Our Crowdfunding Groups
This Rebel Raiser campaign seeks to raise a total of $2500.00 to increase access to digital storytelling for students in my courses and to gauge the interest and success of having gaming equipment available for my students right here on UNLV’s campus.
This pilot program, made possible through the help of UNLV’s Lied Library, will allow the placement digital gaming equipment – consoles and games – on course reserve for my classes. The materials will be handled in the same manner as personal reserve items from professors are handled. Students would check out a console, controller, and game for use in the library for a 4 hour, renewable period of time. They will have the option of playing at one of a selected number of the library’s first floor computer stations alone, or as a group in a private Media Room. Gaming equipment will be stored in a locked cabinet at the library when not in use.
The goal is to make available for those students who do not have access to a gaming console easy access to play games that I might assign in my courses. Right now, I am limited in the video games I might assign to my students out of concern for cost and access. The funding of this campaign would eliminate those concerns and would allow me to select the very best examples of digital storytelling. As this is a pilot program, console and game access will be limited only to those students enrolled in my courses. The hope is that, over time, this will be a program that can be expanded.
Here is a scenario that shows why this is such an important project and why it matters to our students.
Imagine a student, Sally Rebel, who wants to take one of my literature and gaming courses. In that course, we will play The Last of Us as part of our required materials. Sally knows that if she takes the course, she will not only learn about literature through the other readings in the course, but she will learn about topics like the reconstruction of morality after an apocalyptic event, personal freedom and moral choices, and human identity. However, this game is only available on the PS3 or the PS4, and Sally doesn’t have one of those gaming consoles. She cannot afford to buy one, however much she wants to take the course. She is disappointed that she will not be able to expand her knowledge of storytelling and other students in the course lose out on her insights. If this campaign is successful, Sally Rebel would have access on campus to the game and is not limited by her financial means.
I am asking for $2500.00 for the purchase of:
This leaves approximately $300.00 as a buffer that will allow for the replacement of any lost or broken equipment and to have leeway to add titles or expand a bit more as interest in the pilot program might dictate.
UNLV students want classes that cover digital storytelling seriously.
Many have an interest in gaming and want to understand the deeper meanings behind the games they play and love. Let’s help make that a more accessible reality!
But this isn't just a hypothetical matter! Here's what UNLV students have to stay about this campaign and digital storytelling:
"I enjoy studying digital storytelling because in the past as students, we observe and learn information. In a future generation with digital narratives, the ability to truly interact and see the perspectives of these characters is far more effective than reading or watching past narratives." - Julian L.
"Learning about digital narrative in Dr. Green's class has easily been the most interesting study of language I've had at UNLV... I know having a digital narrative library on campus would put UNLV on the cutting edge of understanding these materials." Joshua R.
"It is a great medium, stimulating more than movies or books ever could by applying sound, making use of personal perception, your own instincts and reactions, It is a medium that has been overlooked for far too long because of now increasingly invalid reasons. Digital Storytelling is the future." Robert M.
"I enjoy digital storytelling in my classes because it's different from the norm. My eyes bleed from the amount of power points and books I have to look over so digital storytelling elements are a great change!Digital storytelling is important because we can analyze video games for the same concepts and character development that we analyze novels for. There is a lot we can do with such an untapped resource." Steven F.
"Digital storytelling allowed me to experience an alternative world where we can see how certain social and political issues Americans are dealing with nowadays can positively or negatively affect society." Tina L.
Thank you for your support!
Thank you so much for your support! A gift of $25.00 is enough to cover the cost of one copy of most of the games on the list!
A gift of $50.00 covers the cost of extra cable sets to hook up the Playstations! We’re that much closer to our goal!
A gift of $100.00 covers the cost of three of the four needed carrying cases for the Playstations. The library will be able to pack each Playstation along with its controllers and cables in a sturdy carrying case that will facilitate checking out the item, while also protecting it from dings and harm.
Your generous gift of $220.00 covers the entire cost of a new Playstation 3!
Your kind gift of $350.00 covers the entire cost of a new Playstation 4!
