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The Xbox Adaptive Controller campaign called “Changing the Game” by Microsoft was a memorable one for me. The campaign was created to raise awareness and be inclusive for the accessibility community. The Xbox Adaptive Controller was created for users with physical disabilities in mind to enable them to play video games easily. Not only did they create the new controller to be accessible, they created a new packaging design that would make unboxing the controller easy. (Goode, 2018) It shows how Microsoft was serious about the issue and tackled it very well.

But why video gaming?

“Their(the accessibility community) primary reason is to have fun and to personally challenge themselves.” (Emerging Technology from the arXiv, 2018) Additionally, disabled gamers say that video games help them manage stress, fight depression and a form of physical therapy that helps with their hands(Emerging Technology from the arXiv, 2018). By having this campaign, it allows the accessibility community to feel empowered and motivated to get into playing video games.

The importance of this campaign is significant, especially for the accessibility community, as they are represented by a huge company like Microsoft. Microsoft, who has a large stake in the video game industry, can lead by example for others to follow. By running this campaign, the video game industry will follow suit to make video gaming more accessible for people with disabilities. The public would have their eyes fixed on the competitors, like Sony and Nintendo for example, to see whether they would do the same.

What I learned from this campaign is that I should not only focus on demographics that are directly affected by a certain issue. Extreme users could have significant impact on the industry and could shift it into a positive direction. For future projects, I would think about how the project I make could benefit, not only the target audiences, but whether it will have a positive impact on those around the target audiences as well.

Reference List:

Articles:
Goode, L 2018, ‘The Xbox Adaptive Controller Gets an Accessible Box Design’, WIRED, 25 July, viewed 6 January 2020,
https://www.wired.com/story/xbox-adaptive-controller-packaging/

Emerging Technology from the arXiv, 2018, ‘The secret world of disabled gamers’, MIT Technology Review, 3 July, viewed 6 January 2020,
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/611375/the-secret-world-of-disabled-gamers/

Video:
Werbewoche 2019, Microsoft – Changing the Game (McCann New York, 2019), YouTube, 21 November, viewed 6 January 2020,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY67yz9FtHQ

Research is important in order to have a solid foundation of understanding about the topic that you are doing. According to the seminar, an aspect of research is “systematic investigations and/or study of materials/sources/ subjects/data in order to discover and/or establish facts and reach new conclusions” (Chorazy, E 2020). With the information gathered through research, you are able to proceed with campaigns/papers/news that informs audiences about the “new conclusions” that you have arrived on. This is important as audiences will trust your opinion about it as you would have done your research, be it primary or secondary. It is especially important if you work in the field of science or medicine as your word will be held to high regard by the audiences or society. For communication, research is important to ensure that the information you want to convey is factual.

Another element that goes hand-in-hand with research is ethics. Ethics, according to BBC, is a system of moral principles that affect how people make decisions and lead their lives (BBC, n.d.). Ethics is important as it shapes people’s principles and behaviour. If research is done ethically, people will trust the research done and the final information that is given. However if ethics is absent, people could feel jaded and feel that it is done for self-interest or money for example. So ethics is important to distinguish between the right thing to do versus the wrong thing to do.

If research is not done well or lacking, wrong information could be relayed. Additionally, if research ethics is not present, such as cheating on information, it could compromise the entire project that was done as it has contaminated the efforts that continued after research. This could potentially affect the progress of studies and have harmful effects on society for years to come.

One example is the hoax of the Piltdown Man. According to the Washington Post, the Piltdown Man was unveiled in 1912 by Charles Dawson and his crew. The hoax was only exposed in 1953 when technology evolved (Kaplan, 2016). It took them 40 years to find out that the Piltdown Man was a hoax and the consequences of the hoax was long-lasting. The hoax also enfeebled the public’s trust in scientific studies and research.

This shows that if research ethics is absent and is done for the sake for pride and fame, it could have dastardly outcomes for the future. It could undo progress that has been made as audiences could become skeptical of the other sets of research done even if it was factual. Additionally, as men of science, audiences would think highly of them as they are held in high regard. So if a lie is said and were to be found out then everything that was researched could come crumbling down.

Personally for me, I feel that research done has to be factual as it could potentially change and shape society. For my school research, for example, I would research and cross-check articles to make sure that the data is true and is from a credible site so that my work is good and reliable. I would also ensure that I do not cheat or take an easy way out to get fast results as it could negatively affect not only the project but my peers who are helping as well. As said research is the very foundation of a project. If research was done distastefully or badly, it could cause everything to fall.

