Capstone Interview and Final Thoughts

To wrap up my experience in N420 Capstone preparation class, it was only fitting to be required to attend the event and interview one of the 19 Capstone presenters. I reconzied Garin Grist from a previous class and remembered how impressive his video project was to me and the rest of the class. I wanted to see what he came up with for his Capstone and how the experience was for him.

This was my interview with Garin:

1. What has this week been like for you?
1. Garin explained the late nights leading up to his Capstone presentation while still balancing the other class projects he has to finish up.
2. If you could change anything in how you did your capstone, what would it be?
1. Garin did change his Capstone during the production. Initially, it was going to be about babies behind bars featuring what it is like for pregnant women and their babies that are born while their mother's are incarcerated. After filming the content, he realized there was not going to be enough content so he went back to the prison to tell the story of the Long Road Home.
3. How close is the final outcome to what you originally thought it would be?
1. As explained in the previous question, it is quite different than his original thought. The environment (jail cells, prison) remained the same as the original thought, but the content and the vision changed. Once he realized there was not enough content to make a feature film on babies behind bars, he re-shot the footage to show the perspective of the choices the prisoners made and how their journey home has affected them.
4. If you had one more month to work on the project what would you do?
•  News Anchor Russ McQuaid (not sure of the spelling) viewed his project and featured the film on the Fox website. If he had more time he would try to get more exposure for his work.
5. What advice do you have for me about working on my capstone?
• His advice to me was to do something that I like and am passionate about. He said when there is a meaning behind the project it is always there to push and drive me to do better, more.

This semester, specifically this class, has really helped me narrow in on my idea for a Capstone project. This class helped me understand how I need to breakdown my project's development and determine an accurate and meaningful timeline for me to try to stick to next semester. I feel it was helpful to hear from a student's point of view what the Capstone experience was like for them. It helped me to have a realistic perspective of what I can expect when I am consumed by the all-consuming Capstone. The most helpful assignment for me was to break down my project's timeline. Despite the fact that I have changed my Capstone since I made the timeline in class, I was able to more quickly create a new timeline that reflected my new project. It also helped me realize how much work it is going to be and that I needed to get going. Personally, I didn't find a great amount of use from the assignment that asked us to find 3 potential mentors and an adviser for my Capstone. At that point, I was already enrolled in an independent study with Skip Comer and he had already agreed to be my Capstone adviser so finding so many additional professors didn't completely resonate with me. I do, however, acknowledge the fact that this assignment could be especially helpful for those who did not have an adviser established or a professor for an independent study.

Overall I really appreciated having this class to prepare me for the Capstone semester. I was glad to have this class as somewhat of a sounding board to bounce ideas off of and explore new possibilities.

Progress Report

   When I submitted my Capstone project form in October my plan was to create a rebranding campaign for a non-profit Hamilton County Autism group. The timeline reflected the scope of the project from initial meetings with my client, to the creative research and development, all the way to Capstone presentations. Earlier in the semester I locked in a client that expressed a need for an entire revamp of their marketing and branding strategy however early in November they decided they only wanted to improve their logo at this time. Obviously, redesigning a logo isn’t a Capstone so I committed to the redesign as volunteer work on my own time and went back to the drawing board. I got back into contact with a few of the other Executive Directors I previously reached out to to find an alternative. Autism Society of Indiana in Carmel expressed a need for an entire social media strategy. They have facebook and twitter accounts however, there is no rhyme or reason behind any of the posts and they want me to develop and implement a social media strategy that appeals to their three audiences: volunteers, donors, and families or people with Autism. Skip and I discussed because there are not many tangible aspects to this project, it would be more like a thesis that will need to be very well documented to show growth in all three areas of ASI’s target audiences. My Capstone advisor, Skip Comer, has approved this new project. Right now I am working with ASI’s current marketing “guru” that does pro-bono work for them every month. He and I have met twice to determine the scope of the project. We are meeting with the board of ASI on Friday to be officially approved to begin the project.  

