Comm 101: First Entry

The study of communication is a complicated idea.  Just the word "communication" can be confusing.  There is Mass communications, public relations, interpersonal, intrapersonal, business, and many more titles that the world uses to try and distinguish between the different types of communication.

  

Communication studies is a blend of all of the above and more.  This field of study allows for the examination of how the world works through how people in this world communicate together.  For me, communication studies allows me to view the world the way that most people have yet to. Most problems or situations in this world have not been exhaustively studied from a communication studies perspective.  This allows for a search for answers to questions that breed more questions.  These questions can lead to study in any subject that a researcher, student, or teacher is passionate about.  This freedom of study through a communication studies lens has allowed and encouraged me to embrace what I love and pushed me to share that love with others.

As Deanna told the class, I am a masters student here at SJSU.  This educational opportunity has allowed me to study one of my favorite pastimes, World of Warcraft.  Now before you laugh, know that I am laughing with you.  I never expected to be able to study something that seems so trivial such as a game.  However, the more I research, the more I see a real sense of meaning and importance within a silly little game.  My thesis centers on gamification of the classroom, and I plan on teaching comm majors at either a community college or 4-year university in just a year.  I know that there are many other opportunities besides teaching, such as consulting, but teaching will always be my love and my ultimate goal for my career.

Road to Winter Classic- Philly

Finally January 1st came around.  Most people dread the first of the year due to hangovers from the party the night before, but not me.  This year the first marked not only the first time I would get to set foot in Philadelphia, but also officially started the trip I won from the San Jose Sharks.


Unlike so many Sharks fans, I am new to Team Teal.  Though I had been to a few games when the Sharks first started, I found them again as my brother was battling cancer.  We had been visiting Justin again at Kaiser, trying to keep his spirits up when two very large men entered his room.  At the time I didn't know who they were, but they were gorgeous (all the ladies will agree).


 Mitchell and Murray had come to visit my brother, which basically made his day.  After seeing how wonderful these players were off the ice, I couldn't help but become a fan of them on the ice.  It did not take long to realize that I bleed teal, and always will.  I have thrown myself into learning the game and cheering for the sharks for as many games as I can see.
I religiously enter all the contests that I can, especially the ones through texting.  But I never win.  This is why I was so surprised when I got the call about the Winter Classic.  The only thing to make this trip better would be if the Sharks were playing (although they did win the game the same night!).

 Sharkie all buckled and ready to head to Philly!

As we pulled up to the Marriott Downtown, we were met with a multitude of signs that let us know that this was the headquarters of the Winter Classic. 

Love Park

 I couldn't believe how close we were to the heart of downtown.  Just a block away from LOVE park, City Hall and Reading Terminal Market, we were able to experience so many of the great things that Philly has to offer by just walking outside our hotel.

City Hall

View from our room

 We were lucky because Marriott was nice enough to let us check in early, no charge! We were on the 18th floor, so we had a good view of the city from our room.  The room itself was beautiful, and made me feel special.  We definitely got pampered on this trip!

Sharkie relaxing in our room

 

Even our key was in the WC spirit!

 After eating too much good food at a local Gastro pub (apparently that's what they are called), we settled in our room, excited for the next day.  As you may know, the game got moved back from 1pm to 3pm, which was to make sure the ice wouldn't melt during the game.  This meant more time for us at the Reading Terminal Market experiencing great food!

My husband all bundled!

Finally it was time to bundle up and head to the game in the buses that Marriott provided for their guests!  Yay, no subway!  By the way, neither of us had been to such a cold area in a long time, so even with our long underwear, long sleeved shirts, sweatshirts, jerseys, scarves, gloves, beanies and hand warmers, we were still very cold!  As we got off the bus, we were greeted with a ton of confused looks.  All "Sharked out", we really looked out of place on the east coast.  People asked if Mapquest got us lost, if we knew what ice looked like and a few other "clever" comments.  Mostly, besides wondering why there were two Shark fans wandering around, people were really nice and friendly (though I think it was mainly because we were clearly not Ranger fans).  Our seats were great, and we were able to have a great view of ice and the big screen!

