Month: January 2022

Writing is Crucial to Storytelling – Weekly Summary 3

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The main topic for this week was writing, which is more familiar to me than other digital formats. I enjoyed learning more about how stories actually tell the story of something and have greater meanings. I explored some formats in which you can tell stories that evoke emotion and stories that seem close to home and familiar. One of my favorite parts of this week was writing a letter to my sisters for the assignment bank that I chose to do. I was able to tell a story about myself and my family members. One of the most challenging moments for me this week was coming up with an idea of a story I would like to tell. I chose sharks because they are important to me and I am very passionate about targeting the finning industry. The digital creates are becoming a lot easier to do and take me a whole lot less time now that I have learned to edit photos better. This was also a highlight of this week considering that I have learned how to create things on my computer and phone better. I am looking forward to next week and seeing what new tricks I can learn to help me be a better digital storyteller.

Digital Create #1
Digital Create #2

Digital Create #3

Story Analysis:

The Yellow Wallpaper

Storytelling Outline:

What is in a story?

Assignment Bank #1 (3 stars):

Living With Olaf… Arenndele

Assignment Bank #2 (3 stars):

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Assignment Bank #3 (3 stars):

A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

Assignment Bank #4 (3 stars):

To My Sisters: You Inspire The World

What is in a story?

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Outline for A Long Story:

When thinking about how to develop an idea for a story, there are many ideas that come to mind. I have been reflecting on some of the greatest short stories of all time like The Story of an Hour, The Yellow Wallpaper, and A Good Man is Hard to Find. One of the most important things to me is that the story is reflective of something that I love and I am passionate about. I want to tell a story that is valuable to people and shares a message.

Title: Diary Thoughts About A Shark

Main Idea: This diary will showcase my personal connection to sharks and the shared love of them between my niece and me. One of the main takeaway points will be about the danger that sharks are currently in from the fishing and finning industry.

How the Story will Develop:

  1. I will make the personal connection through writing about my love of sharks and interest in them. I will also write to share how important they have became to my niece.
  2. I will then create a video compiling images of sharks and their duties in the ocean. Then the video will lead into footage of sharks being mistreated and hunted.
  3. I will show footage of the finning industry
  4. I will use art to advocate for finning to stop occuring.

To My Sisters: You Inspire The World

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Dear Older Sisters:

You both have always been my number one fans and biggest supporters. Through all of the chaos and hard times, you have each remained strong and never let me forget that you were there for me. Even though each of you has your own specialties, whether that is nurturing or the tell like it is sister, you constantly remind me to be the best version of myself and never let me fall. I know that I can always count on each one of you to answer the phone or answer my text messages no matter the time of day. You have taught me that it does not matter where I come from or what obstacles I have, I can still make my dreams come true. Each of you are a living example of what it means to work hard and strive for the best in life and college. I am a proud younger sister and I can happily say that each of you chose wonderful careers where you are constantly helping others.

Amanda, you have shown me time and time again to never settle for less than I deserve. You have shown perseverance through everything that life has thrown at you. You have proven to me that it is never too late to chase dreams and be who I want to be. You will not let me settle for anything less of what I deserve and you always remind me of what potential I offer the world. Thank you for chasing your dreams and becoming the best nurse I know to this day and being such an inspiration to help me become who I want to be.

Emily, you have always supported me in whatever I do and you have never failed to help me figure out my place in the world. You have always shown me how proud you are of me, and gave me the confidence to chase my educational dreams of getting a master’s in education and a doctorate. You are an example to the world of how to treat people with kindness and give them confidence about themselves. Best of all, you made me an aunt and taught me to love my niece so much that it hurts sometimes. Thank you for always supporting me and giving me words of wisdom to help me keep going you are one of the most dedicated and caring teachers that I have ever known.

Sincerely,

Celia S. (your proud little sister)

A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

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They say a picture is worth a thousand words…and here goes the story behind this one.

