Take it to the Street

There are many different genres of video games today, each requiring a specific skill set to play. Sports games are a unique string of video games that take time and knowledge to develop well enough for a player to enjoy. Most sports game, such as FIFA and Madden, release a game almost every single year. There are also so many side options like audibles and rules sets that restrict the user’s ability to play the game if he or she doesn’t understand those concepts, which makes it harder on the player. Lots of sports games are like this. However, I believe one sports game sequel in particular is proof that a new, exciting and entertaining sports game can still be made. I’d like to look back on NBA Street Vol. 2, the fast-paced, trick oriented basketball game for the Playstation 2, Xbox, and Nintendo Gamecube in this retro game review. Following its cutting edge predecessor, NBA Street Vol. 2 proved once again that the funky, trick-filled, slam-dunking basketball game is here to stay. NBA Street contains a total of 4 different gaming modes for player to enjoy: Pickup Game, Be a Legend, NBA Challenge, and Street School. Each game mode adds variety to the game and makes it even more enjoyable.

When I first started playing, I jumped straight into the Street School game mode for some tips and pointers. The Street school gaming mode contains basic and advanced tutorials, taught by NBA Street's Stretch Monroe, for learning how to play the game. The tutorial makes it a lot easier to play the game, however it is not required. Upon completion, the player is also awarded an in-game trophy wish contributes to game completion, so regardless of if you need the practice or not, it’s still worth giving a try.

The Pickup Game mode is just that, a quick basketball game where the first team to 21 points wins. Like the other game modes in NBA Street, the Pickup game mode contains 3-on-3 based games. You can pick your team mates according to character game play stats to build a better all around team. Tricks can be utilized in all game modes to confuse the opposing team and score an outrageously amazing shot or slam dunk! The Pickup Game mode is essentially the bare bone basics.

The NBA Challenge mode is very awesome. At the beginning you pick a NBA Team and have to play all the other teams in the division to win the championship. When I first started out in this mode I chose to play as the Phoenix Suns. It is more intense than the pickup game mode and the teams are a lot more balanced than when someone makes his or her won teams. This in turn makes this mode a little more difficult than the other game modes, but it is still beatable nonetheless.

The final game mode is the Be A Legend mode, in which you create your own character and rise to be a Street Ball Legend. You create your own skills, customize your trick moves, outfits, and physical appearance, and go head to head with other street ballers to be the best! This is the main mode that revolves around a character that you the player create. And the best part is this mode is completely customizable!

The fundamental controls to the game are really easy to grasp, regardless of if the Street School tutorial mode was played or not. The basics of the game such as passing, movement, tricks, and shooting are all performed using single buttons on the controller. With certain combinations of buttons, more advanced actions can be performed and increase the chances to win. More advanced tricks and shots, as well as the Gamebreaker combos that turn entire games around, are performed using these advanced controls, even though they are required for basic gameplay. The graphics are amazing and the soundtrack is full of great songs. Most of the songs in the soundtrack are hip-hop. I’m not a huge hip-hop fan myself, but the songs definitely go great with the gameplay, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. One of the personally satisfying features, is the instant replay, in which you can rub the play into the opponents’ face. Also, lots of real life players are represented in the game as unlockable playable characters, such as Michael Jordan and Dr. J, which add to the experience!

In spite of the amount of sports games there are nowadays, NBA Street Vol. 2 is definitely a slam dunk, and leave other games, past and present, sitting on the shelf, or bench in this case. I personally believe NBA Street is the best basketball game ever made and I think NBA Street deserves a 9.3 out of 10 in this retro game review, for its amazing gameplay and customizability, as well as multiple game modes to keep the fun going for a long time to come. 

By: Corey Morabito

Digital Media World Gets Spooky!

Digital media is involved in our daily lives and, if you are like me, you don’t even realize it. It all just becomes a normal occurrence in your day. Personally, I feel  that digital media gets extremely apparent around the holidays and around the time of special occasions. In honor of this time of year, I wanted to talk about digital media and how it is incorporated with one of my favorite holidays, Halloween! Below I will talk about how digital media can contribute to getting all of us in the Halloween spirit. (These are just suggestions that I've grown accustomed to or thought others would think are pretty neat.)

#1: SOCIAL NETWORKS

Facebook is big in amping up the Halloween spirit! Based on your friends and pages that you “liked,” Facebook can help show you different ways to celebrate. It can inform you of the cool events that will occur, such as haunted houses, concerts, and parties. Also, many  people are just dying to show off their costume to all of their friends. With sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. you can upload pictures straight from your phone and other devices to all these social networks and look forward to seeing what everyone thinks.

#2 COSTUME IDEAS/HUNTING

Going out to Halloween stores is always a fun experience all in its own. But if you are like me, sometimes the stores in town just don’t have what you’re looking for. Perhaps you want to be more original or lessen the chance of having the same costume as someone else when you go out. In this case, the internet comes in handy big time! As mentioned before social networks help during this time of year and it is possible to get your ideas from them. With technology being as advanced as it is and continuing to grow, Halloween shopping can be a whole lot easier. There are plenty of websites with costumes to buy online, some with great deals. Or lets just say that you don’t really wish to spend money on a costume this year. Ideas are all over the internet for easy costumes you can put together from typical clothing and prop items that many people are presumed to have already just lying around.

