A reflection of the semester you say? Well its been pretty sweet. Before the semester even began I must say I was under the impression that I was going to be going to a design/video class. I mean…it ended up being that way, but not in the way I expected, or anyone expected nonetheless. I pictured myself walking in, sitting down on an iMac and watch as the almighty Master Branson schools us (literally) on photo/ video editing. Instead what I got was a hybrid class, a class where people from all over the world participate and contribute to this one central forum known as ds106.us and display their work for anyone and everyone to see. It was actually pretty exciting to be honest. Ever since I was a pre-teen I had been messing around with Photoshop and loved to show off my work to all my friends, mainly because it was usually a prank on them, but now I had this website where people from all over the globe could view and comment on my work within seconds of posting it up.

The idea in itself is great and the individuals behind it deserve a big kudos for being as dedicated as they were (and still are) for keeping the class alive. Although it may not be visible to the naked eye, ive actually learned a lot while enrolled in DS106. What you ask? Well, ive learned to be open-minded. Everything is art, whether it took you 2 minutes or 2 hours to complete, it’s the concept behind it that counts. Nothing I saw in the hundreds of posts on our main page gave me the slightest bit of dissatisfaction, in fact I admired the effort people put in especially those who’ve never used any of the software before. Another thing ive picked up while here is that class doesn’t necessarily have to be uniform. This was hands down the most unique layout of a course I have ever been in. You arent forced to do anything here and it promotes….well….freedom. I never felt pressured, only encouraged. My professor as well as my fellow colleagues always seemed to be very into their work and im sure this has a lot to do with the fact that we were allowed to be ourselves.

All in all the class was definitely worth my time and I plan to continue to post some of my work post semester. Shouts out to all my york homies and everyone overseas! Alex……………OUT.