Just Plain Busy

Tweet

It is ironic. There has been much to think about and to share. However the reality is I've been too busy to reflectively record what has been happening and how I've been thinking about it all. One of the elements that has been capturing my energy is the start of the semester and teaching a course that I've haven't taught before. 

Last semester I was not in the classroom but our dean, Jeff Rutenbeck was. I vividly remember how good he felt about it. This week I had to tell him how I completely understood how much joy it gave him. Teaching gives back as much as one gives. At the same time, it is totally humbling. In the classroom, it does not matter how much one had accomplished or who one may be to the 

outer world. The only thing that matters is who one is at the moment and what one delivers now. It is a constant prodding to do better. It is ironic because the critical audience, young strangers in many ways, become individuals that one cares deeply about and that one wants to see accomplish great things. The teacher comes to know the potential for impact in each student. I want to give them the best of my self that can enable them to their greatness. Already I am here in the semester and evaluating how best to propel them forward.

At the same time a lot has been happening with those I do know and have been working with and for. The Emergent Media Center 

is buzzing with activity. Joining Ray McCarthy-Bergeron and myself is Sarah Jerger. Again ironic. Ray and Sarah are former excellent students of mine. They are the energy and drive that will enable us to accomplish great goals. 

Our students are deeply involved in a number of projects. We are at deadline with the IBM project which is both good and bad. The level of creative activity and thought is so thick that you can feel the neurons swirl when you enter the room. This is good. Soon we will have met our goal and then I am afraid we will lose John Cohn. This is bad. His energy charges the room, the students and us. This week President Finney visited and got a taste. Few words but by his smile he acknowledged the powerful learning that was happening in our small space.

Also this week two collaborative proposals went out that could use emergent media and games created by our students to touch many others in life altering ways.  At the same time Ray and I met with Janet Cottrell and Sarah Cohen from our library to decide on the information literacy game projects proposed by our students that we will move forward on. We had seven independent submissions and our students are anxious to know which we have chosen. Tomorrow is the evening. In this same timeframe, the grant to work with CIMIT on the RIPS project has arrived. It has been a long time coming and is a partnership that now feels more like a common goal. We are selecting students that are best suited for the first phase of the project. 

Selecting students. This may be the most important part of where we are now. Students are showing up in our doorways, while we traverse campus, unannounced and through e-mail. They inexplicably know about our activities and want to take part. I would say that more students have knowledge of and understand what we are doing than the general campus community does. At the student level, the Emergent Media Center has become viral. This is a very good thing because this is who we are working for. They inherently understand emergent forms of communication and the value for the greater community.

Which brings me to another ironic platform. We are reaching parts of the community that can see the vision and want to continue the forward momentum. As a sampling these past two weeks, I have been working with Meeting Professional's International on student created games to encourage change, the International Game Developer's Association preparing a presentation at GDC, the IEEE Computer Society to create a Technology Summit on Game Development and on accreditation of degree programs, the local business community for an event entitled Creative Jam 3.0, and the Vermont government on encouraging emergent media business development. 

All of these are steps towards new forms of teaching, learning, community building and business. Each step is strategic and vital towards examining and creating our future. Again irony. It comes down to empowering strangers to accomplish great things. These strangers are keeping me just plain busy.

Vermont

Tweet

By now, reading this, it's readily apparent how avid I am about our young people's destinies and the future role of interactive communicative technologies. There is another devotion I must share. I am passionate about Vermont. Though not born here, in my adulthood I've grown up here. The opportunity to move to my mother state of New York was presented two years ago. Even as excellent opportunities called out, there is an essential quality to this state that I could not abandon. 

What a state it is. One can look out one's window and see such natural beauty! The air clean and pure, space unfolds, and our forests beckon, and then there are Vermont's people! Some will say stoic, stubborn, taciturn New Englanders but in Vermont you need not look far for warmth and ingenuity. When disaster strikes; stuck in a snow bank, a forest falls around you, or to coach your child in softball, they are there—hard working, supportive, with few words but a warm handshake or a tractor if need be.

