- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

To The Rescue: ��Vlog��ý Little Rock gamers create simulation about saving dogs at rescue shelters

Ajani Oyindamola — Tue, 02 Jul 2019 13:57:56 +0000

Two University of Arkansas at Little Rock students are raising awareness of animal rescue shelters while creating a fun, interactive game that will melt your heart.�� is a dog shelter simulation game that allows players to understand the ins and out of running a dog rescue shelter. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock graduate students and best friends Olivia Dunlap and Tanner Marshall have been working on the game as a pet project for the past 2 ½ years. Dunlap and Marshall are roommates and the proud pet parents of a dog jovially named Keanu Reeves. “We were walking to class one day, and Olivia pointed out that there are a lot of interesting emotional decisions to make if you create a game about running a dog shelter,” Marshall said. “You have limited resources, limited time, and you have to help as many animals as you can while making some hard decisions.” In the game, a player is the sole volunteer who is responsible for running the shelter, taking care of the dogs, and making sure they are adopted into their forever homes.�� “The goal is to keep the shelter open for as long as possible and to get as many dogs adopted as possible,” Dunlap said. “You rely on donations to keep the shelter open. Some dogs have certain health or behavioral issues that make it more expensive to take care of them. People come in looking for specific things that will affect how likely they are to adopt.” The player also has to make tough decisions that Marshall and Dunlap admit can be heart-wrenching. “One of the game’s unexpected challenges is disease outbreaks,” Marshall said. “Your shelter can be running along fine and suddenly you get a heartworm outbreak that is very expensive to treat. You suddenly have to make a decision about if you have enough money to treat all the dogs, or if you might have to euthanize the dogs if you don’t have enough money to keep the shelter open while treating all the dogs. That’s a good example of the kind of emotional decisions you have to make. It’s sad and it’s part of why we wanted to make the game. Someone out there has to make these decisions and help as many animals as they can. It’s good for a potential pet adopter to think about these things.”

��Vlog��ý Little Rock graduate students Tanner Marshall (left) and Olivia Dunlap (right) are developing a dog rescue video game, “To The Rescue.” Photo by Ben Krain.

Although there is a child-friendly mode for younger players, the game makers feel it’s important to raise awareness about the issues faced at rescue shelters. “It’s a fun game, but we didn’t want to shy away from some of the issues that people might be unaware of,” Dunlap said. “We want to raise awareness for animal shelters. That’s why we will donate 20 percent of the profits to animal shelters.” The game was created with Joseph Williams, associate professor in the Department of Rhetoric and Writing, who worked on sound design, and Byron Buslig, a ��Vlog��ý Little Rock alumnus who served as the game’s artist.�� “Part of our journey was seeking out like-minded people, and Joseph Williams was the most influential person in that regard,” Marshall said. “We have done several independent studies with him. That is how we met Byron, working on a small independent game prototype. That is how we were able to get a game-oriented education. Having access to the CRUX lab in the Department of Rhetoric and Writing has been invaluable. We are happy that it is here on campus since the workspace really helps us to develop our games.” The game creators will launch a Kickstarter campaign for “To The Rescue” on Aug. 6, where they hope to raise enough money to complete the game and manufacture the first orders. “To The Rescue” is expected to be available on PC and Mac OS computers in early 2020. The game is available to add to your .

��Vlog��ý Little Rock hosts summer camps for young writers

Janea Snyder — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 20:18:31 +0000

The Little Rock Writing Project at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock hopes to inspire the next generation of great writers with two summer camps for students. A Young Writers Camp for students entering grades 3-5 will be held June 17-21 from 8 a.m. until noon daily on the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock campus. Students will write stories, poems, biographies, tall tales, skits, and more.��They’ll create mini books and develop a writer’s notebook as well as a class publication. Middle and high school students can develop their writing skills at the Emerging Writers Institute, taking place June 24-28. The institute has expanded to include sixth grade this year.��Middle school students entering grades 6-8 will meet 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. High school students in grades 9-12 will meet 1:30-5 p.m. During the week, students will work closely with experienced writers learning to find their voice as writers, develop characters, and discover new tricks for developing a piece of writing. Each group will collaboratively design and publish a book in one week. “We had such great groups last summer,” said Greg Graham, director of the Little Rock Writing Project. “Parents are already telling me their children are looking forward to seeing friends they made last year and making new ones this year. The professional quality book we publish from the Emerging Writers Institute really blows the students and parents away.” The cost for each camp is $125. The camp fee includes supplies, snacks, and a T-shirt. Online registration is available for both the Young Writers Camp and the Emerging Writers Institute. Payment can be made by mailing a check for $125 to Little Rock Writing Project, Department of Rhetoric and Writing, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 2801 S. University, Little Rock, Arkansas 72204.For more information, contact Graham at gxgraham@ualr.edu

