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AR: But when you look at a guy like Mario -- he's a pretty unlikely hero isn't he, he's a pudgy Italian plumber with more facial hair than Donkey Kong has. Tell us about how you came up with him. |
SM: We had to draw Mario as a small character and at the same time, we had to make him look human. To do that, we needed to draw a distinctive feature for him, such as giving him a big nose. We gave him a moustache so that we didn't need to draw a mouth. It is difficult to show facial expressions with small characters.... |
AR: Today's games though are so complex aren't they, from a designer's perspective you've got these amazing 3D characters & 360 degree scenarios, like the Legend of Zelda for instance. But do you ever look back to the '80s and think, I really miss those simple days because I have to say that I really miss the Game Watc... |
SM: The game creators and players grew up together. They went through the history of video games together. When we came out with Super Mario or Donkey Kong, the whole world was astonished and showed interest. But when I look at the games that are out now, I cannot help thinking that games these days have become more us... |
AR: Anyhow I guess it's fair to say that Nintendo does come out with some incredible games and you can really really tell the huge differences obviously between what you're coming out with now and what you came out with in the '80s. But during that time you really were the undisputed industry leader in terms of compute... |
SM: I do think we are too conscious of competition. There are many companies today that can be compared to Nintendo. But I think that Nintendo should be unique and become a company that can not be compared with the other corporations. I believe that Nintendo will loved by the public if it can maintain that philosophy. ... |
AR: So this it - the thing everybody's been waiting for. Let's give it a whirl. Ready? |
AR: This is absolutely amazing. How long did it take to come up with something like this? |
SM: The time passed very quickly, though it did take one or two years to make it. This is simple game and I am hoping to make simple games like this and have people enjoy them. |
AR: You know computer games have always been about sitting at home on the sofa, eating chips, drinking coke and basically being very unhealthy. All those coach potatoes are going to recoil in horror at the idea of getting up, standing up, moving around. Are people going to go for it you think. Is that what people want? |
SM: The games will change. The whole family will watch the game and they start saying "I want to give it a try" |
AR: Do you think people could get hurt doing this. I mean you're running around all over the place? |
AR: Okay, it's match point -- here we go! Congratulations, you won! |
AR: Before we get into the technicalities of this new system. I'm just going to have to ask you about the name obviously. Nintendo's taken a lot of flack over the fact that it changed it from Revolution. What was wrong with Revolution? Isn't that what this is? |
SM: Japanese people have a funny habit of abbreviating names. For instance if you have a "Family Computer," people call it "Famicom". We at Nintendo had thought of giving it a name that can not be abbreviated. It is a very short official name, and we wanted to add other words to create a new additional name. Such as "W... |
AR: So it involves a motion sensitive wireless console. Some have said that this is nothing but a gimmick and something else in the next couple of years is going to come out and supercede it and it will have been a waste of time and money. What do you say to those people? |
SM: First thing I would say is "Give it a try". If you use it you would know that you had the wrong impression about it. I became more and more confident in the Wii since I started to make the software for it. |
AR: Nintendo though -- it's always been a company that takes a risk here and there, but this is such a gamble isn't it. Essentially what you're doing is reinventing the wheel by inventing this new console. Why do you need to fix something that isn't broken? |
SM: It is always fun to try something new. A new market will open up when you introduce something that people have not expected. I feel strongly that we can have a chance in taking the lead in that market. Nintendo, historically, is a company that takes risks. Our former president himself has said "do not try to compet... |
AR: Nintendo has always said that Wii is supposed to be for everybody but there is this one really large, really tough nut in the community that no one seems to be able to crack and that's women. Why are we so hard to please? |
SM: It is actually fun to think about that. My wife does not play any kind of games. I have tried to make her interested with various games like Tetris, but she has never showed interest, until recently. But we're beginning to tear down the walls, starting with the Nintendo DS games. It was fun to watch. Although we ha... |
AR: There is still though a really big chasm between those who are gamers and those who are non-gamers. To the latter group, playing a game on a computer is more like hard work than anything else. How do you go about bridging that divide. |
