Spring Semester Class Blog
Here is the class blog for my Journalism New Media Class for Spring 2008. So far 16 students have enrolled, so it looks like we have a class! More information is here:
More Photos from Christmas Posted
I have posted photos fromboth Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to Flickr. Here they are:
Technorati Tags: Kenneth Sloan, Sue Graziano Sloan, Jeff Sloan, Nicole Sloan, Madison Sloan, Jacob Sloan, Sloan Family, ssloansjca
Great family dinner at my sister's
December 27th was our mother's birthday. It was a very appropriate day to celebrate at my sister's new home. In the photo, the man in the foreground is my brother-in-law Stan, to his right is my sister Iris, going around the table is my youngest son Kenneth, then wife Sue, next is Nicole (Jeff's wife), then is middle son Jeff, then is Shane, Sophie's husband and last is niece Sophie, Carol and Stan's daughter. We had a great time and are very happy that Carol and Stan as well as Sophie and Shane have moved back into the bay area. Grandkids Madison and Jacob were at the dinner but are not in this photo.
[Click here to see more photos on Flickr]
Technorati Tags: Kenneth Sloan, Sue Graziano Sloan, Jeff Sloan, Nicole Sloan, Madison Sloan, Jacob Sloan, Sloan Family, ssloansjca
Madison's First Barbie
Madison's first Barbie is not pictured here. The first Barbie was a Princess Barbie. When Madison opened it she gasped, "What is it?" I said, "It is a doll." In sheer pleasure she exclaimed, "It is a wonderful doll!"
Technorati Tags: Kenneth Sloan, Sue Graziano Sloan, Jeff Sloan, Nicole Sloan, Madison Sloan, Jacob Sloan, Sloan Family, ssloansjca
Camera Phone Post: Waiting For The Show
Sue and I are at the Shark tank waiting for the DWTS show to start. She is very excited.
Prepping for graduation
Tonight I attended a Journalism & Mass Comm graduation for the first time as a faculty member. That was a real thrill. In this photo you can see Department Chair Bill Briggs adjusting Bill Tillinghast's robe before the convocation.
Former SJSU PJ Prof Jack Fields: a great teacher, photographer, person
While talking to SJSU Alum Kim Komenich yesterday I learned about the recent passing of former SJSU JMC visiting professor Jack Fields. Jack was at SJSU when Kim and I went through the PJ program. He was our photojournalism teacher. Here is what is on the San Francisco Bay Area Press Photographers Association website about Jack:
Retired freelance magazine photographer Jack Fields, former San Jose State University photojournalism instructor, died of heart failure on December 13 at his Placerville home. He was 87.
Fields served for three years as "Visiting Professor" at SJSU in the late 1970's. While at SJSU he pioneered what he called a "no-nonsense" approach to photography, a subject that was often taught as "pure art" at many universities.
Fields was founding chairman of the Bay Area chapter of the American Society of Magazine Photographers in an era when Wayne Miller, Ansel Adams, Dorothea Lange and Imogen Cunningham were members of the organization.
As a young boy in Kansas, Fields dreamed of "far-away places with strange sounding names". After a formal education and a wartime stint in the South Pacific, Fields embarked upon a 50-year career, traveling on assignment for Collier's, Saturday Evening Post, National Geographic, Smithsonian, Look, and Life.
Before World War II, Fields earned a Bachelor's degree in Science from Kansas State College. He was planning to teach but was sent to New Guinea with the armed forces where he began taking pictures. He was assigned as a photographer for the Air Force?s Yank Magazine when he contracted tuberculosis and was returned to the U.S. to recuperate. While at Cragmor Sanitorium in Colorado Springs, Fields met Dorothy Gindling, also a patient and fellow TB sufferer, whom he married in 1948.
After five years of recuperation, the Fields moved to Los Angeles where Jack attended the Art Center College of Design while Dorothy enrolled in writing classes at the Maren Elwood School. As an art student, he sold his first photos to Look Magazine. After completing their studies, the Fields traveled to Europe, working on assignment for various publications.
