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College Fit

Creative works at the student symposium

06/08/2018 by afuller

woman speaks at symposium, class full of students

The EWU student symposium is an annual event where students gather to present the research they have worked on through the past year. This year I went to one TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) presentation and a few journalism presentations.

TESL—traditional vs contemporary learning

Renee talked about the benefits and challenges of learning a new language through traditional and contemporary (new) learning styles.

Traditional learning involves collaboration. Students get together and learn a language in groups during class or after school.

This is what you may have experienced in language classes in school, where you learn in a physical environment with other students and study in your free time.

Contemporary learning involves learning online by speaking with native speakers. This type of learning can add onto classroom learning, or help non-students learn.

ESL students will usually feel more comfortable speaking to English students who want to help them learn than talking with classmates or teachers. Online learning is considered a safe ground where students can be more confident in their abilities.

Journalism—social media use in journalism

Grace talked about enhancing reader engagement through social media. She interviewed two people and researched Facebook and Google analytics to find well-received posts.

Grace found that good social media use involves being conversational, knowing the audience, and giving a reason to engage others.

Professional journalists encourage users to visit their website and use word filters on Facebook or other social media sites.

Did you know that Twitter changed journalism techniques? Journalists use Twitter to get news from across the globe minutes after something happens!

Finally, younger journalists can use Twitter to create their own brands. Twitter can be great for a new journalist’s portfolio.

Photo manipulation in journalism

Erica talked about photo manipulation and journalism. Photo manipulation should never be used to change the story of the photo. She said that modern journalism uses only photos with minimal editing.

Erica said that people send doctored images to journalists! These photos are edited to look real, but a few tips can help tell the difference between real and fake images.

Erica also discussed how to identify doctored images. First check the shadows and lighting. If shadows don’t match the light source, the image is probably fake. She says that it’s important to be skeptical of images online and to use common sense. If something looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Erica also talked about reverse google searching an image. If you drag an image onto google, you can find if that image has been used in other places. Don’t use an image that can get you sued!

You can also verify photos by checking the metadata, information on the photo’s location, camera, and date. Unlike photos, metadata is fairly difficult to alter.

Finally, Erica said that photo manipulation should be used as a tool, not a weapon.

Verifying videos online

Dayana had a similar project: verifying videos. Dayana said that with the rise of citizen powered news, doctored photos are more common.

Verify videos by contacting the video author, using geolocation, and checking temporary details (including shadows).

Dayana then talked about geolocation. She showed us a video with a man stuck in his car during a flood in 2007. When she reverse image searched him, she found he was from a different flood. That doesn’t sound too bad, but journalists can get in a lot of trouble for using the wrong image!

Sports podcasts

Michael talked about how to create an interesting sports podcast.

Michael says that there are a few factors including: Fan engagement, forward thinking, strong advertising interest, and serious talks about culture.

One thing that Michael mentioned was that advertising was on the rise and podcast creators are making more money. Podcast creators also can use Patreon, a website that allows people to donate money to support podcasts, art, or music.

Apple podcast analytics can help podcast creators see which episodes are watched and where they are most popular.

More about podcasts

My presentation was up last. I worked with Sam to develop a rubric for successful podcasts. Presenting was a little intimidating at first but we got through it!

Good podcasts need interest, journalism in the field, schedules, and music transitions. We reviewed a few podcasts including Serial.

Wrapping up

The student creative works symposium happens every year in May. All EWU students are invited to participate, and the events are open to the public. This is a great opportunity for future Eagles to present and put in their resume.

Filed Under: Academics, College Fit, Community, EWU, Student Life

A little from the cast of Heathers

04/17/2018 by afuller Leave a Comment

Woman falling over, Holly and Scott in back

I loved Heathers so much that I decided to sit down and chat with the cast and crew to see what it was all about. I spoke with the director Jeff Sanders, the male and female leads Scott Worley and Holly Kirkman, and the stage manager Sierra Peck.

So why Heathers and not another musical? There are two followings of Heathers out there: the people who saw the movie when it came out, and a generation of younger people who know about the play. Jeff picked this play out because of the musical numbers from an off-Broadway production.

Most of the actors were theatre students, but some weren’t. Eastern students will definitely get a little priority when selecting cast members, but cast and crew can be picked out from anyone. In fact, a non-theatre student had a major role in Heathers. One great thing about EWU is that the theatre program is a little smaller than the largest universities; anyone can get the opportunity to play a lead role!

Heathers was incredibly well-received. It outsold Avenue Q by 200 tickets and may have even outsold Romeo and Juliet which had 97% capacity. That’s a lot of people!