Yet there is more to Vermonters, whether born to or chosen by the place. They are self-reliant, innovative, passionate about the world in which they live. Ready to go against the grain if need be. I have been lucky to know these people. People like John Cohn, a top researcher at IBM who is working with our students to support an IBM initiative around engaging young people through games to the sciences and technology. Or people like game developer Chris Hancock.

Chris, recently moved to Vermont, is creating a serious game business—Tertl Studos LLC. He is known industry-wide for creating the premier game in the educational space for science and math, "Zoombinis". Chris and John define the Vermont lifestyle. How many top engineers do you know voluntarily work promoting science education—and have fun while doing so? How many game developers that heat by wood? Or live a short walk from the capital building?

Which brings me to today. Greg Morgan and I parked in Chris's driveway to visit the capital for Governor Douglas's State of the State address. Once inside the capital I photographed a lovely painting that captures the Vermont spirit—independent, loyal, with a heart and sometimes a life given for our society. Also I was compelled to speak to the youngest Vermonters there.

There was Tyler a young artist sketching the proceedings. He draws daily realizing continual observation and practice develops his skills. There were the young pages who were chosen based on their written essays. They were using cell phones to photograph each other, digitally recording their big moment. They were all giggles and charm but when the proceedings began—all business. They define our future. They are why I was here. Their direction is what this distinguished assembly of legislators determines daily.

Today a keystone event occurred for emergent media and the future of this independent state. Governor Jim Douglas in his address proposed investing in a pilot project to be managed by the Emergent Media Center in collaboration with Champlain's B.Y.O.Biz and Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies. The goal to grow student created businesses in the serious games and emergent media space. To quote:

"Now with one eye to the future, and one on the bottom line, we must strike the right balance of protecting key government sevices while making smart investments for the years ahead...

...To further inspire investments in technology, I’m proposing we invest a quarter-million dollars in two pilot projects—a partnership with Champlain College and the University of Vermont’s Center for Emerging Technologies to provide grants to start-up businesses that are developing cutting edge software; and an e-communities grant program to enable more local internet content, discussion forums, wikis and blogs."

Governor Douglas's proposal is an exciting opportunity aligned with the Emergent Media Center's mission.  Through the collaboration with B.Y.O.Biz and VCET, we can continue to lay a solid base to launch new, future-defining Vermont businesses. Businesses begun by our students. Businesses that have at their core use of emergent media, in formats yet to be defined such as serious games, blogs, wikis, and social networking, to share the Vermont vision of the future. One built on hard-work, neighborliness, innovation and concern for our world.  I believe—actually, I strongly believe—that Vermont with its mix of creative artists and technological innovation is the perfect place for these businesses to thrive. 

Businesses that our young pages will wish to be part of, to build and to create. They will have the opportunity to share a Vermont-inspired vision of networked community with our world. Let's dance to that.

 

Mentoring for the Future

Tweet

Champlain College is awakening back to life. The students who are taking mentorship positions are back to campus in training. Likewise faculty and staff are preparing to welcome the students into this shining new semester. An amazingly full plate confronts us at the Emergent Media Center with a very busy upcoming week.

This past week a small team of faculty and myself have been crafting a new degree program proposal. We spent two full days brainstorming; working with input from our external advisory board gathered before the holidays. One of our defining moments was after a full day of construction. We realized that we needed to pinpoint what the students who will enter this degree will call themselves. We knew what type of brain sets they would possess, what the students would be looking to become as far as skills and intellect are concerned and what the domain they would be entering is but what would they call themselves? 

The challenges are different when you are designing degree programs for firmly established fields. An accountant-to-be is an accountant. A graphic design student is a future graphic designer. Each comes with time-tested definitions and areas of craft. But what about the students who will be creating new fields and pushing existing ones? How does one define them and their expertise? Creative technologists is a term being used but that is too general at the moment for our mission.

