Getting Signed Up and Signed in to the CT101 Website & the CUNY Academic Commons.

Welcome Back Digital Storytellers!

Please follow along with me during our class session to get signed up for both the CUNY Academic Commons and for this website, follow me and scroll down..

As we know, a big part of CT101 is the class website. It is where you will begin your active role as an “Author” of our CT101 community and where you will be publishing all of your class work and assignments. You will also become a part of the CUNY Academic Commons Community (Im a big fan!)

**First things first,

It is super important for you to have access to your York College E-mail Address, and to make sure it works!  You will need to have access to it in order to sign up for our CT101 web site and the CUNY academic commons.

***If you need assistance with setting this up do not hesitate to contact the York College help desk at 718-262-5300 as needed or at helpdesk@york.cuny.edu

Let’s Get Started!

We must follow the sign up steps in the order below (I will demonstrate the process in our class this week)

*Remember, you must use your CUNY e-mail address for this only!

1. We will Sign Up for the CUNY Academic Commons Here – simply click the  “Register” button and fill in the form and complete the sign up! You will receive an e-mail that verifies your account. 

2. After you sign up for the CUNY Academic Commons, please Sign-Up for the CT101 website and use the SAME Username and e-mail address that used to sign up for the CUNY Academic Commons – this info will allow for me to send you a direct invite request from our class website to become an Author of the website. Please “accept” the invite when it arrives via e-mail. You can also accept the invite under your commons profile under “my invites” (I’ll share an example)

.. And then…. You will have access to “log in” and start blogging as a CT101 author. We wont start that part until next week though.. The log-in prompt is always located in the main navigation menu area of the website – depending on the device that you are viewing the site in, you will see it in upper right hand corner of the page via desktop or laptops, but mobile devices may see the log in prompt on the left side of the page, either way, click “Log In” and enter your Log In credentials. 

**You cant start publishing content as an author of the website on CT101 until you have completed the sign up process steps above. Please let me know if you have any issues.

More to come!

Welcome Everyone!

Here we are: CT101 – Digital Storytelling! The Spring Semester of 2023!

Ok, this blog post is a lot things, but first and foremost it’s a welcoming! Im excited to meet everyone and share our 1st class session to connect and learn about each other. Below, that’s Nyle DiMarco, he’s a Deaf Actor and Artist, he is showing us how to say: “Nice to Meet You” in American Sign Language. I’m also Deaf, so you can expect to learn some ASL and see more ASL GIFs this semester! I hope that you like animated GIFS, we are going use a lot of them here, and make them too! We are going to spend a lot of time discussing ways that we communicate.

There is a lot of compelling content to cover this semester in CT101, which will happen in many fun ways!

**This is the direct URL / Link to our class Website – https://ct101.commons.gc.cuny.edu/ <—that link is where EVERYTHING is happening for CT101.

I’m not a fan of blackboard (who is?? Its outdated and clunky..) and I will only use it to remind the class about password sensitive things or send a class e-mail. Please make sure you are familiar with the CUNY academic calendar for the semester as we will follow that..

The CT101 Class Modality / Structure – CT101 will be taught synchronously in person this semester on campus here in the lab on the 4th floor in room 4m03 (academic core building) – we will also have course work that will be assigned and completed outside of class.

There are 2 sections of this course that will both follow the same course schedule & criteria – be sure to attend the right section of your course and not both 🙂

Please know, I am always here to help you be the best that you can be in our course. And we are all here to do the same for each other. Our class is a community! A big part of our class is exploring your creativity and being experimental with the Internet! Plus, we will learn about the evolving array of digital tools that are available to us. We do quite a bit of the creative work from our own personal work spaces as we integrate the class work into our lives. Please know, I will always screen-record each and every assignment’s description, how-to’s and tutorials and share those videos here on our website. Please think of this website as a repository of information, energy and inspiration for the course (and beyond!)

*The Class Website – Our class website takes place on the CUNY Academic Commons! You will soon discover that the Commons is a huge resource and regular source of inspiration and community! Im excited to share this with you all.

