ardenkostcas

[ardenkostcas]

[ardenkostcas]

Final Reflection

Due to CAS, in these past 18 months, I was able to significantly improve upon many of my existing skills, as well as, develop many new ones.  Namely, before CAS, my cooking skills were very bad. However, with CAS creativity being one of my motivators, I was able to cook more often, and at the moment I actually feel quite capable of cooking a good meal. In addition, before CAS, my teaching skills were close to non-existent. Even though I understood a topic very well, I was unable to pass this on to another person. Nonetheless, with experience and time, I was able to understand how to better convey my thoughts onto another person. As for the skills that I previously had, I think that skateboarding has by far improved the most throughput these 18 months. Not only am I able to do better tricks now, but I am able to do them more consistently and with more style. My guitar skills have also significantly increased. When I started CAS, I was barely able to play a solo, however, now I have the ability to play, quite difficult ones such as the one from “Bohemian Rhapsody” or “Hotel California”. In addition, from the beginning of CAS, I consistently felt as if LO2 and LO3 were the easiest to accomplish across each strand, whereas LO7 was the most difficult. This is most likely as a result of the CAS activities that I undertook. Nevertheless, one thing that I enjoyed very much throughout CAS was that it provided me with a page where I could post my accomplishments and then reflect upon them and see how I improved throughout the last one and a half years. In general, even though at times annoying, I mostly enjoyed my experience with CAS.

[ardenkostcas]

[ardenkostcas]

Learning Outcomes

LO1

https://at.tumblr.com/ardenkostcas/creativity-two-weeks-ago-i-went-to-a-chess/b6fq1jvz00c1

https://at.tumblr.com/ardenkostcas/creativity-a-few-months-ago-i-started-learning-how/913ialw83y9p

LO2

https://at.tumblr.com/ardenkostcas/activity-last-week-i-started-taking-kickbox/wqb2m8k4nzdg

https://at.tumblr.com/ardenkostcas/creativity-a-few-weeks-ago-at-my-internship-they/e1fjgqnasnrq

LO3

https://at.tumblr.com/ardenkostcas/creativity-last-week-there-was-the-g4p-exhibition/8qanfevk3xea

https://at.tumblr.com/ardenkostcas/creativity-two-weeks-ago-i-went-to-a-chess/b6fq1jvz00c1

LO4

https://at.tumblr.com/ardenkostcas/service-this-week-as-my-service-i-helped-with/p8vw2rmbb8u0

https://at.tumblr.com/ardenkostcas/service-today-as-my-service-i-taught-my-friend/0dgx2fnnuquj

LO5

https://at.tumblr.com/ardenkostcas/activity-last-week-i-went-skateboarding-with-a/u38xoawunbep

https://at.tumblr.com/ardenkostcas/creativity-this-week-as-my-creativity-i-learned/8ar5v93cbz55

LO6

https://at.tumblr.com/ardenkostcas/service-this-week-as-my-service-i-decided-to-clean/n3l80d62nxe4

https://at.tumblr.com/ardenkostcas/service-at-my-school-we-gathered-and-packed/ee01yarjy9m2

LO7

https://at.tumblr.com/ardenkostcas/service-today-i-decided-to-clean-up-trash-on-the/osdl1ap0mw4j

https://at.tumblr.com/ardenkostcas/service-today-i-went-to-the-trampoline-park-to/jlel0w6f06iw

Reflection

Creativity - https://at.tumblr.com/ardenkostcas/creativity-last-week-i-went-to-a-chess/9oyftc1kdebi

Activity - https://at.tumblr.com/ardenkostcas/activity-last-week-i-went-skateboarding-with-a-few/48466tvqrw9u

Service - https://at.tumblr.com/ardenkostcas/service-this-week-as-my-service-i-gave-a/luirk0mbbxe5

[ardenkostcas]

CAS Project - “The Beuty Of Skateboarding - Berlin”

INVESTIGATION - https://at.tumblr.com/ardenkostcas/cas-project-investigation-for-my-cas-project-i/uy5ob1kzmua6

PLANING - https://at.tumblr.com/ardenkostcas/cas-project-planning-as-part-of-the-planning-of-my/ds3km7le1e5x

TAKING ACTION - https://at.tumblr.com/ardenkostcas/cas-project-action-on-our-first-day-in-berlin-as/i6vtxveo3izs

DEMONSTRATION AND REFLECTION - https://at.tumblr.com/ardenkostcas/cas-project-demonstration-and-reflection-in/fojkow9fjet0

[ardenkostcas]

CAS Project

DEMONSTRATION AND REFLECTION

In general, my group and I are very satisfied with the outcome of the skate film. We feel as if it captured exactly what we wanted about skateboarding. It was able to not only display skateboarding tricks, but also gave a glimpse of skateboarding culture. Even though the 5 days of intensive skating was painful, the outcome was definitely worth it. The limited amount of time in Berlin, gave a sense of urgency when attempting to land a trick, as if it was not done then then it would likely never be done. This resulted in all of us exceeding our expectations when it came to the difficult tricks that we landed. I am very satisfied and proud of myself for landing a backside 50-50 shove it out on a kinked hubba, backside crooked up a ledge, and for landing an inward heelflip up a large london gap. These are all tricks that I have never previously done, but have always wanted to. Henceforth, it is safe to say that this trip definitely improved my skateboarding skills. In addition, the editing of the video also turned out better than expected. The song that we picked matched perfectly with the film, and significantly enhanced its viewing. Furthermore, the order of clips, and the way that they were filmed, also went along well with the song and conveyed exactly what we wanted it to. Therefore, this project also improved my editing and filming skills.