This at its essence is identifying with the future as mentors. The road to the future can sometimes seem straight forward like a bright clear day. However more often that not it is obscured with occasional brilliant moments pointing out potential pathways. In creating a new degree program one must identify those bright directions and the skills and intellect needed to create and build upon those directional markers.

I have been fortunate to have mentors in my life who have helped me craft a future for myself and for the young people I work for. This morning, contemplating this, I have been thinking about what a mentor does for the men-tee. A mentor is not necessarily a teacher but is a guide. A mentor may not have the skills that the men-tee is seeking. Stronger still, a mentor is interested in promoting and developing the eventual path of the person being mentored. Often this means opening doors that lead to directions worth exploring. True learning coming from the individual recognizing discovery. It also means sharing or giving the lime-light to the person being guided. It is a uniquely selfishly unselfish act.

In essence this is what we were doing this week—creating doorways through which young people may define future media technologies and modes of communication. They in turn will be our guides. So what did we decide these students will call themselves? Innovators, developers, designers who work within emergent media. Emergent media? Networked, interactive, participatory communications. In the end it all boils down to building community.

Year End Lists

Tweet

Officially I am on vacation today, as I have been all week. But I am also back to my computer which has led me to lurking among news sites and other interesting bits and pieces. As it is nearing the close of the year this means lists of top 25's in the game industry, in education and in games of course.

My sister, Mary DeMarle, pointed me to the Next Generation—Top 25 People of 2007 list. This list is intriguing due to the diversity of individual impacts on the industry. This year Saturo Iwata claimed number 1 spot for his leadership at Nintendo. I believe what was written about him last year when he placed second says it all "But what has made Iwata special in 2006 has been his ability to inspire and lead not only great people, but also the rest of us."

I thoroughly love that Peter Raad made it to the list because of his work creating the Guildhall at SMU. Congrats Peter! We first met 6 years ago at GDC while in the conceptual development stage of our respective programs. It is wonderful to see solid higher ed programs progress and begin to cast their influence. 

Also during this time I have been fortunate to see Montreal grow as a game capital and begin to impact industry. It is quite a gift (and a lot of hard work) to have our new campus, Champlain College du Montreal, there where the students have access to vibrant people with emergent ideas. People like Jason Della Rocca, executive director of the IGDA. Jason spoke with the students early in the Fall term and now I see he will be receiving the 2008 Game Developer's Choice Award. Congrats Jason! Among the studios in Montreal the new Eidos campus is getting a bunch of press. General Manager Stephane D'Astous seems like a leader to watch in Montreal. He appears to have that special leadership ability that leads and inspires.

But back to my vacation, Christmas is a holiday for me that is all about family and play. The top list of play from my family this year would be the following:

1. Guitar Hero for the teen and pre-teen set (of course).
   
2. Apples to Apples—a card-based community discussion game for all (they can't seem to keep this game in stores).
   
3. Bunco—a traditional holiday favorite across the female generations.
4. Playing the piano—the sound of live music.
   
5. My little pony played between the little nieces and my adult brothers.
   
6. The dragon game my niece Becca received.
   
7. Tinker Toys for five year old Christopher.
8. Stealing of adult shoes from under the Christmas Eve table by the five and under set, Macey and Savannah.
9. Dominos for Jim—multiple colors and set variations.
10. Make believe and the sound of reindeer bells.

Creativity or Creation

Tweet

Phenomenal day today. It was a day in which brilliant minds convened and shared concepts with the aim of transforming education. At Champlain, Robin Lane, Joe Manley and myself, under the encouragement of CCM dean Jeff Rutenbeck, are embarking on creating a new degree program that hopes to offer a new, life impacting, form of education for young people engaged in new media, discovering themselves, wishing to impact cultures and wanting to innovate utilizing and creating emergent forms.

