Author: Tom

  • Immersive Engagement Connections

    Immersive Engagement Connections

    The greatest areas in Second Life have not been created by one person alone, but through team efforts. This is why I love the idea of a bike path connecting all areas into a journey. I have read some great immersive engagement proposals from my classmates who suggested amazing items to add into Second Life. Among these items were a reflection bench, kindness flower pot, common grounds, message boards, connection board, and resource library. The importance of how the users interact with these items in their own areas is critical to the Hero’s Journey and helps people learn while continuing to strive for success.

    Alone these are all amazing concepts, and I am excited to see these visions come to life. Although each place has its own unique importance, they are all equally important. The bicycle path will allow everyone in Second Life to journey through each of these areas and experience them. This effectively brings everything together for inclusion and creates a story where each area is highlighted for importance in the Hero’s Journey. This also brings each story into one big story width many lessons learned along the way creating a very unique experience of each individual as they journey through our community.

  • Advertising Impact

    Advertising Impact

    The positive power of advertising during an event with large number of viewers, such as the Super Bowl, is the effect your commercial has on the audience and its ability to ripple effect out into the world through them. When a commercial is made great, it will live on forever in our minds and be talked about for years to come. In today’s world we also share our opinions about commercials on social media platforms such as Facebook which makes it even more critical that the commercial represents the message we want to convey. We see a lot of commercials every year and they have shaped our views on each brand.

    Branding is not just about the products we are selling, but also about the companies views and policies. When a company such as Nike advertises commercials about the impact of sports and how it can shape our futures, we listen and make a judgement based on what we see and hear. Shining a light on the power of sports instead of the products leads us to believe that Nike believes in us and so we believe in Nike.

    Commercials like this accomplish their goal of brand recognition and gain credibility while also spreading a powerful and positive message.

  • Motivating people with Information, Education, and Mastery

    Motivating people with Information, Education, and Mastery

    Gamification For Learning: Strategies And Examples

    Mastery in creating interactive design is when the design allows users to have a sense of purpose that motivates them to accomplish tasks or complete levels in games. This works better than a points system as studies have shown. One way to accomplish this is to use badges or trophies to encourage development of skills. When people have this sense of purpose, they are motivated to learn more and eliminates the feeling of it being a chore. This is sense of entertainment that allows users to more easily take in and retain information.

     Virtual Reality in Education: Benefits, Uses & Examples | Built In

    Games designed in this way would be a great way to educate people and could be used in virtual reality learning environments. The biggest benefit of designing virtual reality learning environments in the form of games is that they can be tailored to fit different personalities. In this way they can create storyline that give the players an objective that means something to them which provides that sense of purpose to motivate them. As they master the game, they will also be retaining the information leading to more meaningful education.  This can be a real game changer in education and further advance our society.

  • Respect and Personal Responsibility

    Respect and Personal Responsibility

    Respect is defined as to consider with high regard or to simply refrain from interfering with something or someone.

    Responsibility is defined as a moral obligation to behave correctly.

    These are simple words that have a huge impact on life. In a professional world people consider who they want to work with by asking the question “Is this person responsible, trustworthy, and respectful?”. This is why it is important to understand and live by these words in any industry you choose to work in. In the film industry it is most important to respect the rights of others, especially regarding copyright. We have a responsibility to ensure that our work is original or that we have permission to use others’ work.

    A good way to present factual information to people is using video. When making films to inspire, motivate or inform the audience, it is best to be innovative and create a storyline with interesting scenes to captivate and entertain the audience. When the audience is enjoying the film, they retain more information. This is an art form that when done right, the audience will remember the message forever. My favorite example of this is the docudrama movie “Erin Brockovich” which serves as a reminder for people to always be vigilant and not afraid to stand up for what is right even when the task seems impossible.

  • New Film Proposals

    New Film Proposals

    Team Short Original Story or Documentary Video Project

    The Zombie Mud Run

    This annual event is brought to you by the Peninsula College and is a great example of STEAM. This fun and informative film will show how STEAM is used in a real-life example.