#3 THINGS TO WATCH

Movies, shows, and other types of videos are a great way to engage in the Halloween spirit. Going to a movie theater to see a scary movie is super fun. It is known that many horror movies come out around this time of year on purpose which attracts huge audiences. The Paranormal Activity movies are an example of ongoing films that have been coming out every year; for the past four years in fact. Cable television also has great horror movie marathons in October like the Halloween movies, Nightmare on Elm Street movies, Friday the 13th movies, and the list goes on and on. Also, the Food Network always has great Halloween specials every year where people like Emeril and Paula Deen demonstrate how to make fun meals and treats that exhibit the Halloween themes. Needless to say October is such an amazing month of movie and television madness, you wont want to get off your couch! Also, you can watch videos on Youtube or other websites that show previews of haunted houses! Those are a must see if you are interested in a little scare. This video below is a preview for Halloween Horror Nights 2012, a huge haunted house experience.

#4 APPS TO DOWNLOAD

If you have an Android phone or iOS devices, then there are so many apps to download to add to your Halloween experience. Here’s just a handful of them that I found great and helpful.

• Costumes for Halloween: Again, if you are having trouble coming up with and finding a Halloween costume then download this app. You can literally just shake your phone and it will suggest a costume for you. As well, it displays plenty of pictures of costumes for you to choose from. (Android)
• HauntFinder: If you love haunted houses, then you will appreciate this app! This informs you of all the spookiest haunted attractions within 200 miles of your location and gives you directions as well! (iOS)
• Trick or Treating: Using this app you can map out you and your children’s trick or treating routes and have it guide you all with GPS navigation. (iOS)
• AT&T Family Map: This is a convenient app which can be used to enable parents to check the location of their children while they are out trick or treating. (Android)

There are also multiple apps for downloading Halloween music soundtracks and sound effects that can be used for parties and homemade haunted houses!

So as you can see, the digital media world encourages holidays, like Halloween, adding extra excitement to everyone’s experience! I consider most of these tradition when it comes to my Halloween experience. What about everyone else? Is anyone else incorporating as much of the digital media world into their holidays?

Happy Halloween DIG2000!

-Shannon Pitt

My Video Game Experience

It all started at the age of six, when my mom let me play Sonic the Hedgehog on her Sega. I played it death, literally, and my brother gave his Nintendo along with the games Donkey Kong and Mario. My brother was given a Playstation, which is why he gave me his old Nintendo. I watched him play Resident Evil on it, and that is where it all started. I finally got a Playstation 2 for my tenth birthday, and with it came Jak and Daxter. Then my brother introduced me to God of War, where you play this big pale guy out to kill some Gods. From then I have been into fighting games. I played my Playstation 2 until my freshman year of high school. My mom bought me a Wii after that, and the only game I liked to play on it was Resident Evil 1 and 4. I went from a Wii to Xbox 360 and was introduced to Left 4 Dead, the best multiplayer zombie game ever! I played with my friends all the time, and even by myself if I had no one else to play with. Then I got a Playstion 3 and along came Dead Island. This, to me, is one of the most realistic zombie games I have ever played, which made it even scarier. After I played it to death I got into Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which has to be the most fun shooting game ever! You can play online with a bunch of people, which you don’t know, so it makes it harder to tell what they are going to do. 

As you can tell, I play a lot of games and have went through a few gaming consoles, and I have to say they have definitely improved over the years. The games are looking more and more realistic every time they make one, and I can’t wait to see what future gaming is going to be like.

Kristin Posey

This Game Sucks!

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

When someone thinks of a gamer a wide variety of adjectives might come to mind. Gamers are usually stereotyped as being ungroomed, antisocial, and lazy. While these previous stereotypes may not hold up one that unfortunately does most of the time is negativity. Gamers are extremely negative! All this negativity would be fine if it was not hurting the industry gamers supposedly love so much.

Google+

Google+, also known as G+ or when all spelled out Google Plus, is a social network that is slowly catching up with some of its rival networks.  Having been released only a little more than a year ago, Google+ already has some 400 million users.  Of these 400 million, 100 million are regular monthly visitors.  I think this somewhat small number is due to the fact that major brands and businesses such as ESPN, Ford, and Coca-Cola are just now widening out in Google+'s use of social media.

Google+ has also been used in other forms of social media besides the normal form of sharing thoughts and comments.  Google+ hangouts have been used in outer space, for band concerts, presidential interviews, celebrity interviews, along with family and friend hangouts.  While in a hangout, users can watch a YouTube video together as well.  Google+ is also the first social media to offer selective sharing.  This means you get to share what you want with who you want.  This cuts down the unwanted shares or "noise" in a user's stream.  This helps to keep the user's profile page clean and organized with only what they are personally interested in.