   Because of the stress of losing my client and having to find a more appropriate project scope I have been in good contact with my advisor. I have looked to him for advice on client communication in addition to asking for advice on Capstone development.

   The timeline I laid out in October is no longer relevant to my project. I plan to redesign my timeline after my board meeting on Friday that will give me additional insight to their needs and wants. 

   Right now I understand my goals are to increase the number of volunteers, increase the amount of donations, and create and support a community of people living with Autism and their family all through social media. I will meet with ASI’s board members as well as Skip to determine all of the deliverables and progress reports.

   As I described in my first paragraph, I have had a very significant change to my project since I turned in my proposal. Unfortunately the non-profit group that was originally interested in an entire rebranding campaign changed their mind and considerably reduced the scope of the project and they were no longer eligible for being a Capstone. While this created a lot of stress in the planning phase, I believe I am back on track with a new client that is eager to be a part of my Capstone.

Capstone Timeline

Timelines are a great way to stay organized during large scope projects like the Capstone. To stay organized, I split up my Capstone Timeline in 4 major categories: Research, Pre-Production, Production, Revision. The benchmarch points within these 4 major categories are 'Choose an IN based Autism Group', 'Determine the Scope of the Project', 'Produce Approved Mock-Ups', 'Finalize Campaign Elements' - respectively.

I left 2 weeks of buffer time for any lapse in judgement I may have made in planning out the timeline. Since I am still very early in the project timeline, I found it difficult to plan out the project. I hope that by leaving 2 weeks of buffer time I will be able to fulfill my commitments and scope.

Secondary Mentors

My impression of what a secondary mentor for capstone advising is to be a supplemental source of information and support for what my primary mentor is unable to fulfill. I realize not everyone can be great at every piece of what my capstone may be. I also realize I cannot expect to have a professor at my beckon call at any point during the semester/year I am working on my capstone. If I am able to have a secondary mentor, I would benefit because additional insight and knowledge will be very helpful to me.

The kind of person that may not be good for a role as a secondary mentor for me would be anyone that doesn’t have the skill set to advise me on my capstone and of course anyone that does not have the time to commit to being a source for information or support.

Because I already have a primary mentor, I used the time researching MAS faculty to look for appropriate secondary mentors. From my research, it seems Wade Mitchell and Prof. Huang would be good contenders for secondary mentors for my capstone project.

Mentor Profile

For my Capstone idea, I would like to redesign an Indiana-based Autism awareness group's website with a custom WordPress theme I will design. In addition to redesigning the website I would like to create an entire marketing campaign to spread awareness on the disorder and increase the amount of users for their website to help build a stronger community. The goals of this website are to spread awareness on Autism, provide a place for people to come together on a common interest, and to raise compassion for people with the disorder.

Four key components I am looking for in a Capstone mentor are knowledge in web development, research process, project management, and user-centered design. I feel these are the strongest elements of my Capstone and I would always benefit from advice/guidance in all of these areas.

This semester, Professor Comer is working with me on my independent study. I am using this independent study time to research the methods that would be best to use to promote awareness for the group. I will also be expanding my knowledge on HTML and CSS to create a more powerful website. I asked Professor Comer to be my Independent Study teacher and Capstone Mentor because I believe he would be a good mentor for me because of his skills in multimedia applications, his experience in the advertising industry, his background in research, and his ability to successfully manage project timelines.

Three additional mentors or secondary mentors that I feel might be good to help me produce a successful capstone are Edgar Huang, Wade Mitchell and Thomas Lewis. Edgar has extensive experience in graphic design, layout, and web development. He would be able to help me with questions on HTML and HTML5 as well as CSS and CSS3. I feel Wade would be a good mentor because of his experience in usability and user-centered design. He would be able to help me design a website that people would be able to easily navigate for people with Autism or related disorders. If I decide to create a video to be included in the marketing campaign, Thomas Lewis would be a good mentor to have. He has extensive knowledge in video development.