**This Week’s Assignment is Below**

Let’s leave our first Comment!

In the comments section below (if you scroll down to the bottom of this page) Add a comment, Your comment will serve as your attendance today, but please introduce yourself! Tell us a bit about yourself, What is your name? What you are studying here at York College?  What is your favorite movie, activities, ice cream flavor? Favorite place or apps to visit on the web? What are you most interested in at this moment? Etc..) Feel free to add some links! Let’s get to know each other. Also – Reply to someone’s comment, say hello and share some interests. Commenting and activity on the website is big part of our class!

**PS -I moderate all the comments to make sure that spam bots don’t spam us into oblivion! If may take a few minutes before your comment shows up, no need to submit it twice if you don’t see it appear right away **

Also, please explore this website, read through the syllabus and some of the course resources, it will be super helpful in the next coming weeks.

 

*****CT101 – Spring Semester 2023*****

Coming VERY Soon!

CT101 Final Blog Post & Course Completion Information

Here we are in the final weeks of our Fall 2022 semester!

Class recording from 12/6:

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/ppj-dq8yWLP9CaprFmuvvHjX0uE6z_UFc0E8r6n43NTra19mH6rSGJ1UGZKAvzM4.s_1Wl2PN2sJZyH4E

Passcode: NH3is$i7

It is my intention to get things set up in advance to help and give everyone enough time to finish / revise assignments, catch up and feel confident about our course completion. Most of us will be focusing simultaneously on finishing our website building project, as well as populating the website with blog posts and content, while others may be retroactively catching up on or revising blogging assignments and commenting. 

**Please read all of the information below carefully & mark your calendars**

Please e-mail me with any questions at – rseslow@york.cuny.edu

Please know, I am always here to help in anyway that I can. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. Please know, it is not too late to catch up if you are a bit or even far behind. We can work together but I need communication in order to help.

The last day of regular CT101 classes is Tuesday December 13th..

All of our class sessions and assignments have video tutorials that are recorded and added to the weekly blog post assignments on our class calendar page here.

**Please read all of the information below carefully & mark your calendars**

**Final Blog Post Submission Guidelines**

Please make sure you follow each step below – it is really important to illustrate each retained skill and ability to follow the guidelines.

*Each student will write and publish a Final Course Reflection Blog Post.

Students will publish the Final Post to the CT101 website. Students will kindly e-mail the direct link of your final blog post to me – rseslow@york.cuny.edu – no later than Tuesday December 20th by 6 pm. 

***Please do not publish or e-mail the final blog post link to me before Tuesday December 13th. This post and submission process is to be done during final exams week and serves as our final exam.***

*The e-mail subject of your final blog post will say: “CT101 Final Blog Post/Your First & Last Name”

I will confirm the e-mail by reply once I receive it.

Here is an example below for finding a blog post’s direct URL – (this is the direct link to the text you see at the moment in the web browser address bar at the top of the browser) The post must be published in order to copy it and paste it into your e-mail to me – it would look something like this below.

*Your final blog post is Mandatory, it serves as our final exam and final project and it must include ALL of the information stated below:

Your final blog post will be a detailed narrative and re-cap of what you have learned in CT101, and a reflection and assessment of what grade you have earned in our class and why you deserve that grade? (Yes, you must include this part, it is mandatory) 

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

You learned how to build a website, will you maintain and keep up your new website? If so, how? If not, Why not?

Your final blog post should include a culmination of supporting images, GIFs, videos and hyperlinks to all of your existing published blog posts.

(pro-tip – you have already had practice with the mid-semester assessment post, think about this as “part 2 ” to that post)

Please let this post display the best of your skills sets learned and applied! 

**The final post should be your longest and absolute BEST work.**

*Final Website Link & Description –  As a part of the final blog post each student will be sharing their new website URL (your domain name) it must be hyperlinked and you will give a clear descriptive tour of their website and share how the website is being used, plus share thoughts on your website building successes, frustrations and an over-all assessment of building and having a website. You must include a screen shot of each page on your website to support your website tour. Your website must be free of ALL default content and must have at least 4-6 pages, 1-2 new categories and should display a clear visual customization from the default template.