As an aspiring communications professional, I will do my best to ensure that my research is done well by fact-checking important key points. I will question myself about the different measures I’m taking while researching. If I am not sure whether this is right, I will get second opinion or a third one. This is to ensure that I am on the right path with the project. This could lead to everybody working on the project to feel good and deliver good results.

Reference List:

Chorazy, E 2020, ‘COMM2733_2020_CLASS2 – Research Ethics Audiences_Seminar_Final-1’, PowerPoint slides, COMM2733, RMIT University, viewed 5 January 2020, https://rmit.instructure.com/courses/70338/files/10731260/download?wrap=1

BBC n.d., Ethics Guide, BBC, viewed 5 January 2020, http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/introduction/intro_1.shtml

Kaplan, S 2016, ‘We finally know who forged Piltdown Man, one of science’s most notorious hoaxes’, The Washington Post, 11 August, viewed 5 January 2020,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2016/08/11/we-finally-know-who-forged-piltdown-man-one-of-sciences-most-notorious-hoaxes/

The Power of belief – mindset and success (2012) explores how having a growth mindset is beneficial in mindset developments compared to a fixed one. Before watching the talk, I did not know about fixed and growth mindsets and learned quite a bit from it.

It was interesting as it made me reflect on things I did in the past and how I tend to bounce back and forth between growth and fixed mindsets when faced with certain challenges. ‘Brain scans show that for people with a fixed mindset, the brain becomes most active when receiving information about how the person performed, such as a grade or a score.’ (TEDx Talks, 2012); this quote resonated with me as for a large period of my life, I focused on grades or the end product that I get. And when I do well, I bask in the success but when I fail, I say that “it’s not for me” or “I did not try hard enough”.

Additionally, it reminded me of the time when I decided to learn the bass guitar. I was interested in learning how to play it but when it got tough, I slowly lost confidence and felt that it was not for me. After listening to the talk, I feel that I should pick it back up and slowly learn it back again. Personally, I feel that I have to change the way I view success. Instead of the focusing on end goals and results, I should focus more on the process and what can be improved to achieve better results.

But how can I improve myself to change my fixed mindset to be growth mindset? Positivepsychology.com says that there are 8 approaches to develop a growth mindset. Such as creating a new belief system that brings positivity to your life, view failure as an opportunity to grow and develop, be self aware about skills and progress, develop a curiosity about learning, accept challenges, develop a passion for what you are doing, never falter in the face of adversity, give and take inspiration (Ackerman, 2019).

These steps could help me in the future as I could develop myself to be better even if I’m not good at the task at hand initially. Applying this mindset in school life could be beneficial. Even if I did badly, I should ask myself, “what can I improve on for it to be better” rather than “oh this module is not for me.” When I enter the workforce in the future, this mindset could help develop myself to think positively and be better from the challenges that I will be facing, daily.

Reference List:

Video:
Tedx Talks 2012, The Power of belief — mindset and success | Eduardo Briceno | TEDxManhattanBeach, YouTube, 19 November, viewed 5 January 2020,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN34FNbOKXc&t

Article:
Ackerman, C 2019, ‘Growth Mindset vs. Fixed + Key Takeaways From Dweck’s Book’, Positivepsychology.com, 11 August, viewed 5 January 2020,
https://positivepsychology.com/growth-mindset-vs-fixed-mindset/

Nike’s Dream Crazy and Dream Crazier campaign was done pretty well in my opinion. Even though the campaign featured handicapped athletes, the message can be embraced by the general public. It showed a different view of how anyone can think “bigger” to achieve something crazier and that a dream is not limited to physical ability. The campaign enables audiences to just do whatever they have been dreaming to achieve and that the dream can be achieved even if you are handicapped or a minority. And even if you are the former and/or latter, you can use this opportunity to silence naysayers by achieving what is thought to be unachievable or “crazy”.

The campaign would resonate with future consumers as they would know that Nike did something to promote inclusivity regardless of ability and would be inclined to make a purchase of Nike products. The message of the campaign could inspire audiences to “just do it” which is the motto of Nike.

Personally, I enjoy watching content on YouTube. YouTube is filled with a seemingly never ending amount of content that can be consumed by anyone at any time.

One particular channel that stood out to me is “Life Where I’m From”. The channel owner/content producer, Greg Lam, is a Canadian living in Japan with his Japanese wife and half-Canadian, half-Japanese children. The content that he produces gives varying insights in the lives of Japanese people in a form of documentary way.

