education updated their school manual after 20 years.

     The Springfield Board of Education revised the 20 year old school manual at their meeting Monday night.

     Superintendent Max Schmidt said "It's overdue.  There have been several changes in the law and mores that we must recognize."  Several ideas were proposed like allowing students to drive their cars to school, carry a cell phone, wear their hair at any length, and suspension of 20 days if caught with drugs.

     Changes that would impact teachers, were not allowing them to use physical punishment on students and that all violations must be reported to the principal.  Some board members were against the change, but the manual was approved with a vote of 5-2.

For more information on Springfield High School visit http://shs.springfield.k12.or.us/ .

Writing Exercise

Craftsbury Man Charged for Hunting Accident

A Craftsbury man is being charged for a past hunting related shooting that happened on Urie Road in Albany.

A Crafstbury man is being charged with aggravated assault for a past hunting related shooting in Albany, Vermont.

Two men, 76 year old Conrad Masse of Craftsbury, and 58 year old Wayne Goff of Wolcott, were hunting bear this past fall, when three shots were fired.  When Masse fired those three rounds from the road, they hit a bear, tree, and Goff in the pelvic area.  

Goff had to be transported to North Country Hospital and then to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, he has since been released.  

After an investigation with the Vermont State Police and Department of Fish and Game, Goff has been cited to appear at the Orleans Superior Court for his charge on February 28, 2014.  Goff also received tickets from the Fish and Game for shooting from the road, having a loaded rifle in the car, and not having proper display of permits. 

Website Comparison

      I decided to use two stations in Vermont and compared the two.  I used WCAX in Burlington http://www.wcax.com/ and WPTZ in Burlington http://www.wptz.com/ as well.  I thought this would be a cool comparison to do because the two stations are in the same location, essentially delivering the same news.  I thought it would be interesting to see how they compared and differed in the delivery of the same news.

     On the home page they both have top stories in a square form with some sort of graphic either a picture or a video. Also of course they have a weather banner above the news stories because today that is clearly a big news story.

     In terms of writing and their stories, WCAX has shorter stories.  By glancing at a few of them they seem to be short and to the point.  For WPTZ their stories seem a little longer and I noticed more quotes.

     I also noticed that WPTZ has more subheadings for their stories.  On WCAX's page I noticed that not many stories have subheadings.  They both had the blurbs and the top headline though.  WCAX did have more descriptive headlines.  They included locations and states, whereas WPTZ did not specify locations really.  Most of it was local news on WPTZ, but it still should have some sort of location/title.

     For graphics, both stations would switch it up with either using photos or video.  I did not find many slideshows, but I am sure at one point both stations have used those in stories.

      Overall I did like both websites, but I liked WPTZ more because it looked cleaner and more professional.  They had larger and more appealing text whereas WCAX had smaller text and their website looked a little outdated. I just liked how WPTZ was easier to navigate whereas WCAX you did have to scroll to really find stories.

     These are my website critiques of WPTZ and WCAX!

Writing Exercise 2

Car Accident at Central Restaurant in Lyndonville 

Bystander dies while trying to help a woman who was involved in a one-car accident in Lyndonville, Vermont.

      A car accident occurred in Lyndonville today at noon near Central Restaurant, Depot Street leaving a man dead who was only trying to help.

  

     Annie Coulter, 82 of Barton, was driving southbound on Depot Street when her brakes failed as she swerved to avoid a pedestrian.  Coulter then crashed her Chevrolet into the front window of Central Restaurant.

     In the restaurant at the time was 59 year old John Baker of Concord, who saw the accident and proceeded to help Coulter get out of her car. As Barker tried to assist the woman, he suffered from chest pains and minor cuts from glass.

     Baker suffered from a heart attack and died while trying to help Coulter.  Coulter only suffered from minor injuries.

     For more information on other products of Chevrolet that have experienced brake failure click on this link: http://www.autoblog.com/2013/08/16/chevy-cruze-brake-recall/

"The Dream of Life"

If you haven't noticed yet, I love these kinds of videos.  To some they might be corny, but I love the messages they give. Look up Alan Watts to find more of his speeches, and learn about him, he had a lot to say and was very interesting. 

*Note this video is from Youtube and does not belong to me!*

"What is the work you can't not do?" 

                                         -Scott Dinsmore

       I found this video that talks about doing something you love.  I personally am a huge advocate for this because I was going to school for something others wanted me to.  It is a long story, but basically I took advantage of my own life and realized what I really wanted to do.  Check this video out, he makes a lot of good points.

       Just a neat short video I found! Check it out it's about a person who is a filmmaker and traveler.

Writing Exercise

Amber Alert in Vermont

An amber alert  has been initiated as of Monday evening January 27th, for a 12-year old boy named Zachary Lee who never made it into his foster home on North Road in Sunderland, VT after school.

Zachary Lee has recently arrived to the United States from France, and authorities are suspecting his mother, Patricia Kane (49 years old) has taken off with him.  Patricia has a past history of unstable behavior and of attempting this same act when Zachary was in the custody of the Republic of France. 

