For this week’s Learning with Digital Stories story critique, I chose to critique a segment from The Colbert Report from October 2014. My passion is promoting cat rescue and cat welfare, and with that comes the question of legal protection for cats. The segment I chose to critique is called The NRA Vs. Pennsylvania’s Pet-Eating …

For this week’s DS106 Video assignment, I chose 6 Second Art. This assignment is pretty straight-forward: record yourself creating art in just six seconds. The challenge was sending a message to represent my chosen theme, cat welfare, with a six second work of art. I chose to create an origami cat out of money and …

This week I chose a story from Time Magazine about “Power Poses.” I have previously seen the full TedTalk by Amy Cuddy about her research into Power Poses, but this was a shorter story put together by Time Magazine, and it was pretty interesting. People convey their power, or lack thereof, through nonverbal displays.  Most … Continue reading “Game Changer: Amy Cuddy, Power Poser” – Week 3 Story Critique

This week, for Learning with Digital Stories, ILT 5340, we read Chapter 1 of Lankshear and Knobel’s book DIY Media: Creating, Sharing and Learning with New Technologies (New Literacies and Digital Epistemologies) from 2008. As I read this chapter, I could not help but compare it to and align it with last week’s reading of …

Instead of struggling with technology this week I struggled with content. So far I have really tried to have most of my content relate back to my theme of education and diverse learners as best I can. So earlier this week, when I started exploring the DS106 Assignment Bank for a video creation I was … Continue reading "Education.Word.Picture.Story."

I LOVE a good sunset, so I couldn’t pass up a chance to post a sunset picture for today’s Daily Create.  Here is a sunset in Croatia-one of the best countries I’ve ever visited!

"Indeed, the genuine sophistication of even the most basic audio and editing programs and the possibility of drawing on existing media to resource DIY media projects mean it is quite possible for the everyday person to create a polished product without necessarily being “artistic”Lanksher and Knobel (2008)

Is there another famous work of art that is re-mixed, recreated, emulated and adorned other than Van Gogh's Starry Night? In it's inception back in 1889, I am sure that Van Gogh would have never believed that his relatively small 29 x 36 1/4 acrylic painting would grace the sides of buildings all over the world, let alone be a part of gif's, memes, and become clothing articles. 

Never would someone back in the 19th century believe that anyone could be an artist or create such artistic and esthetically pleasing pieces as the Masters, but today with DIY Mecca's such as Pintrest, everyone is giving it a try. Van Gogh didn't even see himself as an artist, or really that good, and here we are proclaiming artistry with little effort and commitment. A Van Gogh painting can sell for millions, what value does DIY created work hold? Is is purely for the advancement of and recording of a time in history, and if so, who is keeping it? 

Again, I board the roller coaster of likes and dislikes of the digital age, pulsating and swirling like the clouds in Van Gogh's Starry Night, I just can't pick a side. I am challenged by the excitement of a new way to create, but the notion that everyone thinks that they can do it, is nothing sacred? Why do we peruse specialized degree's if everyone with a phone and a laptop will be able to get by producing what I spent years perfecting? 

And then I remind myself, there will always be a difference, maybe subtle, but there is a difference between professional quality and that of a weekend warrior trying it out for the first of maybe even tenth time. I agree with the integration of technology and gaming and all the digital, but with caution. During my undergrad in Industrial Design is was evident who had a background and who did not, it still takes an understanding of the basics. I guess what I am saying, is yes, I love DIY and finding that thing that you didn't fathom you could do, and then getting it done, but I also worry about the practice in participating in a little of everything and being specialized in nothing. 

As Pintrest is a great site for DIY, it does not promote creativity what so ever, as most people use is a a copy and paste board, what I refer to as monkey see, monkey do. All these sites are giving way to more copying ( I think that they are meant to re-mix, but is that really happening) and not necessarily true creativity. I will be the first to admit that I LOVE incredibox, but it harbors nothing in the sense of creativity, they are not your beats, not your space, and being ground to reality, I know that I am nothing even close to a DJ, but I am afraid for others, that kick out a quick beat and suddenly believe that they are musically inclined. 

"Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.- Van Gogh"

Don't get me wrong, Lankshear and Knoble (2008) have a lot of good points, "learning through passions", "The idea is that doing it yourself (DIY) is worthwhile activity in and of itself (Jacobson, p. 32, this volume)."There were a lot of things that I was shaking my head yes at, I may have gotten a little Starry Eyed at the statement of everyone doing something that is passable with out the artistic, creativity part. 

I refocus and start to re-read the chapter again with what I am hoping is more clarity and less of a wall constructed.... Hoping to sway my inner battle positively. 

"A graffiti mural in a back alley on King Street in London pays tribute to painter Vincent van Gogh’s painting The Starry Night. I bet van Gogh would actually be chuffed that he inspired such street art."

This week I chose to examine a TED talk by Carol Dweck on growth mindset titled, The Power of Believing That You Can Improve. I am familiar with Carol Dweck’s work examining the importance of a growth mindset, but I had never seen her present before, so I was curious to see her on the TED … Continue reading "Week 3: Story Critique"

This week I read two articles: “DIY Media: A Contextual Background and Some Contemporary Themes”– Lankshear and Knobel (2008) “Why Handwriting Is Still Essential in the Keyboard Age” – Perri Klass, M.D., The New York Times   “DIY Media: A Contextual Background and Some Contemporary Themes”   Before I started reading this article, I had a different understanding … Continue reading Week 3 – Reading Response

As I went through my annotations for this week, I thought it was interesting to see my questions about copyright and ownership.  When I first was involved in online learning, these were questions that had not even been considered.  I had to g...