The Google+ Project is more than a website.  It's the "new Google".  The +1 button is found all over the Internet giving evidence of how expansive the Google+ network is.  This +1 button is similar to Facebook 'Like'.  Google+ users can also 'check-in' using the Google+ Local points-of-interest data base.

Mobile is shaping the next wave in social media.  Google develops a beautiful smart phone and optimized app.    Users of the app can message each other, share photos, and 'hangout' for free.  The INSTANT UPLOAD automatically backs-up all photos taken. This way you don't lose precious photos or videos in case of a stolen phone.

Social media is used for both personal reasons and for businesses.  Google+ is just one of the many different form of social media.  Though it can still be considered in its beginning stages, Google+ continues to grow and even surpass some of its leading competitors.  Don't rule out Google+!

IMAGE SOURCE: http://www.hiddengarments.cn/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/google-project-plus-google-1024x640.jpg

https://plus.google.com/u/1/+googleplus/about

https://plus.google.com/+VicGundotra/posts/2YWhK1K3FA5

-Kendall Fagan

Facebook

     Love it or hate it, Facebook is here to stay. Although most people use their Facebook accounts to connect with friends and family and even to sometimes play games, people are also given the option to make a page, a feature which a lot of businesses have taken advantage of. When visiting a business's page, one has the option of "liking" a page, which allows the business to share their latest posts to the liker's (or fan's) news feed. Also, when someone likes a page, their friends are usually alerted to that person's like on their respective news feeds, allowing the page to spread awareness indirectly.
     A page can post status updates to tell their fans new sales or company developments, as well as sharing its consumers' posts that promote that particular business. The business can also post pictures and videos, as well as links to other social media that it's involved in. A new feature of Facebook is the promotion button, which can be found on the bottom of status updates. Although I have not used this feature, Facebook claims that if one pays a small fee, that particular post will come to the forefront of a page or news feed, perhaps garnering more views from a fan or friend. This could be a particularly useful feature for pages, but since it's new, I'm not sure how widely used it is.
     Fans, or even the page itself can share posts, pictures, and videos that are posted, as well as links. This is a great way of promoting one's business, because when a fan shares a post from your page, their friends will see it on their news feeds, and your business will thereby be promoted, and at no cost to you. If used correctly, Facebook can be a very effective marketing tool, especially with the no cost pricetag (unless you use the new promote function), as well as the sheer "shareability" of your content. Here, Google and Coca Cola, two completely different and well known brands, use Facebook differently to promote their companies:

http://www.facebook.com/googleforyou
http://www.facebook.com/cocacola

     Coca Cola has a lot more content than Google, as well as more likes, showing that content is key when it comes to social media sites. But even though Facebook can be a useful tool for marketing your company, it can also spell disaster. If just one badly written or offensive post/picture/video/comment is seen by enough people, which it most likely will, it can effectively ruin your online image, and destroy your brand trust with your fans. It is said that nothing spreads faster than bad news, and with the magnitude of people using social media, that holds even more true today. If that one bad post gets seen by one person and offends them, and they post a negative comment about your company, that negative comment will spread like wildfire, especially since the average Facebooker has about 229 friends (http://pewresearch.org/pubs/2262/facebook-ipo-friends-profile-social-networking-habits-privacy-online-behavior). Even if only ten of those friends share the original post or like it, then their respective friends will still see it, further spreading the negativity. It is therefore necessary to be very careful of what your business posts on its page, and maintaining a professional image is a must!
     Facebook also allows companies to quickly respond to its customers, giving a more personal touch to the brand. Here listed are two examples (which were chosen just because they were quite humorous):

http://cheezburger.com/6490882048
http://cheezburger.com/6431689728

-Megan Commings
    

Living With Social Anxiety in the Digital Age

   As a person who deals with social anxiety on a daily basis, this topic is really important to me. Some people say that socially anxiety is just someone being shy, no, that's not the case at all. It's actually really crippling, especially in an environment such as a physical classroom. In college, you sign up for classes every semester with a bunch of total strangers usually in an unfamiliar place since you're not likely to be in the same classrooms every semester. To a person with social anxiety this makes the learning process incredibly difficult. 

   An anxious person will not want to ask questions about the material so learning can be somewhat difficult if the material itself is difficult. The exposure to a room full of strangers can trigger panic attacks which can result in said anxious student not having any will to go to class and eventually just dropping the class.

    One nightmare for a person that's suffering from anxiety is a public speaking class. Public speaking is required for quite a few degrees/programs and the thought of giving a speech in front of a bunch of strangers for a socially anxious person is almost enough to kill them. Taking it online is significantly less stressful so said person can get their needed credit worry free! The electronic classroom is really an amazing thing for someone who suffers from severe anxiety. You can feel free to ask as many questions as needed through email or discussion boards since it's much less stressful to an anxious person to just be a wall of text on a message board rather than asking a stranger face-to-face whatever question he or she may have. 