The Fields became known for their ability to find interesting, yet untold stories, especially in the South Pacific. In 1971 they approached a Japanese publisher with an Idea for an all-encompassing book on the region which became their 1973 book "South Pacific".
Fields was the first photojournalist to report on Micronesia after it became a U.S. Trust at the end of WWII. His photograph of a laser pioneer at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center was used as a reference image for a commemorative stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service in August, 1999.
I remember Jack very well. He was a wonderful guy and a great teacher. In 1994 we gave Jack and Dorothy our dog Reno, a black and white Shetland Sheepdog and he had a loving home with them. Jack lived a good life and he still lives on in the hearts, and the eyes, of many of us who knew him.
Grandpa's Buckboard
I remember as a younger man watching Little House On The Prairie on TV. Somebody rode a buckboard across the TV screen and my mom said, "my dad had one just like that." It shocked me. It was not until then I realized just how much change my mom had seen in her life. That memory stuck with me for many years. But, until now, I never had a photo of grandpa's buckboard. Now, thanks to my sister-in-law Doris, I do. here it is!
[Click here to see larger version]
Technorati Tags: Loftus Family, Sloan Family, ssloansjca
Fall 2007 New Media Class
I am really sorry my Fall 2007 new media in journalism class is over. We had a lot of fun. This was a great group and all of them accomplished a lot. Every student graduated with his or her own podcast. We did Photoshop, InDesign (for web delivery), Dreamweaver, audio/video production, RSS, blogging, video blogging (vlogging) and podcasting. They did a great job and I am very proud of them. Here are their stories:
Loosing some great students and friends
The best part of the job is the students. The worst part is when they leave. Really great students become a part of your lives. They become like family. That is the way I feel about some of the students in Journalism and Mass Communications where I teach and about many of the students at the San Jose State Help Desk where I work days. Some of the best students are graduating this winter; wonderful folks like Ross Bytheway, Rohan Saxena, Jimit Raval and especially Pranav Patel and Aditi Sinha. Aditi and Pranav are such great young people. They have been real hard workers and we owe so much to them regarding the success of the Academic Success Center stage area in Clark Hall. They really put their heart into the help desk and have made San Jose State University a better university. So many students, faculty and staff have been more successful in their academic pursuits because of the hard work, passion and dedication of Aditi and Pranav. They have made a real difference in my life. They are great people. I am proud to have worked with them and am lucky to know them. People don't get much better than them.
Grandpa and Grandma Sloan and Family
I never met any of my grandparents and only some of my cousins. My sister Lura was named after my grandma Lura. Last summer I got to spend time with my cousins and my cousin Dolores is the one who has memories of my grandparents. My father was their youngest son and they were both gone before I was born. My sister-in-law Doris has sent these old photos and this is what was written on this photo from (I would guess) the 1930's:
Back Row: Sidney Cavel and Ethel Moody, Lloyd Delmar (my dad), Finis and Wilma, and Finis's wife Elva Stuck. Front Row: Dolores, Sidney Dean, Bill, Lura and Harold Lee. As Doris said, "Note from Joanne Sloan April 24 1999, 'The baby on grandpa's lap is Wilma Lee, Aunt Wilma is holding Daphene, and I am the baby on grandma's lap.'"
Technorati Tags: Sloan Family, ssloansjca
[Click here for larger version]
Getting some great family photos from Doris!
My sister-in-law Doris has been sending me some great old as well as recent family photos. There are photos here of our relatives of years gone by as well as current photos of our Arkansas relatives. I will be posting more soon!
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Help Desk Holiday 2007
On December 8, 2007 we had our big help desk holiday party! It was a great event, organized by the help desk staff themselves. Colin even showed up as did several other former help desk staffers.
I think everybody had a great time.
I wonder what he was like?
He lived so long ago in a world very different than ours. I wonder what it was like being him in his world? And, what is that thing with a crank behind him?
Thanks to my brother Lloyd, I have this photo!
Technorati Tags: Sloan Family, ssloansjca
Happy birthday Nonna Sue!
