Wednesday, October 19, 2011

BP8_RILS Links to Comments

Follow this link to my comments on Sahpreem A. King's RILS on Educator Studio, where she introduces a Web 2.0 tool StoryJumper to create digital book reports!



Follow this link to my comments on Jhollern's RILS on Educator Studio, where she leverages Diigo, Google Reader, and iGoogle to make companies flow better!





BP7_A Basecamp to Always Touch Base


Shrav Krishna

“A Basecamp to Always Touch Base”

Brief Overview: The objective of this lesson plan is to make project management and team collaboration more efficient and organized in a business corporate setting by implementing a Web 2.0 project management tool, Basecamp. With several features ranging from to-do lists, file sharing, and time tracking, all milestones in corporate projects can be achieved successfully.

Target Audience: Current team mates for an e-commerce website Business Plan competition within an I.T. internship at i.c.stars |*.

Materials
· Computer
· Internet Access
· Basic knowledge of social media file sharing

Objectives
At the end of this scenario, the participants will be able to:
· Make team based project management more efficient and reliable
· Track and achieve milestones within a collaborative project management tool
· Document and communicate our tasks accordingly to task assignment and due dates

Procedure
· My project manager will create an account at http://basecamphq.com/
· All team members will be invited to the created group account
· We will disperse roles and assign/set our various tasks under “To-Dos”
· Various Events/Milestones will be documented on the Calendar
· Upload our progress to achieve milestones
· A survey via Google Forms will be distributed at the end of the experiment to
  each team member reflecting on the progress, benefits, or drawbacks 

Web 2.0 Tool 
The Web 2.0 tool that we will use is Basecamp. It is a web-based project-management and  collaboration tool traditionally used by corporate businesses to manage all phases of a project from milestones, file sharing, and assigning tasks. 
  
Social Participation/Social Learning
· Social Participation and Social Learning will be comprised through collaboration upon to-do lists, wiki-style web-based text documents, and shared files. Given the amount of application of material my team members and I will contribute to achieve all of our shared milestones, we will create shared mind maps and connections to the project mission.

Making Connections
· All members will be able to apply traditional project criteria in an interactive web-based strategy, attain a shared common goal of reaching the project to success, and culminate all achieved milestones and fine tune delivery approach to earn funding from Venture Capitalists

Create/Produce
· My team mates will be uploading media and setting tasks that is relevant and attainable toward our project presentation pitch to the group of Venture Capitalists at the end of the month.

Assessment
· To ensure that all objectives have been met, I will take screen shots of the To-Do lists, Calendar, and uploaded files on my team’s Basecamp to ensure we are using the tool to its full potential.

Reflection
· Learner Reflection – A survey via Google Forms will be distributed to all members of the team to compare traditional project management methods with the strategy used in Basecamp. Elaboration on any potential improvement, praise, feedback, recommendations of the tool will be issued.
· Educator/Trainer reflection – The trainer will carefully go through all feedback issued, and rectify any concerns so that the tool can be a reliable project management aid at the corporate level.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

PE5_Basecamp

Here is a follow-up of how my team, HiveMind, are using Basecamp at the moment!

Let me begin by recapping the RILS (Relevant and Innovative Learning Scenario) lesson plan:


“A Basecamp to Always Touch Base”

Brief Overview: The objective of this lesson plan is to make project management and team collaboration more efficient and organized in a business corporate setting by implementing a Web 2.0 project management tool, Basecamp. With several features ranging from to-do lists, file sharing, and time tracking, all milestones in corporate projects can be achieved successfully. 

The project that I am tracking via Basecamp is HiveMind. 



HiveMind ( www.hiveviral.com ) is a marketing firm that uses crowdsourcing to come up with campaigns and slogans, and then throw it out to the hive mind community to vote on the best ideas, thus giving our customers not only original campaigns, but instantly providing market research as well. 

Since we will be pitching this start-up idea to a group of Venture Capitalists at the end of the month...this is the progress we've made in MANAGING our project via Basecamp! 

