Digital Teaching Learning Abstract This case study is about using some different digital resources as teaching tools to aid the teachers in teaching students. The case study looks at both demonstration video and virtual environments for teaching individually and how they would work together. Both elements have been backed up with facts and #quotes to justify the existence of this case study. Introduction This case study will be on Digital Teaching and Learning and how different methods can be used to enhance the student experience and learning. The research within this case study has come from a variety of sources as well as firsthand experience within the subject matter. I am currently the Foundation Degree (FdA) in Digital Media and Television Production course leader and with this course; we are offering the students to study both full and part time. This option is available for this course as the course is open to all individuals from the age of 18 to undertake the course even if they are in full time employment. I have a degree in Computer Animation and Special Effects and I am about to start a PhD in Animation, so digital teaching and learning is something that I feel I have a good knowledge and understanding of. People involved Currently involved with digital teaching and learning, there are 6 members of college staff interested in this area and undertaking our own research into different areas. I am looking into virtual environment teaching using software such as Second #life and Open Sim and demonstration videos for teaching, my colleagues are looking into Virtual Learning Environments (Moodle) and Demonstration Videos. Learning & Teaching Environment As this is still in research stage and not being tested, but the modules that are being looked into to deliver this way are digital graphics and 3D animation. The level of learning this is being looked at for are level 5, second year foundation degree students studying both full time and part time on the new FdA Digital Media and Television Production course. The resources required for the software are a standard PC, a broadband internet connection, mobile phone with video recording capabilities and the appropriate software. All resources are made bilingually and all text size, font and colour are carefully considered for all ability of students. Some disabilities will not be able to use these are resources due to the nature of the disability, such as blindness, people who are blind won’t be able to use these as they will not be able to visualise what is being shown / demonstrated. Issues with current teaching / learning method(s) With both digital graphics and 3D animation both being made solely on computers, it sometimes is hard to visualise the work in its intended location. Some graphics work in only created for computer games, animation and online environments such as Open Sim. Once a student has created a graphic on the computer, is can only be seen on that computer and printed out, this is sometimes not its final location, so meaning and feel is lost. Current ways that students are taught are in a class room where a task can be demonstrated on the board by the tutor and students have to remember what they have seen and then try and do it themselves. This is usually supported by detailed handouts explaining how to create the intended outcome, but explaining via a handout and visually demonstrating are two very different methods and suit students differently. This way of teaching is good in its own right, but having a demonstration video to hand to review as and when the students wants and needs is beneficial as the student then takes control for their own learning. Currently students are show only once or twice then expected to complete the task on their own with tutor support on a more one to one bases, some students don’t like asking for help and they feel that people with judge them for asking for help. Once a student has completed a piece of work, it is always nice to see the piece in its intended environment, but currently we ask students to submit the completed work on CD/DVD and printed out so it can be marked. Having the piece submitted in this way means that the piece cannot be seen it in intended environment and sometimes meaning is lost and the tutor may feel the student has not completed the work to the standard required. Research into new teaching / learning methods There are a number of individuals working within the digital media and web 2.0 field, and with that, a vast amount of research is being carried out to enhance the experience of the individual. What is digital media? Digital Media also called New Media is a term used to include digital, computerised information and communication technologies. What is web 2.0? Web 2.0 is an area on the internet, in its simplest sense; Web 2.0 is the social networking side of the internet. Social networking sites are sites such as Facebook, Bebo, MySpace, and Second #life to name a few. These sites allow all users of all abilities to interact with family, friends, and even make new friends in the digital world. Marc Prensky the author of “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants” is a practitioner in education and he has carried out research into students and how they have changed over the years. “Today’s students – K through college – represent the first generations to grow up with this new technology. They have spent their entire lives surrounded by and using computers, videogames, digital music players, video cams, cell phones, and all the other toys and tools of a digital age. Today’s average college grads have spent less than 5,000 hours of their lives reading, but over 10,000 hours playing video games (not to mention 20,000 hours watching TV). Computer games, email, the Internet, cell phones and instant messaging are integral parts of their lives.” (Prensky, M, 2001, Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, NBC University Press) To back up this, a report for Gizmodo found this shocking statistic: “99% of boys and 94% of girls in their teens in the US allegedly play games on at least a semi-regular basis, covering 65% of households across the country. The most popular games seem to be racing games or puzzles, though rhythm games like Guitar Hero also came high up in the rankings. Despite fears of