[ardenkostcas]

CAS Project

ACTION

On our first day in Berlin, as we were tired from the train ride, we went to our local skatepark. On the next day, we left our hostel at 10 am to go to the skatepark near Tempelhoff. Later we moved on to another skatepark and ended up staying there till 10 pm. We managed to get quite a lot of good clips on our first full day of skating. On the next day, we again left our hostel at 10 am to the spot near Kulturforum, and despite being quite sore after skating the entire previous day, we again skated till 10 pm and managed to film a lot of clips. On our final full day we were almost too sore to walk, however, that did not keep us from experiencing more of what Berlin has to offer. Due to the very hot weather, we ended up going to a skatepark under a bridge that was full of shade. On the final day in Berlin, we decided to go skate some benches close to the train station. Due to the simplicity of the inShot editing software, editing was not too difficult. The hardest part was figuring out the correct order to show the clips, as well as, how to add a non-linear slow motion effect.

[ardenkostcas]

CAS Project

PLANNING

As part of the planning of my CAS Project, I need to find a city in a foreign country full of skateparks and street spots. After doing this I need to find the exact spots and skateparks that I want to skate and film in. Then I need to find accommodation near these places and train tickets to the city. Finally, I will look for a video editing platform, and a song to use as background noise in the skate film.

After various discussions with my group, we decided to go to Berlin, for 5 days to film this video. We concluded that Berlin is the perfect place to visit, as it is relatively close to Warsaw, and it has some of the most iconic spots and skateparks.

As for the spots and skateparks we want to go to, we decided that we will go to the famous spot at Kulturforum, and the skatepark n ear the abandoned airport Temepelhof, among other places.

For accomodation, we found an a&o hostel in Friedrichshein. This place was close to many of the spots that we wanted to go to and was at an affordable price.

Finally, I found inShot to be the most intuitive and simple video editing platform. It’s simplicity will definitely be of great value, as it will decrease the time wasted on truing to learn the functions of the platform. As for the song in the video, we decided to go for “Kiss Them For Me” by Siouxsie and the Banshees. This song seemed to capture the vibe that we wanted the video to have and it was not intrusive, which meant it would not take any of the attention away from the film but would only put more of it.

[ardenkostcas]

CAS Project

INVESTIGATION

For my CAS Project, I want to film a skate video in a foreign country. With this film I am hoping to present skateboarding culture. Being in a foreign country will aid me in doing this, as in my hometown, I have already visited the most iconic skate spots and skateparks, therefore, filming here could be mundane. Being in a completely different environment, full of new spots to skate, will better allow me to express the beauty of skateboarding. Nonetheless, I want to create a short, 2-3 min video, with a group of 2 friends. In addition, in this film I want to land a trick on an obstacle that I have not yet landed. Furthermore, I want the video to not only show skateboarding, but skateboarding culture in an entertaining way. Therefore, this project will allow me to improve upon my skateboarding skills, as well as, my filming and editing skills.

[ardenkostcas]

Activity

During my snowboard trip, I practiced basic tricks on flatground. One day I wanted to learn how to do a nollie to butter, and I managed to do it. After landing this trick i managed to do a switch frontisde and then a shifty nollie backside in the same line. I am very satisfied with this line, and it definitely improved my snowboarding skills

[ardenkostcas]

Activity

Last week ai we t on a snowboarding trip with a few friends. We went to a small spot in Poland named Szczawnica. The slope was quite short, however, as it was only my second time snowboarding, it was enough for me. The first day, I managed to do a switch frontside to butter. This is not a difficult trick, however I am still happy to have learned how to do it. This improved my snowboarding skills

[ardenkostcas]

Service

Last week, i gave physics lessons to my friend. He did not quite understand how waves work. I started by explaining the different types of waves and their respective properties. Then I went on to explain the most important phenomena that belong to waves such as superposition, interference, and reflection. He had most trouble with understanding the concept of phase. This is actually something that I also had trouble with at the beginning, but now have a firm grasp of, therefore I was able to understand his exact problems. In general this improved my teaching skills and allowed me to revise my own knowledge

[ardenkostcas]

Creativity

Today I played 3 bullet games in chess. Bullet games, provide you with very little time, therefore these games rely on the chess intuition of the players, as well as, their quick thinking abilities. Even though i lost 2 out of the 3 games, they surely improved my chess skills as well as my ability to think quickly on the spot.

[ardenkostcas]

Service

Today my friend asked me to help him with his lessons again. He said that the previous lessons helped him significantly, and that he would like me to prepare him for his upcoming exam on sequences. This is a topic thar I feel very good in so teaching him was not that difficult. He had trouble understanding the formulae for the sum of n terms in a geometric sequence. In addition to this, I decided to also show him how quadratic sequences work, so that he would gain a better understanding of sequences. In general this activity went well and improved my teaching skills

[ardenkostcas]

Creativity

Last week I learned how to play the first solo from November rain by Guns and Roses. This is a solo that I had wanted to learn for a long time now and only recently did I have the time and motivation to actually do it.

[ardenkostcas]

Service

Last week I gave a friend maths and physics lesson. He had been having difficulties with some of the recent topics he had covered in class, so I offered him my help. We went over basic calculus from maths and electromagnetic induction from physics. After 2 hours, he had obtained a solid understanding of the basics of these topics. This improved my teaching skills

[ardenkostcas]

Activity

Today I went skateboarding to skatepark zachodni. There I skated the 4 stair, and managed to land an inward heel down it. I am very happy with this as inward heels are quite an advanced trick, doing it down a gap is challenging.