Last Thursday Jeff, Nicole, Madison and Jacob came over to celebrate Sue's birthday. It was a great celebration. Madison had fun with the cats and her Nonna and Gramps. Gramps got to hold Jacob and give him a bottle. They brought over cookies and we shared a bottle of wine.
[Click here to see more pictures on Flickr]
Technorati Tags: Sue Graziano Sloan, Jeff Sloan, Nicole Sloan, Madison Sloan, Jacob Sloan, Sloan Family, ssloansjca
This morning I took the light rail because Sue's car was in the shop. The train was full of kids on a field trip. Light rail makes a great school bus.
Edupodder Podcast; Justin Beck on Podcasting
Edupodder Podcast #31, 45:30 min
On December 4, 2007 San Francisco Chronicle Podcaster and Media Producer Justin Beck spoke to my San Jose State University journalism students about podcasting and new media. As SJSU School of Journalism and Mass Communications professor Cynthia McCune reported in the JMC Journal Blog, "Beck talked with students about the process of developing and producing a podcast. He said one of the most important steps of the process is creating a tape log -- a rough or complete transcript of each interview -- with time codes noted so you'll be able to go back and find the clips you want to use." The audio from the class is here:
Podcasts Beck played at last night's event were:
Justin Beck's Handouts
Posted here with permission from Justin Beck are these two very informative handouts. The first has great information about the tools and methods of doing rich podcasts. The second focuses on how to tell great stories with podcasting. Both of these are in PDF format:
USB Wine, Il est révolutionnaire!
The French are so smart. This is long overdue technology. I want this for Christmas!
Today is Sue's birthday
Sue celebrated her birthday by going out this afternoon and evening with a bunch of her girl friends. They went to a tea in Campbell (and drinks after.) We celebrated yesterday at home. I made a pot roast and we had some really good wine. Kenneth came over and joined us. Friday night she and I went out. It has been a fun weekend!
Technorati Tags: Kenneth Sloan, Sue Graziano Sloan, Sloan Family, ssloansjca
Dancing With The Stars
Sue and I watched last nights finale of Dancing With The Stars. We have really gotten into this show. It has been a great run and we have had great fun just hanging out and watching episode after episode. Indy 500 racer Hélio Castroneves and professional dancer/country western singer Julianne Hough won the trophy but the dance that stole the show last night was a mambo by Spice Girl Melanie Brown and professional dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy. It has been a wonderful season and Susie and I have had a great time following it. Dancing With The Stars is doing a tour this winter and Sue and I are planning to go to see some of our favorite dancers.
Last night, Mel and Maks last dance rocked the house!
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Great Saturday Party
On November 24 Wendy and Ben threw a great party celebrating several birthdays in our social group. Sue was unable to attend, but I did. It was a lot of fun, what great friends!
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Looking back on Thanksgiving
On Thanksgiving I made the turkey using the old recipe that goes back to Maria in Patterson. Sue and Fran made the side dishes from Graziano family recipes. We had a nice day hanging out and visiting. Kenneth even worked on some of my trains for me! After dinner we went to Nicole's mom, Kathy's house where they were having a family dinner. We visited there for awhile. It was a good holiday.
[More Thanksgiving Pictures Here]
Technorati Tags: Kenneth Sloan, Sue Graziano Sloan, Jeff Sloan, Nicole Sloan, Madison Sloan, Jacob Sloan, Sloan Family, ssloansjca
All the students in my class now have their own video blogs and podcasts. I wrote this to my class on our class blog
Sit down, I have something important to tell you...
I was in my twenties when my father died. My youngest son was about a year old. My dad died of a rare disease, but this is not about my dad, it is about you. Every day is a gift. This is not just a gift to you. Each day of your life is a gift to all the people who love you and anybody who does now and or will someday want to know you. Believe it or not what happens to you is important. We think we have a long time, but we never know, we likely do, but...
My first wife was thirty-three when she was killed in a car accident. In a blink of an eye she was gone and I was a dad raising three kids on my own. Her story passed to me to tell them. But, this is not about her, or me, it is about you. You may live to be over a 100, but someday you will not be around to tell the story of who you are now. But, now you can tell that story, you have the power to tell that story now, to the whole world.
