I just want to start this off by saying I am so glad I took this class. Everyone warned me that it would be hard and a LOT of work, but that the fun was worth it. This statement couldn’t be more true, and it’s exactly what I would say to anyone considering taking the class. I learned so much that I probably wouldn’t have gone out of my way to learn otherwise (i.e. using GIMP, making gifs, etc) but are just really fun and useful tools to have. I am especially glad that I learned how to start my own website. I kind of feel sorry for the kids next year who don’t have to do that. I think that in today’s world, that focuses so much on the internet, that it is definitely good to know how to buy web hosting and a domain name. I wouldn’t have had the first clue how to do that if it weren’t for ds106.

I also think that being creative and open-minded is really important, if you want to take this class. And you shouldn’t take this class if you aren’t willing to think that way, because you’re just going to hate it, and the work is going to seem like busy work. However, I really enjoyed all of the assignments – though the Daily Creates did get to be a chore after a while – and I think that this class helped me discover my own creativity. I love how we try to think of things in a different way. Like the whole cat breading thing – is that “Art”??? What makes a story a story? What makes a work ORIGINAL? Is there actually any original work, or is everything…a remix? While these questions aren’t the kinds of questions that will solve world hunger and all those big problems, I think that they are an inherent part of the internet, and thus, the world that we live in today. This class is about challenging your limits and possibly even your previously held beliefs – and that’s what will solve big world problems, thinking outside the box!

I think my favorite projects were the Visual, Design, and Video assignments. I didn’t care much for audio because I don’t really like to listen to my recorded voice (then again, who does?). I love photography and have always dabbled in it as a hobby, so I was glad to get some more professional advice from speakers via Google Hangouts as well as class work. Design was just really cool because it was one of those things where I’d look at something someone Photoshopped and just go, “How did they do that??” Well, now I know the basics, which is pretty cool! I liked video too, for the photography element, and especially when we analyzed movies. My two favorite projects that I did were the Movie Trilogy Montage and the One Archetype-Five Movies-Five Seconds projects, because I got to look at the most important imagery and symbols of the movies that I used.

I also loved the Silent Era project. With today’s level of sophistication with technology for movies, we forget that movies had humble roots as silent films, with nothing more than music to go with the actors. I think it’s important that we remember where movies came from, and it’s a really interesting challenge to try to change one of today’s movies into a silent film of sorts – it was harder than I expected it to be, but every bit as rewarding! I did The Bourne Identity for this project:

I wasn’t a huge fan of the radio show. It was a lot of work, and the fact that it was due the Sunday at the end of Spring Break made it even more difficult. I think that we should have had 3 weeks to work on it, especially if one of those weeks is Spring Break, because it is really hard to put this project together if you can’t meet up with your group members in person. I do like having a group project though, because it helps you to get to know and work with other people in the class. So for lack of any better group project ideas, I’d say keep the radio show project.

Otherwise though I loved this class, and as I said before, I learned so much. I am excited to see what I can do in the future with all of this newfound technology knowledge!