Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Worldwide Social Media Day





Today is the "Worldwide Social Media Day". Portugal is one of the countries that join this initiative.






The aim is to have a global comprehensive conclusion of the revolution that has transformed the Media into a social environment.
The initiative joins the super social media blog MashableMore than 340 meetups in the world in about 90 countries will take place.

You can keep up with the celebration on Twitter by tracking by following @mashSMday or #smday





In Porto (Portugal) the meeting will take place today at UPTEC. The Portuguese event will be cover in real-time  via Internet from 6:30PM (Portuguese time) on this website 
You can also keep up with the Porto's meetup on Twitter by following @Web_Mkt_Tuga
There will be some interesting speakers that will discuss the phenomenon of social networks in Portugal.
G-Souto
30.06.2010
Copyright © 2010G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

References: 



Friday, June 25, 2010

Michael Jackson at Ubisoft



Electronic Entertainment Expo
Photo: Mario Anzuoni 

With the first anniversary of the dead of Michael Jackson gamers amd fans will have a new opportunity to moonwalk, dance and sing along with The King of Pop.

Ubisoft® announced June 14, 2010, at the E3 Expo 2010, in Los Angeles, the development of an interactive performance-based video game, inspired by the legendary King of Pop, Michael Jackson.  The game is family entertainment at its best and will provide an interactive experience that enables players to step into the shoes of Michael Jackson himself and re-live his most iconic performances through their own singing and dancing.  


Michael Jackson, the game

The upcoming game will include the most famous tracks from Michael Jackson's extensive catalogue such as Beat It and Billie Jean, as well as an array of his awe-inspiring dance moves for players to learn and emulate within the game. 

Additionally, fans will be able to sing along and test their vocal skills while immersed in the performance.

(...)





"We're delighted to have the opportunity to develop a game based on the songs and moves of one of the world's most incredible performers of all time," said Yves Guillemot, chief executive officer at Ubisoft. "We expect the game to bring Michael Jackson fans, families and friends together with the energetic song and dance of The King of Pop." Read more ...



The game will be available for "Project Natal" for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 system with PlayStation®Move support, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, Nintendo's Wii&tm; system and Nintendo DS&tm; handheld system, for holiday 2010.



G-Souto
25.06.2010
Copyright © 2010G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

References:


Sunday, June 20, 2010

Jose Saramago, the Portuguese Nobel of Literature






José Saramago, the Portuguese writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1998 died, June 18, 2010, at the age of 87. His ashes remaine in Lisbon.

He lived in Spain and Portugal, his wife is spanish. After Saramago death,  Pilar del Río, will come to Portugal as the new director of Fundação José Saramago. The fondation will continue to promote and preserve the study of the increadible literary work, correspondence and other works of the Portuguese Nobel Prize in Literature.



"Promover o estudo da obra literária do seu Instituidor bem como da sua correspondência e espólio e respectiva preservação".


Born to hard-scrabble origins, Saramago dropped out of school at 12 to train as a car mechanic. After different works, he began a self-taught  full-time writer in his late 50s.


José Saramago/ ©DR
Nobel Prize in Literature 1998







At the age of 87 Saramago was writing  a blog Outros Cadernos de Saramago that has a million followers at Facebook.




He said November, 29, 1998:


Começar a ler foi para mim como entrar num bosque pela primeira vez e encontrar-me, de repente, com todas as árvores, todas as flores, todos os pássaros. Quando fazes isso, o que te deslumbra é o conjunto. Não dizes: gosto desta árvore mais que das outras. Não, cada livro em que entrava, tomava-o como algo único.1)

José Saramago
Outros cadernos de Saramago, blogue

His message in this document is about the power of literacy!

Among his enourmous work, he wrote one book for children "A Maior Flor do Mundo" (2002)



The video is a animated version (2007) of his book. He is narrated and featured by José Saramago himself and it has a spanish version. The book can be find here

The animated movie won the best prize at "Animation at Anchorage Internacional Film Festival". He also has been nominated for "Goya 2008" as short film.

His novel "Ensaio sobre a Cegueira" - Blindness was adaptated to a film (2008) by Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles,  Festival de Cannes 2008.




Perhaps two good suggestions to introduce Saramago at school's curriculum talking about Portuguese Literature, the first (k-12) the second (secondary school)


G-Souto
20.06.2010
Copyright © 2010G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Prince of Persia: an interesting narrative text!



