By: Carol Studer

Just as you are trying to figure out how to work, educate, and engage from afar, our artists and entertainers are also coming up with new and creative ways to reach students where they are. Some transitions to virtual are easier, like the digital caricatures, which were truly made for computer and online format. Some art forms, like balloon animals, we are having a more difficult time transitioning to online. But that doesn’t mean we stop trying!!

Every day, each and every one of us is facing a new challenge: a new challenge in the way we look at learning, and the way we look at teaching, challenges in how we communicate with one another, and how we stay connected. Each of those challenges may push us in a direction we didn’t want, didn’t expect, and perhaps were not ready for. Those are the challenges that become opportunities for us to rise!

We rise to meet each new day together, and remember why we are all here: to learn, to educate, and to do better than the previous day. With each day, we are searching for answers and direction. Some days we find those answers, and some days we have to create our own!

This is the future now. We are creating it NOW. We will look back on these days and remember how we did in fact rise to this occasion. Take a look at some of the current virtual offerings for your campus from EBTM:

Ran’d Shine – Comedy Magic Show

In the time that it takes you to read this sentence, Ran’D Shine has already determined which card you thought of two weeks ago. Get ready for a night of entertainment like you’ve never seen before! Magician Ran’D Shine will present his virtual Magic Show: Real Magic for Real People. In this show, Ran’D will perform visual and psychological illusions on your screen. He will even perform a few tricks that allow everyone watching to participate, no matter where they are located. As a bonus, Ran’D will break the rules of magic, and share a few principles on how magic works. No camera tricks, no prerecorded tapings, what you see is what you will experience. Just Real Magic for Real People.

Coyote on Campus

Custom Senior Swag! Up to 50 items per hour with a minimum of 2 hours. Each item is being shipped directly to the students.

The items we are offering are (pick one per show):

• Design-a-Sign (8” x 12” sign)
• Custom Dry Erase Boards
• Custom Street Signs
• Custom License Tags
• Custom Koozies
• Custom Pop-up Phone Grips

Once the students log in and fill out their form, they will then enter the Zoom meeting for this event. One in, they can interact with each other, with the Coyote staff, and with anyone from your college/university who wants to be on to chat with the students. Even though their form will already be filled out prior to entering the meeting, they can still change their order when their individual sign is being made.

Often, I will hear novelties referred to as free STUFF! And who doesn’t like free stuff?? But, I would like to offer another viewpoint…many times the free “stuff” is really a memento, an item that captures the moment that will forever remind you of this time and place. (You may not feel like you will ever want to remember this time, but I assure you that you will!! We are all collectively getting through an unprecedented moment in the history of the world, and that alone is something to commemorate!)

Like most of you, I have had plenty of time to look around my workspace, my office, and my home, and see all the THINGS I have collected. Little art pieces like the wire art I have from my friend Doug. I keep it in our guest room (where Doug spent one night) so all our guests can feel welcomed and see the HEART that he made. It wasn’t just free swag from Doug, but a piece of art, and Doug sharing that art and that part of himself with me. It forever reminds me of that time. These special touches are the way we hang on to our humanity, especially during these times we feel less connected to each other.

We still deserve to mark the milestones achieved, even though we may be experiencing them differently. The seniors may not be getting the pomp and circumstance that they deserve, but the graduation is still happening. The achievement is no less, and still needs to be celebrated and marked and remembered. How you choose to do that is up to you. We have creative artists ready and willing to memorialize these moments, and mark the achievements.

Doug’s Virtual Japanese Kanji

Doug combines one of the hottest trends in the art world (Japanese kanji) with the flexibility of virtual entertainment. Actually, it really is Doug – he’s just on the other side of your computer, tablet or phone! Participants interact with this gifted Shodo artist via the web and watch as their name is created on their screen…in real time! A digital copy is immediately available to download! All in under 90 seconds? Now, THAT’S virtually amazing!

Joe’s Spray Can Artists

Students watch the artist online paint a piece of art that will then be shipped right to their door. Students will have an experience just like being on the streets of NYC in Times Square, where this art form became famous and Joe learned all the tricks! Sidewalk style spray can art, brought to you at home.

Doug’s “Virtual” Wire Writing

Doug takes the already ever-popular event and makes it available virtually – that is via video conferencing! A single piece of wire is magically bent into any requested shape as the current participant on the video conference watches remotely! It only takes 1-2 minutes and the finished product is then shipped out directly to the guest. It’s a one-of-a-kind work of art that shows up in your mailbox!

Pippi’s Asian Names

Experience this fascinating ancient art through Zoom technology. Students watch their Name Painting by a master, then artwork is shipped directly to you! (Or can be shipped directly to the students)

Go Play: Virtual Scavenger Hunt

GoCollege is an interactive app, on a smartphone or tablet, that engages students through challenges involving taking pictures and videos, performing wacky tasks, and answering trivia questions. The app also incorporates many challenges that invite players to connect with other students…all from the comfort of their own home. (Needs one week to customize)

Trivia Stream Game Show

Unlike many streaming events that are popping up, this one was created specifically for the virtual world from the ground up, based on our experience of 17 years and 2500+ live game shows. Heck, these days we’ve seen people “throwing together” virtual game shows who have never done a game show in their life. Just like in a live game show production, there is a difference. We are the most experienced game show performers in the college market. Period.

Streamed from our studio using TwitchTV, we can host a show complete with fun trivia questions, chat room engagement (and competition), secret words and prizes- just for your students! Your students can play along and chat with each other during the game using their smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop!

We have a bank of thousands of trivia questions (including custom shows regarding Covid-19 safety and other ‘hot button’ issues), which we put in 10-question rounds. As a question is asked, the quicker you answer, the more points you get. Get it wrong – you’ll lose points too, so choose wisely! At the end of the round, the winner is verified as a student at your school and is emailed an Amazon.com gift card! Each time a player wins, they are given a prize, which is included in our booking fee.

Our live host is the star of the show, entertaining your students and giving them a unique way to interact with each other in a fun, online environment.

Just like our live shows, the streaming game show is so much more than an online trivia quiz, it’s an entertainment vehicle designed to engage and retain your students and remind them that they’re still part of your community.

Each show is designed to last around one hour, providing your students with plenty of chances to join in and win some cash! A private page will be set up just for you and your students, as well as a private twitch stream so you can be assured that the event is just for your students.

Jeff Mandell’s Virtual Zoomtoons!

They are amazing! Jeff draws everything in color digitally on his computer and makes it available immediately to download from his web site. The students join the Zoom meeting to watch and interact with Jeff and members of your campus. Realistically, you are looking at 1 sketch every 5 – 6 minutes. The Zoom meeting code is sent to you to distribute as you see fit.

We rise together…stronger!