Service Learning

(1)

Literal:

Service Learning Log – Cal Poly Post (Cal Poly Newspaper)

11/1/10 – 11/4/10	12 hours (Playing, researching, and writing the “Minecraft” game review published in the Cal Poly Post)
1/22/11	2 hours
1/29/11	2 hours
2/5/11	3 hours
2/12/11	3 hours
2/26/11	2 hours
3/12/11	2 hours
3/19/11	2 hours
3/26/11	2 hours
4/16/11	2 hours
4/30/11	2 hours

For the Cal Poly Post, my service learning was geared toward the journalism aspect of my project. Here, I went every Saturday that they were available and when I was able to go. However, a specific list would contain the following: proofreading articles until they reached the final publication stage, learned how to do the normal newspaper layout, discussed major issues like the budget cuts to the CSU, UC, and JC systems, I learned how to do copy-editing, fact checking articles (which is a great skill to have), learned about the AP style they use in their publication, and going over articles with the author themselves and give them feedback on what they could change or work on.

However, on a regular basis, my Saturdays at service learning would include proofreading, fact-checking, copy-editing, and discussing in the main topics of the newspaper of that specific week. Also, at the beginning, I wrote a game review for the newspaper and it got published!

Total Hours with the Cal Poly Post: 34 hours

Contact Information: Doug Spoon, (909) 869-3540. Office hours are on Tuesday and Thursday.

  

Service Learning Log – Hardtoast (Hardtoast.com)

12/20/10	1 hour (Minecraft Beta Phase Article)
1/23/11 – 1/28/11	4 hours (Dead Space 2 research/notes)
1/26/11	2 hours (Nintendo 3DS Article)
2/3/11	3.5 hours (First Strike DLC Article)
3/19/11	3 hours (Arkham City Article)
3/20/11 – 3/24/11	4 hours (Crysis 2 research/notes)
4/17/11 – 4/24/11	4.5 hours (Portal 2 research/notes)
4/26/11	4 hours (Minecraft Update 1.5 research/notes)
5/8/11 – 5/12/11	2 hours (Brink research/notes)

In working with the guys at Hardtoast, my service learning was geared toward the actual video game aspect mixed with writing. However, my duties only included writing about game news and game related news. Aside from my writing of news articles, Sean Bowman (my service learning supervisor) would have me research some games before the actual release date to figure out what the crowd’s hype and opinion was on the upcoming title. Then when the game was actually released, we would have a conference over Skype where I would watch him play the game live while I took notes on the game such as how the graphics are, if the animations meshed together seamlessly, then as he wrote the reviews, we would collaborate with the ideas we had. That’s pretty much what I did when I worked with Hardtoast for service learning.

Total hours with Hardtoast: 28 hours

Contact Information: Sean Bowman, (480) 532-9822.

Interpretive:

What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?

I’ll start off with my service learning with the Cal Poly Post. One of the most important things I’ve gained from working at the Cal Poly post is an improvement in skill when it comes to proofreading any pieces of work. Before service learning, I would only notice spelling errors and simple grammatical mistakes, but now, I can notice where commas are misplaced, where commas are needed, and I’ve also developed a better skill for syntax, which is just a fancy way of saying the way words are put together in sentences. This was an important thing because since my topic has a journalism sense to it, it has definitely helped me in becoming a better writer. The second most important thing I’ve gained from working with the Cal Poly Post is the valuable skill known as fact-checking. It’s basically where the writer researches all important dates, names, places, etc. to make sure they are legitimate when used in papers. The reason this is important is because when I write game news or game reviews, the names of the characters and places within the games have to be accurate and spot on to make sure that I do not throw my audience off. It also helps establish my credibility as a writer because accurate information equals top-notch articles.

In working for Hardtoast, I’ve gained an understanding on how hard it is to be a games journalist. I’ve learned that all the deadlines we get as a writer are horrible because they are so close together and the pressure is constantly on. However, the most important thing I gained from this experience was learning how to control myself under pressure as well as a respect for game journalist due to all the deadlines they go through and the difficulty and struggle they persevere through to stand out in such a dog-eat-dog competition.