**It is Not Mandatory, but if you would like the opportunity to visually present your final blog post & website to me in person during final exams week – please meet me on Tuesday December 20th from  10am – 12pm –  in room 4M03.

*The Final Blog Post submission requirements as stated above are Mandatory, please let me know if you have any questions.

All questions should be sent to – rseslow@york.cuny.edu

Im here to help!

**Important Info for CT 101

Add Your New Domain Name Here!

Dear CT101 Students –

In an attempt to access our new domains / websites from the classroom on our campus, I need for everyone to add their new domain name in the comments sections below. I need to send this info to IT so that they can help us – the issue is related to York’s security / firewall.

It is super important that you do this over the next 2 days as I need to submit the list of domains to IT.

I added my domain below as an example – please add yours now too!

Thank You!

Exploring the WordPress Potentials, Part II!

Assignment #10 (details are below)

Welcome Back!

Class recording from today – 11/29/22 – 

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/l8wpNl147egQsCg3KEe76Rh_p0X8PgWrsJQODFlRTMovFPj5FBO7lkPeNHSs3DZM.cVhH1_3rS53E4135

Passcode: A0^w5.u4

Let’s get a bit more specific with WordPress and begin to apply intentional context to our website design. Last week we started setting up our new websites by simply discussing the potentials of the visual design creation and experimentation process.

Let us now talk about how to set up new pages, and how to add those pages to the main navigation menu. We will discuss the navigation menus locations and what their functions were. We will look at the footer space and adding widgets in the footer areas. We also took a peek into “plug-ins” and installing plug-ins (especially the Classic Editor for the similar blogging experience we see on the ct101 site for writing our posts) and the differences between pages, posts & categories.

This is quite a bit of information and I highly suggest that you re-watch the class video tutorial from last week for the practice of retaining the new skills that were shared and displayed. I do this very often myself as I find it super helpful for being able to replicate a new skill or technique.

This all takes regular practice and a bit of openness to experimentation in general. How did you do with your experimenting last week? What did you work on? You can leave a comment below on this post and share the link to your new site :))) – WordPress is a very intuitive piece of software, and it wants your creativity! Let’s continue forward. I will be sharing a new series of demonstrations with WordPress this week.

Assignment #10 – Details – Let’s begin populating our new websites by publishing a new blog post there this week. Thats right, You will be publishing a new post there and also “cross-posting” that information here on CT101 as well. There is an efficient way to cross-post content across WordPress websites. I will show you how.

Lets say you just published a great new blog post on your new website and you also want to share it with your classmates / community here on the CT101 website. (You can! Its easy)

Step 1 – is to publish the new blog post on your website. Remember, every blog post has its own unique URL that can be later shared on other places and space on the Internet.

An example of cross sharing your post on may be done in a new post on CT101 that reads:

————

Your Blog Post Title (all blog posts need a great title!) 

(insert an image – GIF – Meme – Quote – or some kind of related media)

“Dear Fellow Readers – I just published a new blog post here on my website: http://yourwebsitename.com, (make sure to hyperlink the post url) please come and check it out and feel free to engage in some fun dialog. Thanks so much”

————

This is a very minimal example above but perhaps just a title and a link is not that interesting? We need a bit of compelling energy to draw the reader from CT101 over to your site. So make this interesting and creative!

**This Week’s Blogging Assignment Prompt for Assignment 10**

Publish a NEW blog Post on YOUR new website, the post can be about anything that you wish that has direct context to your new website’s stated intentions (what your site is being used to promote and share.) After publishing the post, create a new blog post here on CT101 that shares a synopsis of your new post from your website that will entice and grab our attention, be sure to include the direct URL as a hyperlink to the new blog post.