��Vlog��ý Little Rock gamers create app for Clinton Presidential Center exhibit

Ajani Oyindamola — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 16:02:24 +0000

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock professor, student, and alumnus have created at the Clinton Presidential Center.�� The app was built to accompany the exhibit, which is on display at the Clinton Presidential Center from Sept. 8, 2018, to March 24, 2019. This exhibit explores how the Clinton administration worked to improve the environment, the green building design elements incorporated into the Clinton Presidential Center, and ways to make sustainable living a part of everyday life. The exhibit uses videos, augmented reality games, hands-on interactives, photos, and text to teach about those themes. The creators of the app include Joseph Williams, associate professor in the Department of Rhetoric and Writing; Tanner Marshall, a graduate student in the Department of Computer Science; and Robbie Hunt, a ��Vlog��ý Little Rock alumnus. All three are members of the Little Rock Game Designers and a company called Little Rock Games. “The app has three components,” Marshall said. “One part is a sustainable homebuilding game, another is an informational component where you can read virtual placards throughout the exhibit, and there is a scavenger hunt where you find hidden markers throughout the exhibit.” The app uses augmented and virtual reality and took more than 100 hours to create. Williams’ favorite part of the app is the homebuilding game, which allows users to virtually build a home to see the environmental outcomes of their choices. “There are pieces that represent how big the house is, flooring and roofing options, and other choices that can make the house energy efficient,” Williams said. “You encourage people to be cognizant of how these choices change the overall impact that their house has on the environment. The interface gives users a green rating for how well they are doing, and it tells them how much the house will cost. If they make green choices, when they are finished the house will show plants and happy animals. If they choose poorly, you may see acid rain at the end. It gives them a visual representation of the outcomes of their choices.”

A screenshot from the app developed for the “White House, Green Building” exhibit at the Clinton Presidential Library.

Museum Curator Christine Mouw said the app has been a positive addition for the exhibit, and she is hoping to incorporate more apps into future exhibits. “They were so great to work with and customized the games to fit our exhibit and our ideas, and they taught us so much about what could be done,” Mouw said. “The end product is fabulous. We’ve gotten so much positive feedback. People are spending a lot more time in the exhibit than they otherwise would, playing the game! I hope we can put games into more of our exhibits in the future.” In choosing projects for their company to complete, Williams said they look for “games that make a difference in people’s lives.” “Our unofficial company mission is to design and work with games that have some sort of social impact,” Williams said. “That matters to us. This project ties to an interest in sustaining world climate and livability.” “The kinds of things we are interested in as a group go beyond games and technology,” Marshall added. “When we can work on a project that has a broader impact, that is meaningful.” In the upper right photo, members of Little Rock Games include (L to R) Tanner Marshall, Brad Sims, Olivia Dunlap, Joseph Williams, and Robbie Hunt. Photo by Ben Krain/��Vlog��ý Little Rock Communications and Marketing.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock awards funding to six projects in Seed Grant Competition

Ajani Oyindamola — Fri, 21 Sep 2018 14:22:04 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock has awarded funding to six research projects by ��Vlog��ý Little Rock faculty members through the 2018-19 Seed Grant Competition.�� This year, the competition accepted research proposals in two tracks. Four projects were awarded funding of $6,000 each in Track A, while two projects were awarded $12,000 each in Track B. The grant period for each award is from Aug. 16, 2018, to Aug. 15, 2019. The ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Seed Grant Competition aims to kickstart compelling research projects that can later be funded by external support after the term of the seed grant. The Track A winners and their projects include:

Annie Childers and Liangfang Lu, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, “Placement and Retention in Developmental Mathematics at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock”
Amar Kanekar, School of Counseling, Human Performance, and Rehabilitation, and Joseph Williams, Department of Rhetoric and Writing, “Health Quest – A Training Simulation for Health Education Students and Workers”
Rebecca Glazier, School of Public Affairs, and Heidi Skurat Harris, Department of Rhetoric and Writing, “Identifying Reliable Indicators of Instructor-Student Rapport in Online Classrooms”
Fusheng Tang, Department of Biology, “Osh6-Mediated Sterol Redistribution Extends the Lifespan”

The Track B winners and their projects include:

