Interview with Ian Gonzales

Recently, Emerging Media Design and Development Graduate Student Ian Gonzales’s research paper: Overlapping Expectations: Studying the Genre Relationship of Ecocritical Genres was accepted by the 17th International Conference on Interactive Digital Storytelling which will take place in Barranquilla, Colombia this December. We spoke with Ian about his research, process, co-authoring a paper with faculty member Dr. Josh Fisher, and overall EMDD journey.

Q: What exactly is your paper about?

Ian: It’s tough to describe, sometimes. So, it’s really about genre. It’s about the ways that we use genres and the way that we think about genres. [Recently,] we shifted from thinking of genres as discrete lists of features towards thinking of them as socially constructed tools…but that those developments haven’t made their way to video games and game scholarship. And so this paper is basically trying to explore and apply these concepts in the games scholarship field.

Q: So what inspired you to kind of write about and research this topic?

Ian: I was writing a paper originally for a conference here at Ball State and I coupled together some research about a game called “Horizon Zero Dawn” and then I decided that, well, you know, we already kind of have half a paper, so we might as well just continue onward and we saw an opportunity to publish with ICIDs. And so we thought that we should just write this paper together.

Ian meeting with his project mentor Dr. Josh Fisher, faculty member and professor for the EMDD program.

Q: So how does it feel to be presenting at such a well-known conference?

Ian: It seems weird because I still feel like I don’t know anything. And I think that’s how I approach a lot of life is, “I don’t know a lot.” And so it’s weird sometimes to be, you know, receiving some kind of praise for that or like some acknowledgement of that. But also it’s really nice to think that, “oh, the things that I’ve been learning or things I’ve been doing actually have legitimate meaning,” that they’re recognized by the community they need to be recognized by.

Q: What parts of EMDD or other parts of your academic journey have been the most impactful while going through this process of writing and getting published and now presenting?

Ian: What’s really nice about my EMDD cohort is you get really tight knit close relationships with lots of different students and faculty members and staff, and so, you know, the biggest influence for me, obviously, is my relationship with my mentor Josh Fisher. But also, Jenn Palilonis and Kevin Moloney helped me become a better writer and storyteller. And Tong Li gave me insight into the way that he thinks about academia and research. All those diverse opinions have all been really informative and I don’t think you get a lot of those personal relationships with people in different departments. And I think a huge mark of success for anyone in university is relationships with others.

Outside of Ball State University, Ian volunteers for the The Human Library organization. Photo Credit: Charlize Jamieson

Q: What has it been like to collaborate with people or get help from people that have previously published work?

Ian: There are many scholars who talk about academic papers as their own genre. They have their own unique purpose and task and so in their own language and their own customs and conventions and all this kind of stuff that I don’t have access to. I mean, obviously you read them, but when you’re producing it, you don’t, you don’t really know the subtleties. And so it’s been really nice to have a collaborator. A lot of what happens I think is I will write an idea and Josh will say well, but here’s how you can elevate it. Here’s how you can highlight you know the better part of this and recognize what’s really good about this piece and what needs to be left behind. I think it’s really nice to have someone who has a lot of that background and history so I can write ideas and then have them elevated to that level and also watch how that’s elevated and watch his thought process and that’s been really great.

Q: What has been your favorite part of the process? What’s been your favorite thing that you’ve learned?

Ian: I really love reading articles. I think it’s really interesting. I like putting ideas together. I think of it like a big old puzzle. And so it’s interesting to see disparate traditions of information and try to find a way to connect them. I think the best part honestly was getting it to a point of submission and understanding you get an initial score and then you get to have a small rebuttal period or a revision period. It was nice to get those, those initial scores and have someone say. “I accept this paper.” That makes me feel really nice that I’m accepted in that.

In addition to his academic pursuits, Ian often volunteers at Muncie Civic Theatre and is seen above as ‘Gomez Addams’ in their recent production of The Addams Family.

Q: What advice would you have to either potential EMDD students or first-year students who might want to take the route of research with the hopes of publication?

Ian: I think the easiest thing is just finding something that you’re really passionate about. You know EMDD isn’t a game scholarship program, right? It’s about lots of interactive and digital narratives more broadly. But I was passionate about video games and knew a lot about video games. I knew a lot about game culture and so I was able to convert that passion into a meaningful purpose through EMDD. I think it was about just finding something you like and then finding a professor that’s willing to be engaged with you. I don’t know if Josh was ever truly interested in genre studies before but via the course of this, I think he’s really learned a lot so that we could have meaningful conversations and that he could help me elevate my work. And that’s really great. I think finding something you’re passionate about and finding someone that’s willing to join you on your journey is great and what EMDD is all about.

