GEN2243

           Last class, we  discussed our final project.  For this project, we will be creating a professional website for ourselves to showcase what we accomplished and learned during the semester.  The website will include a resume, an about me page, a contact tab, and more!  Some examples of websites that can be used for building my project are Weebly , Wix , and Google Sites .  I am excited to create this project, and other people to see what I can offer!            There are many options available for website curation.  With all of the platform  available, people may feel overwhelmed with which builder to use.  In Business Matters Magazine , the people behind the magazine share information to determine which website builder is best for an individual's needs.   Squarespace has a starting cost of $12/month, but discounts are not hard to find since many YouTubers partner with Squarespace and provide trials.  This builder is good for security.  Wix and Weebly are very similar.  Bo

         Last class was really cool!  Once again, two guest speakers were invited to join the class.   Jaime Donally of ARVRinEDU and Chris Madsen of Immersive VR Education shared information about augmented, virtual, and mixed reality.  Changing the way reality presents itself is the future of humanity, and industries and educators are taking note.                            Image Source                                                                             Image Source          Professor Calderwood introduced Jaime Donally as the first guest speaker.  She resides in Texas and loves working with the latest techn ology!  XR, extended reality, is the umbrella term for all altered reality.  Donally spoke about the different forms of changing our reality: AR, VR, and MR.  AR, augmented reality,  incorporates reality by adding a digital layer on top of the world view.  VR, virtual reality, is completely digital and no longer shows the real world.  MR, mixed reality, is similar to

        The previous class was very eventful!  Casey Finestone and Mike Tholfsen joined the class to speak about the interview and resume process.  I love having guest speakers during the class.  Casey Finestone works with a startup company called Script as the schools outreach specialist, and Mike Tholfsen is the product manager of Microsoft Education.  Both guests were kind enough to have let us be a part of their busy schedules!                                      Image Source                                                                 Image Source          During the class discussion, we covered topics as social media,  redflags, and resumes.  Mike Tholfsen admits to never thinking Twitter would be useful.  Now, it is his career!  He utilizes YouTube for making instructional videos to help instructors on his channel .  Casey Finestone says that her online presence is a bit quieter and says that there is nothing wrong with having separate accounts from your personal and profes

         Last week, the class's midterm project was due.  The assignment involved us researching and creating a presentation on somebody who lost their job due to social media.  Students were to watch the videos and upload questions on three separate posts during the span of the scheduled class time.  There was no Zoom that night!   Personally, I enjoyed watching the videos but felt sad when I only received one question.  My paper and presentation was on Alec Holowka.            Alec Holowka found the game developer called Infinite Ammo.  He is best-known for his roles in the devolvement of the game Night in the Woods .  The game originated as a kickstarter and was available on Steam.  Themes in Night in the Woods include mental illness, mobile immobility, and economic despair.  Night in the Woods was very successful during 2018.  In 2018, the game won IGF's Seumus McNally prize for best independent game of the year.  Currently, the game is available on steam, playstation 4, x

         I n class, we are starting to prepare for our Midterm project.  The assignment is to research a person in our field of study/interest who had their career damaged due to poor internet etiquette.  From this research, we will write a paper in APA format and present our findings as slideshow to the class.  During class, we were introduced to a multitude of programs that can make our presentations more engaging.  These programs include: Show: Prezi , Visme , Haiku Deck , Emaze , Google Slides , Microsoft PowerPoint , and Canva .  Most of these programs are available for free or provide a free trial.  For recording our presentation, the available options are Loom , Quicktime (exclusive to Mac computers),  Screencastify , and Reflector .  I created a presentation with Visme for the class activity which I posted on the blog here !          This week, I read Chapter 3 of Light, Bright & Polite by Josh Ochs .  This chapter covers messaging on social media as a professional.  Whil

          In class today, we were introduced to a plethora of programs that help create slideshows!  We were tasked to pick an unfamiliar platform and create a presentation centered around our plans for Halloween.   Check out what I created here!   I hope you enjoy!