CT101 Final Blog Post – Justin Sajous

Jake Gyllenhaal Goodbye GIF by MOODMAN

Farewell

I remember the first day of class, when we all met the professor and realized just how great this course was going to be. Months later I still feel the same way and am happy with all of the work I have completed thus far.

What have I learned?

In this class I have learned many things regarding my blog posts and ways to customize the different aspects of my website.

Since the beginning, we have been practicing how to make our work more engaging either by inserting a few relatable GIFs in between our paragraphs or links to different videos and articles about a topic.

My overall creativity has grown and I see myself making different design choices that I am impressed that I’m able to make.  I feared that I wouldn’t be able to make an appealing website due to my lack of creativity in the past, but this course has definitely helped me with that.

What grade do I think I’ve earned?

GIF by MOODMAN

I believe that so far in this class, I have earned anywhere between a B and an A-. This is mostly because I have always tried to put out creative blog posts each week that really brought out whichever new WordPress feature we were tinkering with.

I haven’t always been as active on my classmates other posts however, so that may end up hurting my grade more than I am anticipating. I do look at my peers’ work for guidance on how they completed certain assignments or for inspiration that I could use to enhance my own posts, but I just haven’t commented on much of their work.

Other than that, I feel like I have been doing pretty well in the class and have been staying on top of everything.

What did you enjoy about our class and how you will apply your new skills into the world?

The thing I enjoyed about our class was how high spirited it was. Each week we came in felt never felt like a chore and I somehow looked forward to attending the lesson. We also always learned something new that I would be able to use in order to better my web designing skills, so that was also something to look forward to.

In the future, I hope to apply the skills I have learned from this course to the websites that I will design in the future. I plan on finishing my major in Communications Technology and bein able to design sites for myself or any businesses/customers that may want to hire me.

Will you maintain and keep up your new website? If so, how? If not, Why not?

I will try to maintain my website as best as possible for the remainder of the subscription that we were given earlier on in the course. There’ll be many more cuts that I perform on myself that I’ll be taking pictures of, and that site can be the perfect place to store them all. I’ll be able to come back to it whenever I want to look back on my haircutting journey and how much my technique has transformed.

My Website

I decided to name my website Cuts By Juss ( I know, catchy right?). Its supposed to focus on the different haircuts I have done in the past and the ones that I’ll perform on myself in the future.

Here is the link to my website: https://cutsbyjuss.com/

You can see on the home page that I have uploaded many of the assignments from our CT 101 course on the site just to populate it a bit more. I have it separated by categories from my content related to Haircuts and the Waves Hairstyle.

I even have a photo gallery ( shown above) where I keep some of the pictures from previous cuts.

I was also able to link my Instagram directly onto my contact page so people visiting the site can look at some of my posts.

Something that I’m happy about figuring out was adding a piece of music to my website footer that anyone who visits can play just by scrolling to the bottom and clicking it.

The process of building that website wasn’t exactly frustrating, but intimidating. Having to learn how to utilize these different systems and aspects of customization isn’t easy, and it took me a while to understand exactly how I was going to organize everything.

After sitting down and gathering my ideas for a bit, I found a place for everything that I needed to include on my site and I am very pleased with the outcome of it all.

Overall, I am glad that I have taken this course and am excited for the future courses in the Communications Technology major that will help take what I have learned to the next level!

Lets Go Yes GIF by Cameo

 

 

 

Copyright Assignment

fbi warning GIF by rotomangler

 

What is copyright?

Copyright is a form of protection obtained by owners of creative/original work that ensures other people won’t try to take their ideas. The law allows the owner of a work to also determine how other people can use it.

 

Why is there copyright?

Copyright exists so that working people like artists looking to promote their latest work or a company spokesperson coming up with slogans won’t have their ideas and work stolen and posted by another. This gives people security over the work that they have done, while also allowing for others to get just a glimpse at it.

 

How much should users of the web think about copyright as you and others share, re-share, and remix content on the web?