SM: I think anyone can enjoy video games. But some people shy away from them, just by looking at the shape of the console, or they think it is complicated when they have to plug the machine into their television set. However, I think if it is something that is simple to connect and play, it can be enjoyed by anybody, e... |
We also have to think about the themes of the games. There is an abundance of themes that people are interested in, and video games have only touched on few of them. Nintendo is trying to diversify the gaming genre, offering new themes to the players. There are so many left to do. By introducing these available themes ... |
AR: As a kid, you were really into "manga" cartoons, but because of its violent content your parents saw some real cause for concern. As a father now yourself, do you think they had a right to worry? |
SM: Yes, I think so. I myself am careful about any excessive violent expressions in video games. But when I was a child, my parents worried about me reading too many comic books. I'm not sure that they knew the full extent of the comics I was reading. That is when I was young. But obviously, I know about the content of... |
AR: When you think about violent computer games , I guess the first thing that springs to mind these days is Grand Theft Auto , it's very, very graphic in content, it's also been blamed for inciting real life crimes but it's also extremely popular amongst gamers. Why hasn't Nintendo never gone down that very lucrative ... |
SM: I think there is variety of ways to entertain people. Nintendo has many ways of entertaining people without the use of violent expression. So I do not have to worry in making such games. |
My personal thought is, and I think it is the same with Nintendo, that before thinking about how to handle violence in video games, I think it is important to think about pain people feel. For example, you would not laugh at people with disabilities. There are bullying problems in Japan. Looking at the overall picture,... |
AR: Gamers are very fond of saying what's on their mind about the latest games and they certainly do like to blog. Do you listen to their views? |
SM: This is a difficult subject. If a fan makes a suggestion, I will often put it in my mind, and I will take in whatever comment I feel is useful. But I make my own predictions of how a user might react to the games I create, and I would say I am sensitive to whether those reactions are in line with what I predicted. ... |
AR: The last thing I want to ask you is what's the secret to getting into the design side of this business - and lasting at it as you have. I guess a fair amount of being a big kid at heart would really come into it. |
SM: I wonder what it is ... I think it is important for me to think about the fact that there is always someone playing the games that I make. I always think about how to surprise them next, what to surprise them with. And it's also probably a good idea to keep working with younger generations. |
AR: Mr Miyamoto, it's been a great pleasure -- many thanks indeed. And that brings us to the end of our show. My guest today has been Nintendo's game design genius Shigeru Miyamoto. I'm Anjali Rao, see you next time. |
Jacob deGrom talks about what it means to sign a five-year, $137.5 million extension with the Mets. |
ARLINGTON, Va. — On Thursday afternoon, Jacob deGrom will climb atop the mound at Nationals Park and throw out the first pitch of the Mets' season. And after the events of this week, there is reason to believe that deGrom will be throwing out that opening pitch for many Mets seasons to come. |
Almost exactly 24 hours before deGrom unleashed the first meaningful pitch of the season, he sat down and explainedthe why behind his five-year, $137.5 million extension. |
"I’ve said it before that I’ve loved my time here and wanted to be a part of this team’s future," deGrom said Wednesday, at a press conference announcing the new contract. "I look forward to being here a long time. Hopefully, a lifelong Met and bringing a championship to New York." |
DeGrom, 30, won last year's National League Cy Young Award and is arguably the best pitcher in baseball. Keeping him long term, in his prime, is a triumph for general manager Brodie Van Wagenen. |
Van Wagenen was in a bit of a strange situation. Less than a year ago, before he took the Mets job in the fall, Van Wagenen was deGrom's agent. He even put pressure on the franchise to extend or trade him last summer. When Van Wagenen took the job, he pitched ownership on deGrom being the centerpiece of his plan to lea... |
And even though his interests changed once he stopped being Van Wagenen's agent, and the Mets could have waited to re-sign the ace -- deGrom still had two years remaining under team control -- Van Wagenen felt it was important to get the job done now for the message it would send to the clubhouse. |
"I think somebody said last summer that the Mets should either sign him or trade him," Van Wagenen said with a laugh. "I carried that same mind-set, it’s hard to build a long-term, sustainable winning plan with uncertainty for which players are going to be part of that team." |
Despite deGrom's public desire to stay with the team, and the Mets' interest in keeping him, banging out a deal was not easy. As recently as Saturday, deGrom admitted that he was "not as" optimistic an extension would get done before the season. |