 We have a central hub, the Dashboard, where we can see all of our progress instantly...

We have started to upload files with regards to our business plan process and our financial model...

We have assigned tasks to each other, so that each of us is playing our roles...

Loyd Dennison is the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) and CMO (Chief Marketing Officer of HiveMind.
Brandon Boyd is the CFO (Chief Financial Officer) of HiveMind.
And myself, Shrav Krishna is the CTO (Chief Technology Officer) of HiveMind.

---

Once more, just to remind you of the significance of this blog post with respect to impacting music -- In order for people to create emotional ties and value behind the music within the "Soundtrack of their Lives", one needs to be able to learn how to MANAGE their intrinsic analysis.

In my next entry, you will see the full-scale RILS lesson plan on how we initially planned to use Basecamp to execute this project successfully, and also an assessment and reflection on how we were akin to Basecamp as a tool of Project Management!

Have a great weekend,

Shrav







PE4_Basecamp

Hello again ETC'sters,

You may be wondering what Basecamp has to do with impacting music. As you might already know, my AR project will be conducted in a workshop designed to elicit music's capacity to inspire social change within inner-city adults. One of the key regulations behind any successful workshop is solid project management.

Hence, I had an assignment to create a RILS (Relevant and Innovative Learning Scenario) lesson plan, centered on a Web 2.0 tool with great potential to elevate learning. The tool I chose was Basecamp (http://basecamphq.com), a web-based project management and collaboration tool traditionally used by corporate businesses to manage all phases of a project from milestones, file sharing, and assigning tasks.

As you can see in the last uploaded image, it makes tracking and completing your project a lot more organized and convenient. In my internship, we are currently jump-starting and designing an e-commerce website, and will be presenting our start-up project, HiveMind (http://hiveviral.com/) to a group of Venture Capitalists at Google at the end of the month. To ensure our team gets everything down packed and ready to present, the objectives of this RILS lesson plan include: 1) Make team based project management more efficient and reliable 2) Allow my team mates and I to track and achieve milestones 3) Allow my team mates and I to document and communicate our tasks accordingly. I first became intrigued with the use of a web-based project management tool, when my MLT instructor at Full Sail University, Beth Strudgeon introduced us to Wiggio ("A completely free, online toolkit that makes it easy to work in groups"). Boy, did it make my work with Synergy 6 in MLT a lot easier! Now, since I am working on a corporate project now, Basecamp is the perfect fit to see how well we manage our work.        Here is the account that my team and I have created...       
        Some of the included features are a largely visible calendar to note events and milestones (such as our dry-run next Monday), a feature to send messages, a feature to track and assign tasks to each other, and also a feature to upload various files. I'm excited to see how well we can all pick this up!        Stay tuned for the next update on this awesome Web 2.0 tool!        Shrav

Saturday, October 8, 2011

BP6_Link to Kristen McKernin's blog "Kristen's Korner"

Follow this link to my comments on Kristen McKernin's blog "Kristen's Korner", where she shows a fantastic demonstration of Wordle to capsize information and personality traits!

Kristen's Korner: BP3_Wordle 

BP5_Link to Tricia Slechta's blog "Chow and Wow"

Follow this link to my comments on Tricia Slechta's blog "Chow and Wow", where she shares her open willingness and humility upon perfecting her iMovie skills!

Chow and Wow: PE1_imovie

BP4_VidToMP3

As promised in my last Web 2.0 blog post, here is yet another review of an awesome 2.0 tool that I hope to implement in my Action Research project for the EMDT program at Full Sail University!

Introducting VidToMP3...


This is a shortcut tool to export audio out of YouTube videos into MP3 format. Whether it is a song out of a music video, a speech by a political leader, or sound effects from a cartoon, collecting audio now just got easier. Imagine all the possibilities this has in store!

