TEAM
TEAM
Our team got interested in this topic in the music class. In the beginning we wanted to do the global folk and looked for members from around the world. We found one from Australia but he did do any work because he was so new to Thinkquest he had troubles just logging in. So, he dropped out. This was very difficult because we had to change the way we wanted to do our project. We recruited Courtney to help us because we were running out of time. A big challenge was lack of time. We did most of our project outside school. This made it hard because we have lot of homework and other activities. Also, some of us did not have computer access on weekends or at home. So, we had to really pitch in for each other. We worked well together because we had a goal. We divided our research areas. We also brainstormed ideas for surveys, pictures and interviews. When we could not make decisions we voted and discussed so that everyone's opinion is heard. We also knew each other strengths. For example Neeshi can draw really well and Aubrey is great in music. Alexis was very organized, Grace knew how to edit audio and video. Lexie gets a lot of work done because she has access at home. And Courtney is a very fast worker. So we used each other strengths to make the project the best we can. We learned a lot about technology, folk music and team work. We learned that as a team we can accomplish a lot. We relied on each other and supported each other. We also learned about a subject that is not taught in our academics. This project took a long time and lots of effort, but it was worth it because now we know what we can accomplish when we put our minds to it.
DIVERSITY
Our project started as two country project. When our foreign member dropped out we were very concerned because we did not really understand how diverse our team was. We started discussing and realized that although we are from the same country and school, we are very different. America is a land of immigrants. Our team is a living proof. Our coach is from Croatia and has been living in the USA since college. She was able to explain to us about unique traditions of Croatian folk music. Grace's grandmothers are from Brazil and Colombia and introduced us to South American music. Aubrey's grandmother is from Puerto Rico and helped us learn about instruments and music of that country. Neeshi's parents are from India and her family listens to and makes sure their kids know about Indian traditions. Alexis is African American which is a culture with a strong tradition of folk music that has been very important in their fight for equality and rights. In addition to our heritage, we also looked at different resources that make our site more diverse. We interviewed people who are first generation immigrants from many different countries including Cuba, Poland, Germany, China, Japan, Jamaica and England. We also listened to many original folk songs from all over the world to understand different sounds and instruments used. We also used Thinkquest projects to survey people from all over the world about folk music in their countries. Our cultural differences and resources from different countries helped us understand how folk music is alike and different around the world. It also helped us appreciate music of different countries and made us determined to help preserve this beautiful heritage of our world.