    

    As a person with social anxiety, I can say from my own personal experience that I'm able to be much more social via message boards or Facebook or whatever. As an example; I'm really interested in politics, but, I know I could never go and strike up debate with strangers. Using a site such as Facebook, as much as I really don't care for it, gives me a forum to do so. I'm also very interested in cutting hair, makeup, and vintage hairstyles. YouTube allows me to learn how to do all of these things quite well but without the stressful classroom type environment. It sounds a bit crazy when written out, but it is what it is and digital media and the internet expanding to the point where people can teach, talk, or share interests in an instant is really something amazing for people dealing with anxiety.

- Hollie Adams

Digital Media in Sports Today "The Pros and Cons"

      In March 2006 an invention by Jack Dorsey, an undergraduate student at New York University, came along that would change sports media, as well as social networking as a whole, forever.  It was dubbed "Twitter" and it was an online networking service and microblogging application that enabled its users to send and read text-based messages of up to 140 characters, known as "tweets."  Where were you when you first heard the terms "trending" or "tweeting?"  I must admit I thought it was a big joke until just a few years ago.  However, many in sports did not take it as a joke, and have used it for branding and self-marketing purposes nearly since its inception.  Below is the first-ever 2006 tweet by Dorsey.

just setting up my twttr

March 21, 2006 3:50 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@jack

Jack Dorsey

Shortly afterward, Jack began inviting coworkers — and the rest is history.

      Since both athletes and fans alike make up a nice percentage of overall Twitter users, the question arises, "Is Twitter good or bad for sports today?"  My response to that question is it depends on who you ask.  Some feel Twitter is a way to give back to the fans.  Fans would love to see pictures of the clubhouse and what meals the players eat before the game begins.  Twitter is great for bridging the gap between athlete and fan.  This past summer's Olympics showcased Twitter as it gave followers of athletes such as Michael Phelps and Missy Franklin, an inside view of what was going on in the UK during the entire 17-day summer games.  This is a Twitter image of Lebron James with his kids.

      However, Twitter has not been all fun and games for professional athletes.  Many athletes have gotten in trouble with their coaches and teams for tweeting during games. Other athletes have posted inappropriate comments which have resulted in fines and other disciplinary actions from their leagues.  Engaging fans is one thing, but athletes should always remind themselves to keep professional images whenever interacting with the public.  Chad "OchoCinco" Johnson, the most tweeted athlete in pro football (3.78M followers), recently lost his wife and job with the Miami Dolphins as a result of Twitter indiscretions. 

Chad 'OchoCinco' Johnson Scores Dates on Twitter, third Mistress  He  picked up There is Revealed!   

http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2012/08/chad-ochocinco-johnson-twitter-third-mistress

      Twitter not only benefit the players and fans, but it is also a must have essential for sports reporters and journalists.  Instead of waiting for big stories to be broken the following morning on a sports television or radio show, stories are now broken instantaneous on Twitter.  Sports writers can  access Twitter on their computers, cell phones, blackberries, etc. and it's a great way for the media to relay information in a quick, clear manner to the fans.  http://www.realclearsports.com/lists/twitter_tweets_in_sports/intro.html

      Although athletes are followed by a large number of fans, their numbers pale in comparison to other celebrities, still proving that nothing compares to hollywood's sensationalism.  A good example is the most followed celebs on Twitter today are Lady Gaga (30M followers) and Justin Bieber (28.6M followers), while the most followed athlete on the planet is Cristiano Ronaldo (13.5M followers), a Spanish soccer players.  Below are other athletes with high number of followers:

   

Shaquille O'Neal (NBA) - 6.347M followers

Tiger Woods (PGA) - 2.69M followers  

Serena Williams (Tennis) - 3.216M followers

Alex Morgan (Soccer) - 998K followers

Floyd Mayweather (Boxing) - 3.78M followers

     It appears Twitter is not just a flash in the pan and is here to stay.  Now over 6 years since its inception, Twitter is still growing at an alarming rate.  On March 21, 2012, Twitter celebrated its sixth birthday while also announcing that it has 140 million users and sees 340 million tweets per day.  This number of users is up 40% from just September 2011.  If athletes continue to user Twitter the right way, it should continue to be great application for fans and followers.  On the flip side, athletes who uses Twitter inappropriately, should do so with understanding the consequences of their actions.

Melvin Pitt

Social Media for a Busy Band

I play in a small rock n roll band, and that means I have to do all the promotion myself.  Updating songs, tour dates, pictures, trying to connect with old fans as well as find new ones.  This presents me with several problems.

1. How to connect with the most possible people
2. What is the most efficient way to keep all of our information up to date
3. What is the best way to present our information

I have found two websites that help me solve these problems in the best way.
 The first problem can only be solved by putting up a profile on as many social media platforms as possible.  That brings up the second problem because with connections to so many sites it takes so much time to keep them updated with new information.  Both of those problems can be solved for musicians by a site I found called www.artistdata.com

On this site you connect all of your social media profiles to artistdata.com and then you just log on to this one site and by updating that profile it in turn updates all of your profiles at once.  In addition, it will automatically make updates on your behalf if you have a concert coming up, so that you don’t have to spend any time at all.

