Sunday, December 15, 2013

Must See Places in NYC During the Holiday's

If you love the holiday’s you should experience the holiday season in New York City at least once in your lifetime.

New York City goes all out during the holiday season. Department stores, businesses, and the city streets pull out their best decorations for tourists.

The most iconic place to visit is the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center. The massive tree is a hot spot in New York during the season. Millions pass through Rockefeller Center to take pictures, ice skate, and simply view the tree. It can be hectic and heavily crowded at times, especially later in the day, so the best time to visit would definitely be earlier in the day.

After seeing the tree, make your way down to the Avenue of the Americas and see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular at the Radio City Music Hall. Radio City is home of the Rockettes who participate annually in the show. Each year the show is light hearted and really brings the holiday spirit!

Your next destination is Fifth Ave. Department stores festively decorate their buildings and window displays. The season brings a whole new joy to window-shopping.  


Walking along the streets of New York City during the holiday season you can experience joyful music and festive decorations on every block. A visit to the city is sure to kick-off your holiday season and get you into the holiday spirit! 


https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zeJMU4K0GWvA.kJ_jW5eX2ELk

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Academic Support-Tutoring

The Academic Support Center at Lyndon State College offers many services to the students.

The faculty and staff of the center offer tutoring in a plethora of subjects, a writing center, academic counseling, ESL, services for students with disabilities, and a math resource center.

They also offer a federally funded program called Project Excel. This programs helps eligible students graduate from college. Project Excel offers tutoring and services for students with disabilities as well, along with academic and personal counseling, scholarships, financial advising, and a laptop lending program. 

Student tutors are one of the most easily accessed services of Academic Support. Most tutors are often students enrolled at Lyndon State College, and are hired through a direct hire method, rather than work study. Student tutors are hired by Debra Bailin, the director of Student Academic Development.

Upon arrival to the writing center, which is home of the different services offered by academic support, a student can find a schedule of when tutors are working and the subjects that they are eligible to cover as a tutor. Students are allowed to work with the tutor they have sought out for up to an hour, for the purposes of sanity and a clear mind.

The students can search on the schedule when there will be a tutor available for a specific subject, and they can see who is currently working in the writing center. There are math tutors, writing tutors, science tutors, and tutors for almost every major, like Electronic Journalism Arts and Mountain Recreation.

When it comes to counseling, ESL, services for students with disabilities, and Project Excel, students can seek information and help from the faculty and staff located in the writing center. Often times, the faculty and staff of Academic Support often work one on one with students of this nature, to give them the best possible service they can.

Unlike this, student tutors do not usually work one on one. They sit in the open environment of the writing center, around other students and tutors, to receive the help they are looking for.

Some professors at the college provide extra credit to students who seek help from one of the services offered by Academic Support. Tutors have a log book to record when they have worked with a student, which is available for professors to see, or often times, a brief note can be written by the tutor to the professor, to make them aware that they have worked with a student. The Academic Support community at Lyndon State College provides a relaxed, helpful environment for students to seek help and guidance.

Monday, December 2, 2013

Final Project

The topic of our final project is where to go during the holiday season in New York City. The components of multimedia that we would like to use are audio slideshow, video clips, and maps. Rachel will be the photographer, Vinnie will create the maps, and Camille will put it all together.

Video Project 2

The topic of our second video project is a day in the life of a Lyndon State College tutor. Our tutor is Dom Amato. It is his first year being a tutor and we plan to do a mini feature on him. We plan to use natural sound of the tutor center, sound from the interview with Dom, and rights free background music. Camille - Interview Rachel - Video Vinnie- Editing

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Lyndon State Men's Basketball Team-Video Project One

The Lyndon State Men's basketball team played their first game of the season against the University of Quebec at Montreal. For the last five years, they have been able to play an exhibition against a Canadian team, which has helped them figure out where they stand, said Coach Joseph Krupinski.