Just like RhymeZone, VidToMP3 activates several Multiple Intelligences as well, such as:

(A) Musical: Interns can download their own music, such as audio from past episodes of Schoolhouse Rock! to learn effectively or combine clips to create their own musical outlet or expression
(B) Linguistic: Interns can download audio into the form of an informative podcast, either to help them repetitively enhance their vocabulary and diction
(C) Logical: Interns can use logical and reasoning skills to demonstrate how to actually download their own audio files.

Just to refresh your memory, I use the word "Interns" instead of "Students", for I am applying my Action Research project at a workforce development and leadership training internship for inner-city adults.

So without further ado, here are the steps to learn how to use VidToMP3!

1) Find what YouTube video you want to convert to MP3. (Make sure it is Royal Free of course!)


2) Copy and Paste the YouTube link into VidToMP3:


3) Wait until the conversion is complete:


4) Download the file and create your masterpiece!


After I've collected all of the Audio Files that I've wanted with VidToMP3, I created a Public Service Announcement (PSA) via Adobe Audition with regards to inner-city gun violence. Check it out via YouTube! Mentorship Program PSA

I also want to apologize once more for not yet diving into collecting gems from the Billboard 100 Chart and report on its educational value and significance. I felt it was important to share these vital Web 2.0 tools to understand how you can not only collect music, yet APPLY music! :)

'Til next time,

Shrav

PE3_Adobe Premier Pro CS5.5


Victory sure feels sweet! That right there is the Premier Pro CS5 Essential Training course certificate!
Through this journey, I made a brand new friend that I am convinced I can rely on throughout grad school. Adobe Pro is a tool of immense potential and power that I will hone to document social change through various themes and levels.

I've uploaded the video I created onto YouTube:
Week 4 Preparing the App Designs and Presentations

In the next post, I'd like to share with you yet another Web 2.0 tool that I discovered to help make collecting and editing music even more efficient!

Shrav




PE2_Adobe Premier Pro CS5.5

Well, it's going along great...

As you can see here, this is my progress on Lynda.com...



And this is my progress via Adobe Premier Pro!


I love actually working with the software as I learn about it via video. It truly helps a lot. One of the greatest things I'm really fine tuning through Adobe Premier Pro is my use of professional looking titles! Here is one title page I created via Adobe Premier Pro:


I am getting extremely "geeked" to get this video finished and embedded to the multimedia blog that I am managing! As well, I realized that editing videos with a high professional and aesthetic appeal will be very beneficial in the coming months of the EMDT program at Full Sail University. Not to mention, it will be pleasantly appealing to implement with our AR projects. In the next blog entry, I will show you the finished piece as well as my certification of completion!

Shrav





PE1_Adobe Premier Pro CS5.5

Hello my ETC viewers!

While the rest of my class is undergoing a Lynda.com training for iMovie, I took the initiative of asking my amazing ETC course instructor, Rena Hanaway, whether I could use Adobe Premier Pro CS5.5 for my videos -- and sure enough, I was given consent!


Here is the training videos that I initially had to embrace with a total duration of 5 hours and 6 minutes! Now, I am currently editing videos for a new multimedia blog that I started for my internship at i.c.stars |*, and can you check it out if you'd like at: http://c24.studio.icstars.org/

In the next entries... I will walk you through this exciting journey as I perfect my Adobe Premier Pro skills to create an awesome update video of my internship cycle!

Yours,

Shrav

BP3_RhymeZone

Hello again!

Forgive me if you are still awaiting a post on actual impacting music that is paving a mark in the soundtracks of ours and our loved ones' lives. I realized that I perhaps jumped the gun a bit, and needed to elaborate on the necessary ingredients upon utilizing music for social change. For my third post, I will enlighten you to the wonders of web 2.0 and how I will use RhymeZone for my Action Research project!

I was reminded this week in my ETC course that our school system was designed in the first industrial revolution, and it really is no surprise since our schools are still like factories, with our seats
set in rows and our faces set forward to "obey the authority." That in and of itself is a social issue, especially with society going through another industrial revolution! Computers and web 2.0
are changing the way we learn, create, and share knowledge...and we can see it through
the pictures and videos we post on Facebook. Web 1.0 was linear, and all about getting
the information from the producer to the consumer. Now Web 2.0 changed it completely, where
now anyone can be a producer of information!