The last problem has a similar solution.  The problem is how to present all of your information in the cleanest form possible.  The solution that I’ve found is www.onesheet.com . Much like artistdata.com you link all of your social media profiles to it and it combines them into an attractive looking onesheet.  This is affective for bands, groups, or even a specific project.  After you go to artistdata and update your profile, your onesheet is populated by your youtube videos, songs from soundcloud.com, tweets, and show updates from eventfull and bandsintown.  Everything looks clean and organized and the people interested in your info can come to one spot to see all of your information, while at the same time your information is on all the individual social media sites for browsers to stumble upon it. 

-Andrew Pate

Digital Media in Today's Music Industry

As far as I can remember, digital media has always had a huge impact in the music industry; in my lifetime anyways. In my earlier years, it seemed things such as televisions, computers, and telephones were considered to be more of a luxury. Although that may occasionally be the case in modern times, a good majority of people in America consider it a normality to have personal televisions and computers, with Internet as well. If not, then there are so many places to access Internet and cable, such as libraries, restaurants, friends’ houses, etc. With that being said, music has multiple ways of being exposed to the public at all times, which allows the music industry to remain so alive and successful.

Back in the day, becoming famous and pursuing a successful music career seemed to be a one in a million chance. Many still refer to “making it big” as just that. But is it really still one in a million? There are a couple big reasons why I feel this could be a valid question.

#1 :
Just as I touched on the subject before, things in digital media are becoming more attainable to the common person as time progresses, like computers and televisions. In recent times, there are great varieties of what we as individuals can get a hold of in regards to making music. For example, the software and equipment for recording is easily available for anyone with money to spare. Garageband is a common one for Apple users. Pro Tools, Logic, and Reason are just a few of the many types of music producing software available to buyers. And of course the actual music equipment, such as the microphones, instruments, etc. are sold at local music stores, as well as all over the Internet. Auto-tune is also used in producing music. A little too often? We’ll talk about that later.

#2 :
Social networking is allowing just about each and every individual to have the opportunity to publicize their music and/or musical videos online. Myspace back then, and now Facebook are both social networking sites that support musicians in getting their music out there to the public and building their fan base. Youtube is a huge supporter of this action. Everyday, so many people get Youtube channels and post videos or watch them. The amount of “views” and “likes” of a video often range from a few to in the millions!

Youtube is well known in the journey of many musicians’ roads to fame. Nowadays, popular music artists are placing emphasis on their first discovery or stepping stone as being Youtube. An extremely famous fellow, known as Justin Bieber is a predominate example of this. As much as most of us don’t want to admit it, the Biebs made it big, starting out with covering songs on Youtube and so many others are joining him. Back then, music videos were significantly associated with famous artists on television channels, e.g. MTV, VHI, and BET. Whereas today, anybody with a camera and other accessible equipment can make and publicize their own music videos and enter them into the cyber world. It’s crazy how professional looking some turn out! Finally, I would like to talk a little bit more about Auto-tune. For those who aren't too familiar with it, Auto-tune is basically a musical device used to alter the pitch of vocal and instrumental music in recording and performing. Many musicians use it quite frequently, but some aren't too fond of this tool. People argue that it is abused, overused, and needs to get out of the music industry. It is criticized as just another way for a talentless individual to become undeservingly famous, just as some feel about most social networking sites altogether. Personally, I find the cool effects it can add to a song pretty neat and sometimes it's hilarious when used in a comedic sense, but I can see how its excessive use can be irritating to some.

What do you guys think about the music industry and this kind of digital media? Do you think the path to becoming a famous musician is not as rare as it used to be? Don’t get me wrong, I love seeing new artists and what they have to offer! Not to mention, everyone has their own idea of “fame.” I’m just very interested and curious as to what everybody thinks. Also, check out this link if you want to hear and see an examples of when excessive Auto-tune can be funny!

http://www.youtube.com/user/schmoyoho?feature=CAQQwRs%3D

Posted by: Shannon Pitt

Digital Media In Education

This is a subject that's near and dear to me for a couple of reasons. Not only do I have two young, school-age children, but for a short period of time I ran an afterschool program that targeted at risk kids. So education is a big deal to me. Facebook, video games, google, wikipedia – it's a whole new ballgame compared to when we were growing up. Digital Media in education is the cutting edge right now, and I definitely think it's the direction that we're going to see more and more schools take as we progress further into the digital age.

One aspect of this that's really interesting to me is the use of video games as learning tools, and I'm not just talking about deciding whether or not to ford that river in Oregon Trail. They are developing games as we speak that engage kids in a whole new way, enabling them to learn through play in a very sophisticated, yet fun fashion.

A great example of this is the game service DimensionU.

http://educator.dimensionu.com/DimU/default.aspx?

