Collaborative Media by Jackson

Collaborative Media by Jackson - March 2022 Scholarship Essay

Social media can have a huge impact on learning because of the way it allows people to connect; it creates an atmosphere of collaboration that would be otherwise impossible.
Just last summer, I found through social media about the concept of a Game Jam; in one, teams are given a short time period to create a video game from scratch. I knew immediately that I needed to participate; I enjoy creating games, and making one under a time limit with my friends sounded like a great time. In order to do that though, I needed help outside of just programming skills; my art and music especially leave a lot to be desired. I enticed about a half a dozen friends with different skill sets; two good with music, two for art, one to help with the code, and one with a passion for design. The day it started, we were all sitting in a voice chat, waiting to find out what the theme was; when it was announced to be “One Button,” we all immediately began to brainstorm ideas. Working together, we eventually decided on a time-trial based racing game, where the only method to control the character was to click on the screen; when doing so, the character would shoot off towards the cursor. We spent the next week before the deadline creating and collaborating, perspiring and persevering, and came up with a working product. By working with friends in other specialties, I was able to create something far better than anything I could do by myself, and our ability to collaborate facilitated by social media is representative of the positive impact it can have.