Krupinski has assembled a team that he considers to be very athletic. The team lost four starters from last year who were graduating seniors. He began assembling this year’s team by taking stock of the men who were returning, and finding new men that would be a good fit for the team and piecing the two together. In players, he looks for men with good character and good athleticism, equipped with the skills they need for the upcoming season. There are many things that the team is better at this year, and also many things that they need to work on, said Krupinski. Krupinski admits that he never knows whether or not the team will be ready going into a game, but the teams practices went well. 

"I've always felt that our teams here definitely compete hard, and play together," Krupinski said.

Krupinski said that the team overall is not very tall, which can sometimes be a disadvantage. The team’s average height is only about 6 feet tall. While that can be a struggle, some of the key advantages that Krupinski believes his team holds is there speed, quickness at the guard position, and ability to get to the basket. The team needs to work on passing, standing around less on offense, approve their ability to box out, and work on their rotation, said Krupinski.

"We have a lot of areas to improve, it's too early in the year to not improve," Krupinski said.

Krupinski does not know what to expect in the upcoming season, saying that each one is its own journey, but they are hopeful. With so many pieces it will be tough to figure everything out, he says. He is planning on continuous improvement during the busy season they have ahead of them, liked every team plans to do. Overall, Krupinski would like to see the team find its identity, "something for them to hang their hat on," like each team does. Maybe it will be their pressure defense or the ability to get to the basket. Krupinski looks forward to figuring it out. 


Monday, November 4, 2013

Video Project 1-Topic

The topic of our first video project will be the men's basketball team. In the video, we will be focusing the story around the teams first game, while out accompaniment will be focused around the team they have created this year.

We plan to use video from the game and interviews. The sound sources we will be using is the natural sound from the game, and the sound from the interviews with a player and the coach.

Team Assignments:
Video-Rachel Veitch
Interview & Sound-Camille DeLongis
Editing- Rachel and Camille

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Video in Newspaper

The PostStar is the online version of a newspaper that serves my town, and surrounding towns, in Warrensburg, New York. It offers many things, such as news, opinion, sports, life, entertainments, community, obits, and what I find to be the most interesting-blogs and multimedia.

The site has individual tabs for both blogs and multimedia. The multimedia page offers videos, photo galleries, and more. I really like this, because in this day and age, people are very visually driven.

Some of the  videos are pretty amateur, while some are done much more professionally. I think it would serve them greatly to develop that part of their website more, so they have more consistently professional videos.

The videos are usually pretty short, but some are longer (three minutes or so).

The subject matters are sometimes interesting, including memorial day projects, but some are boring, such as a graduation ceremony.

Monday, October 28, 2013

CNN iReport Critique

What I liked:
-They give you a tour of the website when you first sign up
-The explore tab gives you latest iReports, editors picks, featured iReporters, a location finder, and more.
-Easy to navigate
-Built into CNN's regular website
-Very in depth "Contact Us" page
-Assignment desk gives you an opportunity to write stories with some ideas they have given

What I disliked:
-The "main" screen doesn't have very much going for it. All it really shows is when TeamiReport favorited a new iReport and a little bit of your profile information on the side.

Overall, I think it is a good idea because it gives people an opportunity to be able to learn how to create good stories, and have a forum for them to be viewed.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Audio Slideshow-Red Tin Box

For our audio slideshow project, we decided to focus on Red Tin Box. Red Tin Box has been a band since 2011, and met at Lyndon State College in common Music Business Industry classes. Ever since then they have taken steps to creating music, gathering a fan base, and performing. Up until this 2013-2014 school year, they played mostly local and college venues and events.

Just recently, the band went on their first tour during Lyndon’s October break. Mike, one of the band members, worked alongside Tyler Kittleman. Mike wanted help setting up a tour, and turned to Tyler for assistance. Throughout the tour, Tyler eventually took on the position of band manager, fulfilling a personal goal of his own. They travelled to various locations in Vermont, New York, New Hampshire, Connecticut, 

Massachusetts, Washington DC, and Virginia.
Tiana Thompson, a Lyndon State Student, went to Higher Ground in Burlington on Red Tin Box’s last tour date to see them perform. Tiana is a huge fan, and is a symbol for the loyal fan base that Red Tin Box has acquired at Lyndon. Tiana and the band members share a relationship based on the bands twiiter page, and interact regularly.

