Capstone Project Proposal Draft

Name of student: Rebecca Gursky Date: Dec 14, 2022

Teacher: Ms. Brar Block: C

The Capstone strand I have chosen is the Project strand.

Proposed title for my Project Proposal: (write the proposed title for your Capstone Project in one clear
sentence): Education videos about Royal History.

What is your inquiry question that interests you for further research? It should be a question that connects with
a purpose, passion or personalized area of interest for you. This is a question that you cannot just google an
answer for. Please see examples from your Capstone booklet.
My inquiry question is:

How can making learning about history fun and interesting change people's perspective?

Rationale/context: Detail your reasons for choosing this inquiry question. Explain WHY you are choosing to
investigate this topic as a major area of focus. How does this area of inquiry connect to your passion(s),
purpose? Why is it of personal interest to you?

I chose this topic because history is one of my biggest passions. I enjoy learning and reading about things
from the past and how they shape the future and current ideals. I specifically like history about the royal
families of Europe. I find it fascinating learning about the decisions they made and how one simple decision
could completely shift the trajectory of the future. Because I am so enamored by the past I want to be an
archaeologist and eventually earn my PhD in the subject. I have been watching YouTube videos on this
subject for many years now and I have noticed that there is not very many interesting and fun videos that
could possibly make people enjoy learning. I wanted to change that. I wanted to make videos that got
people interested in history while also being entertaining and informative.

Background: What background knowledge/connections/prior learning do you have in this area of inquiry?

I have an immense amount background information on this subject because learning is one of my favorite
pastimes. I research these topics consistently, it consumes the majority of my free time. I am an avid reader
and I enjoy reading about other people and non-fiction books about real historical events. This love of mine
is what inspired me to hopefully instill this love into other people. To build the community around this
subject.
Career connections: What is your intended career area at this point in time? What connections does this
inquiry question have to your life, academic and/ or career goals?

Archaeology is the career I want to go into after high school. I have hopes of going to one of the best
universities for Archaeology in Canada, and eventually get my PhD in the subject. I have always believed in
the statement that if you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life. I have always loved solving
mysteries and history so I believe that combining the two would be the most productive career that I could
undertake. My future is very important to me and making sure that I do my very best to secure all of the
things I want in life.

Interdisciplinary and core competencies connections: What subject areas and core competencies will
be connected with your project? Outline and explain the connections.

History and technology. Core competencies: Critical thinking, I can analyze and make defensible
judgements, draw conclusions, and consider a variety of perspectives. This capstone project requires me to
be able to comprehend and decipher a multitude of information and put it into words that people are able to
understand. Creative thinking, I can use the environment around me, including others, and my unconscious
mind to generate new ideas.

Capstone Presentation medium: select one or more project mediums you wish to use to present your
project. Outline and give details about how you will present your project once completed. You may use a
combination of mediums.
o Electronic portfolio: Prezi or PPT
o Physical portfolio
o Website
o iMovie presentation
o YouTube channel

I am hoping to create a history orientated TikTok account, dedicated to educating the public about royal
history while simultaneously making learning entertaining and fun. These videos will focus on strong female
leaders of the past mostly but I will try to include other monarchs as well. These videos will focus on the
question: how can educating people on the past, change the trajectory of the future?

Description of my Capstone project. Specific Project Details of the Capstone Project: what will you
research, create, study, produce, solve, investigate? What product will be produced at the end of this
project for evaluation. Write a one-page description outlining your proposal.

Since my capstone project is based on one of my biggest passions, History. But more specifically female

monarchs of Europe and how they affected the future knowing what we know now. I will research

information on Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Ireland,

and Empress Catherine II “The Great” of Russia. These three woman all ruled during different time periods

but all shaped their dynasties in different ways and helped paved the way into a more enlightened era. I will

research their lives, successes and errors, policies they created, their marriages, children, and what drove

them to make the decisions they did. I have always been enamored by women of the past who were brave

enough to take control of societies where women were not taken seriously and I wanted to share that love

with others. Each women will have her own video dedicated to her and her life, making for a total of three

videos which will probably last around fifteen minutes each. Each video will include details from the

beginning, middle and end of each Queens’ life, some of the policies she’d made, troubles she’d faced

during her reign, marriage, children and visual aids to drive the points home. I want to be able to film, edit

and post the videos all myself and take extra care time to make sure the videos come out exactly the way I

had hoped. I will take the time to learn the ins and outs of content creation, and how to gather reliable

sources including information and visual aids.

Resources/ Technology/Skills: Make an assessment of the resources, technology and skills you will
need to be able to complete this project. What is your plan to be able to access/learn all of the resources
necessary to achieve completion of this project? Detail your plans.

The ability to make and edit videos, which I think will be a struggle for me. I have never made TikTok
videos before and I am afraid that they will not turn out the way I want them too because my abilities in
that field are limited. I will watch tutorials on how to make and edit the videos in order to better hone my
skills to make the videos as interesting as possible.

Mentors/Community Connections: What types of mentor(s)/community connections will you need to

help you complete your capstone project? How will your mentor(s) help you? What is your plan to access
the mentorship/community connections necessary for this project?

This project will hopefully educate people but also show them that learning doesn’t have to be boring. I
have found over the years, after trying to find fun and educational YouTube videos on monarchy and
such. I have found that videos that I enjoy watching are few and far between, my goal is to create an
online community where people can share these interests in a positive learning environment.
In regards to a mentor, I have tried to reach out to one of my favorite Royal History YouTubers because
she is someone I greatly admire. I watch the videos she posts every Tuesday which cover a variety of
topics focusing mainly strong female leaders of the past. I will work with her and ask her questions like
what program she uses to edit her videos, where she finds her information for her videos, how does she
know it’s a proper resource.

Project limitations: What are some project limitations and potential obstacles that you foresee that might
affect progress with your Capstone Project?

Learning how to properly edit the videos will be my biggest limitation, since it is something I have to learn
completely from scratch. I am unsure how long it will take to learn and make the videos how I want them
to be.

Other considerations: List and detail any other related information/ considerations about your project
that you feel should be included in your project proposal.