Dear Future Ds1064lifer,

So, you’ve signed up for ds106. Maybe you need to fulfill the gen ed requirement, maybe Jim Groom threatened your family, maybe you even you heard it was a lot of fun from someone else. If you haven’t heard Jim Groom’s rather frightening spiel about how this class will make you crazy and force you into a debilitating spiral of homework doom, then you will shortly. Even though the workload is like that of a 300 or 400 level class, it is still technically a 100 level class, despite Jim Groom’s frequent protestations to the contrary.

Nevertheless, I’d like to offer some words of encouragement. First, it doesn’t really matter all that much how genuinely good your work is. The class really is focused on the process of creating stories using digital media, so if your work sucks, then you can still get a decent grade. It’s really OK if you’re not much of an artist, or if you’ve never played around in photoshop or iMovie before — you’ll get the hang of it. Second, I would like to assure you that there really is a light at the end of the smoke-filled tunnel known as ds106 – eventually, the class does end.

Third – well, actually, that was all I got; aside from those things, you’re pretty much screwed.

So here’s my advice on how to make sure you’re screwed as little as possible by this class. I could talk for a long time, but it really boils down to this: do the work, and do it early. Because otherwise you will end up like me: sitting in a dark room, finishing up a final project, a fandom assignment, and a letter to future ds106 students at four in the morning near the end of finals week. And that, my friends, is a very bad place to be. Work consistently on everything, particularly your final project, and you’ll be fine.

Yours Truly,
David Noel