PCC Multimedia Club 2008-2009

Another challenging and exciting year is about to begin and I want to welcome you to the Multimedia program at PCC. Our Multimedia Club’s officers have stayed in touch this summer and we plan to make this our best year yet. But before I tell you about our big plans, I want to give you some advice.

I can sum up my advice to students in the Multimedia program in two words; GET INVOLVED. I can’t stress enough how important it is to be involved in something besides your studies. The field of multimedia requires equal parts study, networking, collaboration and volunteering. Luckily, PCC’s Multimedia Club has got you covered.

Beginning October 6^th, 2008 we will be holding “Multimedia Mondays”. During these gatherings there will be presentations (social media, technology, what’s hot, etc.), networking opportunities, brainstorming sessions and just plain fun. But wait, there’s more! Each one of our club’s officers has made a commitment to help fellow students all year long, through our (unofficial) mentoring program. Some of us “old salts” will be available to mentor new and returning students throughout the year. We not only have experience with the courses, but insight into what’s happening in the real world.

Other plans this year include various fundraising projects (we like to help charities), joint meetings with other PCC clubs, event hosting and much more. Feel free to give us your ideas. Show up to a meeting, contact us with your ideas, or simply stop me in the hall or lab. PCC Multimedia Club wants you!

Doug Coleman

PCC Multimedia Club President

Upgrades to MM Lab at PCC Cascade

You do not have to go to an expensive state or private school to get a great education in multimedia.  Portland Community College’s Multimedia Program offers accessible and affordable training in multimedia design and development.  After all, your education is what you make of it, regardless of where you go to school.  In fact, I have seen other more expensive options that offered far less.

A couple of weeks ago, myself and several members of the PCC Multimedia Club tore down the old Mac lab and installed brand new Apple computers and software.

From an email by PCC Multimedia Coordinator Greg Walters :

“The PCC Multimedia Center recently upgraded it’s computers and software to the latest and greatest that our industry has to offer. Brand new Apple G5 Towers, 20” flat screen monitors, 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon processors, Final Cut Studio 2, Adobe CS3 Design Premium, and much much more. We also recently got state approval of our Video Production Certificate this past month, which we will begin offering to students along with our current Multimedia Certificate and Associates of Applied Science degree in Multimedia. What better time to be a multimedia student, eh?

If you have any questions about classes, events, degrees, and/or advising here in the Multimedia program, please don’t hesitate to contact us. All of our current information is available online at: www.pccmm.com ”

However you choose to pursue a multimedia education, be sure to network with fellow students and become involved in your community’s multimedia network, or “scene”.  One great way to do this is join the PCC Multimedia Club.  We are still sorting through administrative issues on our website, but you can contact meand I will get you set up.  Look for more posts about the exciting things we are doing in our community coming soon.

Things For You To Do While I’m On Vacation

I know my thousands (ok, maybe a dozen) of readers will not know what to do this week when I go camping and become unplugged.  Don’t worry people, I’ve got you covered.

First of all, if you live in Portland, for god’s sake people go outside!  We get precious little sunshine around these parts and if you are as pasty as I am, you need it.  Geeks can find wi-fi in many outdoor locations in Portland.  Or better yet, give yourself a break from it.  The night after I went offline for an entire day once, I slept like a baby.  But if you just can’t pry yourself away from the ‘ol “Google Box”, here are some cool things to do this week:

1. Join my club!-  PCC Multimedia Club needs new blood.  This summer we are volunteering at FreeGeek to build computers for needy students and have big plans for this fall.  You do not need to be a student to join.  Contact Greg Walters, PCC Multimedia Club Coordinator and get started.  I hear the club President is really cool!

2. Geeky Gatherings-  Like I said before, Portland is a great place to be if you are into multimedia/tech/internet.  There are at least three events that I would go to if I were going to be in town:

Substance Summit ,  ( Wednesday July 9th, 3:30pm, Lucky Lab beer hall )
The first in a series of conversations with the Portland creative community to help each other understand how we can be more inclusive, collaborative and effective.

CHIFOO Meeting: Understanding the Multi-User Experience ( Wednesday July 9th, 6:30pm, Techtronix Building 38)                                                                                                                                                      Presented by Jen Young & Matt Arnold, Second Story.  “Jen and Matt , members of the stellar Second Story Studios team, will show how understanding people’s needs and tendencies—and the learning curve for people that must be managed in multi-user experiences—can be squared with innovations offered by ever-changing technology and hardware, design obstacles and opportunities, and the desire to wow visitors while offering designs that are appropriate to the content.”

iPhone 3G & App Store Launch Party: ( Friday July 11th, 6-9pm, Platial, Inc. )

“In celebration of the iPhone 3G & App Store launch, join members of the Portland iPhone community…”
* Check out the new iPhone 3G
* See demos of App Store applications
* Meet members of the local iPhone community

3. Investigate the Portland geek scene:  Portland is literally crawling with ambitious, creative and talented geeks.  There are several local blogs and websites I have discovered lately and read every day.

Silicon Florist is my favorite local blog lately, and not just because they used some of my coverage of Demolicious, but because they cover Portland tech news that may slip through the cracks of Read Write Web, TechCrunch, etc..  The “…Willamette Week for the Portland tech scene”, if you will.  Rick Turoczy, a big player in the Portland tech scene, writes this blog.

Portland is Awesome is …”a celebration of the many fun and interesting things in Portland, Oregon. Many of the Portland blogs just seemed too corporate, so I thought it would be cool to start a new group blog where people can blog about anything related to Portland. It doesn’t even have to be “awesome”; we can talk about anything happening in Portland.”  Super-blogger Dawn Foster writes this blog and also writes another great local blog, Fast Wonder.

PDX Web Innovators is “…a technology-agnostic group where you can meet like-minded web people without the excuse of a networking-only event.”  They do great things for the Portland web scene.  I am looking forward to their next event and using their great website resources.

Twitter is how I keep in touch with what is going on in the PDX  tech scene.  Some my local favorites are @brampitoyo (this kid has his finger on the pulse of the PDX scene), @marshallk, @geekygirldawn, @turoczy, @caseorganic, and others.  Check out my page and see who I am following.  My very favorite so far is @corvida

4. Put up a page or join a group on PortlandNeighborhood.com:  “Portland neighborhood social network. Meet other Portlanders, view Portland pictures & videos, join a group, have a discussion, and more!”  This is a very new Portland site and has much potential.

5.  Leave Me a Comment:  Let me know what you think of my blog.  Let me know what you would like to hear about in this blog.  If this is all unreadable crap, let me know that too.

There you have it, something geeky and fun to do until my next post.  Look for more good stuff next week.