Kittleman took on the jobs of general manager, tour manager, and production manager all in one. “I’m basically like all of their dads, I’m their daddy,” said Tyler. He describes his job as driving them around, booking their shows, and making sure they get there on time. “I make sure they comb their hair, I make sure they’re wearing the correct suits because you don’t want to watch Garret come in with dog poop on his boots…gotta make sure they look nice,” said Tyler.

Tyler and Mike sat down to figure out the tour, and Tyler decided he wanted them to play a show every night of the week. Tyler felt a sense of accomplishment in himself and the guys for being able to play a venue every night of the week. The guys wanted to stop and see their girlfriends, but Tyler said no, “This isn’t a girlfriend tour, we want to make this into something.”

Tyler personally sees himself staying with the group after college, and the real question he faces is if they want to stay with him. He hope they can continue to see eye to eye after graduation, and he can continue to work for them. Tyler sees Red Tin Box going pretty far, and would like to be a part of the success and the experience.

Both members of our group contributed:
Photos: Rachel Veitch and Red Tin Box
Photo editing: Rachel Veitch and Camille DeLongis
Audio: Camille DeLongis and Rachel Veitch
Soundslide Editing: Rachel Veitch and Camille DeLongis
Text: Camille DeLongis and Rachel Veitch

Music: “I Killed the Captain” by Red Tin Box

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Synopsis - Audio Slideshow Project

For our project we would like to highlight Red Tin Box. Red Tin Box is a band here at Lyndon who play many different events both on and off campus. We would like to do our slideshow on the band so we can share the story of how they got started, what they have been doing and are currently doing, and where they plan to go in the future.

It would be an attention grabbing piece because so many students here are interested in the band.

We plan to have an interview the band for sound bites to incorporate throughout the slideshow. We are going to ask them to play a song for us for additional audio. We would take pictures of both the interview and the performance.

For this project, Camille will be interviewing the band and recording audio of the interview and performance, ad Rachel takes the pictures. We will be working together to create the four hundred word accompaniment.

For our accompaniment we will be talking about the tour that they just went on over October break. We may also interview their manager for his perspective on the tour, and a fan who went to one of the shows, for the four hundred word story.

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Slideshow & Photo Gallery Critiques

Photo Gallery:
This photo gallery serves as a "How to be a good wedding guest" guide.

It uses pictures to show what it is describing, and captions to explain it.

For example, one picture was of guests seated at the ceremony, and the caption is "Make sure you arrive on time so you don't walk in after the bride."

These tools worked well to make the gallery have a good storytelling technique. From start to finish, you are told the 'story' of how to achieve being a good wedding guest.

I believe it does a decent job compared to other slideshows and photo galleries because it has an easy to follow, coherent story.

There is no audio, and I think it did not make much of a difference, and the overall 'story' was just as good.

Slideshow 1:
This slideshow serves as a journey through the Bristol International Balloon Festival.

It uses pictures to show the balloons, the people, the filling process, the balloons in the air, and the landing process.

This slideshow had audio. A woman narrated some of the slideshow to tell the watcher what was going on, and it used natural sound clips from the festival.

These tools worked really well because you visually got a good sense about what goes on at the festival, and the audio tells you what is going on and what the festival is about, using natural sound that actually tells the story and makes you feel like you are there.

I think this did a very good job, maybe better than many slideshows because of its integration of narration, natural sound, and pictures.

Slideshow 2:
This slideshow serves to show the different women of Woody Allen's films.

It uses only pictures to show the different women that he worked with.

The slideshow did not have audio or captions.

These tools worked well, showing a very simplistic slideshow, while still telling the story of the women he worked with. I think that it tells everything it needs to with just the photos, which is the ultimate job of the photographer-to be able to tell the story using the picture alone.

I think compared to the photo gallery and first slideshow, it worked very well.