In both experiences, it has given me a greater respect and admiration towards writing. Before, I hated it because I thought it was busy work. But now, I appreciate all the effort and trouble that goes into writing these game articles because not only do they give me a heads up, but it can sometimes save me time and money when it comes to buying or playing a game.

Applied:

How did what you did help you answer your EQ? Please explain.

Working with the Cal Poly post helped me answer my essential question because while I was working there, I learned valuable information when it came to the publication process and going through it. Every Saturday, there were always some students that submit their pieces for submission to the newspaper. The same day, an editor for the paper would sit down with the writer and discuss what they can improve on and if the quality of their work is good. I learned that the process is truly dog-eat-dog because since many writers are competing for spots on the newspapers, their writing skills have to be top-notch and ready to go. This was all information for my third answer: “Getting published and going through the publication process.” I also got a sense of who I should write for in relation to my audience and fan base when I wrote my “Minecraft” game review, which is some backup for my first answer: “Establishing a fan base.”

Working with the guys from Hardtoast assisted me in answering my essential question in many ways. First of all, since I did write news articles for the website, it helped me gather experience and reinforcement for my first answer which is: “Establishing a fan base.” When I wrote, I would always have to assume the position of the audience/fan base I was writing for in order to make sure the content of my article was great and easy to follow. Assuming the role of my audience also helped me determine what should be explained more or less. Writing for the website also assisted me in giving me information to my second answer: “Maintaining flexibility in writing and games.” I would always have to be on my toes because I didn’t know if I was to write an article on a game or a game related product, or even a game breakdown or game DLC breakdown. I always had to be able to write about anything I researched or was thrown my way. Another way working with Hardtoast helped me answer my EQ was by providing me with insight and information from the perspective of game journalists that are newly broken into the field. So that fresh insight provided me with fresh information I could talk about in answering and defending the answers to my EQ.

(2)

Cal Poly Post Contact:

Contact Information: Doug Spoon, (909) 869-3540. Office hours are on Tuesday and Thursday.

Hardtoast Contact:

Contact Information: Sean Bowman, (480) 532-9822.

2 Hour Presentation Rough Draft

Name: Ryan Manalac

Topic: Video Game Journalism

Presentation Teacher: Mr. Purther

EQ: What is most important for a games journalist to know in order to be successful?

Classroom Theme: For my presentation setup, I was going for a press release/conference kind of theme, but I have to somehow work with it in a way to set up the tables while still in groups (if that makes any sense).

The materials I will need are as follows:

-          The tables for the students to sit in

-          A projector for the power point that I will be making

-          A laptop for the power point that I will be making

-          Game magazines (enough so I can put one magazine on the tables per group)

-          Printed out copies of various game reviews, game news, game breakdowns, and walkthroughs*

-          Big pieces of the white poster paper so I can print out and paste the logos of various game journalism websites and magazines for decoration**

*This is subject to change because this is only a backup if the magazines do not work out. But the magazines will serve the same purpose (this will be explained in an activity section).

**This room decoration idea, at this point, is the only one I have. But, if you have any other ideas to help me, I will gladly appreciate them.

Sponge Activity:

1.       The activity is called the 3 (or 4) line story. The objective of the game is to have each group of students to come up with their own stories. Simple enough right? Nope! Each student in the group will have a part to contribute! Each student will have to come up with 3 or 4 lines to add to the group’s story. For example, student one can start off by saying: “Once upon a time, there was a lonely hobo named Ryan. One day as he was walking, he came across an orange piece of paper on the ground. Out of curiosity, Ryan picked it up. To his surprise, it was a…” and that’s where another student would pick up the story with their own lines. It will go on until each student has gone once, where the last person would end the story. The story will have to be a short summary of the plot to the group's ideal video game, to prevent it from being completely random.

2.       The way it will be done is simple. With the instructions I will be saying above, I will have the students sit in their groups and have them complete the activity and have some of the groups share out. At this point, I feel like no materials will be needed, but since I will want the students to share what they’ve written (or said) I am leaning towards just distributing writing utensils and a paper.