July 2020: Covid is sweeping through the nation shortly after a young girl was born and given the name Joella. People all around the world are suffering from mental illness and depression from the past few months spent in quarantine. The aunt to this sweet young girl is found dealing with emotions from this pandemic and sad, worrying that her niece, Joella, will never be able to experience life outside of a pandemic. With both the aunt and niece suffering, someone must step in and do something to help these two engage themselves in the world and learn to work around the pandemic. A great idea popped into the aunt’s head to take her niece on an outing that little did they know would help both of them and give the aunt perspective about the world around her. The two went to a sunflower patch and quickly began picking flowers one by one. Standing in the beautiful surroundings untouched by the pandemic, the aunt thought to herself that even in massive chaos there is still so much beauty. This is a motto that the aunt took with her after that moment. She enjoyed the day with her niece and realized that she must always take the beauty for what it is worth. The aunt and the niece were able to find a balance and focus more upon the natural elements to help them through tough times, with the aunt taking the lead to ensure the child’s happiness.

Living With Olaf… Arenndele

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If I was given the option to live anywhere in the world, or fictional world, I would choose the Arenndele Castle from the movie Frozen. I would most likely move here after college and work for the government. I would reside in the castle and use my degree in political science to sustain myself. One of the many reasons that I would live here is because of Olaf. Olaf is probably the greatest snowman to ever be named and he would be my personal assistant. I would make snow angels with Olaf and be able to see snow all of the time because of his personal flurry. I would go skiing with Sphen and Christoph on my days off. Exploring the unknown magical kingdom that is Arenndele would allow me to unlock my inner child, all while using my college education to work, which sounds like a perfect world to me.

The Yellow Wallpaper

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The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Stetson is one of my personal favorite short stories. I was introduced to this short story in high school, where I was a member of the scholastic competition team. This is an older short story, however, the context in which it was written and the hidden meaning behind the story still has a lot to offer society and the storytelling world. Based on the videos and readings provided in the ds106 weekly assignments post, I was able to read the short story with a different set of eyes and evaluate it on more criteria. The Machine video offered insight into how the digital world can bring a story to life and connect aspects of a story through the web to portray its’ meaning. If I were able to do this The Yellow Wallpaper, I think the meaning of the story would be more clear and it would gain more depth. Based on the first video and the first reading, the way in which a story is told creates the narrative, tone, and nature of the story. In this particular short story, the author utilizes common methods to help the reader understand what the wife is dealing with through her tone of voice about herself and her illness, but also in the way she describes her husband. If I were to create a graph of the story it would be up and down because of the illness that the wife is suffering from and the sense of chaos that it takes to get her main message. The physical wallpaper is a symbol in the story, but it takes a deep analysis to fully understand that. One of my favorite parts of this short story is the use of symbolism and metaphors, that almost take a comical turn throughout the story. For example: “There is a delicious garden.” This is one way in which Stetson holds the reader’s attention in the story by providing descriptive moments that capture the reader.; this is also seen with the erraticness of the wife. Overall, after analyzing the story again, I still come to the greatest conclusion: this story shows us what the life of a domestic housewife is and the toll it takes upon her.

Link to free online reading:

https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/theliteratureofprescription/exhibitionAssets/digitalDocs/The-Yellow-Wall-Paper.pdf

Reflecting on Week 2: Exploring Storytelling and Digital Media

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The second week of taking ds106 has been an adventure for me. I have really enjoyed diving into some of the assignments for the course and using new tools. This week I also started doing the daily Wordle and I have had fun seeing how many tries it takes me — and honestly trying to beat Dr. Bond. I have been sharing them on my Twitter for this course and for my INDT course here at UMW. One challenge that I ran into was not having proper photo editing software. I made do this week and improvised with things like Snapchat and Word, but it might be something I invest in in the future since I enjoy doing it. Any suggestions for good software would be greatly appreciated. One thing that I really enjoyed was creating color art for … the challenge is for the viewer to guess the word that I based the colors off of. This was one of the assignments that I chose to do from the assignment bank and I actually ended up playing around with it and trying different words for a while. I also really enjoyed adding dinosaurs to a Bob Ross painting, I do not think he would mind since he is a big advocate and stand up for creativity. One of my favorite (and least favorite) parts of the course is tweeting about my assignments and doing daily creates off of Twitter, although, I will say it is hard managing and keeping up with so many accounts. One day I tweeted from the wrong account and cursed on my professional Twitter, this may be something I clean up after this course because in this element it works, but not in the professional world. This week I have also been focused on engaging with others on Twitter and blogs; I am trying to answer comments and respond back. I look forward to the assignments next week and working through some of my challenges. Embedded below are my blog posts, digital creates, assignment bank activities, and wordles from this week. Please feel free to drop some suggestions for affordable editing software!