Gone the Sun
In the book Gone the Sun, Winston Groom writes, “Sometimes I think we should be issued another paper, a Life Certificate if you will – which could contain some brief statement for historical purposes that could explain how a person lived and what they accomplished and where they failed and why.”
You have a story to tell to people who may not be alive yet
Someday somebody will wonder what it is like to be you, now. Maybe your children, grandchildren, great...
Maybe that person will be you
You may someday look back on life and wonder what it was like to be you, now. You may someday be your own audience. You can also share stories as you remember them of folks you care about who are already gone...
"Hey, my name is Rianna,
I am a Junior at Tesoro High School and I am on the varsity song team." This is what Rianna's MySpace blog says. According to the LA Times, "Rianna Woolsey, a 16-year-old cheerleader, last logged onto MySpace.com on Dec. 6, 2005. She died the next day when her car smashed into a tree near her home in southern Orange County." Her page that has not changed since her death. The page is a time capsule of a life cut short. The only part that is different is the section where readers post comments. Since her death over two years year ago, friends have written probably over 1000 messages there. Her friends whom she authorized to post to her page still are posting there, to her, to this day. When I mentioned her on our class blog last year, I received a nice Email from a member of her family thanking me for mentioning her, for remembering Rianna. This person found the post through Google. As I mentioned in that blog post:
Every blog post we make builds our legacy and tells the story of our lives. This is so important, this is what folks will look back on when we are gone. This is our lives with permalinks and cached in Google. Her (Rianna's) words, my first wife Candy’s words, or my sister’s (who died from Cancer a few years ago) words, or my father’s words, all these words and stories I have, and the stories you have, that we hold in our memories can now be written and shared in the world by us and those living with us and preserved for a world without us. Rianna’s continuing story is in the comments of Rianna’s MySpace page. Her memory is shared for those who never knew her there. It is a story started by her before her death certificate and still being written by those who remember her.
As you contemplate your final movies for this class or even your next post to your blog or MySpace or Facebook, or wherever; remember, you don't have to be heavy, or try to do something poignant. Your memory of the best burrito you ever had in your entire life is a good story, an important story. It is a story that may be real important to someone who wants to hear that story either today or someday. Perhaps that person, someday, may be you. I wish I had videos of loved ones lost telling the story of the best burrito they ever had.
Photos of Jeff, Nicole and Family
Today I had the extreme pleasure of being able to take a set of photos of Jeff, Nicole, Madison and Jacob. It was their Christmas photo. We went to a park near where we all live in San Jose. What a beautiful, lovely family they are. We are very proud of all of them!
[Click here to see more photos on Flickr]
Technorati Tags: Jeff Sloan, Nicole Sloan, Madison Sloan, Jacob Sloan, Sloan Family, ssloansjca
New Baby Coming!
Eldest Son Steve's wife Luci posted this to their blog:
For those of you who have not heard. We are having a baby. Lorena and Eric have graciously accepted to be God parents in a ceremony that will be officiated by a family friend. We are very excited. The baby is due May 30th, 2008. We are 12 weeks 3 days today. Over the weekend I will have Steve load pictures of the ultrasound. At the end of December we should be far enough along to determine the gender.
We are very excited and looking forward to our new grandchild.
Technorati Tags: Steve Sloan, Luci Sloan, Sloan Family, ssloansjca
Lunch with Jeff and Madison
On Friday I had a nice lunch at Hawgs with middle son Jeff and granddaughter Madison. It was a very welcome break from a long and busy day. I really enjoyed the visit, it was great seeing them. Madison is really growing up. She is such a smart young lady and she is a great big sister.
Technorati Tags: Jeff Sloan, Madison Sloan, Sloan Family, ssloansjca
A newer New Math?
This is just for you parents of younger kids. This is the math your kids are or may be "taught!."
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We went to the Gold Country
Last weekend Susie and I had a wonderful trip to the Gold Country near Murphy's CA. We did a lot of wine tasting, exploring and even went into a cool cave, Mercer Caverns. It was a very fun get away. This is such a great area for an escape. We had a lot of fun and brought back too much great wine!
