Final Course Reflection Blog Post

Goodbye fellow CT 101 classmates and Professor Seslow.

Overall CT 101 has taught me how to use many internet tools like how to make memes, how to make gifs, and lastly how to create a website. Learning how to make gifs and memes was pretty easy to learn, I really had fun creating them. I made gifs using GIPHY and found IMGFlip to be the better site when making memes. There was a huge variety of templets we could use, as well as the types of memes/gifs we wanted to create. Because their are many fandoms the possibilities were endless. Both gifs and memes are used to communicate with one another especially during the pandemic because everything was moved online, it felt as if you had to be able to understand the meaning behind certain memes/gifs in order to fully connect with others. When it came to creating domain names it was difficult for me to actually come up with a unique name, especially because my first and last name are already long. The freedom we received when it came to writing our blogs was helpful because we did not have to be “tied down” to one specific topic. I did have some issues with WordPress, for example after a week of registering my domain name into WordPress I could no longer login so I emailed Professor Seslow and he gave me some guidance on how to fix the problem which indeed did help me. Another issue I had was categorizing a post I had made, again with Professor Seslow guiding on which steps to take, I fixed the problem.

I think I deserve an A because although I was behind for some assignments I managed to catch up. Also I have seen a growth throughout the assignments, I remember the professor always had to remind to insert links and now it’s sort of a habit. I have tried to comment each week but could not keep up, especially during this month of December because there were just too many things happening at once.

Meme I created to represent the progress we have made in CT 101.

I enjoyed the freedom of creativity we had and the encouragement that the professor gave us. It was also really great to see my classmates’ creations, it helped me a lot as well. Just getting an overall structure of how an assignment might be done. Not to mention the professor’s recorded tutorials that were available right after class had finished. I am thinking of applying my new skills on any future assignment I have and also with my Sunday class which I could also use even more to my advantage by making the transition of online classes to in person classes more easily. I also think that using gifs and memes get a message across faster, I have applied them when texting friends and family.

The encouragement from Professor Seslow and classmates was always appreciated.

Tour of Alejandra’s Creativity:

I really would like to keep up my new website until the time is up but I’m not sure if Spring Semester will be busy or manageable. I will try to, especially since I will be going to Mexico for winter break, that will give me the opportunity to take some new photos and I can even create a category dedicated to those photos only. And of course both music and news are always happening so it would be easy to update those categories on my website. Although it would be somewhat hard to update my website during the winter break because of Wi-Fi issues I will really try to write out more poem blogs and have them be published weekly. And although there are always going to be excuses not to do something I want to try my best to at least try to keep m website updated with new News, Podcasts, Music and Photographs.

And just like that we are reaching the end, the following are past assignments, from the first one to the last one there are huge differences.

Past CT 101 Assignments:

Assignment #1- What is making me happy on the internet?
Assignment #2- How’s CT so far?
Assignment #3- What Do You Meme?
Assignment #4- DS106 Fun
Assignment #5- Digital Art Making Immediacy
Assignment #6- The Mid-Semester Assessment Post
Assignment #7- Domain Names
Assignment #8- Domain Registration
Assignment #9- Customizing my WordPress Page
Assignment #10- Pages & Categories and First Blog Post
Assignment #11- Social Media &WordPress

It’s crazy to see all our year’s worth of work just linked to listed assignments but it is also very fulfilling to see. Professor Seslow has shown a great interest in our knowledge and has encouraged us weekly to keep trying to better our CT skills. With that being said I hope we all take a moment to thank the professor and use the skilled we have learned.

Happy holidays and stay safe!!!

Assignment #11- Social Media & WordPress

Gif of surprised expression.

It’s very exciting to see all the different websites my fellow classmates have made. It’s really nice to see their websites surrounding their interests and the things they are passionate about. They all look great and can’t wait to see more of their blog posts in the future.

Screenshot of Kiara’s website.

I really liked Kiara’s website, there are three categories which are very helpful to get around the page. I’m very excited to read more because although I do not have curly hair, I hope she talks about products or/and ingredients that are not healthy for the scalp and hair itself. Also because I have somewhat damaged hair and will be cutting it short very soon. Also I did comment on her first blog post, I think it’s interesting because it feels like we are reading a story and it left off with a cliff-hanger. 

Screenshot of Nader’s website based on photography.

I also really liked Nader’s website. The background complements all the photos added so well. The blog posts are very informative and are interesting to read. I learned about the architectural Shahareh Bridge and its history. 

