To Prospective ds106 Students:

For most of you the decision on whether or not to take this class probably rests solely on schedule and the need to fulfill the Arts Literature and Performance requirement.  When thinking about this class please consider the advice below as an  augmentation to the three line description in the enrollment book.

It is a fun class with a relaxed atmosphere that yields a nice creative outlet and break from the rigors of other classes.  It is definitely a springboard that will enable you to be creative with multimedia tools and applications long after the class is over.  The name of the class is Digital Storytelling.  And you will be doing just that.  There is a whole world of networks out there on the internet and you will learn how to be a part of this realm.  There are a lot of projects that focus on using various online networking tools such as Flickr and Twitter.  There are equally as much more interesting (and demanding at times) projects such as constructing a personal online blog that will serve as your own interface for displaying class assignments, learning to exploit and re-write the code on various web sites, learning how to produce your own internet radio show, and learning how to capture and edit audio and video.  The class also offers entertaining ways of discovering new facets of the internet.  I was most surprised by what I am now able to do after the class and that is create, capture, and edit (quality) videos and then share them online.  The hardest thing about this class was, well nothing really.  There wasn’t anything too difficult.  There is a fair amount of work involved in this class, but not too much as to be overwhelming.  Don’t let that dissuade you into thinking that the class is a cake walk though.   Some projects, as with anything else, require more time and effort.  So don’t neglect an assignment because it appears to be easy.  Some are more technical and will take some time to figure out.  In addition, stay on top of the typical weekly assignments.  Sometimes it can seem that the simplest things to do can be the hardest to keep up with so don’t let easy requirements such as actively communicating online and posting response blogs slide.  I think if you put in the effort you will be surprised with the projects you can create.  Not only that, it is always interesting to see and share with the rest of the class.  If I did one thing differently, as with anything else I suppose, I would have allowed myself more time in advance for some of the more technical assignments.