AbbyWQT


 * Goal: ** The goal is for individuals to create a multi genre project using mybrainshark.com to create a new feature for Ancestry.com that captures their voice to pass on to future generations.
 * Role: ** You are a contestant in the Ancestry.com voice competition.
 * Audience: ** The audience is both Ancestry.com and your future family members.
 * Situation: ** You must capture the essence of who you are in a tangible form using only voice for Ancestry.com to pass on to future generations.
 * Product/Presentation: ** You will create a multi genre project that captures your unique voice using audible and written pieces. You must have a poem, a memoir, a letter, and an audio recording (This can be as simple as a voice over for each piece).
 * Standards (Criteria from both rubrics - product and presentation): ** Product: Requirements-50%, Poem-10%, Memoir-10%, Audio-10%, Letter-10%, and Originality-10%. Presentation: Speaking-20%, Presentation of Self-10%, Attitude/Engagement-10%, Content-30%, Preparedness-10%, and Tone 20%.

Have you ever felt like people do not understand you or that no one will listen? Ever wonder if the adults in your life even remember how difficult it was to be your age? What if you could both express your opinions as well as find out what your parents, guardians, and other family members were thinking when they were your age? Well now you have a chance…
 * Intro: **

Ancestry.com is having a competition to see who can develop a new feature for their website that would allow people to actually get to know they ancestors on a more personal level. They are looking for a voice time capsule feature. This feature would combine papers, stories, letters, poems, etc into a video file that allows people to read and see the actual artifacts and thoughts of their ancestors. They would also like the actual voices of these people to be added to the video so that families can have a more personal and realistic experience. The idea is for individuals to really discover who their family members were. They would also like to give people an option to put a time capsule lock on their video to allow privacy until they want these thoughts to be made public (perhaps not until after they are dead). Your job is to make this dream a reality. Your entry should be a multimedia presentation that captures you as an individual using voice alone. They are asking that you use mybrainshark.com because it allows text as well as pictures and audio to be compiled into one compact file. The video with best portrayal of voice will be selected and the winner will be sent on a two-week vacation to the country of their origin.
 * Task: **

Congratulations!! Your submission is now being reviewed by ancestry.com. Hopefully this opportunity to share your voice in many different ways (poem, story, letter) has helped you to appreciate the power of words and the importance of speaking them out loud.
 * Conclusion: **

“Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with deeper meaning” ~ [|**Maya Angelou**]

Through this process ancestry.com has given you the opportunity to get your voice out in a low risk way. Now go out and share your voice in the real world.

Here are some ways to do that: On this poetry site: [] In a writing contest for teens, like this one: [] Or just by standing up and telling those around you your story!

Also if you are interested in your family ancestry ask your relatives. Or if you are really ambitious check out [] Everyone has a voice and every person has a story to share so get out there and not only share your voice, but listen to see what you can learn from others!