Hirak Patangia, College of Engineering and Information Technology, “An Experimental Investigation of a Faster Voltage Equalizer for a String of Batteries in Electric Vehicles”
Shanzhi Wang and Brian Berry, Department of Chemistry, “Investigation of the Pre-steady State of MTANs from Borrelia burgdorferi”

Kanekar and Williams’ project involves testing a digital simulation that will train health education students in how to conduct public health initiatives by learning aspects of program planning and evaluation for preventing a condition/disease of public health importance. “My co-investigator, Dr. Joe Williams, and I feel great about winning this grant as we believe that this pilot project may open up doors for extending educational games for student learning in other health courses and looking into advanced gaming projects for student learning,” Kanekar said. Proposals were judged based on the significance of the research or creative activity, quality of the research plan, expected outcomes and direct impact to the community, strength of plan to seek external support, ability to enhance and acquire external support, and qualifications of the researchers. “The quality of the proposals for this year’s Seed Grant competition blew me away,” said Jerry Damerow, chair of the Dean’s Science Council for the College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences and one of judges for the seed grant competition. “The quality was so good it made judging very difficult.” Damerow said the judges looked for projects that would give ��Vlog��ý Little Rock a competitive advantage and projects that could lead to commercially viable products or services. “In this regard, Dr. Childers and Dr. Lu’s project to improve outcomes in developmental mathematics has the opportunity to give ��Vlog��ý Little Rock an advantage in retaining and graduating students versus other universities that use a more traditional approach,” Demerow said. “Dr. Patangia’s project aimed at improving the efficiency of charging a string of batteries has important potential in the rapidly growing field of alternative energy.”

Arkansas professors to discuss books, writing careers at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

Ajani Oyindamola — Fri, 14 Sep 2018 13:17:00 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Department of Rhetoric and Writing will host two authors who will discuss their latest books and writing careers.�� Dr. Jennifer Case, assistant professor of creative writing at the University of Central Arkansas, will discuss her book, “Sawbill,” at 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 20. Dr. George Jensen, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock professor in the Department of Rhetoric and Writing, will discuss his book, “Some of the World Are Theirs: A Memoir of an Alcoholic Family,” at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 18. Both events are free and open to the public and will be held in Dickinson Hall Room 100. Case’s writing explores issues related to place, environment, home, family, and motherhood. She is the recipient of a Bread Loaf Bakeless Scholarship and Stone Canoe’s 2014 Allen and Nirelle Galson Prize in Fiction. Her first book, a memoir, was published by the University of New Mexico Press in 2018. She earned a master’s degree in poetry from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and a Ph.D. in creative writing from Binghamton University. She teaches creative writing at the University of Central Arkansas, serves as an assistant nonfiction editor at , and is the supervising editor of . As a professor at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, Jensen teaches courses in composition, creative nonfiction, and rhetorical theory. His books include “Personality and the Teaching of Composition,” “Storytelling in Alcoholics Anonymous: A Rhetorical Analysis,” and “Identities Across Texts.” He also publishes about American culture and politics and is currently publishing his newest work, an online serial novel entitled ��

��Vlog��ý Little Rock game creators raise more than $27K to manufacture game

Ajani Oyindamola — Tue, 14 Aug 2018 19:38:52 +0000

A group of University of Arkansas at Little Rock employees, students, and alumni who created a space-western storytelling card game – dubbed Galactic Scoundrels – have reached their online fundraising goal to raise enough money to have the game manufactured, breaking their fundraising goal by more than $10,000.�� The creators of Galactic Scoundrels include Joseph Williams, associate professor in the Department of Rhetoric and Writing, Tanner Marshall and Olivia Dunlap, graduate students in the Department of Computer Science; Brad Sims, instructional designer and media specialist for the College of Education and Health Professions; and Robbie Hunt, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock alumnus. Kevin Cates, associate professor of graphic design, joined the team and created all of the art for the game. Williams and crew, who co-founded the Little Rock Game Designers group in 2014 and last year formed a company called Little Rock Games, started a to raise enough money to have the game manufactured. The game creators set a goal of $17,000. By the end of the campaign on July 25, a total of 666 backers donated $27,430 to turn the game into a reality. “The campaign went really well, and we were blown away. In the last 48 hours of the campaign, we raised almost $4,000, and everyone was feeling a lot of joy,” Williams said. “We were so thrilled. At the beginning of the process, I was worried we wouldn’t even get funded. This is the first time any of us have tried anything like this. To have it this successful the first time around is really amazing for all of us.” Galactic Scoundrels is inspired by beloved fictional scoundrels like Han Solo from “Star Wars” and Malcolm Reynolds from “Firefly.” Players gamble and bluff each other to win a job and then tell the shared story of that job by playing cards. Each job is a mini-adventure lasting 15-20 minutes with spaceships, crew, cargo, strange and wonderful characters, and exciting twists. The game has simple rules, which can be learned in about 10 minutes. This allows players to emphasize storytelling, negotiation, and social interaction.