We now know the exact reason. The Mets, deGrom and his reps at Creative Artists Agency were scheduled to meet on Sunday. But there was a miscommunication and the meeting was postponed, leading to deGrom's doubts. |
"We did get our wires crossed and I heard we weren’t meeting," deGrom said. "That’s whenever I said I was less optimistic." |
But the two sides sat down on Monday, at a conference room at the airport in Sarasota, to hammer out the deal. It was a marathon session, including deGrom, his agents, Van Wagenen and Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon. |
The meeting started at about 9:30 a.m. and lasted about nine hours. DeGrom, who was scheduled to do some light throwing that day when the Mets played the Orioles, never made it to the ballpark. |
"It was a long day," Wilpon said. "And I wasn’t going to let the plane take off until we were done with this deal. We were holding him hostage." |
The goal was for the Wilpon to fly deGrom back to New York where he would take a physical and finalize his deal. But there were moments where it seemed as if a deal might not get done. |
"There’s points of doubt where you start to wonder whether or not a deal can be accomplished," Van Wagenen said. "Very few things in life are black and white, it’s sort of how you make sense of the grey. And we knew that there was a desire to make his long-term partnership, but we had to figure out what that looked lik... |
There were also some funny moments. At one point, both sides were so absorbed with getting a deal done, that food became an afterthought. And Van Wagenen made a run to get something, anything, to eat. |
"We hadn’t eaten for about six or seven hours so I had to make the 7-Eleven run and brought some taquitos and mini tacos in for Jake," Van Wagenen said. |
"At that point I was willing to eat anything," deGrom said. "It was a long but productive day. We went in there with a common goal, and the goal was to leave there together." |
And in the end, that's what the Mets and deGrom did. They got a deal done that both sides can feel good about. The Mets have their ace locked up, the primary building block in a plan to return to contention. DeGrom is being compensated like what he is: one of baseball's best. And he gets to stay where he wanted to. |
"That’s my goal here, to win in New York City and play for the Mets for the rest of my career," deGrom said. "That was a long day, but at the end of it I think both sides are very happy and I’m just super-excited to be here long term." |
Jeff Jarrett No Longer A Minority Owner In TNA - Wrestling Inc. |
- PWInsider reports that the recent deal that saw Jeff Jarrett return to TV in the TNA storylines included Dixie Carter buying Jarrett out of his minority ownership of TNA. The deal also included Jarrett's Hall of Fame induction, promotion for Global Force Wrestling and GFW having the rights to book TNA talents. |
"The real-life drama between Dixie Carter and Jeff Jarrett, that for weeks has played out on IMPACT WRESTLING, will all come to a head tonight in a shares vs shares, Winner Take All match. It is true that if Dixie's Team TNA defeats Team GFW, Dixie will acquire Jeff's shares in TNA and he will no longer be a stakeholde... |
PWInsider notes that the Jarrett deal was put together just a few days before the Jarretts cut their Impact promo back in June. The deal was precipitated by TNA and allows for both sides to part ways on good terms. Dixie and parent company Panda Energy get complete ownership of the company while Jarrett gets bought out... |
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to today's chat, Learning to Identify and Understand K-12 Innovation, sponsored by Blackboard K-12. |
I've just opened the chat up for questions, so please start submitting yours below! |
We'll be back at 3 p.m. ET today with Anthony Kim and Laurie Racine -- we hope you can join us then. |
Good afternoon folks, and once again, thanks for joining us for today's chat, Learning to Identify and Understand K-12 Innovation, sponsored by Blackboard K-12. We'll get the chat underway in just a few moments. |
In the meantime, for some background reading, check out our special report, Accelerating Innovation, published earlier this month. |
I'm now handing the chat off to our moderator, Ian Quillen, who's a staff writer for Education Week Digital Directions. Take it away, Ian! |
Hello folks, and welcome to our discussion about learning to identify and understand innovation in the world of K-12 education. My name is Ian, and I’m a tech reporter here at EdWeek. Today, I'll be serving as your chat moderator. |
I’d like to first thank you all out there in cyberspace for joining us, as well as our guests, Anthony Kim and Laurie Racine, and today’s sponsor, Blackboard. |
And now for our panelists to say a bit more about themselves. |
Thanks Ian. I'm the founder of Education Elements. We work with schools across the country to implement blended learning school models. We are growing fairly quickly and can read about us in tech crunch with our recent funding announcement. Prior to EE, I founded Provost Systems which did virtual school systems which w... |