It’s very important that for people to keep copyright in mind when using other peoples’ content on the web, especially for sharing, re-sharing, and re-editing the work. If the owner decides to take action against you for doing so, you can be fined for a large sum of money and potentially get time in prison depending on how bad the violation is. People trying to remix content on the internet should always try to get the permission for the work’s originator, or simply credit them towards the end of the video/post/etc.

 

What is fair use?

Fair use is a doctrine that allows people to use brief excerpts of copyrighted material for a limited and “transformative” purpose without having to first get permission from its owner. Everything should be fine long as large chunks of the original content aren’t being included and it’s clear that the person using the work isn’t violating the originator’s copyright.

 

Assignment Option #1

“These tools of creativity have become tools of speech. It is a literacy for this generation. This is how our kids speak. It is how our kids think. It is what your kids are as they increasingly understand digital technologies and their relationship to themselves.”

– Lerry Lessig

I find this quote from Larry Lessig’s talk compelling because it reminds us of the importance of this technology, especially in the future generations’ lives. All of the children raised in the near future are going to be interacting with technology and the media, which is why Lessig says that these copyright laws should lay off of people a bit and allow people to show their creativity.

 

My Website Is Live!

Hello my fellow classmates. I hope you are all doing well with your websites and the customization of them. While mines is still a work in progress, I was able to write a post detailing my plans for the website.

You can check out this post on my site cutsbyjuss.com:

My Plan For This Website

I plan on populating my website with more content soon and making it more user friendly once I learn more about setting everything up through WordPress. Thanks for reading!

 

The Mid – Semester Assessment Post

How am I doing in CT101? What grade do I believe I am maintaining?

So far in CT101 I have been consistently keeping up with the work and always put in the effort to make sure that my blogs always have solid visuals and substance in its writing. I believe I am sitting somewhere between a B and an A- in this class so far.

What have I learned the most? What is my greatest learned asset in this class so far?

I feel like I have learned how to be more creative ever since I took this class. Whether it was looking for funny GIFs to relate to something I just wrote or adding hyperlinks to some of my favorite videos on the web to share with my classmates, I am always looking for different parts to add to my blog to make it more engaging and appealing to look at.

My greatest learned asset in this class so far is that watching how my classmates write and craft their blog posts also helps me think of new ways to improve and better my own.

Website Fixing GIF by Paxful

What skills have I developed , cultivated and displayed regularly in my posts?

I have developed the ability to use GIFs and different images found on the internet to tell stories. Recently, I’ve also been paying attention to how big each of my paragraphs were and practiced breaking them apart into more digestible sizes. This, combined with my use of different memes and GIFs, allow me to engage with my audience better on whichever topic I have to discuss.

How do I assess my performance through self-reflection in this class?

So far in this class, I feel like my performance has been pretty good. I came in not knowing anything about how to really make an appealing piece of digital media, to being able to create my own GIFs and implement different things in my blogs that help me complete each assignment to their fullest.

Over time, I can seen in my work just how much my skills have improved and how I’ve gotten better at being creative with my work. An example of this can be seen of my favorite posts, Digital Storytelling Project Flexibility where I had to show off some my creations in a Minecraft-like video game.



What do I know now that I did not know before taking this class?

A few things that I’ve learned now that I didn’t know before taking this class are how to make GIFs and memes. I always saw these scrolling across the web but never knew how to create them. It turns out that it’s pretty simple and fun to do it too! I’ve also been getting better at how I design my blog and other digital media posts so that they look better overall.

Do I see my weekly blogging work expanding creatively? If so, please explain –  or am I stuck in a loop where my posts seem to look the same most of the time, how will I change that?

I do see my weekly blogging work expanding creatively each assignment. I have been getting better at keeping my wording short but containing substance and also making my posts more appealing. I hope that over time we are introduced to new tools we can use to further customize our blogs. My goal is to get better at choosing the right GIFs and images to make my posts colorful and even better to look at but also tell the story I wish to tell.

Holi Festival Design GIF by commotion.tv

 

 

” The Internet’s Own Boy” – Reflection

My Response

After watching the documentary ” The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz”, I was left feeling as though my own life was aimless. Hearing about how this young computer genius fought for access to online ( educational) documents that should be available for all and real political change in our country moved me in ways I didn’t expect.