Galactic Scoundrels

Their Kickstarter backers reached two stretch goals – a funding target set by the project creator beyond the original Kickstarter goal – meaning that gamers will receive a thank-you gift from the Galactic Scoundrels creators in the form of 10 additional game cards that will create extra twists and turns in the game. Williams said they are planning an initial run of about 800 games that should be delivered to their Kickstarter backers in January 2019. Meanwhile, the developers are already working on their next game. Dunlap and Marshall came up with the idea for a video game called To The Rescue, where players learn how to run an animal shelter and help real-world shelters by supporting the game. “People can make it a charity experience for themselves,” Williams said. “We believe that games can be more than entertainment, that they can used to do something meaningful in the world. This is a game that definitely fits that category.” In the upper right photo,��the creators of Galactic Scoundrels include: (L to R) Tanner Marshall, Brad Sims, Olivia Dunlap, Joe Williams, and Robbie Hunt. Photo by Ben Krain/��Vlog��ý Little Rock Communications and Marketing.��

��Vlog��ý Little Rock to offer workshop on writing family stories

Ajani Oyindamola — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 17:03:11 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is offering a workshop to teach participants how to preserve their family history by writing up their family’s most compelling tales.�� The workshop, “,” will be from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 4, in the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Reynolds Business Building room 104. The writing workshop is great for those who are starting family history research, in the midst of a writing project, or looking for story starters and inspirational ideas. It offers strategies and provides opportunities for developing texts that tell stories about participants’ family members, preserving family history, and discovering ancestors through artifacts, locations, and family members Dr. Sally Crisp, faculty emerita in the Department of Rhetoric and Writing, and Dr. Sherry Rankins-Robertson, associate professor of rhetoric and writing, will teach the workshop as an offering from the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Extended Education office The cost of the workshop is $59, which includes lunch and a copy of the book, “Telling Your Arkansas Story.” by Aug. 3.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock game designers start Kickstarter campaign to manufacture new space-western game

Ajani Oyindamola — Thu, 28 Jun 2018 20:37:18 +0000

A group of University of Arkansas at Little Rock employees, students, and alumni have joined forces to create a game to bring out the space scoundrels in all of us.

The space-western storytelling card game – dubbed Galactic Scoundrels – is inspired by beloved fictional scoundrels like Han Solo from “Star Wars” and Malcolm Reynolds from “Firefly.” The game is designed for 3-5 players to play for 90-120 minutes.

“It started out with an idea of telling space scoundrel stories. When I was a kid, I wanted to be Han Solo,” said Joe Williams, associate professor in the Department of Rhetoric and Writing and lead designer of Galactic Scoundrels.

Williams started designing the game with Tanner Marshall and Olivia Dunlap, graduate students in the Department of Computer Science; Brad Sims, instructional designer and media specialist for the College of Education and Health Professions; and Robbie Hunt, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock alumnus. Kevin Cates, associate professor of graphic design, joined the team and created all of the art for the game.

“I’m older now, but my friends and I still want to tell great stories when we get together for game night, but we don’t have time to generate those stories over weeks, or months, or years. Usually, all we have is an hour or two. It lets us tell the crazy, quirky, sideways tales we love.”

Players gamble and bluff each other to win a job and then tell the shared story of that job by playing cards. Each job is a mini-adventure lasting 15-20 minutes with spaceships, crew, cargo, strange and wonderful characters, and exciting twists.

The game has simple rules, which can be learned in about 10 minutes. This allows players to emphasize storytelling, negotiation, and social interaction. A full game lasts 90 minutes or so, but players often just play as many stories as they feel inspired to tell.

Galactic Scoundrels

Williams and crew, who co-founded the Little Rock Game Designers group in 2014 and last year formed a company called Little Rock Games, have started a to raise money to have the game manufactured. They have already raised nearly $11,500 from 271 backers by June 28, so odds seem favorable that they will reach their $17,000 goal by July 25.

