Our Crowdfunding Groups
Technological Narrative Initiatives to the forefront:
Big changes in the Fiction Program at SIUC
In late 2018, through an Innovation Grant from the SIU Foundation, the fiction program at SIUC established its own podcasting lab. During Spring semester 2019, Prof Pinckney Benedict led two podcasting classes, one undergraduate and one graduate. Two students in the MFA class won prizes in Missouri Review's Miller Audio Prize contest.
https://www.missourireview.com/contests/audio-contest/past-winners/
In late 2019, the Office of the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts established a virtual reality lab and classroom in Shryock Hall. Prof Pinckney Benedict will teach a VR Narrative class in that space in Spring semester 2020. The hope is to equip every student in the class with an Oculus Quest standalone virtual reality headset, so that much of the class can be conducted in VR, and much of the class's narrative work can be created in VR.
Examples of local and campus coverage of VR in the creative writing program as well as advertisements for efforts to promote VR at SIUC:
You're enthusiastic! We fully share your enthusiasm! Before we put on our Quest headsets for the first time, all of the students in the class will say your name, or a name of your choosing, and applaud enthusiastically.
You're funding the purchase of an essential VR application for one of the Oculus Quests in our VR classroom. The student who benefits from your gift will send you a brief sample of a work of narrative art created with the application.
This level of contribution will buy a hard carrying case for one of the Oculus Quest headsets we need for our VR classroom. The student who receives the case will send you a picture of the her/himself proudly holding the protective case with the precious Quest within.
This donation purchases one quarter of one of the Oculus Quest headsets we need to outfit our VR classroom. The student who benefits from this donation will send you a picture of him/herself wearing the headset for the first time and grinning with the joy that VR brings.
This donation purchases one half of one of the Oculus Quest headsets we need to outfit our VR classroom. The student who benefits from this donation will send you a brief video of him/herself using the headset for the very first time.
This donation purchases one of the Oculus Quest headsets we need to outfit our VR classroom. The student who benefits from this donation will send you a video of her/himself putting on the headset for the first time and describing the experience of the initial tutorial. You may also visit our class at your convenience to try out VR for yourself.
This donation purchases *two* of the Oculus Quest headsets we need to outfit our VR classroom. The two students who benefit from this donation will send you a video taken when they engage in their first VR social/multiplayer encounter. You may also visit our class at your convenience and engage in VR social/multiplayer activities with the students.
This donation purchases *two* of the Oculus Quest headsets we need for our VR classroom as well as *two* hard carrying cases and *five* copies of the software that we require. The students who benefit from this donation will send you a video of a short virtual reality narrative created just for you. In addition, you may visit our class at your convenience and engage in VR social/multiplayer activities with the students. During your class visit, the students will also gleefully demonstrate the VR narratives they're working on.
