Bringing education-related news and trends to the forefront of the conversation.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock (somewhere beyond the reaches of Wi-Fi and your 4G Network), you’ve probably seen the holographic Tupac video that’s taken the nation by storm. You may have even stumbled upon his Twitter account, through which “Hologram Tupac” calls out his “digital haters.” If you haven’t already caught wind of the performance, you almost certainly will, as the projected resurrection of the legendary rapper was the definitive show stopper at this year’s Coachella.

http://youtu.be/ajVGIRsKXdo

Amazingly lifelike, the volumetric projection of Tupac Shakur materialized on stage and sprung into action alongside Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre, astounding the audience (and later, YouTube viewers) with its believability. From the clothing to the swagger, the hologram managed to capture every last detail of the Tupac image and achieved levels of realism that the world had not yet seen (though R2D2’s projection of Princess Leila in Star Wars came pretty close).

You might be wondering, who’s taking credit for this incredible illusion…and just how did they do it? Now, I’ll admit – I absolutely cannot answer the latter question – honestly, after hours of research and reading, all I’ve learned is that there ARE differences between holograms and volumetric projections, lasers and light are somehow involved for both, and those who work with holography are truly scientists and artists of the highest caliber. But I CAN tell you that the credit belongs to Dr. Dre, the mastermind who dreamed up the project, and to the highly skilled teams at AV Concepts and Digital Domain Media Group. Using the most sophisticated technology, these groups pulled together quite a convincing show and, as time will tell, may have sparked a revolution in the entertainment business.

Think you’ve got what it takes to lead the way in this groundbreaking industry? Visit us at UniversityDecisions.com to explore your options!

Photo Courtesy of www.spaceweather.com

Do you like shooting stars? Do you love capturing one of life’s most intense moments through a lens? If so, then tonight is your night. In the predawn hours of tonight/tomorrow morning, plan on looking to the sky for a bright display of the Quadrantid Meteor Shower (pronounced KWA-dran-tid) that will appear before your eyes.

According to Robert Lunsford of the American Meteor Society, the meteor shower will reach its peak at 2:30am EST and will favor the eastern coast of North America. For the lucky east coast stargazers, the meteors will appear about one-third of the way up in the east-northeastern sky, while those on the west coast or further south will want to look a bit lower. Unfortunately, there may be fewer visible meteors in the southern region, but with the predictions that this first show of the year could also be one of the best in 2012, it’s certainly one to see, wherever you happen to be.

Capturing life as it happens is one of the keys to success as a photographer, and tonight’s shower could be more rewarding for you than simply gazing. Here are some quick tips on how to make the most of this stellar experience with your camera.

Use an SLR camera (digital or manual will work for this).

1. Use a tripod! This will allow for steady control of the camera.
2. A 50mm lens will be best while you can also use a 35mm or 24mm lens if you don’t have the larger available.
3. A remote will allow you to program shots (including intervals between shots, exposures, etc) while you observe (or sleep) or a self-timer which will simply allow you to time shots.
4. Play around with your camera beforehand and determine your proper aperture and ISO. Don’t be afraid to over expose when capturing meteors.

To learn more about how to capture the best images in the night sky consider taking your photography to the next level and pursue a career. To get started today visit University Decisions.

Ah, the research paper. A time to, well, do some research, compile your findings and write like there’s no tomorrow.

Of course these days there’s Wikipedia. So is Wikipedia becoming the main source for college papers? Not quite. The days of college professors harping to find primary source material are still here. They’ve just been altered some with Wikipedia only being accepted gradually as a launching point for research.

According to a U.S. News & World Report article Wikipedia is slowly being accepted into college classrooms. The concern among college professors is that Wikipedia contains information that hasn’t undergone peer review and this information can be erroneously posted. Though once the inaccurate information is spotted, it can be taken down. And, the article states there are now more than 20 colleges helping the site’s editors clean up errors.

So here’s how you can properly use Wikipedia when writing a research paper: You use Wikipedia for its footnotes.

Some professors are encouraging students to use Wikipedia as the launching point of their research. If you find something that seems of value in the Wikipedia content, scroll down to the footnote at the bottom of the page. Then go to the primary source and find the information you seek there. This can give you a more extensive knowledge base for your research and can satisfy your professor’s request for primary sources.

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