Around the table both live and through teleconference, fortified by web communication, were participants from innovative design studios, game studios, technology companies and independent new technology/media arenas alongside outstanding faculty—teachers of the best sort. A very diverse crowd in one respect but a crowd united in that they recognize the changes that technology has brought forth and the need to address education to reach a new, sometimes more adept generation.

One thing I have learned in my life is that experts are not experts unless they understand and can ask what they do not know. The act of honestly asking questions and seeking answers. This group was such a group. My mind is still buzzing with the ideas and insights offered!

This meeting followed a wonderful lunch with a man I consider a true mentor. In many ways this lunch targeted much of the goals and what needed to be discovered at the subsequent meeting. He shared with me the concept of critical friends.  He asks hard questions—questions I am grateful that they have been asked. As a designer I have always found the "criticisms" of clients most valuable. Likewise I have also found their projects, usually in subject matters that I have not studied, a form of study in itself. For instance, I have done many an animation for IBM Research. It was through these that I came to understand many elemental and not so elemental principals of physics as well as future technologies. All a way to grow intellectually. What I applaud about the idea of critical friends is that criticism is not meant to destroy but to strengthen.

That brings me around again to the convening of genius this afternoon. A key thought brought forth by one of our group, Chris Hancock, was of creation versus creativity. Indeed it is one thing to bring forth concepts but it is an entirely different matter to make those concepts work. Perhaps critical friends is one of those factors that can enable creation. Either way if this degree program succeeds it will be in part because this upcoming generation unknowingly has behind them a group of very smart critical friends.

Today's image is a composite of these friends and ideas generated from the meeting.

Wired Play

Tweet

Today, a visit to the Boston Museum of Science, a place I have visited before—what do I finally see? An Aztec calendar with a pendulum. The main floor exhibit masterfully positioning my questions about a long ago culture that is no more. 

I've just returned from that 14 hour day to Boston and back. Hope Martin and I had two meetings mid-day. One with Kangmei, the other with Emily, both have exciting concepts about creating games for different outcomes. One on building collaboration in a corporation—integrating "next gen" workers; the other on electronic games as applied to discovery for children. 

At 5:00, we headed off to hear the MacArthur Foundation presentation "Totally Wired: How Technology is Changing Kids and Learning". Three distinctly different academics presented in a forum: Katie Salen, Henry Jenkins III and Howard Gardner. Key thoughts:

• Jenkins expressed the need for new media literacy to allow a larger proportion of the population to be part of  participatory media.
  
• Salen focused on the system of learning surrounding games.
• Gardner wonderfully admitted to being "paleolithic" compared to "digital natives" and  stressed key ethics' questions in regards to youth and new media: sense of identity, privacy issues, ownership & authorship, trust and credibility (to which I add genuineness), and the definition of community.
  

All offered poignant thoughts on a generation brought up alongside computers. I especially appreciated Howard Gardner's reflection on the concept of present society being immigrant cultures on a new frontier. This resonated after a lunch time conversation this week with Champlain education professor Ken Reissig. He explained the dilemma of Burlington's Somalian immigrants and their difficulty adjusting to the rapid adoption of American language and culture by their teens.

However distinctly missing from tonight's forum were the voices of the "totally wired" generation. I'd prefer to hear them offer their perspective from the stage as well. It is interesting that we can not hear until it is translated by experts.

After listening to these luminaries, my last photo in Boston was of the shooting stars hung in Harvard Square. Thoughts on the 3.5 hour drive home were about how far voices from the Vermont mountains travel. Vermont is incredible because it offers a distinct voice. That may be why I love Champlain College. We do do things differently. We are educating forward. It was with these thoughts that, while driving the mountain high roads, I was surprised by 7 amazing shooting stars—the real kind.

Tonight I have no conclusions to offer except visual thoughts about play from my last 4 days:

• Playful mannequin in Bristol, VT.
• Playful cat.
  
• Playful art at MOS.
  
• Game designers at play.
  
• Tinker Toy computer that plays tic tac toe at MOS.
  
• Photographic play with holiday lights in Cambridge.