Screenshot of my newest blog post.

For my new blog post I actually created a new category as well. Throughout the weekend I stumbled upon a TikTok and it made me think about how much I enjoy reading and listening to poems. Therefore the category I added was Poetry, and with the assignment including social media I thought it was the perfect combination.

Assignment #10- Pages & Categories and First Blog Post!

Some changes I made were changing the menu by adding subpages for my recommendations and adding News, Podcasts and Music. For each I also added some “items” I wanted to and I think that each page is visually pleasing. I’m very happy about the solid background color I chose because it does make the gifs I include pop-out even more which is good because it grabs people’s attention. I’m thinking about re-publishing two of my posts from CT 101 which would be the one about creating gifs and the one about creating memes. I think people would like to learn how to make some as well.

 Dear CT101 community,

I just published my very first blog post here on my website: http://alejandracreativity.com come and check it out and feel free to comment! My first ever blog post on my website is short and straight to the point about why I created my website. Hope you all enjoy it!

Assignment #9- Customizing my WordPress Page

I was a bit nervous and excited at the same time about getting to customize my website page. At first I was not exactly clear about what I wanted to include but as the days went on I thought about the things I liked, and decided to make my page about those things. For my website I picked a solid color for the background because I wanted my future posts to pop-out. I left the format like it was because I did not want it to feel like I was working with the CUNY commons outline because there are too many tools that I usually don’t even use. 

A screenshot of my Home page, with a Welcome gif.

 

 My website will contain things I enjoy like photography and recommendations for news, music and podcasts. I think that overall I want the website to be very open to add as many things as I would like. Using the tutorial provided by the professor everything went smoothly and I had a lot of fun switching things around for my website. There wasn’t a step I found difficult to be honest, I think that when it comes to writing a blog post it will be difficult. 

Assignment #8 – Domain Registration

My experience of registering my own domain was actually great because the recording the professor uploaded and showed during class explained how to register step-by-step making it easy to follow. I was a bit scared about choosing a domain name because I wanted it to make sense with what I was going to add to my page and I did not want to make it too long. I picked the domain name http://alejandracreativity.com/ because I did not want to be sort of tied-down to one topic, especially since I did not have a “crystal-clear” idea of what I wanted to do.

I’m sort of scared to not be as creative as my fellow classmates, my page might seem similar to the mmm.page we had to create but I hope to add more things and make it different. The website wordpress.org is very similar to our class website and it is easy to maneuver around. I can’t wait for my classmates to see my page and for me to read/look at theirs.

 

Assignment #7- Domain Names

Gif of outlined cat thinking.

I have been thinking about things that I like to do, which would be writing, taking photos and drawing. So for my potential domain names I thought about the things in connection to my likes. For the first one possible domain I would like to make a website where I express my views on any piece of news I find interesting and/or is not getting as much media attention as I think it deserves. For my following three possible domains I think it would be versatile because they aren’t too specific but they do relate to my name. And the rest of the possible domains could be for either a website where I could share my photos or drawing. Also I could talk about some of the tools we have used in class to people who may be interested in knowing how to use most free creative pages.

Possible domain names
1) AHReacts.com
2) Aleajandrah.us
3) AHernandez.com
4) Aahz.us
5) AHArt.com
6) AlejandraCreativity.com
7) ArtAleH.org

I’m excited to start a website, although I have used WordPress my domain name was very bad because I did not know how the website worked. I was embarrassed because the domain was very long and CT 101 has shown me that it could easily be done. I’m also excited to share both my thoughts and work with others that may have the same interests as me.

Some of my favorite websites are The New York Times, NPR, Twitter and Instagram. Both the newspapers mentioned are very informative and focus on important topics, which is good for gaining information and awareness. Twitter is used for news, posting opinions/thoughts and sharing photos which I think is great because there isn’t just one thing to do or look at. Instagram is used to share memories and random photos which don’t always have to have a meaning which I like.

Assignment #5- Digital Art Making Immediacy

I was inspired to create a page where I could share all my memories from my trips to Mexico since I went there for winter break and summer of this year. I love taking photos of the landscape, sunsets, sunrises and family. Although it’s with a simple Canon camera the moment of when I took the photo will always stay with me. My mmm.page is very colorful and shows what I like to do when I’m in Mexico for vacation. 