An idea that stuck with me was touched on near the end of the documentary ( around 1:40:55) where Cory Doctorow a journalist and friend of Aaron discussed a teen who used some of the documents/journals that Aaron released out to the public to come up with a testing method for pancreatic cancer in its early stages. Doctorow said, ” … without access the person who might come up with the thing that’s got your number on it may never find that answer.” Swartz’s efforts allowed for this young teen to use these journals that would have otherwise been locked behind paywalls, being of use to only a few individuals.

Aaron’s story left me more motivated than anything. Motivated to make something of myself and work hard towards whatever goals I may pursue in the future, just like he did when all the odds were stacked against him.

                                       Me getting ready to succeed in life.

Picking A Domain Name!

The Idea

I never thought that I would be able to develop my own website growing up. I always thought that it was a long process that only people with years of experience in computers and coding could carry out. Now that I’m capable of doing so thanks to this class, I’m excited to design my own special place on the internet that’s reserved just for me and the many ideas flowing through my head.

Until I find a real use for my website ( using it for a potential future business, etc.), I think that I would revolve it around a recent hobby that I’ve picked up. Ever since the beginning of the pandemic, I’ve been practicing giving myself haircuts and attempting to learn more every day about the practice. If I were to base my website around this, I would upload pictures of every new haircut I give myself ( and perhaps my experience during the cut and what I have learned from it).

           Here is a cut I did a few months ago.

I would also add a section to my website for people looking for information on how to get the waves hairstyle, including all of the things I have learned in my going on three years of experience with the style.

The Domain Names

There are a few names that I think would be great for my website. Here are a few of them down below:

  • jussdoescuts.com ( For people interested in haircuts)
  • cutsbyjuss.com ( Same as the one above but reworded, and I think the best)
  • jussthewaver.com ( For people interested in waves)
  • jusswiththebrush.com ( You need to do a lot of brushing to get waves)
  • jussbreezy.com ( A nickname that stuck with me through high school)

Be sure to let me know what you think of my website idea and these domain names for it!

 

Digital Storytelling Project Flexibility

1. Back to Basics! 

Back to Basics!

The project that I felt like I would be able to do with my current knowledge is the one listed above. It requires you to go on a game such as Minecraft or any type of building/survival game, and design your own house, cottage, or mansion.

I personally don’t play Minecraft, but I’ve been spending a lot of time on a similar game that has released for Steam called Valheim.

The game places you in the life ( or afterlife?) of a slain Viking sent to defeat creatures and ancient bosses in the tenth Norse world Valheim. Not only are there enemies to fight, but there’s a bunch of gear to make as you progress, and a huge open world for you to build anything you can imagine. The building system in this game is great and I’ve only begun to scratch the surface on the different creations that people can come up with.

I chose this project to sort of show off the creations that I have been working on in the game.

Forge

This first image shows the forge I made in the game where I go to repair all of my tools/weapons as well as my armor. I surrounded the base of the building with stone to support the structure of it all. I also made sure to fill it with enough lighting and trophies from my adventures to make it look nice.

Check out the inside:

This next building is one of the first main houses that me and my girlfriend built together when we first got on the game ( I did most of the work). I like the simple yet clean look that we ended up with after building the house.

Main House

Here’s how the inside looks:

You can see that it’s filled with cooking pits within the floor to make food quickly without having to go outside. There’s also two beds ( where me and her both respawn if we were to die to any one of the many monsters in Valheim), a table for us to sit and relax at, and a pet wolf in the tiny pen you see towards the right. His name is Chase.

The final building that I made is the storage house. This is where we keep all of our collectibles and crafting materials. On each corner of the house are teleporters that we use to transport items and explore different parts of the map.

Storage Building

Here’s the inside:

You can see that there are many chests and carts on each side of the room to accommodate the many items that we find while playing. Each chest has a label for whatever is inside and it allows for us to easily grab whatever we need and go. Some of my carts ended up falling over on one side thanks to the game’s physics…  damn I need to fix that later.

