Mind map
Linked above is my PowerPoint on what I already know about skateboards. As is obvious, it isn’t a lot- my knowledge on skateboards/skateboarding in general isn’t very vast.
Research
What is the product?
The skateboard is a type of four wheeled sports equipment used mainly for travelling, leisure activities and doing tricks.
Who made it? Who is it for? Who uses it?
Although no one is sure who specifically built the very first board, the product was originally made by a surf shop in LA and was created for surfers to use and practice on in their spare time. Bill Richard (who owned said surf shop) ended up making a deal with the Chicago Roller Skate Company to produce sets of skate wheels, which they attached to square wooden boards to create the first skateboards. Today, it is mostly young, able bodied people who use skateboards.
When was it made? What was the social, historical, political or economic context? How, if at all, may this have influenced its development?
The first skateboards were made in the 1940’s, when surfers couldn’t be out riding the waves (because the waves were flat or other unknown reasons) they would ride skateboards instead. They were able to copy and imitate the moves and positions they normally would on surfboards on skateboards instead, which is how the skateboard first began to get recognition and develop.
What was the cultural context? How, if at all, may this have influenced its creation?
The first skateboard was made in LA, and around this time and in this area (Dogtown in the 1940’s), a lot of young people were bored, had a lot of spare time and needed something to do in their downscale neighbourhood when they weren’t surfing. The Zephyr Skate Team/Z-Boys (who worked at Bill Richards shop) went on to revolutionise skateboarding, taking part in big competitions, making names for themselves and generally giving skateboarding a good repuation.
How was it made? What skills, processes, techniques and technology did the producers use?
When skateboarding first began, people used to make their own out of materials and old objects they found lying around. Some used wooden boxes, boards and slats of wood with roller skate wheels attached to the bottom. Bill Richards managed to get hold of wheels to build boards with from the Chicago Roller Skate company, which is where it all started.
Why was it made? What was the purpose? What was the goal? What were the influences behind its creation?
Originally, people didn’t think skateboarding would become as big as it is today. It was something that surfers used to pass the time when they couldn’t surf, but gradually, skateboarding overtook surfing in terms of popularity. Skateboarding was used to make friends, bring people together and just have fun. A report from 2009 stated that the skateboarding market is worth an estimated $4.8 billion in annual revenue with approximately 11.1o million active skateboarders in the world today.
Below- screen shots from my skateboard research.
Group mind map
Compared to my first mind map I did myself, it is clear to see that we as a group managed to collectively gather a lot more information together about skateboards. In this mind map, we mention different types of skateboards (Pennyboards, Long boards etc.) and also the culture that surrounds skateboarding (music- rock, metal, hip-hop).
Skills research report
I’ve gathered a lot of information today on skateboards, the history of skateboards and skateboarding in general. I have displayed knowledge on different methods of research and displaying research- for example, group mind maps, researching online (with screen shots) and watching a documentary on my topic of research. All of these methods grouped together have given me a lot of new, extensive knowledge on a topic that I knew barely anything about originally. For example, I learnt about the origin of skateboarding in more depth and I learnt why skateboards were first invented.
In order to access all the sites and researching that I did, I used some Boolean and Truncation search techniques. Here is an example of a Boolean search from when I wanted to look at both skateboarding and surfing and what links the two had.
As Boolean search techniques are good for narrowing your searches, I thought I would use this when looking at skateboarding and surfing (I did not use any Truncation methods, although I do now have a good understanding of what a truncation search method is and how they can broaden your search). As is shown in the screen shots above, the first search (skateboarding) showed approximately 81,800,000 results. The second screen shot (surfing) showed approximately 200,000,000 results. Finally, when I used the word “and” in my last search, the results were narrowed down slightly to 792,000 results.
Here is another example of the Boolean search method that helped me with my research.
Again in these screen shots, it shows that I got more specific and narrowed results when I used the word “in”.
This is exactly what I wanted- I wanted my results to be more specific. This had a positive effect on my overall research as I managed to find the content I wanted much quicker and easier with this method of research.
I also think the group mind map was incredibly useful and also a reliable way of noting down information as you have a lot of people together who are able to talk and exchange information. Researching online is another reliable (and probably the most used) method, but it does depend on what website/source you’re looking at for information- some are more reliable than others.
Feedback and reflection
Reflecting on this task, I realise it was incredibly informative and helpful. Although skateboarding has never been a strong interest of mine, I have learnt a lot about it and I have a better understanding of different research methods. I have thoroughly enjoyed spending time on my research and I know thinking back to this task will help me with future research tasks.
References
Cave, S. (2016) Who invented skateboards? Available at: http://skateboard.about.com/od/gear/f/Who_Invented_Sk.htm (Accessed: 13 February 2017).
hannahfarrellburkefilmandtelevision 
Gabrielle N-T:
Week 3: You have conducted some very good research into skateboarding and you have answered the questions set well. Your use of screengrabs is good and they detail your results; however, the main aim of this exercise was to further your researching skills- how did you arrive at the articles used? Did you use Boolean or truncation techniques? How did these affect your results? Please refer to the powerpoint and checklist for week 3 available on the VLE and update your work accordingly. As I stated this is accomplished research, but you must show your methodology and explain its use or irrelevance in connection to your findings. Your reflection for this piece was strong Hannah, and the work produced very good but you must employ the additional processes and methods.
Week 4: There is no work posted for week 4; your research/experimentations on the theme of FEAR. Please check the power point and checklist uploaded on the VLE and update this work.
Week 5: You have begun to experiment with lighting and its effect on your subjects, but this work in incomplete- where is the research examples? inspirations? What effects do you wish to show? What defines genre lighting? Your reflections on your initial photos are well considered but you really need to create additional content following the guidelines set. Please refer to week 5 vle checklist and power point and uodate accordingly.
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