Sunday, September 29, 2013

NewsLINC Critique

What I like:
-Simplistic, good-looking design
-Easy to navigate layout
-Clearly defined sports and weather sections
-Clearly marked "About Us" section so you can know more about NewsLINC and News 7
-Shows poplar information on 'Home' Page right underneath tabs and more popular stories beneath it
-Shows what is coming up at 5:30
-Has a 'Report a Tip' section

What I think could be improved:
I personally have not found anything yet that is on the website that needs improvement

What is missing:
I think there should be a section for the people who contribute to NewsLINC with a little bit about themselves.

Monday, September 23, 2013

Camille and Rachel's Podcast


The First Year Experience Office at Lyndon State College is one of a kind. Donna Keely is the director.  Through an interview with Keely we found out how she ended up in first year experience, what she gets out of it, her future plans, and the benefits of the program to the students. The two main aspects of the First Year Experience Office are the SOAR and Fall Kick-Off Programs.
 SOAR stands for Student Orientation and Registration.  Incoming students attend a two day program in which they have their first experience living the life of a college student. They attend programs in order to learn about campus life and academics.  In these programs students talk to faculty and staff about their major, financial aid, and eventually register for classes. The students are lead in small groups throughout the two days by Peer Leaders. 
 When the students move in they attend another program called Fall Kick-Off. They students are placed into new groups with a new Peer Leader.  These groups will be their INT 1020 class during their first semester. Fall Kick-Off is a less intense version of SOAR, with more team building activities, such as community service and outdoor games. Overall the program is designed to build community within the incoming class. The students are given opportunities to hang out with others and form bonds as they start the academic year.  One of the most important relationships they make is with their Peer Leader.
 The role of a Peer Leader is to help incoming students get acquainted with the college and make an easy transition. They are a resource for students to come seek help and safe place to bring issues and concerns. The Peer Leaders are unique because they are a role model throughout SOAR, Fall Kick-Off, and the first semester.  These programs ensure that the incoming students can make connections with Peer Leaders, so they know at least one person when they move in during the fall.
Peer Leaders are connected with students and a faculty member in their INT 1020 class. Their role in the classroom is to be an assistant to the professor and continue to build relationships with the students. Peer Leaders are required to have four week check ins throughout the semester to make sure each individual student is excelling and settling in to college life. After the first semester is over the Peer Leaders may not be directly integrated with the freshmen class but the bonds formed during the First Year Experience programs continue

Rachel Veitch and Camille DeLongis-Podcast Outline

TOPIC: 
Interview with Donna Keely-Director of First Year Experience

PLAN: 
-Contact and set up meeting with Donna for an interview
-Create prepared list of question for interview
-For written accompaniment discuss SOAR and Fall kick off for the broader aspect
-Ask more personal, career based questions about her life in the interview

PODCAST RUN-DOWN: 
-Quick introduction of Rachel and Camille Introducing our first topic
-Introducing our interviewee
-Asking questions about college, career moves, why she chose this, what she gets out of it, favorite parts, etc.
-Conclusion/closing

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Podcast Critiques

I subscribed to two blogs--Building a Website Pro by Michael Szapkiw and  Black Hollywood Live Fashion 411 by Black Hollywood Live. Both of these can be found on iTunes.

Building a Website Pro:
Why I picked it:
-Michael was a broadcast communications major in college, and now he is interested in the web, and uses his podcasts as a side job to help instruct others to build and design website. Since I am in the generation of communication majors who need to be able to do everything, this blog really appeals to me.

What I liked:
-Centered around making and designing websites
-Gives background about himself and how he got to making these podcasts and why he does it
-Gives good insight to different ideas in why you'll need to know this
-Teaches you how to do specific things (Come up with good domain names, themes, etc.)

What I disliked:
-Not many episodes yet

I will most likely continue to check on this podcast and listen to it if it has episodes focused around things I need to learn to improve on my blog/make a website

I did not put these on my iPod or anything else, I can listen on my computer if I want to.

Black Hollywood Fashion 411:
Why I picked it:
-Stood out to me
-Looked interesting
-Only clothing related podcast I saw

What I liked:
-Discusses trending looks
-Multiple people talking so it's not boring
-Has the feel of a conversation
-Funny, honest

What I disliked:
-Only really talks about celebrities
-Sometimes talks about things that aren't relevant or important which makes me lose interest

I do not know if I will continue to listening to this. I see what celebrities are wearing almost everywhere else, so it's not telling me much I don't know. I also don't really care what celebrities are wearing, I thought it would be a little different.