We want to thank Ian for taking time to share about his journey while completing this project. We wish him luck at the ICIDS Conference in December!

Student Journey: Edwine Pierre Louis

Edwine Pierre Louis lives in Jacksonville, Florida, and is a graduate student in the Emerging Media Design and Development low-res program. EMDD low-res students attend a four-day workshop at the beginning of each semester and the rest of their coursework is delivered online. Edwine is an Associate, Sales Strategy and Support Analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Whenever I mention that I’ve traveled from Jacksonville, FL, I’m often asked, “Why Ball State University?” My response is actually, “Why EMDD?” The EMDD program was something I didn’t even know existed. I was considering pursuing three separate graduate degrees to gain a comprehensive understanding of human-computer interaction, design thinking, transmedia narrative, and design execution. To my astonishment, EMDD encompassed all of these areas. Even as an out-of-state student, the components of this degree are set to shave years off my educational journey.

Regarding my experience with the low-res, in-person component—I have spent my entire life intentionally avoiding the snow, yet the weather ensured that I encountered plenty of it. Despite this, the atmosphere was incredibly conducive to learning. It gave me a clear expectation of what I would be studying in those two classes. Additionally, from my perspective as a distant learner, the setting helped to diminish any proximity bias.

Get to know Edwine:

What are you passionate about?

  • Learning – Science, Technology, Art
  • Understanding – Listen to understand not to respond
  • Social justice – Equitable treatment and opportunity

What is your ideal culture?

A place where everyone can belong and is celebrated, inconvenient truths, and past injustices are recognized and amended. Somewhere that failure is part of the learning journey.

Favorite Things

  • Landscape Photography
  • Podcasts
  • UX/UI Design
  • Documentaries
  • Reading
  • Remote Control Cars
  • Gardening
  • Weightlifting

Favorite Quote

“If I didn’t define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people’s fantasies for me and eaten alive.” ― Audre Lorde

Fun Facts

I am a published photographer for minor league baseball from two years interning with the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. I am also a skilled jib camera operator, a field that unfortunately has very few women.

Want to know more about Edwine’s journey and our other EMDD projects? Follow EMDD on InstagramFacebook, and LinkedIn. Visit our Ball State University webpage for more information on how to join the EMDD program.

Student Journey: Gabe Eastridge

“There isn’t just knowledge but a visual and physical atmosphere of excitement to learn challenging technology and concepts.”

About Gabe

Gabe Eastridge graduated from the University of Indianapolis in May of 2023. He started EMDD in the fall of 2023. A creative designer, he went to school for Graphic Design and hopes to pursue that in sports. He enjoys art and visual media, which inspired him to pick up a camera and join the yearbook during high school. He loves taking documentary/street-style photos and enjoys shooting sports. He hopes to keep learning new software and using the projects in EMDD to grow his design skills, along with the understanding of storytelling to enhance his photography and video skills. Visit his portfolio here: eastridgephotoz.myportfolio.com

Thoughts on the EMMD Spring Workshop

I just attended my second set of EMDD low-res in-person classes. The first semester in the fall was a bit daunting as I had recently graduated that previous spring and decided to start my master’s, and I wasn’t sure what would be required of this higher program.

I quickly found out that the professors, Drs. Moloney and Fisher were very outgoing and excited to teach the classes. With a lot of banter back and forth and everyone getting to know one another, I was eased into this new adventure of education. I found I had similar interests and knowledge of areas that piqued the two different professors’ interest, and when brought up, it was noticeable that I had piqued their interest. They were quick to open up and start discussing the topics of AI, photography, design, varying media platforms, etc. Seeing their excitement, wealth of knowledge, and desire for discourse, I was drawn in. It’s hard to explain, but I haven’t had anything like this before in my undergrad classes. There isn’t just knowledge but a visual and physical atmosphere of excitement to learn challenging technology and concepts. They do excellent jobs pulling you in and continuously engaging. 