Are there any characteristics of true innovation that are universal to all types of innovative programs? |
I would say it depends on the problem one is trying to solve for.. |
Anthony, given your work from the ground up with schools who are establishing one of several models of blended learning, a practice some view as one of the more important innovations in K-12 education right now, why don't take this next question from gale. |
Should innovative practices come from staff input or from the top down? |
I don't think that innovation practices come from one direction or the other. I was keynoting yesterday for the Donnell Kay Foundation on blended learning in CO. And there were a lot of innovative practices happening at schools and in the classroom. That's a DIY model. But not scalable. If you want scale it generally c... |
Laurie, would you like to respond to that? |
In today's culture, does "innovation" require a technology component? |
Is the shift to competency based learning really innovative? What new possibilities does it create? What challenges does it introduce? |
Laurie, if I may follow up, what is it about technology that really makes it almost an essential part of innovation? |
Hi Arthur. I think it depends on what lense you use. If it's from a policy stand point might be to get these changed. If it's from a practice stand point then it's not. That's the tricky thing about education, where the policies can stifle innovation. Competency based has been around for a long time. I just think more ... |
I am teaching an undergraduate course on ed innovations this spring. We're reading a wide variety of thinkers from Sir Ken Robinson to McGarvey and Schwahn to Postman (in thinking about purposes for schools). We are also looking at brain research and specific applications of technology such as the flipped classroom and... |
I don't think innovations require technology. You can still innovate in other areas of education. High Tech High was innovative in project based learning and creating their own teacher university. |
How does "being adaptive and responsive to the individual needs of the learner" fit with Common Core? |
You know I'm not one 100% sure about that one related to Common Core. I think that when things get adaptive and responsive, I'm we are looking at higher levels of bloom's taxonomy, ideally. So I don't believe that CC gets us to that level yet. Adaptive products would make learning more advanced as your skills develop. |
Sorry. That was to Linda. |
I know everyone is aware of the budget challenges facing schools these days. Anthony and Laurie, would each of you like to address this fiscally related question? |
With the limited resources that school districts have nowadays given the budget shortfalls, what are your favorite platforms right now for knowledge sharing around innovation so each district/school/teacher can reduce the amount of time/money needed to "innovate" by not entirely reinventing the wheel? |
I think there are some interesting options coming out of incubators like Imagine K12. Partnering early with one of these organizations to pilot or try these tools would be great. They are a young group of entrepreneurs. For the first time in decades I've never seen this many entrepreneurs wanting to be in education tec... |
Also there are organizations like Startup Weekend Edu where people are collectively trying to problem solved issues in education and developing products over the weekend. |
Administration needs to give teachers time, opportunity and a place, where they can try to innovate and it's okay to fail. Manytimes you fail before you succeed. I think that in schools there is this notation of worrying about failure and it results in stagnation. |
How did High Tech High innovate the project based learning model without incorporating technology? |
However, administration should also provide a framework which which helps structure the design process with innovation. Typically K-12 schools don't have this framework setup...Unlike higher education. |
Do particular areas of education lend themselves better to innovation than others? If so, how do you break through to the more difficult areas? |
I think HTH innovated their model by helping make it more repeatable, and also re looking at how they do recruiting. Here is some consistency in the model. Also the fact that they don't' teach to standards and changed the order in which students learn subjects. |
I mean teacher recruiting and training. |
Scaling quality programs seems to present its own set of challenges. Are there resources, examples, general principles, or promising practices out there that might guide an organization? |
There are very few examples of companies scaling quickly in education. K12 being one of the notable examples. |
That's way investors have been hesitant to invest in K12 in the past. To many failures. So what's different now??? |
One thing we are seeing is a greater openness to technology by schools. It's penetrated our personal lives and those of students. So it's almost odd to be in an environment without it. |
What do you mean by "a framework which helps structure the design process"? |
Bandwidth is cheaper...it's also cheaper to develop software with cloud based computing. So more investment in servers. |
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