The Online Classroom of the Future

In my ridiculous future devoid of any scientific understanding, this is how online classrooms will work.

Holographic Classrooms. Instead of the teacher, the one getting paid to show up, appearing via hologram to the class, everyone will have their hologram projected several feet in front of their classmates’ computer, either individually when it’s their turn to speak, or collectively, to “truly” replicate the classroom experience. If a student feels like playing hooky, they can blame technological malfunctions for their absence instead of a stomach bug or flat tires.

Effective Integration of Classroom Websites on Mobile Platforms. This is by far my most far-fetched prediction. It’s a lot to ask, but it would make discussion board posts and quick updates about homework assignments all the more manageable.

Internet-Ready Brains and Instant Updates. It’d be great if I had the Internet synched up directly to my mind. A popular theory, but its usage is probably the most advantageous for instantaneous homework updates and feedback. I’m not all in favor of it though, mostly because I can’t claim to have not received details on the assignment. Being able to think about plagiarizing, look up said information, actually learn and utilize it within the span of a few minutes would be pretty “boss”, as the kids say.

Video Responses – Everyone who has taken an online class, whether they want to admit it or not, wishes they knew who the hottest, or most unkempt, members of their course were. It’s also much easier to call someone out for using the Internet to back up their arguments while crafting responses to discussion topics.

Direct Links to Professors. Continuing on my complex computer chip in the brain theory, a cell phone or e-mail-like application would be established for students to send questions through thought to their professor. Instructors are not known for their enjoyment of privacy, and this would allow every single question a student might think of to get a speedy response. An awesome proposition indeed.

Things I Miss About Being An Editor

Since I’m (predictably) out of ideas and behind on my blogging, I’m going for another quick entry. Also, I’m already kind of fed up, so I need some catharsis. I just got hired as a busser at a restaurant in Cambridge that I won’t mention specifically since I’m paranoid, and I already don’t like it. I don’t hate it as much as I thought I would, but still, it’s not fun. Here are a few things I miss about my previous job, which is incredibly cushy in comparison.

0% physical exertion. Plates and uneaten food admittedly doesn’t weigh that much, but I’m not used to being on my feet for more than an hour. I’ve only trained at the restaurant for 2 hours twice, but both times I was exhausted afterward. It could have just been emotional exhaustion or the irony of it possibly being a long term thing (English major) taking its toll. The hardest physical task I had to do while editing was taking frequent bathroom breaks, or maybe carrying the high-end camera around.

Daytime working. I’m not sure what other editing gigs are like, especially freelancing, but I worked early hours, and on the weekdays. No more weekends if I stay at my new position. Ever. I have to say goodbye to weekend get-togethers and most of the concerts I wanted to see this fall. Being able to wake up whenever I want for the next two weeks, before school starts, will be nice, but that’s pretty much the only perk.

Easily fixed mistakes. Fixing mistakes was kind of the point, but if I overlooked something or made a mistake myself, it was only a highlight or undo/redo away. Cutting my fingers, or the eventual dropping of multiple plates, takes a little longer to remedy. You’re not really allowed to have errors near the end of the process in editing, but it’s still not as big of a deal.

One boss. Well, this isn’t true at all, especially for editing in a more serious context, but I pretty much only answered to one person while I was editing. He gave me a short list of orders and I followed, largely taking matters into my own hands. On the other hand I have my new job, with at least one manager present in the restaurant at all times, in addition to servers and hosts. They don’t technically have authority over me, but my friend told me that I get paid primarily from whatever servers feel like handing me from their tips (he had to tell me since I’ve barely gotten any information at all yet.)

Also, not talking to anyone.

And The Internet. Ah nostalgia. And Internet. I guess a job’s a job.

Preconceived Opinions About Movies Are Fun

I was bored and unable to come up with anything intellectually stimulating on short notice, so I decided that this would have to do. Trailers have a pretty powerful sway over the opinions of potential moviegoers, which is probably a bad thing. These are five trailers that I picked at random so you’d all get to see what effect trailers usually have on me. To try and replicate the effect it has on someone not sitting in front of a computer, I refrained from looking up additional information. It might be fun. I kind of doubt it though.

Here comes the cynicism. While it doesn’t look that awful, I’m personally done with popcorn action flicks not on my television when I’m bored. Are people still intrigued by ruthless alien stories? I feel like this is somehow symptomatic of American citizens and some need we have to feel like victimized underdogs fighting against lofty odds that we’ll most likely overcome (war on terror, anyone?) This particular film does take place in Moscow, but that was probably to spice up the setting.

The aliens look cool though. 

I like the opening song. Wait, sorry, academic. I’ve already seen a shorter, similar trailer a million times, and you probably have too, so I’m inclined to lay on more cynicism, but this film still looks decent. The dramedy genre is getting a little stale for me, as it all smacks of Judd Apatow and his regular actors, but what those movies usually get right is a lack of full-on slapstick jokes and over-sentimentality. I might down…I mean hit the theaters to see this at some point.