I did not put these on my iPod or anything else, because I can listen to them on my computer, like the other podcast.



Wednesday, September 11, 2013

In Class Assignment-Vermont Symphony Orchestra

Vermont Symphony Orchestra Comes to Lyndon 

A well known orchestra will be paying a visit to Lyndon State College this month.

The Vermont Symphony Orchestra will be coming to Lyndon State College on September 26, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. in the Alexander Twilight Theatre.

The Orchestra has an annual fall foliage tour, the Made in Vermont Music Festival, where they travel all throughout the state, playing their music. They will be performing the music of Vivaldi, Mozart, and Bach.

The Music Director, Jamie Laredo, will be conducting and will be playing solos as well. The Festival will be featuring several of their principal players, and new music by Vermont composer, Andrew Massey, entitled "Vermont Spring."

Tickets for the show went on sale August 23, 2013, at Flynn Tix.


Monday, September 9, 2013

WOODTV Website Critique

http://www.woodtv.com/home
What I like about their website:
-Have tabs at the top of the page so the viewer can navigate through the website such as News, Weather, Target 8, Report it, Only On Wood, Local Guides, and More

-Have both weather, sports, and entertainment to appeal to more crowds and cover all sorts of news

-Show the temperature and a small weather blurb on the home screen

-Uses a mixture of pictures and videos along with their text

-Shows popular and recent stories, shows most recent videos, and recent headlines on home screen

-Has photo galleries

-Has email and text alerts

What I dislike about their website:
-The sports section does not have its own tab at the top of the home screen, rather it is located under the "Only On Wood" tab

-The tab title "Only On Wood" makes the information look exclusive to WOODTV, which it is not, it's news

-Pretty boring visually

Overall the website does a good job in its purpose of delivering news, with easy and quick navigation. The look of their website is rather visually boring though, and could use some revamping. Overall, has a good use of multimedia tools.

Writing for the Web 2

Roaring Creek Bridge Reopened 

A bridge is reopened today after a flood that happened last year washed it away.

The bridge over Roaring Creek has been rebuilt and reopened after the county, state, and U.S. Department of Transportation pay for $700,000 reconstruction after the flood last year.

Roland Lively, the head of the County Department of Transportation  says that before the flood, the bridge was already due for several repairs. They were not planning on replacing the whole bridge because they did not have enough funds, so when it was washed away they were forced to come up with the money.

The destruction of the bridge created hardships for the local residents of  Oak Grove, making their traveling take more time, and having to drive a farther distance. The residents were forced to drive more than 9 miles longer to reach Highway 19, a main route.

Reopening Brings Happiness

"Having the bridge erected so quickly is a blessing," Josh Spiva, a resident, said.

The bridge has been open for a couple of weeks now, but Midville Mayor Seth Montana, U.S. Congressman Nancy Draughorn, and U.S. Senator Warren Johns, will all be in attendance for the official opening ceremonies.


Writing for the Web 1

Vehicle Accident Leaves Man Killed in Lyndonville 

A man dies suddenly after a car crashes into the restaurant he was dining at.

John Barker, 59, was killed today trying to save Annie Coulter from her car after she crashed  into Central Restaurant on Depot Street.

The Vermont State Police say Barker did not suffer many injuries from the crash itself, other than a few cuts, but upon trying to help remove the Coulter from the car he died of a heart attack.

Breaks Fail

Coulter's brakes failed as she swerved to avoid hitting a pedestrian on the road, running her car into the glass window of the restaurant.

Coulter suffered minor injuries from the accident.



Sunday, September 8, 2013

Online Writing Homework

Hometown Homicide
12/7/13

(LYNDONVILLE, Vt.)--Today, in Swanton, VT, an unknown man robbed the Hometown Sunoco at gunpoint.

