Note: The original text has been slightly altered.

On January 23rd, Oohlala Mobile announced the transformation of University of Toronto’s St. George campus into a virtual playground. By downloading the app, Oohlala, students become contestants in a digital treasure hunt, utilizing the GPS on their smartphones to locate and acquire the treasure. The hunt involves three simple steps:
Step 1: Locate the treasure chest using the app.
Step 2: Obtain the treasure chest.
Step 3: Prevent others stealing it from you!
Other students using the app are able to snatch the chest if they are within 50m of the prize holder. Students must use their wits, determination and speed while trying to hold on to the prize over a 5-day period! The person holding the chest on Thursday, February 6th at 5pm is the winner of a high-end Macbook Air, while the person who has held on to the chest the longest without its capture gets a semester’s worth of text books for free.
Check out the game here: www.CampusApp.com

Virtual Capture the Flag is OOHLALA Mobile’s latest initiative to enhance campus life via the OOHLALA mobile app. The app also allows students across Canadian universities and colleges, along with their student unions, to connect with one another, form study groups, trade books, get notified of campus events, and access exclusive student deals from local and national retailers. Student unions (such as the UTSU, which has adopted Oohlala as its official app) and clubs are able to view metrics to gauge student engagement and success of events, allowing them to deliver a more tailored and engaging student experience. “Oohlala Mobile is all about energizing the student experience and fostering a more close knit feel on campus. We help students navigate their campus life and have a good time while doing so,” said Danial Jameel, CEO and founder of Oohlala Mobile. “An interactive and action packed approach, Virtual Capture the Flag represents our commitment to finding unique ways for students to explore their campus and meet new people without relying on clichéd forms of marketing such as campus flyers on crowded bulletin boards and Facebook posts. Mediums that are effective in theory but have become saturated to the point that a lot of useful information is lost in the noise.” Danielle Sandhu, President of UTSU, remarked, “Traditional forms of mass communication are often drowned out in a sea of information and are often ineffective when it comes to reaching many target groups. Today’s students suffer from stimulus overflow and short attention spans. We need to keep things dynamic. When people know they are in for an interesting experience – in this case, being a part of not only a live adventure but an inaugural use of a new technology – not only does it create awareness of their university activities, but it strengthens their affinity to it.” Concepts like these are challenging the paradigms of media and interaction. Live gaming apps are just but one of the innovative ideas Oohlala has planned for engaging the North American student populace. Students want and deserve to get the most out of their time in college and that is our mission.

Oohlala Mobile’s motto is to “Energize the Student Experience”. Since its launch in September 2011, the company, composed of students and recent grads, has been selected by tech/startup accelerator FounderFuel, adopted by the Canadian federation of students, and numerous student unions including those at University of Toronto, Ryerson, McGill. The company has been the recipient of numerous accolades, including top honors at the Rotman ADventure business competition, Kinnear Business competition, NBTC 2011 entrepreneur competition, Queen’s Entrepreneur competition, Bank of Montreal’s Apex business competition, and the Quebec entrepreneur competition.

La semaine dernière notre merveilleuse Anna vous a introduit à EFUT, le club français de l’UofT. Aujourd’hui je voudrais vous parler d’une autre organisation francophone dont vous n’avez pas peut-être entendu. Savez-vous ce que c’est la SPECQUE?

Mes chers amis, la SPECQUE c’est la Simulation du parlement européen Canada-Québec-Europe. Ne vous laissez pas être détournés par le mot “parliament” (ou “simulation”, ou quoi que ce soit). En fait la SPECQUE présente à chacun une opportunité inoubliable de pousser ses limites, apprendre beacoup sur le monde et les actualités, et finalement voyager et rencontrer des gens inspirants!

Il s’agit d’une semaine intense passée en débats, en commissions, en sessions plénières…on dort peu, on boit beaucoup de caffé…On joue le rôle d’un eurodéputé au sein du parlement européen, ou bien un commissaire qui propose une pièce de législation, ou un rapporteur qui la critique dans son rapport. On peut également être un lobbyiste, un journaliste, un photographe, le président de commission – il y a plein de rôles pour tous les goûts! Donc si vous vous intéressez aux questions de politique européen, la SPECQUE est pour vous!

Elle est peut-être plus chère aux canadiens qu’aux autres, parce que elle a été fondée au Québec en 1998. C’est vrai, la simulation du parlement européen a été proposée par une étudiante de l’Université Laval. La SPECQUE a lieu dans un endroit different chaque an, alternativement en Europe et au Canada. Cet été la ville hôte était Luxembourg, tandis qu’en 2012 Montréal aura ce privilège.

Voilà ce que le site web officiel de la SPECQUE en dit:

“En tant que simulation parlementaire, la SPECQUE permet à ses participants de se développer. Les qualités oratoires, le sens de l’initiative et de la négociation, l’art de la persuasion ainsi que la capacité à analyser en profondeur des questions sensibles, et les aborder sous un angle législatif, sont certaines compétences que la SPECQUE permet de cultiver. La Simulation permet aussi à ses participants d’élargir leurs horizons par la découverte de jeunes issus de milieux et de cultures différentes. Cette découverte, et l’ouverture d’esprit qui en découle, sont d’une valeur inestimable dans le contexte de mondialisation que nous connaissons actuellement.”