A glimpse to my mmm.page

It was difficult to get mmm.page working on my laptop so the first week I was working with it on my phone which was even more challenging. But I got help from Professor Seslow and finally could open the page on my laptop. It was then pretty easy to add photos but sometimes it would take forever to upload which frustrated me since I wanted to keep adding photos and editing them. But the page was easy to manage and learning how to use was also easy. Overall liked the tools the website provided and I am really excited to have finally create my page in the website. Hopefully I get some good feedback!

I liked that the background was one single color because that would make my photos stand out more. I would have liked to put in more photos but it was limited. I also added two gifs from GIPHY which I think was a good idea because it would attract attention from the viewers.

Assignment 6- The Mid-Semester Assessment Post

So far I think I’m doing pretty good in CT 101. I have learned to use tools like GIPHY, Imgur, Imgflip, the DS 106 assignment bank and the class website. The class let’s me explore my creative side as well as the internet. There are so many cool and free pages that can be used to express your ideas.

I believe I’m maintaining an A grade. I have tried to complete all the previous assignments, and even edited some with the suggestions provided in the comments. I am missing assignment number five. I had some difficulty with signing into the page and I also have to add a small tutorial explaining how I created my gif in assignment number four. The following are my assignments completed:

Assignment #1

Assignment #2

Assignment #3

Assignment #4


In my opinion I have learned how to write a clear and well structured post. In other words I was able to find a format that worked for me. I like how I can both write and show my feelings through writing and gifs. My greatest learned asset in this class so far is knowing how to use Giphy, although it may not seem like such a useful asset. I liked that my ideas can come to “life”, I turned still pictures into “moving” pictures and somewhat seems like going back into that memory.

Seems like I’m starting to sound like a broken record but I regularly include gifs and now that I think about it, I also include hyperlinks to most if not every post I make. I have also kept in mind to make the added files all the same measurements so that the post looks more pleasing to the eye and that it has a sort of balance.

Besides posting my own assignments I try to read my classmates’ posts and comment on a few. Sometimes it’s hard to have my camera on during class time because my siblings are around but I do stay focused in class especially during the tutorials. I take notes just because going back to the recorded video can be forgetful at times.

I have learned to use many tools. Outside of class related knowledge I have learned that there are deaf people who can still speak and hear. I have also learned to be more considerate of people who might use tools like description under images, most of us don’t struggle with certain stuff and aren’t aware of what a difference that can make.

I feel like my work is in the middle of expanding creatively and being stuck in a loop because I like to insert a lot of gifs but I try my best to make it a different gif. Not solely one movie/show reference or only one “movement” but a variety of gifs. I could also change my posts by learning how to use other websites and/or adding my own “art”.

 

Assignment #4- DS106 Fun

I selected this assignment because I thought it would be really fun to make. I had taken AP art history back in high school so I thought it would be cool to take a classic painting that I liked and make it come to life. The painting “The Two Fridas” (1939) by Frida Kahlo shows a bond by the vein that connects both Fridas. One is weakened by an exposed heart and still yearns for her lost love while the other is strong and clamps down on that figurative and literal tie with a hemostat. There are so many small details within the painting I think that’s one of the reasons I picked the assignment.

My first outcome for this assignment is posted above. I used Giphy to do the assignment, since we have used it before I thought it would be great to work with it again. I was very satisfied with the outcome because it looks like the idea I had in mind. Giphy is quickly becoming a very useful tool and anyone can learn to use it which is great. There were so many stickers that I could choose from which I liked. 

This assignment also seemed very fun to do. But I just know I can’t do it right now because first I have to learn how to cut clips and then put them together. I’m still having difficulty remembering every step to make a good post, although it will definitely take some time. I think I will learn how to complete the assignment. Thinking ahead of time I think I’ll do the movie Coraline since it’s one of my favorite stop-motion animated movies. I think I should do at least one of the assignments for each category, they all have different tools needed to complete them which would help me figure out different types of methods. I think these skills are important at least to me because they are online. In other words, as we saw through the pandemic almost everything was moved to online. I think the skills could be useful for my career as a journalist and also could be useful to get into different hobbies. 

Assignment #3- What Do You Meme?

Art has a different meaning for everyone. I think internet memes are art because they are being created. The YouTube video shows how Tolstoy, Aristotle, and Warhol might agree with memes being art while Immanuel Kant and David Hume might disagree because they’re definition of art is something that is beautiful. Once again in my opinion memes are “beautiful” because they bring people together. A group of people will like certain memes over others because of the context it contains. For example the essay talks about the Grumpy Cat meme, cat-lovers will be more drawn to that meme, and also the different memes that were created with the cat. So in other words they take a certain image but include different captions and/or make different styles of that one image. Memes  can be created from traditional art not just trendy topics which makes possible creations infinite.