Different forms of research can be seen in his videos. Primary research can be seen when he goes to interview an expert about the topic he is talking about. For example, he did an episode about homelessness in Japan, where he interviewed experts and homeless individuals. This allows the series to have a much higher credibility as he has expert views and first hand accounts to back up his topic.

For secondary research, he uses journal articles, data and reviews that were done in previous years to analyse the topic further and how it came to be aka the background information. This further explains the significance and shows the topic in a much bigger picture.

With the primary and secondary research done, the storytelling aspect is used to inform viewers about the issues that the homeless of Japan faced. By using YouTube, the topic can be shared on a global scale and everyone can learn more about it. Additionally, with solid research material, a much more cohesive story can be told.

From what I have learned, a good foundation of primary and secondary research could lead to a much better storytelling opportunity that could educate the masses. It would also help with the credibility of the stories told as it would not be one-sided.

Reference list:

Website:
Life Where I’m From 2015, About, viewed 6 January 2020,
https://www.lifewhereimfrom.com/about/

Video:
Life Where I’m From X 2016, Visible Homeless in Tokyo, Japan, YouTube, 24 March, Life Where I’m From X , Japan viewed 6 January 2020,
https://youtu.be/Q8vhdQOH-Tk

We did some icebreakers during our workshop on Day 1.

For the first icebreaker, we introduced ourselves on a piece of paper, folded it into a paper plane and threw it across the hall. Afterwards, we chose 1 random paper plane on the floor and try to find its owner using the information written in it.

It was quite chaotic as everyone was standing around the narrow aisle trying to find their paper planes. My strategy was to unwrap the paper plane and showcase the information to everyone. Eventually, I found the owner of it, Rina.

It was an interesting icebreaker as some were shouting “who has mine?” and some were going from person to person looking at the information written on each paper plane.

We were able to see how some were more vocal in communicating to others whereas some were more reserved but moving systematically to find their paper plane.

For the 3rd activity, we did a “message relay” icebreaker. The “looker” would have to convey what they saw and tell the “listener” who would then describe what they heard to the “drawer” who would then draw whatever the “listener” said.

I was the “looker” and one thing I realized after the activity was that I did not describe it detail enough. For example the photo had 4 apartment blocks on the seesaw on the far left but when I described it to the “listener”, I just said “apartment blocks beside money bag”. This lack of detail made the listener convey just 1 information but that information was not accurate. The activity gave me an insight on how crucial communication is within a team as wrong information could have negative effects down the line.

For the last activity, we formed groups of 7 and tried to build the tallest tower using ice cream sticks and a roll of tape.

Our strategy was to split the job between us. 3 focused on the tower portion and the remaining 4 focused on the base of the tower. We taped the ice cream sticks from end to end for the tower and made a pyramid for a solid base.

It turned out quite well but there were hiccups during the process. Firstly, we had to share the single roll of tape and we did not have any scissors. But with Ryan’s strength, he was able to tear the tape to distribute it amongst the team. Secondly, time constraint. We only had a short amount of time, so the quality of the tower that we built was not great and we went over the time limit set. It was impossible to make it look good in a short amount of time but did our tower stand? It did.

By splitting our workload and utilizing the different strengths of our team, we were able to make the tallest tower that did not topple. It shows that even in a short amount of time, with good communication, we can achieve what we set out for if the instructions and idea that we have are clear.

Reference list:

Image:
Chorazy, E 2020, ‘COMM2733_2020_CLASS1_Workshop_Final-‘ PowerPoint slides, COMM2733, RMIT University, viewed 2 January 2020 https://rmit.instructure.com/courses/70338/files/10724065/download?wrap=1

Hi! I’m Zulhilmi. Currently 23 years old. I chose Prof Comm as it is a general course where I could learn about advertising, journalism, public relations and media etc. With that, I would want to improve on my skill-set; such as writing and critical thinking. My main interest in this course is to learn more about Journalism and Media Production.

Before University, I studied Digital Visual Effects where we mainly learned technical skills using softwares like After Effects, Photoshop, Maya, Nuke etc. With that knowledge, I went on to do freelance graphic design/ motion graphics.

My expectations for this course is to be able to combine what I have learnt, before and during university, to be more well-rounded so that I could make myself much more marketable in the future.

I imagine my future career to be a journey of discovery. To learn about new things in Singapore or even the world so that I could share it with others. Be it entertainment, up and coming technologies, histories or even lifestyles.

One of my working habits is to try and start an assignment on time. By doing so, I am able to set milestones on what to achieve and give myself “buffer time” before the deadline to examine what has been done. If any challenges were to arise, I could combat it ahead of time without worrying about lacking time.