Fact: The loss of literally weeks of school has given us a legitimate reason for being behind in our goals.
Fact: In the end, you can either have reasons or results.....Reasons don't count.
So, whenever we are in the classroom, or when we have the opportunities online, we must make the most of it.
I gave a blogging assignment before we began our snow days. As a reminder, here are the instructions:
1. Compose a blog post in which you discuss an actionscript 2.0 ability you would like to incorporate into your game.
2. Find a video tutorial (Check Viddler)online and embed it into your post. If you cannot find a video tutorial, try to find a written tutorial with .fla and .swf (try Free ActionScript)files and link to it in your post.
3. Bonus points if you embed the .swf and examples of the actual actionscript with descriptions of what it does.
EVERYONE is expected to complete this blogpost by our second class meeting after the snow days.
Here we are midway through the school year. During these shorter winter days, we can all struggle at times with staying energized. As students and teachers who entered classes in the fall fresh and excited, we may now find ourselves struggling to "keep the faith" with whatever it is we're doing. Our goals in regards to progress in game design, as well as other school related expectations, may now seem harder to reach. It's not hard to see how one could lose motivation at this time of the year.
So, how do we stay motivated, and how can we motivate others? This question has been around for years, and there have been many theories and possibilities have been tested.
You could try to hire a motivational speaker:
But ladies & gentlemen, I have to tell you something. Something you probably know, but don't want to believe.
The truth is, you can't really motivate someone else. Not in a lasting, significant way.
You cannot motivate someone else whuh.....
That's right: You can't motivate someone else, but you can motivate yourself. And through your self motivation, it is very possible that you might just inspire others around you to motivate themselves.
I've seen this for years in the world of high school band. If I am not excited about something that we are working on, often the students will reflect this attitude. But, if I am excited (sometimes it takes personal motivation on my part to get there), I put more energy into it. And when I put more energy into something, whether it be a piece of music or a lesson about ActionScript, students around me seem to get inspired and show more excitement themselves.
As a Globaloria educator, I have found that the more I invest myself in self-learning, the more motivated I become to teach the next lesson. It is exciting to share new information. (why do you think gossip shows and magazines are so popular?) And those around us are sure to pick up on this excitement and become more self motivated.
This comes a little "back to the basics", but I believe the best way that I can motivate others is by being prepared and learning the skills myself. In music, this involves studying scores, listening to professional recordings, in some cases communicating with the composer, and researching the story behind the composition. In Globarloria, it is accomplished by taking on personal flash projects, finding tutorials, looking for things to blog about, and keeping up the wiki.
Through this preparation, we make ourselves more confident, proficient, and MOTIVATED. This type of motivation is sure to rub off on others.
As you know, I will not be in class on Friday. So.....
Here are your assignments:
1. Complete any work from Wednesday that is still incomplete.
2. Read the "New Year's Resolutions for Globaloria" post. Then write your own post listing your accomplishments and three resolutions you have for yourself in Globaloria in 2010.
3. Check out the "Top Down RPG Tutorial" post. Download the RPG fla file and study the notated ActionScript. Be prepared to discuss this code in next Wednesday's class. What actions do you think you might use in your game?