After reading this week's Lankshear and Knoble:(2008) Ch1: DIY Media, I decided to tackle a review of a You Tube Video that has made the rounds lately on Facebook, Pintrest and other media websites. For this critique I will be looking at media grammar, story and voice/creativity. 

The video is a Turkish medium called Ebru, or painting on water. The piece is completed by Ebru pro Garip Ay. Though it is not exclusively posted as a DIY, there is a world of buzz around the idea that anyone could attempt this process. 

The Media Grammar

The Story

Voice and Creativity

https://narrateannotate.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/lk2008ch1.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1eS3ChsQAM
http://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/vincent-van-gogh-the-starry-night-1889

Check out the story that inspired this writing! I will be writing about the trait of Story. I chose this because I wanted to reflect more on the engagement of the audience through her presentation and how well her story working in reaching the audience. I chose to write about flow, organization, pacing. I chose&ellipsis;Read the full post »

Stuff I Read: Lankshear and Knobel (2008) Ch1: DIY Media: A Contextual Background and Some Contemporary Themes Robin DeRosa: My Open Textbook: Pedagogy and Practice Remi Holden: Annotation in the Open: Part 2 (and note the Hypothes.is annotations) Audrey Watters: Openness and Ownership: Who Owns School Work? Audrey Watters: What Do We Mean By Open […]

This week I completed the video assignment (found here) titled “It’s vacation time!” As you can tell from the title of this blog post, and the not so cryptic picture above, I chose to share some pictures from the time I spent in Spain. Although the assignment mentions a ‘favorite vacation,’ I admit that I … Continue reading ¡Viva España!

For this story I took my inspiration from something Remi commented, “there’s nothing preventing you from creating anything in Spanish.” After I graduated high school I chose to do a gap year in Mexico.  I loved Spanish and longed to be fluent, so I knew the best course of action would be to go live […]

When we no longer know what to do we have come to our real work, and when we no longer know which way to go we have begun our real journey. The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the one that sings. —Wendell Berry Let us think together for a […]

My First Vine Video

This week we read “Chapter 1: DIY Media: A Contextual Background and Some Contemporary Themes” The authors wanted to educate teachers and parents about the media that kids are creating.  I love this idea.  It is normal for a teacher or parent to have NO idea what their student really means when they say “I’m […]

For this week’s Digital Story Critique, I’m looking at the video, “The Anthropocene and the Near Future,” by John Green, Hank Green, and Emily Graslie, which is part of the Crash Course: Big History series. I decided on this video after an ongoing contemplation of action (or inaction) based upon anticipation of the future. Now, in … Continue reading Digital Story Critique: The Anthropocene and the Near Future

For this week’s story critique, I steered a little off course.  The video that I will be critiquing doesn’t have much – or anything really – to do with the world of education, other than the fact that I used it to further my own.  While I was reading this week’s chapter on DIY I […]

I’m a big fan of DIY. A couple of years ago I renovated my house: new carpets, tile, countertops. That stuff I had the professionals do, but I did all the rest: painted the walls, painted and sealed the cabinets, installed the sinks and new plumbing, updated the electrical outlets, and installed mosaic wall tile.… Continue reading A DIY Kinda Post – Week 3 Reading Response →

#tdc1628 These Feet Were Made For Walking Show us where, how you walk. Bonus points for cheery music. Ok, this isn’t me but it’s my 3-year-old daughter. She has the cutest chubby legs!            

This week’s reading  was Lankshear and Knobel (2008) Ch1: DIY Media: A Contextual Background and Some Contemporary Themes.  This chapter opens with a discussion revolving around the importance of understanding your students’ engagement with media in building connections to their practices.  Building these connections allows you as a teacher to make sure that you are contributing […]

Wow, ok.  So I have always LOVED creating silly little videos and posting them on youtube or sharing them with friends, today’s was no different.  Well, maybe except for the fact that I may have thrown my 10 year old mac on the couch a little TOO hard. Oops! Anyway, it’s fine.  The poor thing […]

Week 3: Story Critique How to Have an AWESOME Moms’ Night Out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-przUcRA6fE         Synopsis: This video is part tongue in cheek and part reality of what happens when a mom schedules a night out with friends. … Continue reading →

Hello Fellow Bloggers – This is week 3 of my digital storytelling adventure. So my video Assignment Bank this week was to create a video about something I do everyday. I want you to know this was a hard assignment because I hate being on video. It reminders me how old I look and then there is that […]

Today I created a video using Movie Maker for the Daily Create “These Feet Were Made For Walking.” I used free music from Movie Maker, and sped up the visuals to make it a bit more exciting. The one thing I’ll keep in mind for the future is how I’m holding my iPhone so I get … Continue reading "Busy Morning Feet"

E3 2016 has come and gone. I have to be honest–I didn’t follow any of it this year. I am ashamed. I still have …

At the end of last week, my commitment to finding new outlets for digital stories to critique grew stronger than ever. Although I may decide to use a TEDTalk or Reddit for a story critique down the road, I wanted to try something else. As a reminder, not only do I have to find digital […]

Have you ever started something and thought “this should only take me a couple of hours,” so you dive in and six hours later …