Prince of Persia: Sands of Time

Do you remember my posts about using movies in the classroom and Alice a video game for young kids

Once again, let's talk about movies and games in the classroom, this time to   teach the "Narrative text".

narrative is a story that is created in a constructive format (as a work of writing, speech, poetry, prose, pictures, song, motion pictures,video gamestheatre or dance) that describes a sequence of fictional or non-fictional events.1)

We all know the game Prince of Persia: Sands of Time! Of course!  But a live-action adaptation of a video game series to the cinema, sometimes, it's not a good idea! This is not the case of Prince of Persia.










Prince of Persia (PC)


Prince of Persia Sands of Time, developed at Ubisoft Montreal, successfully captures the mechanics of the original platformer and extends it to the 3D generation.

The Sands of Time was praised for its visual design, finely tuned game mechanics, and intriguing storyline, winning the game several awards.2)
The game has been developped between playStatin and PC and now mobile phones.



It's fairly short, and it's missing the console versions' bonus features, but Prince of Persia is a truly excellent action adventure game for as long as it lasts.




    http://www.imdb.com


    Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a 2010 epic action-adventure film written by Jordan Mechner, directed by Mike Newell (“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”) and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Walt Disney Pictures
    The film is based on a mix of  2003 video game of the same name, developed and released by Ubisoft Montreal.

    Prince of Persia (film)
    Despite the film having the same title as and being primarily based on the video game Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, elements from Prince of Persia: Warrior Within and Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, two other titles from the Prince of Persia video game franchise, are also incorporated.3)


    Synopsis:
    Dastan a rogue prince (Jake Gyllenhaal) reluctantly joins forces with Tamina a mysterious princess (Gemma Arterton) and together, they race against dark forces to safeguard an ancient dagger capable of releasing the Sands of Time - a gift from the gods that can reverse time and allow its possessor to rule the world. 

    Young people love this kind of stories, right?! A young warrior-prince and a fetching damsel scamper across the desert sands to keep a magical dagger out of the hands of villains who would control time.

    It's an interesting narrative, with a bit of magic and a lots of adventure and special effects. I just loved it!

    Prince of Persia, the film and the game have all the elements to motivate young students to  study the "Narrative text" in a literature course.

    Narrative is central to children’s and young students learning. They use it as a tool to help them organise their ideas and to explore new ideas and experiences.

    Composing stories, whether told or written, involves a set of skills and authorial knowledge but is also an essential means for children to express themselves creatively and imaginatively.




    It's a fun action-adventure movie. The camera exquisitely follows the video game’s style. That gives the real enjoy of the game, the interaction between the characters and the story are really attractive and not bored till the film's end.






    Immerse yourself and your students in the captivating Prince of Persia universe with an original and independent story that closely coincides with the action of the console & PC editions of the game, and talk about the "Narrative text" in classroom. Don't miss such important ressource! So funny to teach and learn in a different way!

    G-Souto
    16.06.2010
    Copyright © 2010G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

    References:
    1) Narrative
    2) Prince of Persia (game)
    3) Jakob Lothe, Narrative in fiction and film - an introduction, Oxford University Press, Google Books
    Prince of Persia (film)

    Wednesday, June 9, 2010

    Vizati a portuguese videogame



    Vizati 
    Portuguese Different Pixel

    Different Pixel (Portugal) prepara-se para lançar um belo puzzle game. Chama-se Vizati e vem da softwarehouse portuguesa Different Pixel. Os autores são os dois jovens Rita Silva e David Amador.

    A ideia é juntar pedras por cor, havendo dois modos de jogo: um História e outro Arcade.

    O título estará disponível para download no dia 11 de Junho, no Gamersgate e o preço será de 7,45 euros.
    Entretanto, fiquem com esta obra nacional, dando uma olhadela pelos ecrãs e pelo teaser.

    Vizati is a puzzle game that will put your mind to the test. It has been created by two young people Rita Silva and David Amador from Different Pixel (Portugal).

    You have to rotate a magical cube to connect (group) the little vizati stones by color and figure out the best way to do it with a limited number of rotations/moves. 

    You can play the Story Mode and follow the story between Julie and Peter who discovered the Vizati cube, or play the Arcade Mode, which is a rawer, faster and even more teasing mode.



    G-Souto
    09.06.2010

    Copyright © 2010G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

    References:

    GameOver


    GamersGate