Introducing RhymeZone (http://rhymezone.com/):

This is an online tool that helps writers find words and quotes effectively and fast, whether in the standard English dictionary, famous historic documents, "Mother Goose" nurseries, or even through Shakespeare terminology!


The many features of this tool allows one to write poetry, song lyrics, greeting cards, term papers, and see how each word is used in the context of famous quotes, poems, and plays. In addition, you can even participate and play awesome engaging games such as the Valentine Slam!



Games such as "Valentine Slam" greatly boosts critical thinking and literacy, and all in all, I couldn't imagine a better Web 2.0 tool to use in my professional environment to allow interns to create their own music with powerful messages embracing social change!






RhymeZone activates several of the Multiple Intelligences as well, such as Linguistic (the interns can creatively learn through the use of lyricism and written poetry, and understand just exactly how the words actually form a rhyme in syntax), Interpersonal (interns can collaboratively create an improvisational story based on the rhymes), and clearly Musical as well (interns can create an educational rap or song based on the rhymes they are shown).

...I thought I'd give it a go, and use RhymeZone to help me build a rap to illustrate the story of the wrath of drug addiction and crime countering ambition:

If you'd like to learn how to use RhymeZone, check out this nifty song!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1NfknPPjik

Til next time,
I'll share with you yet another cool 2.0 tool!



Shrav


Sunday, October 2, 2011

BP2 iGoogle PLE

Hello ETC'ers,

Before I start collecting some impacting and memorable songs off of the Billboard Top 100 Music Charts, I'd like to introduce you to my iGoogle page and explain how it serves as a powerful tool in assisting me not only through this blog, but my entire Full Sail experience! Cool huh?

Here is my Home Tab:



It's the perfect hub to manage my two predominant social media accounts via Facebook and Twitter, as well to stay in the know with the ever so changing Billboard Top 100 chart! I chose my theme of the Alps, because overall, I consider this awesome Full Sail journey a mighty trek upward. Only when my entire cohort and I graduate, will I "reach the top of success". In the same sense, it's also good to note that mainstream artists compete vigorously for the top #1 spot in influencing America via music.

Here is my FSO/AR Tab: 



Box of links are amazing crops of ink! The Full Sail EMDTMS program is dichotomized into two main focus areas, learning the most latest and powerful Education Technology for our designated careers, and our Action Research projects! This tab within my iGoogle PLE is a true gem, for all the links I have gathered consist of succinct tools to ensure that I reach that "glorious mountain top". My Action Research project title is "Engaging Music for Literacy Retention and Social Change," and one of the reasons I started this blog was to assist as an aiding mechanism in finding specific music on the charts that highlight themes of Literacy and Social Change. Therefore, I feel eternally grateful for quick accessibility to all my Action Research and Full Sail related links on my iGoogle PLE.

Here is my Resources Tab:



My Action Research and Full Sail related material aren't the only things embedded into my iGoogle PLE, so is this blog! I'm currently in the ETC course in the EMDT program at Full Sail University, and having quick access to my blog, as well as many other fantastic sources such as Educator Studio and Web 2.0 Guru are a great asset in ensuring my success. I also have on my resources page a couple other links, such as a handful of Lynda.com tutorials, and the "GRE Word of the Day" Google Gadget. I consider myself partly a visual learner, and Lynda.com does a great job in showing you how to get the task done efficiently. As well, this "GRE Word of the Day" Gadget will make sure I'm using the right words in this blog for your easiest comprehension and satisfaction!

So, let's all take a brief moment to celebrate iGoogle! iGoogle, and so can you!

Til Next Time,

Shrav












Wednesday, September 28, 2011

BP1_Welcome to my blog

The Capacity of 21st Century Music



Hey there!