    Social Good Video Project

    Community Empowered 2nd Edition

    This film documentary will feature the Port Angeles Food Bank which will help to promote this vital resource for the community.

  • Information within a story

    Information within a story

    When we receive a message such as one through a picture the message is registered through the senses and processed in short term memory before going to the long-term memory. We are always taking in information even if we don’t realize it. Sometimes the information that we take in is subtle through visual or auditory background elements. We all easily recognize the main subject information as it holds our primary focus. Knowing that we take in information from multiple levels we can design our multimedia work in such a way that we convey the most information possible without having to add text or audio. My personal favorite ways to do this are through video and image editing by simply framing the scene in the lens to make it visually appealing while also telling a story. The featured image is a great example of this. Other ways of doing this is placing appropriate audio cues in the video such as music or sound effects. This can also be done through creating text with certain size, color or style. Every little detail adds up.

    When it comes to Transmedia Marketing, I don’t know if they ever inspired me to make something happen, other than to watch another movie or research a reference. It is however a concept which I do plan to use within my own branding. For example, when I move to my professional branding, I will always make reference to Good Design #8 and my educational journey.

  • Ordinary to Extraordinary

    Ordinary to Extraordinary

    Without videos such as “LOGIN2LIFE” and “My Avatar is ME”, it is hard to imagine that 3D worlds such as Second Life can be so much more than just a virtual experience. When I was younger, I was a CNA and an RLA with some medical training. I have always known that loneliness is the biggest killer of elderly people and that holds true for every age really. The fact is that we are a sociable species and not all of us can get out and socialize. Apps such as Second Life really open that door for everyone to be able to socialize with other people from all over the world. In this way Second Life can improve the quality of life for many people.

    Second Life also opens the door for creativity and problem solving by allowing users to build their own worlds including avatars. This is essential to happiness. We are just entering into cutting edge technology and I look forward to the future when these virtual experiences will really be immersive, such as described in the book “Ready Player One”. Apps like this not only have the potential to improve quality of life, but they also have the potential to educate everyone in a more productive way while also providing jobs to those who otherwise could not work. So many possibilities.

  • Community Empowered

    Community Empowered

    2nd Edition

    In today’s world of rising prices and low wages people more than ever are looking for answers and when they don’t know where to turn for help, those problems become nightmares. Clallam County in Washington state has not been above this crisis. It seems impossible to simply go to a grocery store without seeing some unfortunate souls standing on the corner asking for help, people sleeping in alleyways, or even tents set up on sidewalks or in front of “Out of Business” signs.

    “An estimated 11.2 percent of residents and 23.2 percent of children under the age of 18 in the county live in poverty (the national federal poverty level for a family of four is $26,500).” Quote from Clallam-County-Homeless-System-Needs-and-Gaps-Report-2021. Since then, more businesses have shut down creating an ever-growing unemployed population while rent, and food prices have increased. These statistics are even more real for those who live around here.

    This essay isn’t all dark, in fact there is light to shine in this story. Here in Clallam county, there are some amazing resources for those who know where to look. Places like 4PA(4PA ) help clean up and help support homeless people. Sarge’s Place (Sarge’s Place Veteran Housing in Forks and Port Angeles, Wa – Sarge’s Veteran Support) provides veteran support with food, housing and medical. The Sequim Food Bank (Sequim Food Bank) is a great resource for anyone in need of food which helps fight food insecurity in the Sequim area.

    Another great resource is the Port Angeles Food Bank (Port Angeles Food Bank) This nonprofit has a location in Port Angeles that allows food access to anyone in need, but also has a mobile market van that brings food to people in different areas in town including a weekly stop at the Peninsula college. This organization does so much more than just food. PA Food Bank also has an Outreach program that helps people who are experiencing homelessness.