3.       This activity relates to one of my answers, or actually to my whole topic in general, by having the students exercise their minds and try to write a story (in my topic’s case, an article) and have them share out to the class (in my topic’s case, the audience). Writing isn’t easy at all, and I want to simulate that by having them write a story as a group as opposed to individual. Also, it will get the students to feel comfortable with each other and provide a few laughs or so. I also want to show that writing should be fun, because if you feel it’s boring and go into this field, you will gouge your eyes out.

Introduction:

-          I will introduce myself by saying what my name is and what my topic is.

-          I will then address my essential question where I would define the terms “game journalist” and “success” because I feel they would be unclear to the students (also to build some foundation).

-          I will then state my plan of action: Talk about the history of games journalism (first publications and how game journalism has evolved), talk about the three answers I’ve come up with to my essential question (I’m a bit unsure if I should directly address them or keep it vague by leaving them as “the three answers”) and tell them how there will be activities following each answer, then say I will talk about my best answer, and conclude with my product and three meaningful sources.

Foundation:

To keep this section simple, I will try and outline it as simple as possible.

-          I will talk about the history, which means the first form of game journalism to be published and how it evolved to what it is now.

-          I will begin in the 1970s where the first magazine in 1974 was published which was called Play Meter Magazine and how it covered all the coin-operated entertainment. I will also state that it is subscription only and is still in publication (according to their official website)

-          I’ll then move on to the first consumer printed oriented magazine, which was Computer and Video Games which came out in the UK in 1981. In this section, I will also include the dispute as to which was actual first, Computer and Video Games or Computer Gaming World.

-          From printed magazines, I will go to electronically published magazines, which ARE NOT the blogs we see today. Here is another dispute I could talk about which was first: Game Zero or Intelligent Gamer Online.

-          From there, I can talk about the transformation of traditional games journalism to new forms of media like TV shows or websites and blogs.

-          Finally, I will talk about new games journalism where personal anecdotes, references to other media, and creative analyses are used to explore game design, play, and culture.

Answers (The body and activities):

 

1.       Establishing a fan base (10 minutes talking, 15 minutes activity)

-          I will talk about how game journalists establish their fan base

-          I will talk about the importance of establishing an audience in relation to game journalism.

-          I will talk about how establishing an audience is the deciding factor of success or failure as a game journalist.

-          I will talk about how game journalists begin to develop and build them.

-          I will talk about how the audience provides more than just feedback; it also determines what the journalist writes about and how they go about writing it in terms of style and structure.

-          I will talk about my experiences with fan base while writing my “Minecraft” game review and the news articles I write for Hardtoast.

2.       Maintaining flexibility in your writing styles and genres of games (10 minutes talking**, 15 minutes activity)

-          I will talk about how game journalists need to be able to write various types of things related to games, such as game reviews, news articles, game breakdowns, or walkthroughs.

-          At this point, I should also include a little insight as to what each type of articles is and their importance to the game community.

-          I will talk about how if you’re able to write these different types of articles, you will be more likely to score more jobs and gigs.

-          I will talk about the importance of varying up the games you play in relation to genre because if you don’t, you’ll be bored and loathe your job.

-          I will then talk about how writing these different styles is important for the same reason as varying up the game genres you play.

-          I will show some examples that I have written, from my “Minecraft” game review, a news article I’ve written, and a game breakdown.

3.       Going through the publication process and getting published (10 minutes talking, 15 minutes activity)

-          I will talk about the importance of going through the publication process.

-          I will establish what the traditional publication process is.

-          I will talk about how going through the process helps transform the writer in a way to build up discipline and some other character traits key to being successful as a game journalist.

-          I will talk about the importance of getting published.

-          I will talk about how getting published can result in a variety of opportunities and great rewards/achievements.

-          I will use my example in finding service learning and how I ended up writing news articles for Hardtoast.

-=-=-=-=-

Activity 1 (Establishing a fan base):

For this activity, I will give each group a demographic information sheet, much like the ones we get in Purther’s class when we start up a new PBL. From there, I will have the groups try and come up with their own way to possible come up with something that will catch their demographics’ attention. It can be anything to a cover for a magazine, a first page to a game review, a first page to a game breakdown, or even a first paragraph or game description. I will provide some examples before I get into the activity in the directions section.