DimensionU is a content provider that provides educational mmorpg's in the fields of math, science, and literacy. For those of you not familiar with this term, mmorpg means massively multiplayer online role playing game. But this is not your typical video game; it's not World of Warcraft or the Sims. DimensionU games utilize the psychology behind other successful mmorpgs – interaction with other players, competition, goal-seeking, progressive storytelling – but are structured in such a way that the children playing are achieving educational gains as they continue to progress in the game. To give you an idea of what I mean, here's a short video clip of one of the DimensionU games that are available.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KebEIRh0HTs

Imagine how much more fun algebra class would have been if you could have learned all those axioms while playing an engaging, exciting video game. DimensionU provides teacher tools as well, allowing educators to monitor students' progress in real time and flag areas that require further review and instruction. So it's a win win situation for everyone involved.

We're going to see more and more tools like this being used in education as our generation becomes more and more technologically savvy. At the same time, however, I think that it's vital that we make sure these resources are made available as widely as possible, particularly to kids in economically distressed areas. To this end, we need our generation and the one about to come into adulthood to prioritize the creation of open-source and economical digital media tools and content that can be made available to children everywhere, regardless of their socioeconomic standing.

One such application that is already available now in the United States is the MIT OpenCourseWare programming.

http://ocw.mit.edu/about/

To quote their website - “MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW) is a web-based publication of virtually all MIT course content. OCW is open and available to the world and is a permanent MIT activity. MIT OpenCourseWare is a free publication of MIT course materials that reflects almost all the undergraduate and graduate subjects taught at MIT.”

Now just imagine that for a moment. MIT, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is one of the most prestigious science schools in the world. And yet they have chosen to make their coursework, containing thousands and thousands of dollars worth of educational material, available to anyone with an interest in the field. That's mind boggling. And yet that sort of direction is exactly what we as a society need in order to effectively reach out to all of our youth.

I'm so excited to see where we go next and what developments we'll make in the area of digital media in education as we continue to move forward. I would love to hear from the rest of you about this as well. Do any of you know of any interesting educational resources that are up and coming now as well?

Posted By: Natasha Phelps

Children and the Digital World

I grew up as a child living in the paradise of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where I lived with my parents and 7 brothers and sisters. After breakfast on Saturday morning we girls cleaned the house while the boys worked in the yard and tended to the animals.  We usually worked until lunch time hopefully finishing in time to be allowed to watch a couple cartoons, if we were lucky.  After lunch that was it, my mother said “get out”.   We were not allowed to stay inside to watch TV, we had to go outside and find something to do.  Which we always did, we lived near lake Superior where we would swim until dark.  We also had a tree house, we rode our bikes, swung from a tree rope, searched the woods, anything our imagination could get us into.  It is sad how our children do not have that luxury now.  In this day and age you can’t let your child out of your sight for fear of what or who might happen to them. 

I don’t know about you but I do not have the time to do all of these things with my children and since they cannot be out of my site I turned to the Digital World.  As babies I would put on a video or TV show to occupy my children while I cooked dinner, cleaned or had something to do.   Oh what that has turned into.

My children are very different my 20 year old is the total jock, a social butterfly and an average student (with a lot of prodding).  He played every sport year round during school but still managed plenty of time for video games.  Now that he is older he still plays all of the latest and greatest sports video releases and is a twitter and Facebook addict, always tweeting about some sport something or other. 

My 12 year old is a braniac, he is a straight A student, not very social, he is consumed with reading, reading one book after the other and is addicted to the computer, Xbox, and YouTube. He is a walking encyclopedia, he is constantly saying "well actually" and then informing you of some knowledge he has absorbed to correct or enhance your statement.  He does not want to go outside and throw a ball, shoot hoops or even ride his 4 wheeler.  His plan is to be an author, software developer, or develop some kind of new technology.  My, my how the digital world has affected this child.  

I think almost all children are now affected by the digital world in some form or another, is it from the technology or the society we live in?  I think it may be a little of both.  Children are not free to roam, use their imagination and explore like we did and we did not have all of the technology and luxuries that they do.

Cindi Davis, DIG2000

The Changes I Have Seen: Personal Reminisces of Printing Processes

I have seen quite a few changes in printing processes in my life. All have brought improvements, but there were a few drawbacks. My introduction to some of these processes occurred in school; others were learned as a process of my job.

 

In early elementary school, everything was taught from a chalk board or text book. At my school, we did not have textbooks for most subjects and we had to take notes from the chalkboard. We hoped to get it all down on paper before the teacher started erasing the board and that we could later read our handwriting.  For a test, we had to wait until the teacher wrote the questions on the board. If we did not write the questions down, getting the test back was not very useful.