I say all that because those ideas remain true and are why I enjoy the EMDD program. We took an exciting trip to an escape room during this last in-person session. We were briefed on what to consider during this experience. It was also super interesting because, in the previous session, we visited the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis and spent a day exploring and analyzing the exhibits. This was a whole new story of engagement, and instead of just watching, you were a major piece in solving the puzzle. It was a great way to engage ideas of gamification concepts, storytelling, critical thinking, and overall design concepts. With this experience under our belt, we dove quickly into lectures and content that we will be working on for the rest of the semester.

Of course, just like the professors, the lectures are engaging and filled with funny moments, clips/imagery from real-world media, and concepts that help tell the narrative of the concepts. It was always enjoyable to see tidbits of fun during lectures as an undergrad, but these take a whole new level. They keep your attention, and I take mental notes because the content sticks with me. I am very visual and hands-on, and the way they teach works well for me. In one class, we focused more on jumping into software and starting the development process. We faced various challenges, and both professors were ready to add their problem-solving methods. They had broken us into two groups for the escape room and this short project. The two teams were the same for both events, which helped in the bonding process and the complexities of software. Having multiple minds on the topics helps solve the problems much quicker. I enjoy these short moments when we all meet in person. I love the professors and look forward to seeing them next time we meet.

Would you like to join Gabe on his journey? Follow EMDD on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Visit our Ball State University webpage for more information or to join our program.

Student Journey: Jo Beth Bootz

“The right stories can open our hearts and change who we are.”

Janet Murray

About Jo Beth

Jo Beth Bootz is the Media Communications and Broadcasting Program Instructor at the Southern Indiana Career & Technical Center in Evansville. She embarked on her media journey during high school with a focus on radio broadcasting during her senior year as part of the Career and Technical Education program through the EVSC. Building on this foundation, Jo Beth pursued her passion at Indiana University, earning a degree in Telecommunications and Communication and Culture.

Throughout her college years, Jo Beth demonstrated her dedication to media by collaborating with the IU Office of Communications and Marketing. She produced a syndicated program for high school radio stations in Indiana and gained valuable experience through a summer internship in video production with KSTN in Seattle, Washington. Jo Beth earned a prestigious summer fellowship from the International Radio and Television Society after graduation. This opportunity led her to New York, where she interned with the Sesame Workshop, contributing to home video production for Sesame Street.

In her professional career, Jo Beth worked in marketing communications with Windstream Communications, Youth Resources of Southwestern Indiana, Habitat for Humanity of Evansville, and Macaroni Kid National. In 2020, Jo Beth transitioned to education, channeling her passion for media to inspire the next generation. Despite her diverse experiences, she circled back to the program and radio station where she started as a high school student. In addition to her full-time role, Jo Beth engages in freelance projects focusing on marketing communications and provides voice-over services to clients regionally and nationally. Her work can be heard on iHeartRadio’s iRead2Know literacy station.

Jo Beth is in her second semester of the Emerging Media Design and Development program.

Thoughts on the EMMD Spring Workshop

As a low-res student, the journey to Indianapolis combines excitement, anticipation, and genuine education alongside fellow professionals. In online learning, our weeks are often consumed by work, family, friends, and extracurricular activities. However, Ball State’s four-day workshop for EMDD at the beginning of each semester, where professionals convene, serves as a welcoming gateway, fostering connections with the curriculum and peers in the cohort.

The workshop became an immediate hub for bonding, featuring Dr. Maloney’s engaging stoke activities, an escape room challenge set to the backdrop of 80’s music and cars, and Dr. Fisher’s commitment to teaching a new system for crafting interactive digital experiences. Discussions traversed diverse topics, from Star Wars to Westworld, exploring storytelling models from Freytag, Kishotenketsu, and Vonnegut, and embracing Janet Murray as our personal Godmother of IDN. The exchange of knowledge and ideas during these sessions was unparalleled.

The workshop concluded with a creative challenge amid discussions, lectures, and group activities. Teams drew on their love and understanding of impactful storytelling, combining it with the structure of digital narrative using Unity for the first time. And boy, was that a challenge! Drawing inspiration from our escape room experience, two teams “competed,” weaving narratives featuring a casino mob boss to a spooky treasure hunt complete with a haunted mansion—all constructed within a text-based experience, challenging our storytelling and programming skills. Undoubtedly, each of us embarked on a Hero’s journey from Wednesday through Saturday, initiating or continuing our education journey with the EMDD family.

Would you like to join Jo Beth on her journey? Follow EMDD on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Visit our Ball State University webpage for more information or to join our program.

