4 posts tagged “video”

Welcome back to Edutainment & Convergence: The Internet Edition.  I am your host Chris Heidelberg and with me again for our third interview is professional  makeup artist and hairstylist Erin Doyle.

Chris:

Welcome back ! In the past we have conducted our interviews in person with video tape; however, this interview and the previous two have been utilizing the Internet as our means of communicating since we already have a level of comfort.

I want to briefly discuss what you think of some of the changes in the entertainment field that have resulted from convergence like the new video gaming platforms like the Wii, the Sony PS3 and the XBox Elite?

But first, I would like to ask you what do you think about the recent announcement by Apple and EMI to release their music without technology restrictions, known as DRM –digital rights management, that prevents interoperability or sharing of music content, or even video or print content?

Erin:

I think eliminating all restrictions will affect the revenue stream for artists, so I'm not sure how good of a thing it is.  So far as gaming platforms go…don't   know a thing about it other than what my husband tells me.  He's very into all the new technology…he and his best friend are definitely techno-nerds.

Chris:

What do you think of the concept of iTunesU enabling participating universities to distribute their classes and intellectual properties for free?

What do you think of universities like MIT placing their classes on the Internet for anyone to take for free?

Erin:

It's awesome because of the rising cost of education.  That's what holds so many people back.

Chris:

What do you think of creating the Digital Duke Initiative after successfully piloting a study and adopting it campus wide of distributing free iPods to students who register and take courses that digitally record, create and distribute podcasts to students who can then listen at their leisure?

Erin:

Awesome again!  This is great, too, if a student is ill or even hospitalized, but still able to take advantage of educational opportunities.

Chris:

Are you aware that the military has been conducting research using interactive video games and simulation technology for nearly 40 years for educational and training purposes?

Erin:

Yes.  The military complex is always light years ahead of everyone else.

Chris:

Can you explain how this research can be utilized to assist individual learners especially students who have not performed well in the traditional learning environment which is wedded heavily to the Socratic lecture and questioning method as a teaching style?

Erin:

Like I said, visual learning is the best technique.  Learning differences are a lot more common than many think.  It's not that we can't learn…the majority of us are very intelligent and creative…our brains just work differently.  I think it's about time that technology caught up to us…what we've known all along!

Chris:

Can you explain the iPod, YouTube, and MySpace effects now that students, professors, public figures and ordinary citizens can now have their thoughts, words or actions instantly recorded, uploaded, disseminated and shared worldwide within minutes or even seconds?

Erin:

I think it's good and it's bad because sometimes there are images or words that you don't want posted on the Internet.  Just ask that American Idol contestant or Paris Hilton.  And, you may say something you regret, but it's out there forever.

Chris:

Is this a reason in your opinion that many professors fear losing their academic freedom for things they may say in the classroom?

Erin:

:

Possibly so.

Interview #2 – Welcome back to Edutainment & Convergence! I am your host Chris Heidelberg, and with me again is makeup artist and hair stylist Erin Doyle from . Ms. Doyle has provided her services to everyone from Hollywood celebrities to political figures to film directors.

Chris:

Welcome back, , for our second interview, I would like to talk to you about edutainment & convergence more in depth.

What new media technologies and techniques have you been working with lately and do you see any being able to transfer to higher education? In your case I am also looking at makeup techniques and hairstylists with computer simulations as well, if you use them to transform physical appearances.

Erin:

Well, that doesn't really apply to my work.  I haven't had the opportunity to use computer

Chris:

Which entertainment techniques and technologies do you utilize most often in your job and why? Which technologies would you like to use but have not had the opportunity to do so yet? Which technologies do you believe may offer some of the best hopes for the future of education for both students and teachers?

Erin:

:

Well, again, I don't using any technology in my work…unless sending and receiving e-mail counts.  I'd love to have a chance to work with the computer simulations for hair or makeup because there are some high-end salons in that have that technology.  The computer simulations would have been great when I was in training.  For the future, laptops and Ipods are definitely the way to go!

Chris:

Which entertainment techniques do you believe are best suited for transferring to education and please explain why by providing specific examples?

Erin:

:

In training professors to understand how much their image is important in educating their students because students learn more when they have a professor that looks more professional…rather than someone who looks like they just rolled out of bed.  As far as techniques go, interactive video… especially for those of us who are visual learners…is the most effective to learn and the technology is already here to make that happen.

Chris:

What skills and technology competencies do you think that modern educators will need to become successful edutainers with students? Why do they need these skills?

:

Erin:

I think I just answered that in the previous question!

Chris:

Since you are the only licensed cosmetologist in this study, I have a specific question on personal appearance as an edutainment tool.

As a professional makeup artist and hair stylist, how important is physical appearance for a professor or teacher in a classroom setting or through a video based class on the Internet or television? Explain.

Erin:

LOL!  Again, I think I just answered that in a previous question.  I can't emphasize enough how important personal appearance is.  Especially as an educator, you need to be a role model, just like kids look up to entertainers and celebrities as role models.

Welcome to Edutainment and Convergence. This blog is part of a multi-portal effort that began in 2001 while studying convergence as part of my Master's degree coursework. I predicted in my final paper that a multi-media cell phone that combined ease of use, style and reliability would be the way that Americans could download course work and go to class. At the time I was making national films throughout the country for a large government agency and we had already made the successful transition from beta sp to digital beta, and linear digital editing to non-linear editing with the avid. This transition began in 1992 , and was in full bloom by 1998. I realized that cameras were getting smaller and smaller and so were the editing systems and the monitors.

While directing a location film shoot in Carmel, California featured a tiny handheld monitor about the size of Blackberry, and that is when I was totally convinced that someone would create a miniature device that would be a computer, a monitor, a television, a phone, a radio and an Internet device. I will never forget my professor initially dismissing me in class when I suggested in August 2001 that a device like this would arrive within five years. Once I saw the initial iPod, and later the Photo iPod a few years later, I knew that my prediction would come true, and that professor later came to me and admitted that I was right before I graduated. He then challenged me to get a doctorate degree and study this phenomenon, and of course I took the challenge in 2003.

However, this time I decided to pursue a PhD in Higher Education, and I decided that I would research how entertainment techniques and convergence technologies and how they could be utilized in higher education from the perspective of entertainment professionals since I was one. I had produced, written, directed and even host more than 100 films, television shows,  instructional television shows, commercials, conferences and public service announcements and I wondered why higher education did not understand why so many children and adults were turned off by education.

So I decided to literally travel to Los Angeles, San Antonio, New York, Washington, DC and Palm Beach, Florida to interview several entertainment professionals. The title of my dissertation research is "Edutainment and Convergence: How Can Entertainment Techniques be Utilized in Higher Education from the Perspective of Entertainment Professionals. This blog will specifically provide the research interviews, and you will get a glimpse of the subjects. Each agreed to reveal their identity in effort to promote research transparency in a non-lethal qualitative research methodology.

Throughout this research there were three guiding research questions that drove this research.

1. How can entertainment techniques and convergence technology be utilized in higher education from the perspective of entertainment professionals?
2. Which entertainment techniques, gaming technology and convergence technology was transferable to higher education?
3. Can edutainment and convergence assist in creating a learner-centered environment that can produce effective results?

This research was conducted as broadcast interview, and audio and video clips will be posted on this blog from initial interviews as well as a transcripted interview (Creswell, 2005).

The interviews are presented in a media style with follow up questions in a style reminscent of James Lipton. This blog differs from the wordpress blog because it is more multi-media. This research is advocacy based and encourages academia and media professionals to work together to promote learning, and to create entertainment based research with profit potential.