PS – WordPress is really vast and there are many many tutorials out there for “WordPress beginners” – Perhaps YouTube is a helpful source for finding some new resources outside of class? Of Course! Here is one, but feel free to share links to others that you have explored (add the link to the comments section below.)

 

The WordPress Customizing Series, Part 1!

Week #11 – WOW!

**Don’t start this process until we meet in class on 11/22 please – thank you!!

Class recording from 11/22

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/V8ZPZesN1JrOfnFprwIrkmjMWKLBFW1KHZd6IRwrnEyIdegdcsKJ7Q9JqCvKRsdb.UaUBN-PtjQlRRBoZ

Passcode: .&e^9k1@ 

Assignment #9 – > (blogging details below)

This week in CT101 we will be focusing on getting everyone set-up with their new websites! The coupon code that you need was sent last week to your York college e-mail address (e-mail me if you did not receive it).

By now, many of you got started, you have a new domain name, a web hosting account, and a blank / default website framework ready to be customized and stylized! I’ll be helping here with the customizing process of WordPress. This part will have multiple aspects to it. There is a lot to share, create, experiment with and test. The process is fun and will take a few weeks as you make several aesthetic and functionality decisions about how you would like your website to look. This will all play out in context to “how” you plan to use your new website. Not only as a new site owner, but looking into the future as well.

So, how will you be using your new website?

Assignment #9 – This week let’s dig into some of the customizing features that WordPress offers as we begin to design our new websites.

What will you work on first? Will you create a series of new pages? Will you remove default content from your theme? Customize the home page? Publish a blog post? Will you create a category or two? Changes colors?

Let’s publish a NEW blog post (it can be after the holiday this week, please enjoy the break!) that shares a narrative statement about your process and discoveries, as well as HOW you will be using your new website as we go forward. You can publish this post on the CT101 class site. Please don’t forget to embed various pieces of media (images, screenshots, gifs, hyperlinks) and also share contextual content to help expand your post. 

**For example, there are many video tutorials on YouTube that share “how-to” videos for beginners, or customizing videos for the theme that you may be using, this is context 🙂

I will continue to make and record class videos and also share some helpful curated content from the Internet. We will be discussing HOW we will all be using our websites individually, just to mention again 🙂

But WAIT! You cant do anything above unless you have done this: -> Domain Name Registration, Hosting Set Up & WordPress Installation! <— Please read this important post to get started! (from last week)

Im going to focus on using one of the popular WordPress themes called:  “Twenty-Twenty-One” rather than the default one that comes with the latest WordPress installation (Ill share the tutorial on how to do this) – WordPressthemes are extremely versatile and are great for WordPress newbies and beginners. I highly suggest that you consider using the theme that I share. All themes are different, and many of them out there promoted on the Internet are not free (plus, its always helpful to start with a theme that has a good amount of video documentation that already exists.)

More to come!

 

PLEASE E-MAIL me and say hello, let me know how I can help you! rseslow@york.cuny.ed

Domain Name Registration, Hosting Set Up & WordPress Installation!

Week #10

**Please read through this post carefully and watch the video tutorial below as it contains a lot of important information**

Video tutorial :

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/xPFOpano5Xxa5L_EiuZmtRwYf0lSZjKEbkkJTwcv9eaV-yh10uIFWr_Ya5wAnOJb.GY0Q-pDDscVNkdww

Passcode: 9*sNd=MZ

 

“The Journey Begins!”

*Individual student Coupon Codes for the domain name & web hosting set up will be e-mailed to you from blackboard – be sure to check your York college e-mail to get the code. The code can only be used 1 time.

Last week we began talking about Domain Names and what role they play in creating a digital identity on the web (and as a part of this class.) If you missed that post, please be sure to check out our course schedule page under week #9 as it has context and will help make this next step a bit smoother. 

This week we are going to get started!

We are going to begin the process of registering a domain name and also setting up web hosting, which will allow you to put files up online that will be discoverable through your new domain name! We are going to use a form of ‘shared hosting’ where you get a portion of a server – think of it as having an apartment in a building. With this shared hosting you will be able to do a lot of things including installing your own instance of WordPress (**remember, this is NOT wordpress.com but the open source version of wordpress.org) so you can start building your website for your domain name.