The Center for EMDD Presents: The Great Escape

“When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”

– Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Last week, the Center for Emerging Media Design and Development launched its spring low-residency workshop at the Ball State Fishers Center. This immersive four-day event provided team building, networking, educational components for EMDD 630: Nonlinear & Interactive Storytelling and EMMD 640: Transmedia Storytelling & Publishing, and fun!

The week began with a pit stop at EscapeUSA Fishers’ The Race escape room, which is best described in the style of Arthur Conan Doyle via ChatGPT:

“In the dimly lit Vintage Race League garage, motor oil and adrenaline thick in the air, a mysterious veil cloaked the season’s final race. High stakes, higher tension – you and your rival teetered on victory’s edge. A clandestine caller, night-shrouded, delivered an ominous message – both race cars sabotaged, carburetors damaged. Fate’s gears took a sinister turn.

Race rules demanded inspection two hours before engines roared. Within 60 minutes, navigate the labyrinth, find a spare carburetor, or face a penalty. The Parts Department key was left at the track; a security code guarded the crucial bastion. Unravel the mystery, find the code, secure the carburetor – destiny’s race against time: triumph or bitter defeat, the final race hung in the balance, a spectacle of cunning deduction. The game was afoot!

At the workshop, Dr.’s Kevin Moloney and Joshua Fisher created a novel experience for their classes. Competing against one another in two identical escape rooms, the students created narratives that will inform the stories they tell via their coursework in the upcoming semester. Dr. Fisher said, “the escape room allowed students to gather story data to put theory into practice in the emerging discipline of interactive and digital storytelling.”

Students used a series of user personas to select their escape room type and sorted into two teams of five: The Perfect Mix and The Wrecking Balls. These teams raced against the clock and each other to see who could escape first. The Wrecking Balls crushed The Perfect Mix’s hopes of winning with a well-timed, if accidental, bit of sabotage, but in the end, both teams escaped with the spare carburetor!

After receiving the checkered flags, students took a pace lap and met with faculty and alums of the EMDD program at a dinner mixer at the Fishers Test Kitchen before heading to their respective homes and hotels.

The rest of the week featured morning sessions of storytelling theory and afternoons of story creation. Dr. Moloney’s course focused on how to build stories, “we used the escape room experience to seed discussions of how to structure a story. The students chatted with me as they developed nonlinear stories about how the points on a variety of story arcs could work in nonlinear form.” Dr. Fisher worked on fleshing these stories into an interactive form via Unity and Twine.

Would you like EMDD to be part of your story? Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Visit our Ball State University webpage for more information or to join our program.

Zainab visits Chicago to participate in the Three Minute Thesis regional competition

EMDD student Zainab Aamir visited Chicago to participate in the regional Three Minute Thesis competition hosted by the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools.

EMDD’s Zainab Aamir on her Three Minute Thesis experience in Chicago.  

Written by: Steven Donahoe

After placing first among Ball State students in the Three Minute Thesis Competition, EMDD’s Zainab Aamir traveled to Chicago to compete in the regional competition hosted by the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools. In addition to the competition, the three-day event also featured talks on designing graduate school curricula as well as improving graduate student life. Zainab’s thesis, titled “Users’ Privacy Considerations in Virtual Reality”, explores how users’ opinions of virtual reality (VR) change when they fully understand how their data is collected by VR headsets.

Zainab arrived in Chicago with her husband on Thursday, March 30, 2023, the day before the competition. The two spent the day exploring the city, with their most notable stop being the Art Institute of Chicago, home to famous works such as Grant Wood’s American Gothic, Van Gogh’s The Bedroom, and several selections from Monet’s Water Lilies series. Afterward they enjoyed a meal with a stunning view of the Chicago River at River Roast.

“Just walking through the city was amazing. It’s a far cry from Muncie,” she said.

To Zainab’s surprise, the majority of the Chicago competition participants were Ph.D. candidates rather than master’s students. Still, despite the highly-qualified competition, Zainab says she was not intimidated – instead she felt inspired by her competitors.

“Everybody was so awesome there,” she said. “They were definitely well-prepared – one judge said, ‘I’m never volunteering to judge again.”

The competition was indeed stiff. Of 50 participants, only 10 would move on to the final round. Zainab was the first to present, delivering her talk confidently and within the three-minute time limit. Unfortunately, she did not advance to the final round.

“Not everyone could advance in a group of 50, but I’m really proud of my performance,” she said.