  • Importance of Fonts and Colors to Maximize Retention and Engagement

    Importance of Fonts and Colors to Maximize Retention and Engagement

    When considering fonts and colors for your website it is important to choose ones that are inviting to the user. Fonts should be easy to read, and colors should be pleasant and contrasting. With so many colors to choose from using a color wheel can help with finding complimentary colors that go best together. Some goof examples of this would be red text and a green background or a red background with green text while a bad example of this would be orange text on a red background or red text on an orange background.

    Moving onto fonts could be a whole essay on its own. There is so much to learn about fonts. The general rule of thumb is to use Sans Serif Fonts as they are generally more legible and easier to read. Helvetica being the main font that all Sans Serif Fonts descend from can be found everywhere and is the easiest text to read. When fonts are hard to read, they will often go unread, or the message will be quickly forgotten. The biggest lesson with fonts and colors is to choose ones that complement each other and make reading easy so that the reader can retain the information.

  • 3 Documentaries that Inspired me

    3 Documentaries that Inspired me

    Number 1 has got to be the film “Super-Size Me” part 1 and part two “Holy Chicken”. Wow this guy puts our food into perspective. He really does an amazing job at highlighting how misleading the food industry is in every way. Due to these films and others like them I have become aware of the importance of reading ingredients on the packaging and encouraging others to do so as well. In part 1 he really went the extra mile to show the effects of food on him personally and backed it with evidence. In part 2 he showed us how easily the industry can manipulate labels on “organic” “Free range” food.

    Number 2 is more of a series of documentaries called “Man vs Wild”. This show really intrigued my wild side and left me aching for adventure. Bear Grylls travels the world attempting to survive in every climate and how to reach rescue. During his adventures he creates shelters and eats some interesting things. Whether or not he was ever actually in a survival situation is irrelevant to me as he showed the world what people can do to survive while on some amazing adventures.

    Number 3 is most definitely “Salvador Dali: Master of Surrealism”. This film truly gives insight into the madness and creativity of the great Salvador Dali and how he became so successful. The biggest take always from this great artist are to be bold and creative but never underestimate the importance of business.

  • Cartoon Avatar Creation

    Cartoon Avatar Creation

    I chose to make my cartoon avatar on the http://southpark.cc.com/avatar website. This link took me directly to the avatar creation page where I was only able to use Butter’s body type, but I was able to customize the skin color somewhat. Overall, there were a good variety of customization options. Some customizations had more options than others. I did enjoy the meme phrases they provide as they brought back the laughs from when I watched this series years ago. The process of customization was made easy with simple navigation and clicks that were easy to understand with a good layout and design.

    I would like to see more features added to this site for users to have more creative freedom in their avatar choices.  For example, if we had the ability to make a fat Cartman avatar with the meme “Respect my authority” fans could have more fun with the creation of their own cartoon characters. I do believe that more options could be added without taking away from the South Park theme.

    Fan sites such as this are a great way to promote engagement by allowing fans to join in on the fun of creating their own avatar cartoon character. I think this cartoon would have been successful even without this feature, but it does keep South Park more relevant than it would have been otherwise.

  • Proust Questionnaire Reflection Essay

    Proust Questionnaire Reflection Essay

    What is your motto or words to live by?

    “It ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!”. – Rocky Balboa. This quote is a description of my life. I have been up, and I have been down, but no matter what happens I keep working to move forward.

     Who are your heroes in real life?

    My father is my hero because he is the greatest example of a man who puts his family first while still maintaining an entrepreneurial spirit running his own business.

    What would you consider your greatest achievement?

    My greatest achievement is the help I provided people when they needed it most.

    What do you most value in your friends?

    Respect, honesty and trust are the foundation of all relationships. Without it there is no relationship.

    What type of documentary would be about me? Expository, Participatory, Observational, Reflexive, Performative, or Poetic? And, why?

    Participatory because the greatest story there is to tell about me is my hard headed stubborn will to survive and how I got into cycling after my gull bladder was removed. I lost a lot of weight and got into great shape. I have since gained a ton of weight and lost my fitness after losing my job at the mill. I am now on a mission to get back into shape and restore my health through bicycling and photography.