I knew that blogging to the theme of National Games Week would be challenging, but fun. It turns out it was well worth it! I now have a ton of ideas for ways to direct each section of the site over the next year as I work toward the next phase of this website. (There are rumors there will be working pages, tutorials, articles, and maybe even a bit more of a shop than the ever present CafePress shops!)
If there were ideas presented around the site during National Games Week that you really enjoyed, make sure to let me know so I can prioritize site growth!
Posted by Rebecca as Uncategorized at 7:30 AM EST
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The November week containing Thanksgiving is National Games Week. This makes sense because many of us are gathering with friends and family to celebrate the holiday. Some of us even engage in games with these people.
Playing games has many benefits. It brings groups of people together. It builds skills. It can help foster communication.
Over the next week, most of the posts around the site are going to take a look at games- there will be some games explored, some concepts considered. Check it out!
And go find people to play a game with, or at least play one on your own!
Posted by Rebecca as Uncategorized at 12:09 PM EST
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I’m trained in using a number of planning methods. I can plan lessons, workshops, special events, training manuals, and all sorts of projects. Oddly enough, I seem to fall back on the first lesson planning method I learned to plan out anything.
Over the past few months, I’ve considered some other, more flexible planning methods for organizing projects. The most unique one I’ve learned has been the book proposal, because it considers things that I might not have thought to consider on my own.
The one that speaks most to my creative side, though, is the storyboard method. This method is best left to media, but I’m using it to work on a game I’m working on and really enjoying it. It allows me to work in parts while keeping a close eye on the big picture. I wrote out the playable sections in a flow chart. My next step will be to create the script. Then I can merge the two into a formal storyboard and build the game from there.
I’m also exploring using a storyboard to develop PowerPoint-based tutorials. Again, I imagine I’ll be developing the script independently and then develop the graphics. I’ll then take the two, create the storyboard, and develop the tutorials.
While I really like being able to separate developing each part with an eye toward the combined staging of the project, I also really like being able to play with the components to maximize their use, change their order, flesh them out before they become full components. It’s a chance to really think things through before committing to them, and since I’m doing these particular projects for myself, I have all the time in the world to decide how I’m going to approach storyboarding effectively and efficiently.
Posted by Rebecca as Uncategorized at 7:54 AM EST
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As a somewhat tech-savvy woman who is trying to run her business online, I actually handle a number of my technical needs myself. But for those tasks that are too big for me, I like to turn to one of my myriad geek friends.
That’s the nice part of being a geek girl. I have a ton of geeky friends who are in some degree smarter than me when it comes to computers. Therefore, I have a ton of people to turn to when something goes wrong or when something is over my head. Right?
I’ve learned something about getting outside help from my geek friends, actually, and that is it’s okay to be selective when looking for someone to come in to help you.
Some of my geek friends are only a step or three less clueless than I am, but because they’ve been playing on their computers forever, they think they can do anything with their computer. Even better, some of them specialize in a certain aspect of computers, which then makes them think they can handle anything on their computer.
Sadly, it takes a mistake (like the person who two weeks ago managed to screw up my scheduled tasks because he was just trying to be helpful by asserting his not-so-bright geekness over my computer) to weed out those who fit in the two above categories, but it’s started making me think about what makes the ones who I go to in a heartbeat stand out.
When looking for an outside geek to bring in, you ought to look for these things, too.
The best geeks
- Are willing to admit when they don’t know something, but will look into it so they can help out and so they can learn more
- Don’t spend the entire time they’re trying to help you by pushing pointless software on you
- Don’t spend the entire time they’re trying to help you telling you how great they are with computers (or all the other computers they’ve fixed entirely different problems on)
- Spend time keeping up with their industry by reading books, blogs, journals, trade magazines; or by attending confeences; or by doing both. (My favorite geek often shares articles he’s read with us.)
That last one is really important because there are always changes in the computer industry, and being behind can introduce some stupid errors into your own life.
It’s okay to be selective about your geek. In fact, it can save your computer from needing a trip to a different geek.
Posted by Rebecca as Uncategorized at 12:54 PM EST
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