Je pourrai ajouter de ma part que je n’aurai jamais imaginé combien la SPECQUE pourrait être intéressante, stimulante et comment elle peut créer une dépendence. Si on y participe une fois, on veut retourner, c’est sûr!

Alors, si vous croyez que la SPECQUE c’est pour vous, .

Le batîment de la commission européenne où la SPECQUE se déroulait cet été. Je mens pas quand je dis que c’est impressionnant!

Thanks to everyone who entered the Gainsbourg Giveaway! We got to listen to some amazing French music.
All the commenters’ names were put into a hat and the lucky winners were drawn. The winners (and the songs they suggested) were:

AMINA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vv7PwrWp5lQ

TATJANA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2wmKcBm4Ik and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHF3X8tQYPU

PADINA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWrU4We1Nq8

GAËL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmvt4B8rK2U

MICHELLE: http://youtu.be/5BGY6k4Aphs

Each of you will soon receive an email from blogUT regarding the collection of your prize. Get stoked for some Gainsbourg on Wednesday at 7pm!

Special thanks to EFUT for making this contest possible.

Oh là là.

For those of you out of the francophone-music-loop, Serge Gainsbourg is often considered to be one of the world’s most influential popular musicians. He experimented with every genre of music, from jazz to reggae, to rock and roll to mambo, to so many more. And he did them all well.

So, basically, we have a ridiculously talented French man who somehow manages to look fierce in a pinstripe suit jacket. I guess it’s true that le français est la langue de l’amour, because I have fallen hard.

Excuse me while I swoon.

blogUT is teaming up with the wonderful members of EFUT (check out their new shirts – sont-ils pas magnifiques?) to give away five double passes to an advanced (subtitled) screening of Gainsbourg: Vie Héroïque at the Cumberland Cinema (159 Cumberland Street) on Wednesday, September 14 at 7pm. The film depicts Serge Gainsbourg’s life, from his childhood in Nazi-occupied France to his rise to fame, as well as his steamy love affairs with Juliette Gréco, Jane Birken and Brigitte Bardot, who’s played by French beauty Letita Casta. César Award-winning actor Eric Elmosnino is featured as the title role.

The perfect movie for date night? I think so.

All you have to do to enter your name into the draw is post a YouTube video of your favourite French song as a comment. Comments will be accepted up until 11:59pm on Sunday, September  11th and we’ll be emailing the contest winners on Monday, September 12th. Please note that we will only accept entries from those who provide us with a utoronto email address.

So post a comment so that you can whip out le champagne, throw on your beret, and marchez on over to the Cumberland Cinema with that quelqu’un de spécial!
Or you can just bring a friend. That works too.

http://spacingtoronto.ca/2010/10/19/14956/

What are your thoughts on the Willcocks Street pilot pedestrian zone?

The City of Toronto wants to know.

Complete a survey on the Willcocks Street pedestrian zone and enter your name for a chance to win one of five $20 gift cards redeemable at stores in the Eaton Centre and other shopping malls. It takes less than 5 minutes.

Head on over to http://tinyurl.com/UofTSurvey4 to voice your opinion. The City is listening!

72 Hour Timeline. 5 Minutes max. 2 Words. 1 Ongoing Short Film Challenge.

Think you can make a film in three days? The Hart House Film Challenge is an ongoing short film contest. It gives students the chance to be creative, while offering an outlet for their films.  By indicating interest in a challenge, entrants are contacted through email on Friday with a particular genre as well as two words that must be included in their short films.  Contestants then upload their videos onto Youtube by the following Monday and their video is embedded onto the Hart House Film Challenge’s website.  Each month, a draw is held for entrants to win prizes. Past prizes have included movie passes to Bloor Cinema and advanced screening passes to films such as Unknown and Sucker Punch.

The contest started up in December 2010 and has already had several entries.

“We are a place for filmmakers to grow. In less than 5 minutes, you are challenged to think outside the box by incorporating seemingly unrelated ideas in your film,” says Camille Johnson, a member of the Hart House Film Challenge committee. “There are infinite paths that our entrants may take and it has been truly amazing to see their unique interpretations. We are all ecstatic about the continued response and the amazing submissions we have received. Keep them coming!”

In addition to the challenge itself, each video submitted is eligible for consideration to be screened at the UofT Film Festival. This year the festival is being held Wednesday March 23^rd, 2011 at Hart House.  Amazingly enough, all entrants thus far have qualified to be part of the festival.

The Hart House Film Challenge is always looking for new entrants as well as volunteers with any level of film experience.

For more information and to see submission videos, visit the Hart House Film Challenge’s website. For information on the UofT Film Festival and their 2011 program, check out their website here.

Congratulations to Sarah for her comment on the article “What You Were Unprepared For When Starting University”.  This past week, blogUT held a contest to ask readers what they were unprepared for when starting university.  Sarah won a Sucker Punch movie swagbag for her answer.  To see what Sarah and others were unprepared for when starting university, read the article here.