Jun 4, 2012 | Storytelling, Workshops
Thanks to a great group of faculty, we ended our first year with a great storytelling and media training experience. We welcomed back Mary Ann McNair from the Center for Digital Storytelling to work with ACU faculty Al Haley and Jennifer Shewmaker facilitating the three-day workshop. This is our third workshop this year working with staff from the CDS, and faculty from across campus continue to be challenged by the format to produce original content and reflect on the role of media in the broader curriculum.
Thanks to faculty participants for investing their time and creativity in the workshop. Here’s a glimpse into the experience.
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Digital Stories – May 2012
Kent Smith
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May 17, 2012 | Storytelling, Workshops
In the Learning Studio this week, we’re working with a dozen faculty and MaryAnn McNair from the Center for Digital Storytelling. This is our third three-day workshop and we’re honored to continue this work with this program.
Images
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May 9, 2012 | Projects, Students
As the semester winds down, we always enjoy seeing the students and faculty coming through our doors in the final days. In addition to a growing number of students producing digital storytelling projects, we’ve been happy to see groups using the collaborative spaces in new ways.
A couple weeks ago Mike Wiggins brought his ART 457: Interactive Design class over for their final project. Students broke into groups to propose mobile app ideas, develop basic functionality, consider user personas, and produce wireframes and then final screen designs of their proposed app.
Check the class blog to see student reflections and screen mock-ups.
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Mike sent us an update this week, including a link to the final project critique. Two alums of the department of Art & Design, now working for MEplusU in Dallas (formerly IMC2), joined the class in a Google Hangout to hear student pitches and provide feedback of their work.
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May 5, 2012 | News & Events, Unboxed
Thanks to the widespread use of checkout cameras in our first year, this summer we will pick up additional HD camcorders and DSLR cameras for campus checkout. But that’s only half the story. This fall returning students will have access to additional gear to support video and photo projects.
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LS Unboxed: Pico Table Dolly
We’ve seen some creative approaches to camera movement in our first year, so we picked up a couple tools for those ready to move beyond the simple zoom or pan. The Pico Table Dolly introduces controlled camera movement across any level surface, whether you’re shooting a traditional camera or making an iPhone movie.
Here’s Ben Weaver from the Learning Studio with a quick look at the Pico Table Dolly:
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Other Checkout Gear
In addition to the Pico Dolly, we’ve continued to add gear by request:
Lowel 3 Light Kits – This spring we put together 3-light kits for FilmFest now available for the rest of campus. The kit includes 500w and 250w halogen lights, perfect for 3-point and green screen lighting.
Collapsible Green Screen – For advanced users interested in basic green screen shots, we have 5×7 green screens that fold up like your car windshield reflector. Great in combination with the Lowel light kits.
Video and Wireless Lav Mics – Audio is at least as important as visuals in your final video, so you may want to experiment with our range of video mics and wireless lavalier mics for check-out (*remember to check the battery before shooting).
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For More Information
For a complete list of all check-out equipment, check the Learning Studio blog. For all other questions about availability, come by during regular Media Lab hours or call the main info desk, 674-2341.
Apr 30, 2012 | Presentations
Since 2009, over a hundred faculty per semester have built course blogs on WordPress to host discussions, share content and announcements, or have students post projects. ACU Blogs has proven to be a flexible platform for teaching in many disciplines across campus and this fall will be available to faculty going up for tenure or promotion.
Monday in the Adams Center we’ll host the first discussion on producing your portfolio on WordPress. Here are just a few of the topics we’ll cover.
- Creating Posts and Pages (Pages–>Add New)
- Using Categories and Parent Pages
- Linking to content (within the blog or on the web)
- Uploading content (Media–>Add New)
- Embedding content from YouTube/Vimeo
- Customizing the theme (Appearance–>Themes)
- Customizing the horizontal menu (Appearance–>Menus)
- Customizing the side menu (Appearance–>Widgets)
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If you haven’t seen the sample portfolio produced by the University Tenure & Promotion Committee, you’ll find it here.
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