Read more about the three-minute thesis competition here.

 

 

Surviving and Thriving in My First Year of EMDD

Surviving and Thriving in My First Year of EMDD

I remember sitting in bed the night before my grad program’s orientation and my first day of class. I was so nervous, wondering what to expect since I am the first person in my family to get their Master’s. To my surprise, when I walked in the EMDD lab and sat down in the classroom, I was greeted by smiling faces of faculty and individuals who would be in my cohort. Suddenly, I felt my body’s nervous tension ease and I began to feel at home in that classroom.

Despite my uncertainty in the beginning, my first year in EMDD was far more incredible than anything I could have imagined prior to entering the program. During my first semester, I was improved my research and analysis skills through collaborative and individual work. I had done research prior to being an EMDD student, but was able to further expand these skills through design thinking and usability testing—both things I had never done before. I was then able to take this knowledge into my second semester when creating a transmedia production design and examining virtual reality/augmented reality research. In my second semester, I also expanded my design knowledge through the collaborative creation of a four-part museum exhibition—physical exhibit, virtual reality experience, touchscreen experience, and a live actor experience— about something in relation to Indiana History.

My first year in EMDD was vigorous, but I survived and thrived through it with some helpful resources.

Peers in My Cohort: Over the course of my first year in EMDD, I was able to build strong professional relationships and friendships with my fellow peers in my cohort. This allowed for all of us to really lean on each other if we were struggling or confused with something. For example, I come from a writing background and not a design background. So, if I need guidance with design tools I would ask individuals in the program who come from design backgrounds for help. In return, when the individuals from design backgrounds struggled with writing, I would help them copyedit. This type of support and collaboration allowed us to grow closer as a cohort, while benefiting all of us.

Faculty: If I was ever struggling or feeling confused about the work we were doing, the EMDD faculty were always there to provide guidance. Something I learned over the past year was to not be afraid to ask for help or clarification. It is better to ask then do things blindly.

Now that my first year of EMDD is over, and I have gained all of these skills, I am looking forward to the experiences my year two project and creative project will bring. I feel so lucky to be part of a cohort and have faculty as supportive as what I have in EMDD.

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Eileen Porzuczek

Eileen Porzuczek is a second-year EMDD graduate student. She received her BA in English.

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Student Story
Interview with Ian Gonzales

Recently, Emerging Media Design and Development Graduate Student Ian Gonzales’s research paper: Overlapping Expectations: Studying the Genre Relationship of Ecocritical Genres was accepted by the

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How Finding EMDD Helped Me Find Where I Was Meant To Be

“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.”

How Finding EMDD Helped Me Find Where I Was Meant To Be

My journey to the EMDD program was full of ups and downs, but here’s the short version.

I graduated in May of 2016 with my bachelor’s in sociology from Ball State, with a minor in peace studies and conflict resolution. It wasn’t until graduating that I realized I didn’t want to pursue research, diplomacy, or teaching for my career. After applying to jobs for months, and to the United Nation as a last-ditch effort, I sent in my visa application to live in New Zealand and work on a farm. With my travel plans all squared away, my would-be host canceled on me last minute, and I was left jobless, directionless, and New Zealand-less.

So I decided to go in a different direction. I started looking into graduate school. I looked everywhere from Vancouver, to New York, to Dublin. I didn’t find anything, and the couple of programs I was quasi-interested in were way too expensive. This was now late fall of 2016, and I was tired of feeling stuck. I looked into a few programs through Ball State, but none of them really resonated with me. As I was nearing the end of my internal rope, I was telling a good friend of mine how nothing seemed to be working out and I wasn’t sure what to do next. She told me she had a friend in this new program called Emerging Media Design & Development, and that I should Skype her about it.

After our conversation, I was sold. I had no idea a program like this existed. One that seemed to fit so many of my interests. I applied as soon as I was able to get my materials together.

I will always see 2017 as a year of change for me. I was accepted to EMDD, I got a wonderful graduate assistantship, and I started working at a brewery.

I still say that going back to school was one of the best decisions I will ever make. I love that I get to work with people with different interests, skills, and backgrounds. People who are passionate, tenacious, and empathetic.

And the cherry on top? I feel like I’m actually using my sociology degree. I’m the Research Director for the Water Quality Indiana team project where my principle tasks include similar-case research, demographics, and survey design and distribution. For my creative project, I’m using transmedia storytelling to investigate and understand how breweries deal with inclusivity and empathy with the hopes of creating a space where people can discuss and understand the differences that exist between people.