Zachary was last seen wearing a black winter coat with white accents, blue and black sneakers, jeans, and a sweater.  He is described as a young white male, 12 years of age, weighs 95 pounds, 5 foot tall, has brown hair, and brown eyes.  

Patricia can be described as an older white female, 6 foot tall, weighs 125 pounds, blonde hair and brown eyes.  Her and Zachary also speak with French accents as well.  

If you have any information on this search for Zachary, please contact any of the following: call at 802-442-5421; submit a tip at www.vtips.info; and/or text "CRIMES"(274637) using the keyword VTIPS.

Ever Get the Travel Bug?

       Ever get the travel bug to just go everywhere and see everything?  This guy did, and his has yet to end!  I stumbled upon it while looking around about traveling.  It is pretty cool to check out!

Check out "Wandering Earl" and his journey that started back in 1999:
 http://www.wanderingearl.com/

Photo belongs to: http://www.wanderingearl.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Help-Wanted.jpg

"Pimp My Blog"

Hi Readers!
    
     My blog is definitely still in the making and I am hoping to make improvements as I go on.  So far I have added some features/widgets and have made a few posts so far to hopefully start getting activity on the blog!  First of all I chose the layout I did just because I thought it was visually appealing, I played with the layouts for awhile until I found a look I liked.  I wanted my navigation side to be on the left side just because I thought it would be one of the first things readers would see.  In this naviagtion area, readers will find a search box where they can search within my blog.  They will also find a blog archive where they can go through past posts.  I also included a "Share it" and the google +1 feature.  I added the Share It feature in hopes that if readers see something they like, they would obviously then share it and more people would see it!  I added the google +1 feature so people could follow the blog and "like it" essentially.  I also put the about me on the left side so people could learn about the person behind the blog pretty easily.  I added a contact form at the bottom of the page so readers could send in messages or their information if they wanted!  I hope to definitely make the blog look more professional in the future.  I'm planning to learn as I go and make this into something that I will benefit from!  That is pretty much why I chose how I did my blog!  

Daily Dose of Inspiration

One of my favorite videos, Steve Jobs was iconic and inspirational.  Check it out!

Hello All!

     Hi everyone!  My name is Holly Cannon and I am currently attending Lyndon State College for Electronic Journalism Arts.  This blog is a part of a course I am taking, but I hope it becomes more than just that and really contributes to my future journalism career.  I am hoping to either become a reporter/anchor or producer in the future!  This is just the start of it all, stay tuned to see what more is to come!

"We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give" 

                                      -Winston Churchill

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Blog Critique

      For this assignment I chose to search for blogs about travel on technorati.com.  I found a blog called "Traveling In Europe: The Joys of Living in Europe."  The blogger is Robert Rapier, and in his bio about himself he does not mention anything about the blog or the purpose for it.  To find the purpose and reason for this blog, you have to go back to the archives page to the first ever blog post.  Once there, I found out that in 1999-2001 Rapier and his family lived in Germany, and they received six weeks each year for vacation benefits.  He goes on to say that the purpose of this blog is to write about the experience they had all around Europe and North Africa, and that he hopes it will help readers who are interested in planning a trip to Europe.
      As I went through his blog posts that started in 2006, I read that at one point his family and himself actually left Germany and moved to Scotland.  It seems to me that this blog was more for fun, than for professionalism.  I spent a good amount of time going through his posts, and I did find things I liked and disliked.  I liked how he really was telling his personal story through his writing.  He wrote about how they visited and lived many places, and what his experience was in each place.  His blog seems more of a personal account of his everyday life in Europe compared to an actual informative/travel guide to famous sites/sight-seeing.  I think his purpose of the blog had good intentions, but I do not think it is being completely fulfilled.  With that all being said, I did really like how he had his own photography with every blog posts.  I did not like that there were only pictures and text however, I wish there were videos of some sort or more pictures rather than just one or two small photos for every post.  The ratio of writing to a photo was a little over powering.  I did not like how he had a lot of text compared to other forms of media.  To a reader, I do not think it looks that appealing.  I also did not like how color less the blog was.  I think he should add some color and use different texts/formats just to make things stand out and spruce it up a bit.  I also noticed how he has not posted since November 7th, 2010 which means the blog has been forgotten or he ran out of stories!  I also noticed how he did use tags and links to try to get more traffic on the blog which was a good idea.  However he has gotten little traffic I believe, just because there are very little comments on each post.  He also mentions in his last blog post, that the title of his blog is now irrelevant because he has been posting about places outside of Europe.  That is something I did not like because he should not say he should change the title, he should actually change the title so it is not misleading.
     I found some other travel blogs while stumbling upon this one.  I found one called http://www.traveling-savage.com/ and it is put together very nicely.  It has a lot of pictures, good amount of readers, and is very appealing!  If Rob ever wants to spruce up his blog and increase traffic, this one would be a great one to look at for ideas!  That is all I have for now, I hope you enjoyed my blog critique!

To visit Robert Rapier's blog: http://traveling-in-europe.blogspot.com/

-Holly Cannon