A little about the actors

Holly and Scott ended up learning a lot about acting.

Playing as Veronica gave Holly a much better understanding on where her limits were, and what limits she thought she had that she was able to surpass. Scott wasn’t able to connect with the troubled JD on an emotional level, so he mastered a technique from Theatre 1 called the Chekhov technique.

Most everyone in the play knew each other beforehand but there were definitely some new people. Scott said “with every new actor, you learn something from. I want to work with as many new actors as I can.”

Holly added that “we really are a family. In theatre we grow really close. We do these kickbacks where we run scenes, run monologues, and give critiques and feedback.”

What if I don’t want to be on stage?

Sierra was the stage manager, which means she helped manage the crew who helped put on the production. These are people who move the sets, put on costumes, and make sure the lighting and sound work properly.

A good crew is vital to getting a play to work. According to Sierra: “a good run crew and good crew overall is integral to having a good show. So many working, moving parts happen backstage that are super important to making the show good.”

Stage crew really is important. After a few weeks to get the lines down, the crew showed up and started putting up and taking down the set an hour before and after the cast. That shows a lot of dedication.

How can you join the crew? There are addition sheets during auditions for students who audition for cast parts. You can also get in touch with the theatre department and email them. Sierra says that she picks out people based on interest, so if you really want to get in, make sure to send out emails.

How do I get started?

If you want to get into the plays, start off by going to the plays. The Fall play typically has a call for auditions and you’ll be able to learn how to apply.

Filed Under: Academics, College Fit, Community, EWU, Student Life

I went to a musical: a little about Heathers

04/13/2018 by afuller Leave a Comment

Veronica (Holly) stage dives, actors cheer her on

One of the coolest things about writing a blog is that I’m able to do things that I normally wouldn’t do and call it work. I’m actually pretty sure that I have the best job on campus (don’t tell anyone). One of the cool events I went to that I normally wouldn’t have seen was the musical Heathers, put on by the Theatre Department.

Speaking of parents and kids, I noticed a lot of students brought in their family and friends. I should have done the same! I sat next to people I didn’t know, which was fine, but I’ll definitely invite friends next time.

One thing I learned: reservations are extremely important for EWU plays. I showed up an hour and a half early to the play and there was already a line waiting. Next time I’ll be sure to reserve a few days beforehand.

Jeff Sanders, one of EWU’s theatre teachers, directed the play. I took a Theatre in the Humanities course that he taught ages ago so I was happy to see that he still taught at EWU. Before the play began, he talked a little bit about auditions for the plays this year (The Tempest and Clybourne Park) and who can apply. Any student can apply as part of cast or crew, not just Theatre students.

I haven’t been to a musical in years and I really wasn’t expecting what would happen. For those of you who don’t know, Heathers is a dark comedy and I walked into the musical thinking it would be disgusting. And ya know what? I was glad to know it wasn’t. If I were a parent I might even bring in a high school aged kid to see it.

A little about Heathers

The acting and singing was fantastic.

I could tell that the actors were putting a lot of effort into their characters and singing. I’m surprised at how well the acting and singing turned out and I’m actually a little jealous at how talented the actors were.

One of my favorite moments of the play was when the characters were all having a confession song. Everyone pointed flashlights at the guy just to my right and one of the characters screamed at him. I may have broken down laughing at this point, especially since the guy next to me was so genuinely confused about what was happening to him.

I was astounded at the speed of the transitions and the work that the crew put into the piece. Setup between each scene was faster than any play I’d ever seen. Lighting and sound effects were on point throughout.

Overall I’m very glad I got to see the play, though a little sad that I didn’t bring along friends. Next time around I’ll put some effort into getting friends to come to the play with me.

Filed Under: College Fit, Community, EWU, Student Life

EWU Bazaar

03/12/2018 by afuller Leave a Comment

As a design major, I would meet new people every quarter in both design and art classes. When I heard that there was a bazaar for design and art students, I had to go check it out.

The bazaar had about thirteen installations with 9 current students and 4 EWU alumni. It feature all kinds of artworks, from the types of things you'd fine in a downtown gallery to the types of things you might fight at one of Spokane's summer street fairs. The alumni assisted the new students with picking out art for the show, pricing pieces, and even managing their own inventory. Students got firsthand experience and training with selling their art.

Show me the art already!

In no particular order, I’ll present some of the fantastic artwork done by students and alum. I really enjoyed the pottery, but I’ll be sure to show off some of the paintings and prints too!

19 assorted pottery

These are all made by one student, Amanda Caldwell. Check out the variety of pottery she has, from small cups to canopic jars (let’s be real, I saw the canopic jars first).