I’m not quite sure where I’m going next, but I feel more confident than I’ve ever felt.

(Shouts out to Alyssa and Aiste: I would not be in the program if it were not for them.)

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Christina Valdez

Christina Valdez graduated from the EMDD program in May of 2019. She's currently living her best life brewing craft beer in the humble town of Muncie, IN.

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The Right Environment For Design Research

notebook-beside-the-iphone-on-table-196644

“I’ve gained a deeper appreciation for the value of working with a team and in a group setting… the design thinking process doesn’t work in a vacuum.”

The Right Environment For Design Research

Last month, EMDD students participated in our first informal learning event of the semester at SmallBox, a mission-centered design firm in Indianapolis. A small group of us made the trek from Muncie to Broad Ripple to work on-site with designers at SmallBox, an experience that gave students the opportunity to see the real-world application of what they’re learning in design thinking and provided Smallbox with some design research data from an audience of young adults.

After introductions, the SmallBox team introduced us to their current client, a Broad Ripple community organization looking to grow its membership. Because this client was looking to better understand its audience, the SmallBox design team took students through some exercises in design research showing us some ways they approach empathy, the first step in the design thinking process.

For this first step, the prompts were the most important part. The development of the questions was thoughtful and intentional. The questions were broad, yet focused to encourage discussion and produce relevant data. These prompts allowed us, the participants, to give honest answers rather than what we thought the designers wanted to hear. We answered these questions in pairs and wrote our answers on giant sticky notes, allowing our peers to see and comment on our answers as we moved from prompt to prompt and during discussion following the activity. This strategy was also helpful when it came to telling stories, as working one-on-one encouraged conversation with our partner rather than just stating facts. Stories, as we’ve discussed in our EMDD design thinking class, are extremely valuable in empathy research, as it helps designers discover the things a user may not even know she needs.

Our second activity was much more introspective; we were asked to define what spirituality meant to us by creating a collage out of magazine clippings. This technique is a great way to turn an abstract concept into something tangible, as we were able to talk through our rationale with the group after we had completed the collage. Again, the team was careful not to ask us any leading questions—instead, we took the time to talk through our decision-making process individually, which organically led to some interesting connections that may not have been obvious at first glance.

The best part of this event, I think, was the reciprocity. We learned how SmallBox uses some of the same design thinking methods we are studying in class, and the SmallBox team was able to use our input to help with a project.

Fellow first year student, Elijah Yarde, said it was a great way to see how design research and design thinking skills are implemented in a professional space.

“I’ve gained a deeper appreciation for the value of working with a team and in a group setting… the design thinking process doesn’t work in a vacuum.”

Collaboration was key—not just among the designers, but among the participants as well. The rapport we developed created an environment where we could share our thoughts without fear of judgement, which is critical when conducting empathy research. This is a testament to the skills of the SmallBox design team that created a space where we felt comfortable and connected.

A huge thank you again to SmallBox for hosting us!

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Rachel Wood

Rachel Wood earned her bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Murray State University. She loves video games, museums, and narrative theory, so she especially enjoys analyzing the way narrative can become interactive. Between class and work, you can find her drinking coffee, baking scones, and listening to indie folk music.

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Students Show Off Project Work In Augmented Reality, Social Media Campaigns, Storytelling

Students Show Off Project Work In Augmented Reality, Social Media Campaigns, Storytelling

To end the semester, second-year students in the master’s degree program at the Center for Emerging Media Design & Development had the chance to show off their project work at two showcases, one on-campus and another at Ball State’s Indianapolis Center.

These students worked in teams on four different projects, three of which were continuing efforts from the previous year. The project focus areas varied from education to sports storytelling to entertainment.

Members of the community and project partners were invited to the open house-style events to talk with students and interact with their work, including an augmented reality experience, photo booth and website demos. For on-campus EMDD students the second year is spent entirely on one project, collaborating with fellow students to solve a problem for a real-world client. This year’s clients were the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Professor Garfield Foundation, Circle of Blue and Motor MVB.

The projects provide valuable experience for students to apply their knowledge in design thinking, transmedia storytelling and human-computer interaction, including user experience and user interface design. Working in teams toward a goal also helps develop soft skills and provides an opportunity to collaborate in interdisciplinary teams, an environment that prepares EMDD students for almost any career path.

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