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Goodbye DS106

Posted by
| May 2, 2013

Storytelling

At the beginning of this semester, I talked about what I thought storytelling was.  I used to think that it was just oral storytelling, like when my dad would tell me stories as a kid.  When I think about it now, I don’t just think about the oral aspects of it, but the many different ways stories can be told.  This semester, I’ve learned to tell stories through photos, audio, video, and mashups.  My understanding on the whole digital storytelling concept has expanded tremendously and I believe that I am a more open-minded person because of that.

Final Project

To touch on that idea of coming full circle in storytelling, I want to share my final project for this class. I didn’t just use one form of media to tell a story, but four!  I used the web, audio, visual, and mashup/remix to tell a new adventure for Curious George.  I used 6 assignments from the ds106 assignment bank to create my story.

Overall, I really loved doing my final project.  At first, I didn’t think it would all connect together, but it worked out really well in the end and it didn’t take a tremendous amount of time to complete.  I  feel like the story reflects on everything I’ve learned this semester, since it encompasses a little bit of each week from the syllabus.  It emulates all the hard work I did this year in completing this class.

DS106 Community

As for participating in the ds106 community this year, I definitely did better earlier in the semester and mid-semester, than I have been the last couple of weeks.  I tweeted about each one of my posts via Twitter to alert the community, but since I got bogged down with work the last couple of weeks, I trailed off on doing that.

As for blog comments, I commented on other people’s blogs before it was required and while it was required, but after it was no longer necessary, I forgot about doing that too, even though I still read other people’s posts.

In the very beginning of the semester, I attended the very first ds106 show.  I talked about why I was taking the class and what I was looking forward to.

I participated in one group project this semester: the radio show project.  I really liked doing this project, but it was frustrating to organize times to meet with everyone since it’s an online class.  With my schedule, I was never able to physically meet with my group mates, so I used google hangout instead.

I was pretty skeptical about the ds106 radio station at first, but after listening to it for an hour or so, I actually got pretty into it.  The stories drew you in and allowed you to use your imagination as the template for what was occurring.  I talked about those stories in particular in my blog post.

DS106 Contributions

In order to keep ds106 going, I helped by contributing two tutorials, two assignments, and two daily creates.  The tutorials I did were done throughout the semester so that I wouldn’t have to rush to get them done at the end.  I used screen captures and I was very detailed when explaining one way to complete an assignment.  The two assignments I created were part of the visual and design aspects of the class.  I created an easy peasy one where you make your friends look like royalty, and another one where you add song lyrics to a photo you’ve taken to emulate those lyrics.  Finally, I  submitted two daily create ideas that have yet to be used.  I created one using the photography element and one that is written.

Best Work

Looking back, I have a lot of favorites that I created.  I’d rather have too many than not enough.  Under my best work category, I have six assignments.

  1. I chose my Inglourious Basterds gif that I created in the beginning of the semester.  I think the gif flows really well and the added text helps bring out the character more. 
  2. I got a lot of comments on one of my visual assignments called Cannon Ball [splash] where I used a photo of vibrant coloured birds to stand out in a gray background.  I think the colours really pop and the fact that I chose smaller objects in the center really draws the eye directly to them.
  3. Based on a design assignment, I created a movie poster for “The DS106 Knight Rises“.  This is one of my favourites because it asks a question that no one knows the answer to: “Why do we tweet?” Just kidding, we know the answer, but the poster is satirical of the original movie and I think it was pretty well done.
  4. An assignment I had the most fun doing this semester was a PSA of a catnip crisis.  I didn’t choose this one because it was best in editing or remixing (because it’s not), but because I had so much fun doing it.  It involved my roommates in my work in which they had fun too, so that makes it one of the best in my books.
  5. George’s dating profile was definitely one of my best, because it incorporated other assignments and added depth to the Curious George character.  The whole page was altered to show off this fictional character as a real “person” trying to date online.
  6. Finally, one of my top fav’s was my creation of The Rise of Curious George.  I love movies.  Love them.  So mixing two movies together to create one is just fantastic to me.  I know I could have made an inspiring trailer, but instead, I made a funny one to end the semester on a laugh.  Everytime I watch it or show my friends, I laugh and that’s how I wanted to remember this class.

 

Pay it Forward

What helped me out a lot this semester, was watching previous students giving advice on how to approach this class.  I did my tutorials throughout the semester and tried to do assignments as they came.  I did have some rough patches during this class, so I created an audio advice piece to help future ds106ers avoid those patches. I specifically talked about my adjustment to an online class, twitter as the main form of communication, and what to expect.  I also mentioned how to avoid getting slammed with work (like waiting until Sunday to do everything) and to just let go and not be afraid of making mistakes.

Thanks for a fantastic semester! DS106 4 life!

 

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