The List: "Time Turner"

     So, this week was hectic. With all the deadlines and events I was partaking in, I knew I needed to organize myself better. I didn't realize how taxing this week's prompt was until I spent hours maneouvering through this video editing platform called Shotcut. 

What is one way people can organize things or themselves? 

Ironically, the lucky poem type for my learning project this week is the list. 

    I am not completely clueless when it comes to video editing as I've playfully and professionally explored iMovie numerous times. However, when it came to downloading and facing this new digital platform, I was confounded and unamused. I was so used to the design of iMovie that whenever I needed to use a particular tool or setting, I could not find it alone. I had to search for tricks and steps like this YouTube video on changing the pacing of clips. The only remotely easy task about Shotcut was how to import clips on it... You just drop them there. 

    I also have to confess that Shotcut is not the first resource I picked. I was interested by Davinci Resolve and downloaded it. The process was more challenging, and I quickly gave up when my video clips were not importing onto the platform. Reflecting on that dull experience, I probably could have tried better to learn. I believe that when I am not weighed down by time, I will revisit Davinci Resolve and give it my best shot. 

    One last thing before I continue about Shotcut, I also experimented with Screencastify, a Google Chrome extension tool for screeen recording and note taking on browsers. I thought it was ideal to record the research part of my process writing poems. Most of the video I produced from Shotcut was a compilation of screen recordings by the extension tool. Because the main process for my learning project involves work that might be cut from the blog post, I thought this was the perfect opportunity to demonstrate what I do for reasearch. If it's not clear from the video, here it is in list form:

1. Choose poem form.
2. Search history and rules about poem form.
3. Search examples of said poem form.
4. Save the sites I visited for future visits.

    The more time I spent trying to put this video together, the more I became familiar with the position of the tools. I learned where to cut clips, to overlay them, to add background music, and so much more. I think the preexisting knowledge I had from iMovie helped a lot, but most of this learning process with Shotcut was about me taking risks and then abusing that undo button after every mistake. It was also about me pulling my hair and then making a quick Google search to find answers that I stubbornly wanted to figure out myself. I also struggled with audio because my voice recording was not working. I just searched around and troubleshot my PC.

    If I were to use this in a classroom, I would make it as a tool for evidence of learning. I think it would be great if the students could partner or group up to make videos for things they learned. Maybe something like at the end of every Social Studies unit, the students will make creative videos to show what stood out to them during that unit. I think this would fall under augmentation/modification because it could first replace unit exams into videos and then they would be collaborating. The students could also share these videos to other students (or if appropriate, on the web).

    Overall, I am pretty satisfied with the progress I made until now. I don't think I had enough time to perfect the video I made, but I believe the process is more important to me than the product. 

So, I wrote a poem, right? 

(It is included in the video, but I've attached it here as well.)

The list form is self-explanatory for those who are familiar with making and using lists. These poems do not necessarily need rhyme or rhythm and look like lists. They can be in full sentences or single words. List poems are sometimes called catalogue verse poems. 

Some of the websites I visited for research:

List Poem by Academy of American Poets

Writing a List Poem by Thoughtful Learning

How to Write a List Poem: A Step by Step Guide

What is a List Poem?

List Poem Examples, Plus What a List Poem is and How to Use the Form

Brainstorming for this poem was quick. I was really inspired all week by the concept of 'time.' 

Et, voila!

"Time Turner" by Justine David

I shift the hand to when I was six and scared.

My family held me until tears were gone.

I watched the clouds hide them away.

I shift the hand to when my cousin broke my heart.

She used to cheer me on.

I watched her take my crush away.

I shift the hand to my mom's first customer.

She heard they liked her food.

I watched as my freedom slipped away.

I shift the hand to when I stayed out late.

The camera was the only one awake.

I watched as my wardens fired away.

I shifted the hand to when I finally gave.

They all thought I was making a mistake.

I watched my wretchedness melt away.

The clock that controls me is not afraid.

I watched and watched until I wasted away.

It's Time that turns, but people that pay.

What does it mean?

    I pulled a lot of this from my personal experiences. I knew I was working with 'Time,' but I couldn't stop myself from remembering my past and some of the traumas I dealt with. The message that comes across by this poem is we are governed by 'Time.' When I think of time turner, I think Harry Potter and how Hermione used one to control time. That's fictional, but it's pretty impressive. However, I think we can't control time. I don't know if I am the only one who has wished to return to a specific memory-- maybe it was the happiest or the most regretful you've ever been. In the context of this poem, the only control that the narrator (or me) has over Time is recalling memories, but then, they realize they are affected by these memories even as they recall them.