Week 10

Content

  • Health and Personal Management

    Streaming can be some seriously hard work (that's no joke!). The human body was not designed to "sit", especially in the positions our comfy chairs offer us nowadays, for hours on end. If you are streaming by mobile, you may find yourself with an entirely new set of health concerns to consider. Lower-back pain, Repetetive Strain Injuries (RSIs), and diet related issues are especially common to PC-based streamers. Some of these issues, such as Focal Dystonia, can result in long-term or life-long frustrations. And don't forget, by opening yourself up to the world, you're putting yourself in a vulnerable position; your mental health will be put to the test even if you're in perfect physical health!

    This week you will...
    • Explore basic ergonomics in seated and upright positions
    • Demonstrate the ability to practice correct ergonomics
    • Explain diet-related issues and solutions in an environment prone to sedentary practices
    • Investigate time-management principles in pursuit of a prosperous and healthy lifestyle
    • Incorporate stress-reduction techniques in hostile or otherwise difficult environments
    balancing rocks

  • Loot for your mind

    Weekly Materials


    Try to break this week down into a few key components. These are listed in your objectives above, but to reiterate, you need to:

    1. Explore basic ergonomics in seated and upright positions.
    2. Demonstrate the ability to practice correct ergonomics.
    3. Explain diet-related issues and solutions in an environment prone to sedentary practices.
    4. Investigate time-management principles in pursuit of a prosperous and healthy lifestyle.
    5. Incorporate stress-reduction techniques in hostile or otherwise difficult environments.

    First things first; as a streamer, if you are seated at a PC, you will be sitting for long periods of time. This means the potential for significant upper-body stress, lack of activation of the lower back, blood-flow reduction in the legs, and repetitive strain injury to the elbows and wrists. These can all lead to persistent issues of stiffness in the neck and jaw with accompanying headaches. Take breaks, and be aware of how long you are going to stream! The section below focuses mostly on posture, but it's just one small piece of the puzzle as to what we'll be covering this week!

    posture diagram

    Posture and Ergonomics

    A major parallel can be found in the world of music, where topics of posture and technique have been at the forefront of performance education for centuries. You’ll find a lot of conflicting and sometimes suspect evidence surrounding some of these methods, as well as some general common threads. One popular approach is the “Alexander Technique” to posture. It is based heavily on conceptual ideas, so while the most effective option would be to work with a trainer, you’ll find that you can successfully experiment with the ideas presented in the comfort of your home. Here’s an (optional) intro video with William Hurt (…no, it’s not the guy from Independence Day, though we understand the confusion). For an alternative, here’s a TEDx talk that details sitting posture (the main exercise begins at 4:21, but the entire video is a positive exercise in wellness).

    Exercise

    Physical conditioning! Weight training and cardio are both going to be useful to you. Remember that exercise has a major positive effect on your mental health in addition to your physical form. You will want to focus heavily on your core. You certainly don’t want to over-train any one group of muscles, but it’ll be so much more useful to you to have strong supportive muscles. Going back to the topic of posture; when you work with gravity, and your posture is on-point, you will experience a great deal less muscular tension and be at less risk for repetitive strain injuries. A strong core will go a long ways towards getting you sitting and moving properly without thinking about it.

    Toxicity

    More than just a classic System of a Down song, toxicity is something that you will experience in the world of online streaming. Online streaming opens you up to a large audience, and one that is largely anonymous, or at least behind some other social barrier. Anonymity lends itself to "trolls" and brash behaviors. First and foremost, look to the Twitch Community Guidelines. Next, what are the forms of toxicity you will deal with?

    • trolls (people that intentionally provoke or upset people for fun) both towards you and your chat feed
    • hackers that may attempt to gain access to your account
    • cheaters (commonly experienced in gaming streams)
    • other general social disagreements that you may find in your chat
    • disagreements with other media personalities

    Physical health lends itself towards mental health. At the same time, it's always alright to consider the state of your mental health on its own and simply take time for yourself, reach out to others, or contact a medical professional. Take your mental health just as seriously as your physical health!