The man, as the employee described as white and about 6' tall, fled the scene on foot, with an unknown amount of money and other items from the store.

No one was hurt during the incident, and the Vermont State Police Department are continuing to search for the suspect.

Anyone with information on the man is asked to contact the Vermont State Police at 802-524-5993 or Franklin County Sheriff's Office at 802-524-2121.


Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Online Writing Exercise

Vermonter Charged After Bear Hunt Goes Wrong
LYNDONVILLE, Vt. 1/18/14

Conrad Masse was finally charged with aggravated assault after accidentally shooting his friend, Wayne Goff, during a bear hunt on October 20, 2013, on Urie Rd. in Albany, VT.

Masse and Goff were chasing a bear down the road in a truck, in hopes to shoot it. Goff got out of the truck to wait for the bear to cross the road, and Masse continued driving about 500 ft. up the road to wait on the other side.

The bear crossed the road between the men, and Masse took fire with his Remington .30-06 Rifle. He fired three shots, one hitting the bear, one hitting a tree, and one hitting his Goff.

Goff was transported to the hospital for treatment after taking the shot in his midsection. He has been released since, and is stable.

Masse was also issued Fish and Game tickets for shooting from the road, having a loaded rifle in his vehicle, and not having the correct permits for hunting the bear.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Blog Critique

The blog that I chose to critique is called My Baking Addiction. A woman by the name of Jamie is the author if this blog, and uses it mainly to share her recipes.

Elements I like about this blog:
-Layout and design are inviting and pleasing to the eye while making it easy to navigate the blog.
-Has multiple "pages" such as 'Fundamentals' 'Essentials' a 'Beyond The Sugar' section, and 'giveaways'
-Uses pictures to show the finished product
-Doesn't just give you a recipe, but talks about a personal connection, what she likes about it, etc.
-Personable
-Makes it easy to subscribe or contact her
-Popular categories section

Elements I dislike about this blog:
-Has a page called 'Blogging 101' which could be helpful because I like her blog, but it just seems out of place


The blog seems to be updated a few times a week, but sometimes there are somewhat large jumps in which she didn't update.

The comments definitely indicate the people are reading this blog, and loving it. There are many comments on her posts.

The media elements that Jamie's blog uses beyond text is pictures, as well as links to her email and pinterest.

Pimp My Blog - The Process

My first assignment for my Multimedia Storytelling class was to "Pimp my blog." This is the process I went about in creating it:

First, I titled my blog, and made a description as to what it was being used for. I did this under basic settings for blogger. I chose to name my blog after my name to make it easy for people to find and know it is mine, since it is my first blog and it is in an academic setting. I made the description of my blog "Multimedia Storytelling" so readers would know what it's primary use is for.

Next, I changed the background under template on blogger. I decided to go with a theme that blogger offers, because I found it to be very pretty. I chose a very bright and colorful background to grab the attention of people visiting my blog.

Then I started playing around with gadgets, about me, and adding pages. I chose to add a few different gadgets such as "My Blog List," "Follow By Email," "Search This Blog," "Popular Posts," and a "Video Bar" which I have yet to figure out. I added these because I thought it help to organize and help inform people visiting my blog. Then, I added an about me section which if I can recall, I did on google+. I did this so the reader could understand who I am and basically-what I am about. I also added my google+ picture to my blog so people visiting can better identify who I am.

Next, I changed the layout of the information of my blog, under the layout option on blogger. I changed it so my "About Me" was on the left hand side, in hopes that people would see and read that first. I added all of my gadgets to the left hand side. Finally, I left my posts in the middle because from my perspective, that set-up looks the most coherent, organized, and pleasing to the eye.

After the layout, I changed the color of text, and the font of the words on my blog. I decided to go with font colors such as white, gray, and pink, because they stood out the best from my background and accented it well. I changed my font to "Georgia," mainly because I thought it was most pleasing to the eye.

Finally, I added another page to my blog. I added a "Contact Me" page in which readers can click on that tab and find out how they can get to my Facebook, Twitter, and what my email address is. I did this so readers can communicate with me.

That was the overview of how I came to get my blog looking the way it does!