 There was much Pomp and Circumstance as expected for a game like this, and it was fun to be apart of.  Patti La Belle even sung the National Anthem!  The game started and we got into cheering for the Flyers.  I figured cheering for the home team was nice since we were having such a great time in Philly.  The game got off to a slow start as the puck was behaving very differently on the outside rink than it seems to do inside.  Each stoppage of play brought a team of men with shovels to clear the ice, as well as someone to patch the divots that had been made.

Both teams seem to struggle with the condition of the ice, as Rich and I struggled with the cold. The cold was more bearable once the Flyers scored!  The Giant Liberty Bell over the right field wall lit up and tolled each time the Flyers put one away. The Rangers fans gained more confidence as the game progressed, and the Flyer fans lost a lot of steam.  I know that if the Sharks fans were there, no one would be able to hear the other team's fans.  And that is why we ROCK!  The third period seemed hopeless until an epic chance for a penalty shot came with 9 seconds left!  It was a bit sad when Briere could not score, but it was finally a hockey game where the team I was cheering for lost and I was not devastated.  I think the Philly fans were taking it quite hard, because as we left, I did not hear any comments about being a Shark fan.  We walked away with a few souvenirs that we bought, as well as two seat cushions that we got just for going!

Our Swag!

A former Sharks employee and current fan!

 I wish my words could share exactly how awesome this trip was.  I will never forget how much fun we had, and how special we felt during this whole process.  And all of this was possible because I filled out a form for a chance to win.  Next time it could be you!  Keep the faith, and GO SHARKS!

The Road to the Winter Classic 2012- Maryland/DC leg

After we found out about our trip to the Winter Classic, we had just a few days to make plans.  We have family in Maryland and thought it would be great to not only see Philly, but go spend some time experiencing the east coast since we were being flown out their anyways.  Since we are both in school getting our masters degrees (my husband as an Athletic Trainer, and I as a communication studies major), cross country trips are usually out of the question. It was my husband's 30th birthday on Dec 23rd and of course Christmas Eve and Christmas with family.  AND, we left the next morning at 5am!  What a whirlwind!

We flew in to DC, then drove to Maryland and were pleasantly surprised to feel that the weather was not much colder than California.  After hanging with the family for a day, my brother-in-law who works for NASA (Goddard Space Flight Center), agreed to give us an insiders look at the campus.  He showed us a speaker that NASA uses to test equipment that was over 10 feet tall!

 We also got to see a test chamber that can hold a space craft as large as a school bus.  I took Flat Sharkie with me, not only to show him the world, but to help take a bit of San Jose (and the Sharks) with me!

Sharkie the astronaut! 

The next day we took the Metro to DC and got to experience the nation's capital.  It was 28 degrees when we left the house.
28 DEGREES!
For this California couple that was too cold, but we donned our sharks gear, bundled up and headed out to see the Korean and Viet Nam war memorials as well as the Lincoln and Washington monuments.

 Sharkie at the Lincoln Memorial. 

 And at the White House.....

 And getting ready to see the Declaration of Independence...

 We also got to see the Constitution and Bill of rights.  We had a great time seeing pieces of our nation's and the world's history.  We even met a young sharks fan in line at the National Archives (and a Wings fan, who got stared down only because you can't yell in the museums!). As we headed back to Maryland, we were excited to get the opportunity to see another historic city!

Winter Classic 2012

“So…. Um… Guess what I just won?”

 I could barely get out the words to Rich, my husband, the first on my list of people to call with the exciting news.  I am not what someone might call lucky, and could barely believe what I had heard. 

I had just won tickets to the 2012 Winter Classic in Philadelphia, PA. 

I HAD JUST WON TICKECTS TO THE 2012 WINTER CLASSIC!

If I had not been at work, I would have screamed!  As it was, I was softly jumping up and down, too excited to will my body to sit still for even a moment.  Even as I talked to Rich, I never stopped moving.  At the Sharks game that night against TB, I was telling everyone I could see.  The win and the 5 goals in the first period topped off my night, making it one of the best I had ever had. 