12 paintings on wall, numerous prints on table

Rebekah Curtis did all of this work.

Yes, all of it.

I keep getting drawn back to the two large paintings in the middle. I’m sure everyone who sees a painting like these sees something different but I keep thinking of them as the eye and minotaur paintings.

assorted mugs, vases, and bowls

Mike Haynes is an alumnus of the EWU art program. One thing I love about his work is the unity between pieces I see here.  The pottery is styled with either the black and grey snakes or the multicolored line pottery in the front. I feel like I could get all of my bowls from Mike and they’d all match up with each other!

two sets of three prints left and right, 295 pins in center area

The bazaar had much, much more but I’ll just go over the pins, prints and zines. It’s exciting to see how much students at EWU made and were able to show off!
three sets of four zines for four dollars eachone set of five zines, one set of four zines, four dollars each

Filed Under: Academics, College Fit, EWU, Location, Student Life

Web Programmer by Day, Novelist by Night

02/22/2016 by Nick Thomas Leave a Comment

Burke Fitzpatrick on IT and Creativity

Burke Fitzpatrick has embraced the total dedication required to be a creative writer and work a full time day job as a web programmer. His nights are filled by furiously writing the next book in his series of “dark fantasy” novels called The Shedim Rebellion – building his world and the characters that inhabit it – and his weekends take up the business side of running Blade Books, the press he founded. He describes his books as a mix of “heroic fantasy and Dante’s Inferno.”

“It’s all creative,” says Fitzpatrick, “you are creating something out of nothing.”

Fantasy Author and EWU Programmer Burke Fitzpatrick
Fantasy Author and EWU Programmer Burke Fitzpatrick (photo Nick Thomas)

The trick to self-publishing is keeping the reader wanting more, and then actually delivering on that. Some writers are able to support themselves writing full time simply by churning out the content. “E-book publishing is mirroring the old pulp paperback business model,” he says. His fifth book in the series is in the works.

A lifelong reader, Fitzpatrick devours a wide range of subjects, from mythology to history. It helped that his mom was an English teacher and his dad an amateur historian. He grew up drawing and painting too, and earned his AA degree in graphic design in the mid 90s, surfing the wave of the dot com bubble.

Eventually he came to EWU and pursued a degree in Computer Science. He needed to be able to support his family, but desperately wanted to develop his creative writing, too. So he took as many literature courses as he could handle. Studying programming, calculus, along with ancient British Literature provided a stimulating, if challenging, counterpart to his STEM classes.

Throughout his undergrad experience he made the most of internship opportunities and work study at EWU, first as a graphic designer for Marketing and Communication, then as IT support, and then programming. Upon earning his degree, this experience led to a full time IT job at EWU, where he has been for 16 years.

Fitzpatrick loves learning, and that’s a good thing, with the tech industry changing rapidly with the move to the Cloud and mobile-based devices now making up half of all internet traffic. “In the IT world,” he says, “you are constantly learning new things.”

“A couple years ago I took JavaScript courses,” he says. He was impressed with the computer science department. “They are placing grads in good jobs right away.”

Wanting to further hone his literary chops, he then earned his Masters in Creative Writing over two and a half years of night classes at EWU’s highly regarded Creative Writing MFA Program.

When asked how coding and writing stories are related, he insists they are closely linked. “It’s all creative,” he says. “You are creating something out of nothing.”

 

 

Filed Under: Academics, College Fit, EWU Tagged With: burke fitzpatrick, creative writing, EWU, ewu computer programing, ewu computer science, ewu mfa, fantasay, IT, it career, shedim rebellion, STEM, writing

Study Spots around Campus

03/03/2015 by sspiering Leave a Comment

Eastern Washington University is on the quarter system, and those 10 weeks go quickly! Staying motivated and on top of school work is important. Instead of always heading to JFK Library, maybe venture around to some other great study spots.

EWU Patterson Hall

The first stop is Patterson Hall. You’ll find multiple cozy spots to post up inside this stunning building. You may just find a spot that keeps you feeling creative, too. It’s very accessible and each spot is unique.

EWU Computer Engineer Building
You don’t have to be an engineer or design major to go inside the Computer and Engineer Building. The very lowest floor has a quite great study area. You won’t be bothered with the noise of classes getting in and out of session. Also, one of the tables is a barrel! How fun is that?!

EWU Communications Building

Last but not least, the Communications Building. Of course there’s the main lobby, but on the second level there is a room just for students. It’s great for group projects when the library is full. But SHHH, …let’s keep this one a secret between us.

Filed Under: Academics, College Fit, Location, Student Life

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