If I was an “Artist”…
Digital Create #1
Digital Create #2
Digital Create #3
Digital Create #4
Digital Create #5
Assignment Bank #1 – Sports Poster
Assignment Bank #2 – The Color of Words (here is where you guess the word)
Assignment Bank #3 – Populate the Landscape

If I was an “Artist”…

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The statement that everyone is an artist in their own way holds some truth. Artistry comes in many different forms and transpires into the world in many different ways. I would not classify myself as a typical artist that is involved in physical art, musical art, or videography. I also believe that many of the products that we produce are forms of artistry. One way in which I identify as an artist is photography. Even though I do not publish or talk much about my photography, I generally enjoy taking photos of trees and scenery. Personally, I hate to be photographed myself, but I find peace in taking pictures of scenery which is artistry in itself. Another way in which I identify as an artist is with sports. I play tennis and teach tennis lessons in the summer. Sports can definitely be a form of art because it takes each individual’s unique talent and aesthetic to make them stand out as a player. Tennis is a form of art because everyone has their own way of serving the ball or tackling the court. The way in which a player moves is a visual art and could be made to be a form of art. For instance, placing paint on a player’s shoes creates a pattern that shows the artistry within the sport. Overall, even though I am not a typical artist I have many ways in which I express my creative ability.

image of a tree without leaves and many shadows

Reflecting on Week 1 – Learning About Multimedia

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Joining the Digital Studies 106 course was an impulse decision for me, however, I was really excited to learn more about digital tools to tell a story. Being the first week of classes, setting up accounts is always a tasking process. Starting with this course first actually ended up being helpful while setting up accounts for other courses. Having clear instructions helped my learning experience and kept me from getting frustrated. One of the most exciting ideas that I learned this week was that the digital studies 106 course is a whole community; this is exciting and makes learning more enjoyable since connecting with others is easy and low pressure. Some of the activities that I did this week included revamping my domain of one’s own, recording a YouTube video, which features my cats, learning how to use SoundCloud, and finding out that I really enjoy Bob Ross videos and learned that they can be used for a time of relaxation and focus. One of the most challenging objectives for me was setting up another Twitter. Being in the education world, I am required to keep a very professional and educational Twitter, so I decided to create a new one for this class. However, managing two schools accounts and my personal account is going to be challenging this semester. Any tips on how to do this or combine the two would be greatly appreciated! All of my learning experiences and established accounts can be found in the embedded Word Press link “Multimedia Introduction”. After this first week, I am intrigued to see what this course offers me!

Multimedia Introduction
The Joy & Relaxation of Bob Ross
Digital Storytelling & Creativity Goals

The Joy & Relaxation of Bob Ross

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Bob Ross has a lot to share with everyone whether artistically inclined or not; Ross never fails to make watching an episode of his enjoyable and relaxing to a certain extent. The episode that I watched was Mountain by the Sea, which I was really excited to watch because I love to visit towns on the coast and my family is from the Outer Banks in North Carolina. I have spent a great deal of time there and ironically have taken a few painting classes as well. Not only is the painting beautiful, but Ross’s words of wisdom as he goes and his voice itself provide a relaxing and intriguing experience.

Ross often describes the images that he paints as “happy” or “smiley”, which makes me think about the natural things around me more and what message they are sending us. Thinking of a “happy little cloud” makes me contemplate how content and happy with life this cloud is, even though it is not actively doing something (in a metaphorical sense). Ross is sending the message that it is okay to be happy in whatever situation no matter how big or small.

Speaking to a creative story, Ross is creating a story through his painting. This particularly reminded me that throughout this class, I may not do everything perfectly but it still creates a story and has meaning at the end. Randomly in the video, Ross will decide to add something to his painting and give it a place and meaning. This speaks to the idea of storytelling within itself and how it is my own story to create, at whatever level makes me feel happy.

Overall, I really enjoyed watching Bob Ross paint and I found it very relaxing. One of the biggest ideas that I took away was to remember to be relaxed and happy as I create my stories and tell them in this class. Ross has a lot of wisdom to offer and his videos can be used as a sense of self-reflection and evaluation.