Edgar Huang

What is your area of expertise?

Edgar’s expertise include video streaming, video production and editing, motion graphics production, web design, graphic design, layout design, empirical research.

What are your expectations for a capstone student?

Edgar has a Memo of Understanding that students must review and agree to.

What is your general availability for mentoring next semester?

He currently has availability.

Do you have any project types you are not interested in working with?

He is not interested in working with trailers, a project without a clear client in mind.

What are your thoughts on a secondary advisor?

He has enough advisees to worry about in his capstone and independent study courses every semester.

Wade Mitchell

What is your area of expertise?

My area of expertise is HCI, specifically usability and user-centered design theory and principles.  My research is focused on interactive voice response systems and the psychological and sociological reaction to synthetic voices. 

What are your expectations for a capstone student?

Surprisingly high.  I expect students to meet with me weekly, to demonstrate mastery of their chosen subject, and importantly, to be innovative.  I like students that want to do something novel, not just redo something someone else has done.

What is your general availability for mentoring next semester?

You would only be my second capstone student for next semester so I would be fairly available.

Do you have any project types you are not interested in working with?

I would be less interested in projects that do not involve usability or user-centered design.  Specifically I would probably steer clear of people doing stand-alone development.

What are your thoughts on a secondary advisor?

I think a second advisor can be beneficial if a significant amount of the project involves an aspect outside the expertise of the primary mentor.  I think this should be worked out with the primary mentor.

Thomas Lewis

What is your area of expertise?

My areas of expertise are video production in all its aspects (from pre-production to post-production including directing, cinematography, editing, effects). I also have extensive experience in still photography.

What are your expectations of a capstone student?

My expectations are that students choose a project that is both technically and conceptually challenging. The capstone is a project that embodies the culmination of the learning experience and must demonstrate, not only a thorough technical knowledge, but also a creative and original application of skills as exhibited in a sophisticated and conceptually solid approach to the subject.

In the process of working on the Capstone, students should be prepared to delve deeply into the subject of their project with an attitude that will open them to various technical and conceptual possibilities with regard to how a subject is represented and/or information conveyed. After the groundwork of subject and approach is established, capstone students should be prepared to dedicate countless hours of hard work. Ideally this dedication will result in a project that surpasses the initial expectations of both student and mentor.

Do you have any project types that you are not interested in working with?

I will not work with students interested in horror or zombie movies. And neither Susan nor I accept music videos as capstone projects

What is your availability for mentoring next semester?

I teach a four course load and typically have several capstone/independent study students. This leaves me with somewhat limited availability.

Do you have any thoughts on another secondary advisor if you are unavailable? 

Both Susan Tenant and Edgar Huang teach video production. As far as the best help for website development, that is a bit beyond my knowledge. But I would suggest Skip Comer as a place to start.

Capstone Category

The overall theme to my capstone is web development. I would appreciate any support or brainstorming advice that my peers have to offer and I am happy to do the same! I noticed on Sharayah's blog she and a few other people from class including Heather Ousley, Jake Hamilton, Sarah B and Jason Utt have already formed a peer support group within our class. I would like to join them if there is still room.

Class Discussion 8/30/11

This week, the class participated in a discussion on student Capstones. We talked about what makes a good Capstone, how to determine a Capstone that fits who you are, and Capstone projects from semesters in the past.

It was really interesting to hear my classmate's opinions on what they feel makes a good Capstone and how they can become "flaming hoops of awesomeness" Thanks for that analogy Amy :) Love it!

I did not speak up much during that class discussion because I was concerned my ideas weren't good enough for a Capstone project, however I really wish I had because the encouragement and support from my classmates has been incredibly helpful. I am so thankful for the part of this assignment that requires us to comment on some blogs because the reassurance from my peers has been very productive to me.