kids locking themselves into virtual worlds though, only 10% of people said they play games like Second #life”. (http://current.com/items/89316047_just_1_of_american_teens_don_t_play_computer_games) With the research carried out by Marc Prensky is it safe to say that because students have changed, we as practitioners need to change the ways in which we teach these students and start thinking about teaching and getting messages across on their turf. Findings With the amount of research that I have read about and also carried out myself, I am seeing that as a lecturer, I need to keep my options open and make sure I am up to speed with new advancements within my field digital media. Due to working in digital media, it is always nice to bring something different to the teaching table, take the students out of their comfort zones, just to embrace new styles of learning. Students are using more and more technologies and software then we ever will within an educational establishment. We need to make sure we bring learning to the students on their turf. Students wanting to try out something tricky will always use the internet as a resource for finding out how to, they will also check video sites such as youtube for a demonstration that can be paused, played over and over again until the student has concord the task. Video demonstrations are a new method and they still have plenty of #life left in them until something better comes along in the future. Video is something that can be created quickly by either the student or the tutor, as long as the quality is there and that they are relevant then they will work. Open Sim works in a similar way that second #life does, but some of the benefits are that Open Sim has a restricted network like a VLE would and the content on the virtual environment is that put there solely by the teaching team. Within Open Sim, you can make lecture theatres where students can attend in digital a seminar / lecture on a topic and then complete a task, quiz or test to show that they watched the whole seminar. This would mean that the student would not have to attend the college and they could stay and work from home on a particular topic / module. The blocks can be put within the environment where the tutor / student and write and leave messages, it will also allow you to apply pictures and textures that the students have created and seen in its intended environment, also you can put videos within the environment where it can be viewed at a later date. So using demonstration video on a VLE or virtual environment would benefit the student as they would be able to easily working within the environment, be able to have the videos on demand as and when they need them. Current methods of teaching are good, but they need to be better and having a demonstration video to hand to review as and when the students wants and needs is beneficial as the student then takes control for their own learning. This then makes the learning experience more personal and the student is able to study at their own pace. One thing that I have noticed from observations of students working and also what students have said to me is that they like the control of what, when and how they learn. “our students have changed radically. Today’s students are no longer the people our education system was designed to teach”. (Prensky, M, 2001, Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, NBC University Press) Marc Prensky also sees that students are changing and he thinks that the current ways that we teach do not fit today’s students. I only half agree with this statement. Long gone are the dictatorship ways of teaching where a teacher stands at the front of the class and recites Latin or English Literature at the students and then the students have to recite back. We have move on a long way, we now get students involved with their learning, get students working in groups, moving around the classroom etc. Some of the current ways we teach work well and won’t change, but some the do work but need to be better, we need to chance and adapt to future proof the students. Reflections Main aims in choosing this strategy and rationale for choices of tools, resources, etc. Assess what worked well, and what didn’t. Any problems or risks identified. Recommendations for colleagues undertaking a similar strategy. “It has also been shown that adjusting teaching materials to meet the needs of a variety of learning styles benefits all students.” (Agogino & Hsi 1995; Kramer-Koehler, Tooney & Beke 1995) I see teaching as a war; we as teachers come up against a group of students who are at the college, some want to learn where as other don’t, they are there for other purposes. We fight the students with education and guidance, and ready for the next battle, their future. “All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved”. (Sun Tzu, http://www.brainy#quote.com/#quotes/authors/s/sun_tzu.html) With this in mind, I read this as we have a tool, trick, styles and ways to teacher students and we are always learning to strengthen and broaden our skills to teach, these are the things that students see. But underneath we work hard on planning and preparation to actually teach and this, the students never see. Conclusions What I have learnt from the case study is that you can never know what the outcome will be, but you can have an educated guess. Students will always throw things in that you don’t expect or haven’t accounted for and this was true with this case study, students told me that they wanted more control over their learning; I just thought they were happy with how things were going currently, but liked the occasional extra, the bit we call excellence. As for what would I do differently next time, I wouldn’t, I am really happy with what I have found out and how it will work together, I just like to get a working example and see if it something that I can use for teaching higher education. I have read about theories and theorists, but I have tried by best to keep them from the case study as I wanted to get my opinion written down and then see if we have the same views, the only person I seem to share views with is Marc Prensky but I expected that. I would like to develop this further and see if this is implementable across a college as a whole, but that is a long term project.