Backers can pledge $5 to get a print and play PDF version of the game, $25 for one copy of Galactic Scoundrels, and $40 for the game plus an expanded universe card pack. Those who pledge $75 or more get the extra honor of designing a card for the expanded universe card pack.

If the Kickstarter campaign is successful, Little Rock Games plans to produce an initial launch of 500 games that they will sell to online and brick and mortar retailers. Williams said two local game stores have already ordered advance copies of the game.

Williams will be interviewed on the radio show “,” which broadcasts on 101.1 FM at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 30. The show will be, and listeners can call in during the show at 501-823-0965 or tweet @ShanePlays.

“I think we are just really excited,” Williams said. “None of this would have been possible without us connecting at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. We love that the university provides a creative place to generate ideas like this and let them grow.”

In the upper right photo, the creators of Galactic Scoundrels (L to R) include Brad Sims, Robbie Hunt, Joe Williams, Tanner Marshall, and Olivia Dunlap.

Learn how to design a game in two-week summer course at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

Ajani Oyindamola — Thu, 08 Mar 2018 17:35:09 +0000

Students at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock can learn how to design a game during a two-week summer course.�� “This crash course in game design is structured to give students the maximum exposure to key concepts in a short period of time,” said Joe Williams, associate professor in the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Department of Rhetoric and Writing. The course, RHET 4346/5346, will run from 10-11:50 a.m. for class and 12:30-3 p.m. for lab Monday through Friday May 29 to June 8. During the two-week course, students will learn how game design impacts the brain and behavior and the seven basic game mechanics. Students will draft a game design brief using the MAST (Mechanics, Aesthetics, Story, and Technology) model, as well as complete a prototype through paper prototyping and using Unity game design software. The course is perfect for artists, programmers, writers, and web developers interested in creating well-designed games or game-like experiences, Williams said. No experience in game design or programming is required. Williams has been teaching at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock since 2004. He has a bachelor’s degree in English and theater from Lehigh University, a master’s degree in English from West Chester University, and a doctorate in composition and cultural rhetoric from Syracuse University. Along with Brad Sims, an instructional technology specialist for the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Department of Counseling, Adult and Rehabilitation Education, Williams is a co-founder of the group. The organization meets twice a month to discuss game design for tabletop and digital games. For more information about the course and requirements, email Dr. Williams at jjwilliams@ualr.edu.

Little Rock Writing Project to host institute for K-12 teachers

Ajani Oyindamola — Thu, 08 Mar 2018 17:16:37 +0000

Arkansas teachers who instruct kindergarten through high school students are invited to learn innovative approaches to the writing process and improve their teaching practices during a summer institute at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.�� The Little Rock Writing Project, hosted by the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Department of Rhetoric and Writing, will hold the 2018 Invitational Summer Institute June 11-22. The institute will meet from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Thanks to a grant from the National Writing Project, the institute is free for all participants. During the summer program, participants will discover new ways to approach the writing process, study best practices to teach writing, explore ways to integrate technology into the writing process, and learn about new research. Now in the institute’s 21th year, more than 200 teachers have benefitted by participating. “Nothing shaped my pedagogy and practice in the classroom more than the LRWP Summer Institute,” said Greg Graham, director of the Little Rock Writing Project. “The motto behind the summer institute is ‘teachers teaching teachers.’ This means that teachers collaborate around best practices in the classroom and the challenges that they are facing with the ever-changing landscape of standards and assessment,” Graham said. “We will read and engage with the latest research pertaining to student literacy, critical thinking, best practices, helpful classroom technology, and more.” �� The Little Rock Writing Project is supported in part by the and ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. Participants who complete the workshop will earn 60 hours of professional development credit. Applications are due by April 30. Visit the Little Rock Writing Project website to apply. For more information, contact Graham at gxgraham@ualr.edu.

- University News Archive - ����Vlog��ý Little Rock

To The Rescue: ����Vlog��ý Little Rock gamers create simulation about saving dogs at rescue shelters

����Vlog��ý Little Rock hosts summer camps for young writers

����Vlog��ý Little Rock gamers create app for Clinton Presidential Center exhibit

����Vlog��ý Little Rock awards funding to six projects in Seed Grant Competition

Arkansas professors to discuss books, writing careers at ����Vlog��ý Little Rock

����Vlog��ý Little Rock game creators raise more than $27K to manufacture game

����Vlog��ý Little Rock to offer workshop on writing family stories

����Vlog��ý Little Rock game designers start Kickstarter campaign to manufacture new space-western game

Learn how to design a game in two-week summer course at ����Vlog��ý Little Rock