Technorati Tags: ssloansjca, Gold Country, Mercer Caverns
The family that blogs together
Both of our two older sons have blogs. Steve and Luci have a great blog that covers their growing family as does Jeff and Nicole. It is very cool to me to be able to peak in and see what is going on with them.
Candy and Andy were two of the people on our Europe vacation last month and they have posted their photos of the trip.
It is really cool to see their view of the trip and to see myself in front of, rather than behind, the camera. There is some great photos here and some great memories of our this wonderful vacation.
Technorati Tags: ssloansjca, Photography, European Vacations
Tonight Sue, Ken and I watched the Country Music AwardsIt was great seeing old favorites like George Strait and Reba as well as new ones like Allison Kraus and Sugarland.
One of the most touching moments of the show was seeing former American Idol finalist Kellie Pickler sing, I Wonder. Pickler sang the song with so much heart, like it was a personal story she was telling. There were tears streaming down her face when she sang this song at the CMAs. There is a reason for that. I Wonder is a song about Pickler's life and Pickler's mother who was 18 when Pickler was born. Pickler's mother gave Pickler up and left her with her father when Pickler was two. The song is about how Pickler grew up without her mother and how she wondered if her mother wondered about her. Pickler sang in tears, but she sang the song anyway. That kind of heart streaming from a song about her life reminded us of Reba. To me, that is country music at its best. That is pure country!
[Pickler Singing I Wonder at the Country Music Awards]
Technorati Tags: ssloansjca, Kellie Pickler, CMA Awards
Happy Birthday Aditi
Aditi Sinha is one of our senior student assistant leads at the help desk. She has been at the help desk for a long time and soon she will be graduating. Aditi is from India. She is smart, dedicated and committed to the help desk and the folks who work there. She almost always has a smile and makes us all feel like family. She is a natural leader and an inspiration. She is one of the nicest students I have known in my over twenty-three years at the university and when she graduates it will be a big loss for us and our university. We are really going to miss her.
Cruise reunion
This afternoon we are getting together with the cruise group to share memories, photos and perhaps to plan for our next trip. We have not seen them since our parting in Rome. This should be a lot of fun. I burned DVD's for folks of the trip pictures.
[More Vacation Photos Here on Flickr]
Technorati Tags: ssloansjca, Photography, European Vacations
I was in the kitchen when the earthquake hit
It sounded like a heavy truck coming down the street, it was very loud. It was a real roller. Nothing fell off the shelves. It was not very far from where we are, so we felt it really well. It was a moderate but we felt it very strong because we were only about ten miles from where the epicenter was. I wonder what they will call this quake? It was relatively mild compared to the Loma Prieta Quake. I was in San Jose when that one hit too. Sue is at the gym and has not gotten home yet.
Technorati Tags: ssloansjca, San Jose, Earthquake
Europe photos are on line here
I am done. I developed the last three (of 12) rolls of black and white film, scanned them, edited them, mixed them in with the many digital camera photos and have posted them. It has been a long and slow process but I have several hundred photos on line now that chronicle the cruise trip. I hope you like them!
Technorati Tags: ssloansjca, Analog Photography, Photography, European Vacations
Al Weber on Traditional Photography and Digital
In March 2006 photographer and conference presenter Al Weber presented at the Silver Conference at Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, California. I really enjoyed seeing this video of his presentation and I invite you to view it. It speaks about traditional silver "analog" photography and the relationship between it and digital photography. I can really relate to his expression of how it feels to be working in a darkroom.
Morning in Naples
Last night I developed my last three rolls of black and white film from our Naples trip and this image was one of the ones in them. What wonderful memories we have from this fantastic trip. I am so glad we went. I am also glad I shot black and white film as well as digital.
Technorati Tags: ssloansjca, Analog Photography, Photography, Naples
Feeling kinda Analog
I did something radical on our vacation to Europe. I took a 35mm film camera. Then, I did something even more radical, I only brought black and white film. Of course, as well as shooting analog film I also took a digital camera. I shot a lot more digital than analog. I am very concerned about the ability of digital images to keep for many decades without a lot of work and careful stewardship and backup of the image files. Conventional black and white photos, I have seen, can be neglected for decades, maybe even centuries and still survive long after disk drives have failed and even color analog photos have faded away.