2. Sports Poster

Sports Poster

This other project that I’ve chosen seems doable, but it would take a while before I would be able to design anything that looks like this.

I always thought the idea of making posters and other forms of digital art was cool but I was never really got into making them. In order to learn how to make a project like this, I would have to really do some research and look at different Youtube tutorials that would help me.

I see myself doing a lot of these types of creations in the future and hopefully after doing 3-5 of them I will learn the basics. After learning these basics, I hope to develop my own style that I can apply to all of my creations. This is a very important skill to have, especially when it comes to website development which is the field I would like to hone in on.

Are Memes Art?

Meme Finals GIF

I’ve learned much about memes and GIFs through my interactions on social media and the many other sites that use them. People spend a lot of time creating these images with words attached to them with the hopes of making the viewer laugh or feel a certain way about whatever the image is. Memes have the power to do this and as more people are introduced to them, the sooner the rest of the world is going to realize how memes are developing their own art form.

The 27 Best "Breaking Bad" Memes | Bad memes, Internet funny, Beauty memes

Are Memes Art?

Memes are used across many platforms to share ideas and add on to the ever evolving culture within the internet. They definitely are a form of self expression for people, but for others they are something more than that. The meme making process is a hobby for many, and the satisfaction of having someone like/share your meme can equate to an artist watching people in an art gallery admire his painting. It takes time and a lot of experience with memes to think up witty and funny ways to turn a simple picture into an eye grabbing story with just a few words. Just check out the next one down below to see what I mean.

Image tagged in gator,dog - Imgflip

Making My First Meme

I was nervous trying to figure out what image I was going to use to make my meme. I knew I had to take something and try to relate it to our CT 101 class in some way. Hopefully it came out alright and it makes somebody laugh!

 

 

 

Assignment #2 – Making our first GIF post!

Welcome To My Post!

Whats Up Hello GIFAfter recently selecting Communications Technology as my major, I was worried about how each of my classes would be like. I wasn’t sure if CT 101 was one of those classes where we would have to slog through a 2-hour lecture or one that actually makes me want to log in and look forward to every time we meet. I bet you can imagine my face and how I was feeling the first time I was introduced to this great class a few weeks ago.

hell yeah dancing GIF by collin

The course description led me to believe that we would spend a lot of time learning how to discuss different topics on the internet or reading many articles that we would have to replicate at some point. I was surprised when hearing more about the course through the syllabus and what’s in store for us this semester.

suprised humbertotan GIF by RTL 4
Me listening to the Professor talk about the class.

Compared to some of my other courses, CT 101 has so far proved to be my favorite. I have been able to express myself more in the past 4 weeks than in the past 2 years I have spent taking any other class. It definitely serves as my breather throughout the week while I try and tackle the huge workload I have from my other courses. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for this class and for my own digital expertise to improve even further!

Game Of Thrones Yes GIF by MOODMAN

Assignment #1 – Internet Happiness

Hello, my name is Justin and I’ve been using the internet for as long as I can remember. As a kid I would always be online playing games or watching funny videos.  Nowadays I do pretty much the same. Although I use social media to keep in touch with friends, I don’t spend actually spend a lot of time on it. I would much rather spend my time listening to music and talking with my friends on Discord. Here’s some of the music I like to listen to when I’m relaxing or have some schoolwork to get done:

This is a mix from one of my favorite games Persona 5 ( I would recommend you to check it out if you own a Playstation 4).

Another hobby of mine that the internet sort of created was my interest in hair. More specifically, the waves hairstyle.

Image result for 360 waves gif
Some other guy’s waves.

After a bad haircut a few years back, I scoured the internet for information on how to get the best waves possible. I would stay up late watching videos on how to brush my hair properly and take care of it so that my own waves would look their best. Below is a Youtuber who taught me most of the things I know just from his videos alone. Here’s one of my favorite videos of his that I watch along with while I do my own Wash and Styles ( How wavers wash their hair):

Today I continue to use the internet to expand my knowledge on waves. I’m even able to give others tips like I’m some type of hair guru or something. I’m excited to continue with this course and find new ways to enjoy my time on the internet.