    In Conclusion

    Be mindful! Be aware of your sitting posture, your movements, the amount of time you spend sitting, your dietary habits, and your mental health. Actively work to improve your well-being, and your ability to consistently provide great streams will improve as well. The rest of the links and discussion in this week will attempt to get into the specifics of what will most help YOU. While there are some obvious generalities, we’re all individuals that must take our personal health and well-being seriously, and individually seek out our winning solution.

    Final Project

    Hey, while we're at it, don't forget that next week is your Final Project! You'll be completing a stream, similar to what you did in Week 6 (except, you know, like, more). Take the time to look ahead to next week and get yourself oriented!

  • Discussion

    Discussion Requirements

    In each week, you will have a Discussion assignment that will help to prepare you for that week's main assignment. You are required to:

    • make an initial post answering the questions provided, and
    • to respond to at least one peer.

    You won't be able to see any of your peer's posts until after you have posted. Your response should be go beyond a simple "good job" or other basic complement. While there isn't a hard requirement on the length of your response, 100 words would be a good starting place. 

    The reason we only require a single response is that we are encouraging you to engage your instructor and peers through Blackboard Collaborate and Discord in real-time discussion. The questions presented here are to help you to form ideas for your main assignment, as well as allow you to more deeply analyze what your peers are thinking about as they prepare for their assignments. Your peers may be in-class students, or they may be remote and in an entirely different time-zone. We want to ensure that you all have the same opportunities to collaborate and learn from each other. We want you to be fully prepared and confident going into your main assignments.

    Discord

    Discord chats are set up by week, and are supplemental to your actual assignments. Click the icon below to access the channel. Please participate in these chats! Discord is a very popular tool used by the streaming community, so if you're not familiar with it, this is your chance! Use the Discussion assignment to help organize your interactions. It's our hope that you find people through this class that you can collaborate with, game with, and stream with in your careers; you are welcome to invite your peers to other channels that you use!

    discord icon and link to channel


    Discussion

    10 Points

    Discuss this importance of health in regards to streaming. Be specific on the following points:

    • What relationships exist between physical and mental health?
    • How do ergonomics prevent repetitive strain injuries?
    • How do ergonomics aid in mental health?
    • What are the dangers of long streaming sessions?
    • Why are the topics of diet and addiction so pronounced in streaming (even in IRL streams)?
    Submission Instructions
    • Read the discussion rubric. You will be graded on this rubric!
    • Make an initial post based on the assignment prompt provided.
    • Reply to at least one peer with a substantial response.
    • Use Discord for further discussion.

  • The Healthy Streamer

    20 Points

    You have the option of writing a 500 word essay or recording a 5 min video to complete this assignment. If recording a video, consider using it as a way of demoing your idea!

    • Detail a plan-of-action that you will use to maintain your health and well-being as a streamer.
      This should include a diet plan, a detailed understanding of ergonics and methods of practicing ergonomics, and circumventing addiction. Also

    • Detail how the previous items individually affect mental health, the "toxic" environment of online commentary, and methods for maintaining your mental health.


    Submission Requirements

    For written assignments:

    • Assignment must be composed in a word processor (Word, OpenOffice, LibreOffice, Pages, Google Docs, etc...)
    • The file type must be supported by Microsoft Word, regardless of word processor used (.doc or .docx is preferred)
    • Accepted fonts include Arial, Calibri, Verdana, and Times New Roman with a font size of 12pt
    • Essays should be double-spaced on 8.5" x 11" paper size and 1" margins
    • You will attach your completed document in the assignment submission area (don't type the assignment out directly in Blackboard!)
    • Please use APA in-text citations and include a reference list for any sources cited outside of those included in the Supply Drop area.

    This assignment is due no later than 11:59 PM at the end of the seventh day of class.

    Start Assignment

    Assignment Rubric

    Before starting your Assignment, please review the Assignment rubric. You will be graded using this rubric.

    Click below to view the Assignment rubric.

    Click Here

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