Battleship

I have to link you to this one, as Universal or whomever request that embedded be disabled. It was probably to keep people relatively uninformed about the movie, as it most likely will be terrible. You should probably save 2 minutes of your life and not click. Regular guy caught in the middle of some large conflict (with a vague technological menace) out of his league that he will probably have a large role in deciding? Haven’t heard that one yet. I’m also just going to just gloss over the love subplot featured during the trailer’s first half, as it will probably only take up 10 minutes of screen time, not to mention the fact that it’s based on the Hasbro game. Yeah.

I’m not as inclined to rip on this sarcastically, but I’m not sure how I feel. It has an awesome cast all around and looks as if the people who worked on it actually cared about making a quality film. It looks to take itself way too seriously though. I know that dirty politics rarely comes off as subtle, but I thought the off-the-stage events were less melodramatic. My political naivety is most likely showing at this point. Cool shots though.

Ugh. I feel like I’m already a part of the problem by giving this film any additional attention, but self-imposed rules are rules. First off, I think the horror genre should be renamed the gore or torture porn genre. Evidently, no one goes to the theater to be scared anymore. We’re all more interested in being grossed out and cringing at momentary, meaningless violence. Not to mention the title of porn is fitting, as the good parts are encased in a terrible story no one actually cares about. I don’t think I’d see this for free.

No Toys Here: More Videogame Talk

After writing my article “A Look Into the Notion of Games as Toys”, I felt like I sort of slacked on discussing the merits of the games I deemed mature and cutting edge. So, as a nice consolation prize, I decided to dedicate a blog post to a few games I think challenge the idea of gaming as a child’s pastime, in addition to the idea of gaming as something other than an art form. I haven’t played very many titles recently but I figured it was still worth a shot. It might already be overdone and moot, but again, reference the blog title. I also know at least one of my classmates is an avid gamer. You know who you are.

 Bioshock

I’ll be honest, it’s been a long time since I’ve played it, and my original run-through was incredibly speedy, but this is pretty much the go-to example for modern, intelligent gaming. As Jack, a seemingly unfortunate victim of a plane crash in the middle of the Atlantic, players explore the underwater utopia turned dystopia, Rapture, run by powerful business man Andrew Ryan. Ryan ostensibly grew wary of the government and social structure of the land-based world, so he used his vast wealth to fund the construction of an enormous underwater city with a sort of extreme capitalist bent, attracting scores of the world’s leading scientists, artists and other great minds. After nearly fifteen years, the discovery of unstable genetic enhancements, affording superhuman powers to residents with the necessary funds, drives most of the city’s inhabitants insane, following a civil war for control of the city.

In addition to having a premise that’s sort of difficult to summarize succinctly, the story is told in a really engaging way, with most exposition and dialogue provided through radio chat and tapes found around the city. What really makes this game, from my slightly foggy memories, is the intense atmosphere. There’s a constant fear of sea finally reclaiming the city. Mutated, overly aggressive citizens lie around every corner, and the city’s is filled to the brim with decaying sights that are both unsightly and still bear some of their former greatness. Also the story’s good, but I won’t spoil it (I also don’t remember most of it...)

Limbo

Kind of a left-field pick, but, as mentioned before, my recent queue of games is small. I think it deserves the recognition anyway. This little game was released on the Xbox 360’s online store, Xbox Live Arcade, last summer I believe. It’s largely a platformer (jumping and physical puzzles for the uninitiated; think Mario) following a little boy in a nightmarish world looking for his lost sister. You’re forced to navigate dangerous traps and puzzles in order to find her, with generally graphic results when you fail. The simplistic visual style prevents it from being too much though, as everything is rendered in a cartoonish silhouette style.

What really stuck with me and made me want to mention this title, in addition to the atmosphere, was the way the game’s end was handled, in addition to in-game deaths. Instead of giving you an over-the-top “YOU ARE DEAD” slide before putting you back into the experience, the deceased boy you play as will simply lie there, sink further, or keep moving, depending on the circumstances. It’s as if the game takes your unnamed character’s death seriously, instead of making you feel bad for failing some puzzle or falling to some enemy. Also, without spoiling anything, the game’s ending really makes a powerful connection to the idea of “limbo”, or what’s commonly referred to as Purgatory. It’s a real Sixth Sense moment, if that makes any sense.

Shadow of the Colossus

Team ICO’s spiritual successor to Ico is a moving game to say the least, and one of my favorites. Since I played it a long time ago and I find myself out of practice when it comes to writing about gaming, I figured I’d just quote a better piece that partly made me include Ico in my article. I’ll quickly just state that the premise of the game finds Wanda (or the more masculine Wander in the Japanese version) in an isolated land, desperately trying to revive his (female, obviously) lover. In order to do so, a mysterious being inhabiting the castle, which leads into the land itself, tasks him with slaying sixteen giants, or colossi, after which it will grant his lover life once more. This 1up blurb on the game, from their “11 Games That Made Us Think” article, puts it a lot more nicely than I can.