 

Then we got the mimeograph machine. Now, we could keep information and tests. Drawback? The tests were getting longer. Often the school only had one machine and there could be a line waiting to use the machine or it could rumple the template and it would have to be recreated. That was really frustrating if you were trying to create a thousand copies of the school paper. The mimeograph process used a two or three part paper with a film that

 

felt very waxy and worked like carbon paper. The special paper could be written, drawn, or typed. Then the pages were separated and the top edge of waxy piece was inserted into a slot of an approximately 8 inch drum. A flip of a switch, clamped the paper firmly to the drum. As you turned the crank handle on the side, the drum rolled the special paper through a tray of liquid chemical and then pressed the wet sheet against a clean sheet to produce the next copy. I remember vividly the smell dampness of fresh copies. Even fourty-five years plus later, when smell something similar it still reminds me of the color purple, which is the color of the copy. And no, that was not the sniffed chemicals providing us a group trip.

 

While working on the school yearbook, we performed most of the publishing functions. We had to compute our budget, plan the size, theme, and layout, track our accounts, perform marketing for advertising and yearbook sales. The entire book was divided into sixteen page sections. Each section was printed as a single sheet, folded in a certain order before binding.  Color, due to its increased cost both in dollars and time, had to be restricted to a section. Each page was carefully drawn on a multipage layout sheet. All text was typed on the page. Any special instructions for font type, size, and cropping were written in blue pencil. Each picture had to be identified on the page and the back of the picture before placing it in the envelope of the layout set. Every page was proofed and triple checked. Once the proofs were received, we had to keep the changes to a minimum or we would incur additional changes. After the final submission we crossed our fingers hoping we had not missed too many things.

 

According to an article by Anne Carney, yearbooks, like other printed books, are a dwindling market and if newer processes are not adopted, they may become a thing of the past. eHow’s article on planning a yearbook makes it all seem so simple now.  Today, electronic and desktop publishing make it so easy to lay out pictures and text to create our own e-books or bound books with much shorter turnaround time. However, many of these lack in quality and design due to less fact checking, less proofing, and generally sloppy work.

 

Maryellen Bailey

Retrogaming. A Pipedream for the Stars

Throughout the past couple of decades, gamers have seen rapid changes in the video game industry. Simple game concepts have been pumped up with long, elaborate stories and better graphics, and the newer generation of gaming focuses on massive online multiplayer capabilities. Game titles such as “Assassin’s Creed” and “Call of Duty” gain massive acknowledgement and great reviews for these things, and sometimes just for the title of the game itself. I, as well as most gamers, enjoy these new developments in the gaming industry, being able to play a game that draws your attention almost as well as a movie, right alongside friends! But do you sometimes think games have become too intricate and elaborate? What I found most enjoyable about videogames was the simplicity and straightforward plot points of gaming. What happened to the appreciation for simplicity? Nintendo was one of the first major videogame manufacturers, and has grown into a huge giant in the industry. But it only took a few games in order to launch success. In this retro game review, I would like to take a look at one of the major characters that brought Nintendo success, Mario, in his first appearance on the Nintendo 64 console. Super Mario 64!

When I started off playing the game, it quickly jumped into an explanation of what was currently happening. I was informed that Bowser had stolen the sacred power stars of the castle and taken the princess hostage inside it, and that Mario must take his turtle stomping, coin collecting butt and jump into action! I enter the castle with Mario and the point of the game is to collect these stars in order to defeat Bowser. Each painting in the castle has a level inside, in which there are 7 total stars to collect, 6 based on certain goals or tasks, and 1 for collecting 100 coins. Mostly every level has a task to collect 100 coins for a star, and to collect 8 special red coins for a star. There are 15 total levels(not including secrets and Bowser fights) and the missions are unique to each level.

For example, the first level I came across in the game is the “Bob-Omb Battlefield” in which a bunch of explosive enemies called “Bob-Ombs” run wild. My first mission was to take out the King “Bob-Omb” by defeating him atop a huge summit. Upon reaching this boss battle, I realize in his speech bubbles he practically TELLS you how to defeat him. This was not just circumstantial. I soon realized playing through the game that almost all the unique level bosses tell you how to defeat them! Although this makes these parts of the game even easier, it is very helpful. The gameplay overall continues on and sometimes tends to be repetitive, although not in a bad way. It is only the concept of collecting stars that gets repetitive. For the most part, I find myself thoroughly entertained with the gameplay and believe it even has a high replay value. In fact, I am currently playing it as I’m writing this review!

However, Bowser is not the only thing terrorizing the Mushroom Kingdom. The level of difficulty in this game almost never changes! Usually difficulty adjusts as you play through a game. When I play I feel like the only real challenge is not falling into a hole or lava, because honestly the enemies in game pose no threat. Even the main battles against Bowser are only slightly more difficult! To put it simply, the only thing that really kills you in this game is yourself!

The most convenient thing about starting out this game was by far the on screen control instructions. Within seconds I knew almost every rudimentary motion and game mechanic in the game(“A” button to jump, “B” button to punch, etc.), with only a few advanced controls to be learned later in the game. The only complaint I have on the game mechanics are the camera controls, which are altered using the “C” buttons. Of course the only buttons that I need to follow my character are horribly placed on my controller, almost unreachable like the dark side of the moon! Luckily the camera will automatically adjust if given no instruction, so I got over this quickly.