Two days later we went down to the Tank to pick up the tickets.  We walked in the main entrance and were let down stairs.  I felt so special being able to not only go behind the scenes, but to go to a place at the Tank I had never been before.  There were huge pictures on the wall of a few of the players, and a Christmas tree across from the reception.  We were told to wait and I could only think that this Shark’s tree would look perfect in our living room.  Sara handed us our tickets and vouchers in a thick white envelope.  The tickets were so shiny and impressive. 

She explained that I should take pictures and write up a bit about my experience, and I thought “If that is the only job to do, COUNT ME IN!” I do not think that I stopped smiling that whole day.

As I was packing for the trip, I decided to also take flat Sharkie with me, so he could visit the other side of the country.  Since we came out early, we are taking him to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (MD) tomorrow and the National Mall in DC on Thursday.  Rich and I are so excited to represent the San Jose Sharks and Fans out here on the East coast!  

CHOMP!

Darcy

Crappy first drafts

In class the other day, we talked about writing and the time that it takes to write correctly.  Many of us, including myself, expressed that a first draft is hardly ever left to rest, and commonly is the last draft that is written.  I felt that the reason that I did not write more than one draft was because I was lazy.  Thinking about it a little more since then, I feel that it is a combination of laziness that has become a pattern because I am afraid of my first draft.  So as a practice today for my homework, I wrote a crappy first draft, and just let my idea flow.  Having the freedom to SUCK in my writing is now giving the the confidence to be able to allow the idea grow in my head as I let that draft sit.  While I do not know how my final draft will improve from just letting the draft sit for a few hours, the level of stress that I normally have concerning homework has diminished considerably.  Three days in and I'm feeling better and less stressed about writing.

Thesis

     I am currently working on my thesis and trying to figure out language that will help me find method and subject based articles that help back up my proposal.
    I play World of Warcraft avidly for over 6 years, and I have found some amazing connections between the game and the field of communication studies.  I have decided to narrow this view of similarities to the smaller field of pedagogy.  Everyday people all over the world pay money to perform tedious tasks to only receive virtual gains.  This is similar to the classroom where we ask students to do, at times, menial and difficult tasks for only the hope of a "good grade." Either because of the difficulty of the tasks or lack of interest, some students have a hard time experiencing success or joy in the classroom like they would find in a game situation. Applying the concept of "gamification" I will be able to find a way to reach these students, and use the language of questing to encourage learning.  Gamificiation is the process of taking a non-game situation, such as a classroom, and applying game strategies, mechanics or theories to "gamify" that situation.
     I plan on taking three races, one from each expansion, within World of Warcraft.  Leveling a character of a race that I have not leveled before (dwarf, Dranei and goblin) to level 20, I will work through the different quests offered in the different locations within the game.  By taking screen shots, which are digital pictures of a screen a viewer is seeing, I will be able to examine the language used to encourage a player to complete one quest over another.  From my experience, I know that certain quests offer ease of completion, while others offer larger rewards for harder work.  Having the screen shots to analyze, I will be able to decipher what makes one quest more desirable over the other. 
     Using the information that I gather, I will be able to find patterns that encourage quest completion.  Once finding the patterns, I will be able to link these patterns with pedagogy theory to create concrete ideas for a better classroom learning experience at the college level.

EEP!  lets hope this works!

Write everyday

Today in class, the wise Andy told us that we need to practice writing everyday in order to improve.  In order to attempt this, as my thesis is looming in front of me and I need all the practice I can get, I'm restarting this blog.


Every day I am going to try writing a little bit about something that is cool, or interesting or perhaps unbelievably infuriating. (Andy would argue that I should take out that adverb... but we'll leave taking out adverbs until a bit later).  Today I'd like to give props to my fellow classmates from the Tuesday class for continuing to carry on the conversation outside the classroom.  Even with the griping, I am proud of the strength in the conversation that is pushing all of us to be good critical thinkers.  Keep up the good work guys!