“Shadow of the Colossus isn't only beautiful, it's a treatise on the tragedy of the video game. Everything that makes games interesting enemies, stage design, narrative is only there to be beat. You have to kill an enemy to appreciate his challenge. You have to make the traps in a stage useless to appreciate their design. You must remove the mystery of a world to appreciate its mystery. Otherwise you're ‘stuck.’

“Shadow of the Colossus isn't just sad because you're ultimately the villain. It's sad because it showed us that, even when you're the brightest of heroes, your main goal in a game will always be to make the world less special.

“Whoa.”

That’s it for now, this has become a long read…next time I’ll choose a more universally interesting topic. I promise.

Whining about Social Networking for Whining’s Sake

Alright, I’ll admit that, again, I don’t really have a grand scheme or big driving idea behind this post. I mostly just wanted to see if I could arrive at an answer to a baffling question I reintroduced to myself earlier today: why do I have a Facebook account? Or a Google+ account? To worsen the situation, I recently signed up for a Tumblr account as well. As a friend of mine so eloquently put it to me today, “You’re just retarded if you don’t have a Facebook.” At one point I would have agreed with him, but I’m not so sure anymore.

Facebook definitely has some great things going for it. Contacting friends has suddenly become a matter of flipping open a laptop or queuing up a cell phone application. I can share several forms of media with friends, including music, video clips, et cetera, in addition to uploading photographs with ease. Its features and those of its competition, however, are not what make me doubt its place in my life.

I am really concerned with the general unimportance of privacy recently. Aside from the site’s constant collection of data from user activity, which brings in nice barrels of cash from marketing agencies and the like, many of the people on my “friend” list don’t seem that concerned about sharing too much. Many people, even frequent users, don’t seem to be that savvy with the site’s privacy features, and also include phone numbers, even addresses, in their profile information. I, thankfully, have gotten a good handle on those settings, as I often abuse the concept of a “personal” profile on websites.

There are several other nitpicky things that make me uncomfortable for being so inclined to linger on these various sites. For one, I’m not a big fan of being constantly available to scores of people. I won’t pretend to be a skilled socialite, but there have been countless times where I’ve just signed in to Facebook to make a quick post or read posts from pages I follow and been forced into drawn out conversations with people I barely know. Not a big deal, I know, but the time adds up, and I always find myself banging my head against my desk (figuratively) for not using it more wisely. I enjoy some occasional time off the grid.

My biggest concern, which I have been dancing around for 300+ words now, will probably paint me as a hypocrite, but the way in which most people in and around my age bracket use social networking sites to portray themselves is a (moderate) annoyance to me. I get the sense that we all feel pressured to appear incredibly intriguing, fun and attractive, all at the same time, carving out fictional identities for ourselves in the process. I really don’t feel the need to take a picture every time I go out with friends, even if we are doing something noteworthy. I’ll also make posts expressing sadness or anger, forgetting that I’m sharing thoughts with an audience seeking happy clichéd aphorisms and exclamation points, and get accosted for it. Last qualm’s my fault though. I should use my diary instead.

That rant’s long enough, right? What do you guys think? I know there are several other issues I haven’t covered, as I feel this drone is way too long, so leave me some comments.

First (happy) post: what else can be said about the MBTA?

Welcome to my blog friends. I hope it'll be entertaining, but I try not to make promises I can't keep. I'll cover a variety of topics, dependent on what random thoughts bubble up to the top of my head.

I know the subject has been done to death, but I can't help but continue to whine about the MBTA incessantly. It would also be false advertising if the blog wasn't a little bit boring.

I've been riding the T for a good chunk of my life now, which is unfortunate. Aside from being afflicted with bad, untreated scoliosis during my freshman year of high school and being forced to stand long periods waiting for buses and trains to show up, I don't think I had that much to complain about. It gets even worse when you're "of age." Getting mad because you can't get home in time to get a good head start on homework (or, more realistically, to play video games) is one thing. Being forced to pay 30 or more dollars for a taxi ride because you missed the last train is another. Each time a big event happens downtown or near somewhere easily accessible by T, patrons are urged to take public transportation instead of driving. Not that this is ever a situation I have to deal with, but do even modest bar and partygoers leave in time to catch a 12:30 train?

Aside from this fact, is designating a buddy as driver really a bigger hassle than riding the MBTA? For students it's almost necessary, as the cost of gas, parking, car payments and insurance are serious strains. Even given this, many, at least that I know, would say it's worth it not to be forced to deal with bus drivers and conductors (often rude drivers and conductors), who use schedules as guidelines rather than schedules, dirty conditions and unsettling fellow passengers. I've been reading for years how the MBTA is struggling with tight budget constraints and debt, but that really doesn't provide that much solace or incentive to keep riding.

That being said, if it ran to, let's say, 1:30 AM, all would be forgiven.