The graphics in the game are very impressive for being made in 1996, where there were lots of limitations. Even with the graphics we have today, I believe that Super Mario 64 has stood up very well on its own over the years. Basic geometric shapes are apparent in the graphics of this game, but are blended well with coloring to give more of a Three dimensional look. Many of the enemies in the game are very advanced in design, including the level designs. In 2004, Nintendo made a remake of Super Mario 64 for the Nintendo DS, which only had slightly enhanced graphics over the original, in order to keep the nostalgic feel of the original, which brought a lot of success for the remake! I’m not the only one who thinks it has stood up well over the decades. Many critics back then and even today agree that Super Mario 64 is one of the best video games ever made, and after playing it time and time again I understand why!

           

Overall, I think super Mario 64 is a fantastic game that people of all ages can enjoy. This fun-filled, action-packed adventure can be experienced over and over again with the same level of excitement as the first playthrough. With the new download capabilities of the Nintendo Wii, Super Mario 64 can be enjoyed on a new gen console in its original setting, or pickup a copy of the remake on Nintendo Ds. In this retro-review, I give Super Mario 64 a rating of 9.5 out of 10. Its amazing gameplay, story, and graphics all contribute to Mario’s success, and all of Nintendo’s success! Now, it’s time for Mario to bounce. 

Corey Morabito

Our Generation: The Need for Technology

Technology is all around us, and it is always growing. You buy the latest Droid or iPhone, and in the next year there is a newer model with better features. It's the same with computers, tvs, gaming systems, etc. When the newer version of this technology comes out, you feel like you need it. If you think about your normal day, is there any time where you do not interact with technology?  At work I'm on a computer all day, and sometimes I get to play music from my iPhone.






When I get home the first thing I do is turn my tv on. Soon after that, my Playstation 3 so that I can watch a movie or play a game. If I'm watching a movie I might take out my computer and play on it until I go to bed. Even when I go to bed my tv stays on, otherwise I can't sleep. The next day I do it all over again. Not one part the day am I not around technology. Even little kids are interacting with technology all the time. At school they're on computers, and sometimes watching an educational video. Most of them already have cell phones, and you see them walking around with Nintendo DS's. No matter where you go, you will be surrounded by technology, and we feel like we need it. Can you go entire day without a computer, tv, or cell phone. It's near impossible.    


Kristin Posey

Fashion and Digital Media

Fashion and Digital Media

When you look at clothing, shoes, and accessories, have you ever considered starting your own clothing line?  Have you ever thought about how fashion is created?  What makes a designer create his/her line of fashion?  What makes a designer attract consumers to his/her brand or lines of fashion?  Social media bring fashion to the masses.  It allows styles to be created instantly.  The consumers do not have to have a ticket to a live fashion show in New York to view the trends in fashion.  They can view the fashion with social media. 

Social media bridges the gap between brands and the consumers making the rarefied world of high fashion more accessible than it has ever been.  The moment a designer or brand show their goods, not only do you have editors and buyers at fashion shows, you also have the  platforms of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, tumblr, Pinterest getting real time critiques.  Social media allow the consumer to have a voice in the Fashion World instantly.  One way they can be active is by the mean of blogging.

There are sites that beam fashion images directly from the runway (style.com) as well as, fashion bloggers who take pictures from the front row and instantly share the images on social media.  Social media allows viewers to catch the fashion collections in real time which add a social feel to their live-stream so users can see what others are saying.

Social media allow the fashion designers to directly interact with the consumer.  It makes the designers globally famous and provides a form of entertainment in many ways.  Social media has provided digital fashion shows for the fashion industry.  The consumers are not forced to physically attend a fashion show but can still be part of the audience.  The digital fashion shows are not meant to replace traditional runway shows. They simply provide an alternative for brands that might not get the same audience or attention if they tried to show their lines live.  

Overall, social media has fundamentally changed the way people shop and discover fashion.  Facebook and Twitter provide the consumers a mean to visually and tangibly feel involved with the designers.  They allow the consumer to interact and predict the trends before the fashion arrive in the stores.  Do you think you are inspired to create a line of fashion with your signature on it?   How is digital media reshaping the way we view fashion?

  

Dawna Philyaw

Work Cited

Arthur, Rachel. telegraph.co. N.p., 19 Feb. 2012. Web. 25 Sept. 2012.

Greenberg, Emmanuelle. CNN Living. Ed. Emmanuelle Greenberg. N.p., 10 Sept. 2012. Web. 4 Oct. 2012.

Greenhill, Duke. How digital media is reshaping luxury fashion retail's most important job. Luxury Daily, 17 Jan. 2012. Web. 26 Sept. 2012. 

The Fashion Trends of Summer 2011. N.p., 20 June 2011. Web. 4 Oct. 2012. <http://theflame.goldaochacademy.org/?p=248>.