The Reason I want to do this activity this way is because it is the main factor in establishing a fan base: assuming the role of your fans and thinking about what they like. It is also how I researched/experienced when I was writing my “Minecraft” review and news articles. The way students are going to apply what they learn is by assuming the role of the fans. During my presentation I will be providing some examples that I took when writing my articles. The main one being a test run I did for writing my "Minecraft" review. The demographic sheets will give the students an idea of who their fans are and from there will have to assume what they would like as their audience (if that makes any sense).

Materials: Demographic sheets, paper, writing utensils.

Activity 2 (Maintaining flexibility in writing styles and game genres):

For this activity, I will give each group a number of various articles that range from game reviews, to game breakdowns, to news articles, and to walkthroughs. However, that is my plan b. My original plan is to have the students go through the magazines that I will distribute to them, and as they go through it, have them organize what they think each article is according to the same four articles stated above. Of course I will organize them myself first and come up with a list for each magazine. Also, before or after the students organize the articles accordingly, I will want them to justify why they arranged the articles the way they did. For example, I would like the students to tell me some of the distinguishing characteristics they saw in a walkthrough, game review, or a news article.

The reason I want to do this activity this way is because it will not only check for understanding after talking about what each type of article is, but it will show that the students will be able to distinguish each type of article from each other.***

Materials: Game magazines OR printed out articles.

Activity 3 (Going through the publication process and getting published):

In this answer, I will be talking about how journalists go about getting a job or a gig for getting published. So in this activity, I will have each group play the role of an editor for a high-end magazine/website gaming empire (haha). Now, while they are assuming this role, I will give them four different candidates that they can hire to write for them. They will all have varying skills and writing styles and it is up to the students to determine who the best possible candidate is for hiring. Of course these skills will not be video game related but writing related.***

The reason I want to do this activity this way is because it will hopefully simulate how hard it is to catch an editor’s attention. This will also check for understanding by seeing if the students actually applied what they’ve learned from the content I present.

Materials: Paper and writing utensils.

*Please note that this is just a simple outline and elaboration will happen in the presentation, this is just simplified for the purpose of a rough draft.

**This answer seems like it won’t reach 10 minutes, so this is subject to change. If this change does go below ten minutes, I will have to add content to either my first or third answer.

***This idea is just a rough idea, I don’t have any other activity ideas for this answer, but I will greatly appreciate/take in any advice or other ideas.

Best Answer:

In this section, I will say that my best answer is establishing a fan base because not only are they the key to fame or failure, but they give the writer an idea on what to write about, how to organize the information they include in their articles, and can help get the writer’s name out to the world. I will also talk about how I came to establishing this as my best answer.

Three meaningful sources:

1.       My fourth interview with Sean Bowman because he provided me with insightful answers when I did my interview as well as offered my some wisdom/advice for when I want to try and break into the game journalism field.

2.       My third interview with Austin Paul Adamson because he provided me with an insight from the game journalism field as a newbie because he recently broke into it. So he was a fresh perspective.

3.       My second source, “So You Want to be a Games Journlist?” because this source was practically the foundation to my whole senior project. Without it, I would have had no idea what to research and I would’ve crashed and burned.

Product:

My product from doing my senior project is a new found appreciation for writing as well as an improvement in how I write. Before, I would see writing essays or any piece as busy work. I completely hated it. But after taking part in the senior project and doing A LOT of writing for my topic, I actually have come to enjoy writing especially if it is on something that I enjoy. The way I improved is simple. Before, I would loathe doing timed writings in class. But as we got more and more in class, I was able to knock them out quickly on the first go in class as well as produce a piece during the timed writings that were practically proficient enough to go straight into the final draft stage.

Conclusion:

In this section, I will do a quick recap on each of the three answers I have presented on, re-establish/restate what my best answer was and a quick reason why, talk about what I have actually taken from doing this project, and how I will apply what I’ve learned from this project into my life ahead of me.