Video Contest Seeks UALR Experiences

Students and instructors will get the chance to document their experiences at UALR through “Wired Tight,” a video contest that will run periodically throughout the semester. The first deadline for submissions is Tuesday, Feb. 21. “Wired Tight” is a monthly video competition in which students and instructors from across the university collaborate on compositions for small prizes. The project is funded by the Provost’s Office via their Student Success Grants Program. The Student Technology Advocacy Team (STAT) within the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences proposed the project in order to facilitate more engaged and reflexive participation in campus life and in course through the application of new media. The project includes a curriculum for teaching students the very basics of lighting, sound, simple video, and sound editing with a free service like YouTube Remixer. Members of the STAT team currently teach courses in writing for the web, photography, video, and audio production for the web and are thus well qualified to assemble such a short course. The “Wired Tight” course will also cover issues of copyright and remixing, as well as the importance of using video release forms and the ethics of videotaping other people. Students who wish to participate must attend this short course in order for their compositions to be eligible for that month’s prize and for inclusion on the UALR Wired Tight blog. “We believe that a community of peers and adults engaging in digital projects that go beyond the ‘digital baseline’ such as Blackboard, BOSS, and email will lead to a community of practice that can be perpetuated over time,” said Betty Freeland, instructor of rhetoric and writing and STAT committee leader. Deadline for the videos is the 21st of each month. Entrants must be currently enrolled in UALR to participate. For a complete list of rules, tips on making a professional-looking video, and examples of other Wired Tight projects, go to ualrwiredtight.org or contact Freeland at 501-569-8332 or at [email protected].