 I found an article that expressed what I thought perfectly about how memes are able to have many forms and are shared in many media spaces. Memes are good for art because they’re a form of expression, during difficult times many people cope using dark humor and memes give them that release. Memes are definitely good for communication as the article states “ordinary people could understand this new art, because it reflected their world, not some unrecognizable other.” Memes are sometimes even considered the street art of the Internet world which is why some might say it’s not art at all but memes can include real world problems and occurrences. 

After reading another article my opinion of memes being art just grew stronger because the article explained how much thought goes into making a meme.  Memes have to be ‘short and sweet’ because society has a short attention span. In other words we want new content every other hour. Memes also give us new points of views on current topics. To close up the article summary “memes are a universal form.”

The definition of meme will be different for every community. Memes are usually humorous and contain popular culture. The way the word meme came to be was very interesting but made so much sense and it’s crazy to think of the comparison it had to the word gene. Memes were not always understood which is unbelievable to a certain point because like I mentioned before people have different interests so not everyone will understand a meme that has to do with let’s say one particular movie scene.

Side note: The first and third meme I made by using Imgflip which I found the most helpful page to use. It allows you to insert a picture within the meme template that you want to use. The second meme I just took from google and the last “meme” represents the first viral meme which I downloaded from Giphy.

Assignment #2-How’s CT101 so far?

On the first day of CT101 I was nervous at first because the description of the class stated that we would have to build an online identity and it also mentioned networked conversation. And I interpreted it as having to create a personality and be able to converse with others. Which could be somewhat difficult since the pandemic “shut down” most of my social skills.

I did enjoy hearing about the course and its creative content, I was really excited to be using cuny commons again and to have the flexibility to be creative. I think it is very pleasant to have a community where we can just share our opinions and the things we like.

Compared to my other classes CT101 is very flexible, we can edit our work and we are encouraged to express ourselves. I think that CT101 will help us navigate the internet, we are getting a chance to combine many different tools.

I think the potential of this class would be to be able to make your own blog and be very creative. You will be able to add gifs, screenshots and some many more things. It will be different from other blogs and can even attract in many people. Another potential would be just to have knowledge about technology.

I personally liked Giphy over Imgur. My first three gifs I created were by using Giphy, I had tried to make the third one using Imgur but then realized that you couldn’t add stickers. Which as small as the difference is, it was the fact that I could add stickers to make that gif complete and what I had visualized. The fourth gif I got was from Imgur and the fifth gif I also made using Giphy. 

CompuServe created 87a and it was introduced on 15 June, 1987. 87a would later become known as GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) and it would be considered a tool. They can be used for logos, games, small video clips,  to convey emotion and feelings, ect. And yet no one can tell us exactly how to pronounce it! “The GIF itself has become the destination.” The GIF is officially 30-something and is still being treated like a new Internet tool.

Assignment #1- What is making me happy on the Internet?

The annual MTV Video Music Awards were held on September 12, 2021, in New York City. So many celebrities attended from Jennifer Lopez, Alicia Keys, Cyndi Lauper to Olivia Rodrigo and many more. Many people shared their views about the winners and performances. 

Facebook post.

 

The Facebook post above shows that some people thought Justin Bieber did not deserve to win. As the comment says there were many other artists that should have won, since the VMAs are done by people voting, many think it was an unfair win.

The Tweet above is about Chlöe performing her song “Have Mercy”. They are criticizing Chlöe for her outfit and how it is “very” revealing, but there will always be a double standard because men most of the time have women dancing in bikinis and are not held responsible. What makes me “happy” about this is that the Internet is a free space to express your thoughts but you will always have to be able to defend your argument.

This other Tweet is commenting about the lack of Latino representation, which is something I agree with and it is something that makes me happy because they are making people responsible for it. Rosalía won MTV Video Music Award for Best Latin Video but she is a Spaniard which would make her Hispanic but not Latina.

I guess we will just have to see until next year’s VMAs to see if there is fair voting, if people stop picking on women’s attire and if there is actual Latino/a representation. Overall the Internet makes me happy because they pay attention to detail and make you realize things you wouldn’t originally think of.