Animation Technologies Abstract This post is from a paper i have written and is about the different keyframe animation, and motion capture animation systems used within the television, film and computer games industry. The paper looks at the positives and negatives with the two different animation and identify who uses what system and why. Animation Overview Animation has been a part of the entertainment since the Zoetrope. The Zoetrope was invented by Ting Huan in 180 AD and the Zoetrope is a device that is hung over a lamp and the device spins round making the images painted on the paper (mica) panels appear as if they are moving. In terms of traditional animation, the understanding thought of Cel animation is correct for this. Cel animation was dominating the American and European market during the mid 1910’s and 1928 Walt Disney released his first Movie starring Mickey Mouse called “Steamboat Willie”. Disney dominated the animation market for the next 60 years with their animated films, such as “Snow White”, “Alice in Wonderland” and “The Lion King” to name a few. 3D Animation is a digital way to animate a character, scenes and assets. 3D animation started in films in 1982 with the animation in Tron. The animation used in Tron was a landmark in digital animation, but it was a commercial failure as the film was appalling. Over the following 12 years, major points happened in 3D animation in film and they were Fluid Effects, Behaviour Modelling and Partical Effects. Then in 1995, Pixar released their first 3D Animation feature film being “Toy Story”. “Toy Story” is 79 minutes in length and took 3 years to make, with around 800,000 rendering hours needed to have the film ready to watch. Key Frame Animation Keyframe animation is the form of animation where an animator(s) put in chosen key points to make a series of movements. With the use of 3D software, it has made keyframe animation easier as the software fills in the in-between movement between keyframes, but the software can only work on bets guess and not what is necessarily right. An animator might want to add more keyframes into an animation to make a movement look and feel more realistic and flow. Depending on the type of movement depends on the number of required keyframes. This process of animating is slow, but it requires a high level of skill and understanding of movement to be able to achieve this successfully. On average, keyframe animators produce 2 – 3.5 seconds of animation a week that can be used commercially. For an animated feature, it is soon noted some of the reasons for working on a production for several years before it is released. There are a number of keyframe animation packages available on the market such as 3D Studio Max, Maya, Lightwave and Blender. These packages vary in there sophistication and cost. Blender is a freeware piece of software, widely available and used by both academic initiations and industry alike. 3D Studio Max and Maya are both owned and developed by Autodesk. Both of these Autodesk packages are sold with a large price tag and used mainly by high end TV, Film and Games companies from BBC, Pixar and EA. 3D Studio Max and Maya are high end pieces of software that can undertake almost any task required by the user or company. These two products have the ability of undertake realistic animation by the keyframing of the movements along with high resolution textures. Motion Capture Animation What mocap animation, what types of software are out there, who uses what and why. Optical motion capture is most common form of capturing movement for use within TV, film and computer games. Mechanical Magnetic

Blogging I have been using social networking sites for years. I have twitter, Facebook, Flickr, msn, google +, LinkedIn, the usual lot. I have found it a pain in the bottom updating them all. I wanted to link them all together and have one updating the rest, the best one I have found is LinkedIn, but this is mainly used by media professionals. Ok for me as that's what I am. But, I want something more, be able to post more. The only way I have been able to do that is via a blog. I have been blogging in total for a couple of years, but the end of last year, I started a new professional type blog. My blog is http://mattyoreilly.wordpress.com That blog site has some info about me and what I do, links to my Flickr and twitter and also a showreel of my media work. I think blogs are the future of social networking, especially if people want to write more content then you can in just a status bar. Anyway, check out Wordpress.com and if you need any help, give me a shout!!

Police Slang Names Well we all know the police have a number of slang names, some include: Rozzers, Bobbies, Fuzz, 5-0, Filth and Pigs, to name a few. Well it's one of these that has always bugged me. When and why where they called pigs, and why do they find it so offensive. Well the term pigs, I always assumed came from George Orwell's Animal Farm, as the animals in charge were pigs. That I wrong!! The term "pigs" came from Sir Robert Peel. How come, well, in 1809, Sir Peel went to the House of Commons in London as he had a passion for pigs, specifically the Sandy Back pigs found in Ireland. Sir Peel wanted to start breeding these pigs in Tamworth, and these pigs were then called Tamworth Pigs. Pig slang was common throughout Tamworth and in 1829 is when the term was used to refer to police. Politicians were concerned about how London was policed, and Sir Robert Peel changed things, he formed the Metropolitan Police. The police were getting called Bobbies and Peelers, due to his name. Due to Sir Peel breeding pigs in Tamworth, police started getting called "pigs" as the Met police was something else Sir Peel had started. So that's where it came from.

Bucket List What is a Bucket List? I have heard it being called a number of other things, but never a Bucket List. I have finally decided that I need one and must write it down instead of saying, "I wanna do that before I die". So u have finally started writing it, it has the standard, visit locations, learn a language, swim with dolphins and sharks, and even to write a book, but I am now getting stuck with things to add. I know this is going to be a #lifetime list, so don't need to panic, but I really need to have some more substance to it. Do you have a bucket list? If so, any hints or tips??