Project 5 Link

Here is the link to the blog that hosts Dave's and my final project of the semester:

http://morgantowndaily.blogspot.com/

Project 3 (linked)

Here's the link to project 3. I think it may have been missed.

http://gmschoolcraftproject3.blogspot.com/

In-class response 12-04-08

Dave and I will be working together again for the last project of the semester. We are creating a satirical, Onion-style publication based on made up or exaggerated events in Morgantown. I have already written a couple satirical stories, and Dave will also write to contribute to the actual text content. We will work together to create an effective, yet humorous front-page layout. We also aspire to create a publication Web site of some sort--this part of the project, however, is less mapped out at this point.

We thought this project would be appropriate because it creates a good sense of mixed reality. We will have a publication based upon a real place--Morgantown, W. Va.--and the publication itself will be a real, commonly used medium--the newspaper/Internet.

As with the Onion, the real names of University figures will be used, but the events will be very exaggerated or completely fictional.

I think this project will take a lot of creative effort, but I also think we will get a few laughs out of it--so it will all be worthwhile.

In-class Response part two 11/20/08

I'm still not completely sure what direction I'm heading for Project 5. I still think some kind of collaboration would be interesting. There are tons of places in Morgantown that you could do things like what we went over in class--like the Pac Man game--for example. Involving others in a game of some sort could be interesting. My one concern with collaborative projects is that the time frame, again, is kind of short. It will be difficult to get a lot of participation in such a short period of time so I am still considering that.

I'm not exactly sure what the limitations are on this project. I feel the prompt is a little bit abstract and open-ended. When things aren't narrowed down enough, I have trouble finding a starting point. I guess mainly I haven't fully grasped the concept of "mixed-reality" yet. The idea about making something from everyday life content or location doesn't make the most sense to me at this point.

In-class Response 11/20/08

I typically don't read blogs, though some of my friends have blogs. I think, however, considering the field I work in, reading blogs may be helpful in analyzing audience and what is important in their eyes. It would help to dictate story ideas that would appeal to that audience. Blogs are important today because it seems the exercise of practicing free speech is more popular than ever. Individuals find it important to get their own words out and to be heard. People are excited about them as a form of writing because they can be informal--they aren't critiqued for grammar or word usage. You can say whatever is on your mind--you can rant. There are less rules to follow. Blogs seem open and participatory. They invite comment and opinions, though some opinions may be more appreciated than others. And blogs don't have to be used just as diaries. They can have themes. They can follow certain events over a period of time.

11/18/2008

Here is the link to Dave's and my Project 4 blog:
http://gwendavesproject4extravaganza.blogspot.com/

In Class Response 11/18/08

I actually have no idea what I'm doing this next project on. I'm thinking about going more toward a collaborative direction for the project. It could be neat to do some kind of Morgantown-based game. We could even do some kind of man-on-the street trivia game, where we would ask common-knowledge questions to see what kinds of answers we get. Obviously this isn't a well-developed idea as of now, but it's a starting point for thoughts.