What I discovered though was something else. Black and white film gives you a very different interpretation to a moment than does a digital photo. How the film reacts to light is much different to how a digital sensor does. Yes, you can do things with a digital photo and Photoshop that you cannot with film. But, and heres a mind blower, you can do things with film and under an enlarger that are hard to do in digital. It is all in how it reacts to light. One is not better or worse than the other. They are just different palettes, like comparing oil paint to water based paint. They are different mediums. Another side benefit was after my battery died in my digital camera, I could still make pictures. I even bought a roll of color film in Rome and shot that as my digital was dead after the battery died. (Note: If you are going to shoot only digital, bring backup batteries!)
Once in the airplane on the way to Europe a flight attendant got angry with me. She had asked me to turn off my film camera when we landed. I said I could not. She thought I was being smartellic. I tried to explain to her the camera neither turned on nor off, that my camera was powered by springs. She just could not comprehend of such a thing. It was totally off her radar.
In Europe I saw only one or two other film cameras that were real cameras. I only saw one empty film box on the ground the entire trip. When we went there eight years ago they were everywhere on the ground. But, for now I can still get film and I will continue shooting it. I do not think I will be sorry. But, I think I could be very sorry if I didn't save some memories on black and white film.
On this day in 1984 my mom died
My father died in 1977 and my mother never quite found herself after that. My mom was a smoker and the records probably show that it was a smoking related illness that killed her. But, she was really already slowly dying a long slow death from a broken heart. My parents grew up as next door neighbors. They lived in Pittsburgh, Kansas. They eloped before my mother was old enough to marry. They ran away from home across the state border to Joplin, Missouri where they married. They lied about her age. My grandma (on my mothers side) went after them. She found the sheriff. When they caught up with my parents my father told the sheriff they had already consummated the marriage. The sheriff then told my grandmother there was nothing he could do about their marriage. That was the law then. So, my dad lied. They did plenty of consummating later though, they had five children of which I am the youngest.
Technorati Tags: Pauline Sloan, Lloyd Sloan, Sloan Family, ssloansjca
What Journalism Students are Having for Lunch
In my class today we did a fun assignment. I wanted the students to be able to tell a story on the Internet using video. So I came up with an assignment where they do a short video talking about that they had for lunch, and post it to the class blog. It ended up being a lot of fun and the answers are pretty interesting I think. They did a great job!
This is a short movie taken the first time we met grandson Jacob. His sister Madison, who recently turned three, can be heard serving tea in the background.
Normally this is Fire Season
Typically the first two or three weeks of October are hot and dry, very dry. This is normally our fire season. But, not this year. We have had a very wet and cool October. Heavy rains at times have caused spot flooding on campus. If this is any indication, it will be a long winter this year. That is good, we need the rain.
Jacob was born when we were away
Then all last week we were sick. So, our first meeting with this cute guy, our grandson, had to wait. Well, the best part of being well was meeting this sweet guy. Jeff and Nicole are lucky parents. First Madison and now Jacob. He is a sweet baby!
We had a great time presenting at JACC
What a thrill and honor it was presenting at yesterday's Journalism Association of Community Colleges (JACC) Northern California meeting at SJSU. It was standing room only in the room. We had a limited amount of time so I had to rush through this PowerPoint. If folks would like to view it at a slower pace, here it is in PDF format. To save file space I have not encapsulated the videos. Links to them are in this PDF.
Some folks asked, how do I get started using emerging technology? In my opinion the place to start is to start a blog. No matter what it is about, start. It can be about your friends and family. It doesn't matter (in fact that can be the best place to start) blogging is as easy as doing email! Set aside a couple of minutes every day. You have to use the tools regularly in my humble opinion (IMHO). Besides, sending a daily email to the world every day can be a real gift to your future generations and to yourself a few years from now.
Then, I recommend you start reading. Here is a brief reading list to get you started:
Enjoy, and thanks for reading!
~Steve