Ever heard the expression "Soundtrack of my Life"? In the span of an average person's life, that soundtrack can culminate up to a gazillion tracks expanding through a multitude of genres!

Music has an incredible capacity to retain vast knowledge, elevate moods, store memories, rehabilitate those suffering from dementia, and much more. I've entered the EMDT program at Full Sail University with the premise that the majority of music stored in one's "Soundtrack of their Life" thus far, has predominantly been mainstream music. Hence, this blog is all about collecting the most impacting and memorable music to chart the almighty Billboard top 100! 

Q: When a listener hears a piece of music in an idiom with which he/she is familiar, what cognitive structures (or mental representations) does he/she construct in response to the music?
A: These cognitive structures can be called the listener’s understanding of the music – what the listener unconsciously constructs in response to the music, beyond hearing it just as a stream of sound.

 


The study of music's impact on the human brain is nothing new, with the long known profession of music therapy and the latest research in Dr. Oliver Sack's acclaimed book Musicophelia revealing the power of music's ability to transcend language in our mind to the point of hallucination. However, the study still remains groundbreaking as new discoveries are continually being made, such as last year's discovery of the brain hub that actually links music, memory and emotion.

 
When people are familiar with a tune, their brains show increased activity in the regions shaded in green in this fMRI image. Red areas respond to salient autobiographical memories, and blue areas respond to tunes that a person enjoys. The brain region known as the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex responds both to familiarity and autobiographical associations (yellow). (Credit: Petr Janata/UC Davis)


In his latest book Self Comes to Mind: Constructing the Conscious Brain, released last year, Antonio Damasio dubs humans as "feeling machines that think". He highlights the human sense of 'autobiography' and 'culture' in which, "we can look back at our past in great detail including the places we have lived, a variety of events that are very marked, and we can create a memory of our anticipated future." In addition, Damasio also inferred regulation of an individual's life within a social group begins through our sense of culture.



Our culture is the 21st century, an era where we have achieved a beautiful musical convergence through all formats. It wasn't until I entered high school in 2001 that I actually started avidly listening to mainstream music and becoming drawn toward American pop culture. I'm a first generation American whose conservative parents primarily appreciated and glorified Indian music and tradition, hence my late awareness of our country's soothing array of artistry.

Since 2001, I've elevated my passion for music by...


Rapping to "Carpe Diem" at the 2004 THC benefit
· Keeping track and staying up to date on the best and most acclaimed music of every year, as well learning about mainstream music from the 20th century.
· Composing and performing original songs for The Happiness Club, a not-for-profit group of Chicago youth dedicated to using media and music to sing out against drugs, gangs, violence, and climate change, and say, "yes" to education, tolerance, and high self-esteem
·  Taking rigorous music, piano, and chorus classes at Merit Music, a not-for-profit organization providing high quality music education to Chicago children of all ages and all levels of musical ability.
· Graduating from Loyola University Chicago with my B.A. in Communication Studies and working at Loyola's college radio station WLUW-88.7fm as an audio/video producer

Producing episode 2 for Chicago Web Scene
At Loyola University's new convergence studio


......Actually, I departed from WLUW in December 2010, but my experience with WLUW, I must say, has been very gratifying and unique, for it has expanded my knowledge on indie music, a format I knew absolutely nothing about prior to 2010. Regardless, in each of these experiences that have built and shaped my musical virtuoso this past decade, I come forth now as an intrigued scientist on the capacity of 21st century music in regards to obtaining a peaceful mind. In addition to investigating this fascinating correlation, my deeper goal is to use my aesthetic skills in interactive media to deliver innovative and powerful media to share my findings and help the world achieve their highest potential in sustaining this peaceful mind.

In the future blog entries to come, I'll share my research of the songs that I grew up to that are ever so stained on my memory, and new popular music that are hitting the charts and potentially creating new memories within us all.

Til next time,
Shrav



Neurological fact: "The brain stem, cerebral cortex and memory act in unison in the complex mental process that tells us who we are and generate the feelings that are at the heart of being conscious" -- Antonio Damasio