We use a company called Reclaim Hosting, with which we have a contract with so you will enter a coupon code and start your account for free.

*The coupon code will be e-emailed to everyone via blackboard on the morning that your class meets during week #10

We chose this hosting company because they have a lot of experience working with students just like you, that are likely getting their first domain name and web hosting account. You will be creating an account just like you would with any online vendor with which you want to purchase something. So it’s not a ‘CUNY’ account, we’re just giving you the coupon code to pay for the year’s service. The service will last for 1 year.

You do not need to pay for anything, so please reach out if you have questions – rseslow@york.cuny.edu

With that said, you will need to provide a name, address, and phone number. Lets go to this sign-up page <— to get started with the domain name selection process.

1. First you will need to pick your domain name, make sure that it is available and make your selection to proceed. (I suggest sticking with the .com or .net extensions)

2. On the next page, check the ‘add ID protection.’

3. On the next page you should see two items in your cart and a price of $45 with ID protection, you will then enter the needed information for your account and provided coupon code and validate it. (you will NOT be charged for this, its already included in the course.)

4. Your total should now be $0. If it is not then check the items and your cart and adjust.

5. You should now fill in your personal information, and select the payment by mail option. (again, you will not be charged anything.)

6. Complete the order and check your email for your account information and a verification of your e-mail, e-mail. With your new account information, log-on to Reclaiming Hosting. Shortly after setting up your account and registering your domain you must verify your account via        e-mail by clicking on the link they send to you. (be on the look out for a series of e-mails from Reclaim Hosting.

7. YOU ARE NOW ALL SET AND READY TO START WORKING WITH YOUR NEW DOMAIN NAME AND WEB HOSTING ACCOUNT!

8. Its now TIME TO INSTALL WORDPRESS. – You will soon refer to the video below (coming after class on 11/15) and follow the step by step guide to install WordPress correctly. 

Coupon codes for the set up will be e-mail from blackboard – be sure to check your York e-mail to get the code.

**********************************

**********************************

Assignment #8 – (you must complete part 1 before moving on to part 2 – After following along in our zoom session today and then reregistering your domain name, setting up web hosting & WordPress – please publish a detailed blog post about the overall experience of registering your own domain, and setting up your web hosting account. Be sure to include screenshots, images, videos and hyperlinks for context. (as always)

Week #9 -Picking A Domain Name!

**Class video tutorial from class on 11/8 is below**

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/8fjy-xjkD_6r7JF6RmHtbCePVfT2rb8xWcBue075_2pePfmoh3ssgPBk1d4MmCpk.IHUHlER5zZWLTUvC

Passcode: @=z=1CQD

Domain Names!

Assignment #7 – It’s Time to Pick a Domain Name

It’s time to begin thinking about choosing a domain name  that can represent your digital self! <– (we will watch this video in class together)

Its time to start planning the website building aspect of this course! Exciting? It is indeed! But first, what is a domain?

You can’t (and shouldn’t) pick just anything..

This part is important!

It has to be unique! And it also has to be available!

It should be relevant – it could be based on your real name,

Or a nickname and or something meaningful to you!

You will need to search for its availability using a domain registrar and you can pick from a number of different ‘top level domains (TLD)’ – for example .com, .net, .us, and .org – then you can have an example like – “mypersonalsite.net”

As we go forward to select and register our domain names (**don’t do this on your own please, I will be walking you through the process in class next week!)

You’re also going to need web hosting, which will allow you to put files up online and will be discoverable through your new domain name! We are going to use a form of ‘shared hosting’ where you get a portion of a server – think of it as having an apartment in a building..

With this shared hosting you will be able to do a lot of things including installing your own instance of WordPress! (via WordPress.org and not wordpress.com – they are a lil’ different)  With WordPress installed you can then start building your website for your domain name. I will cover a series of demonstrations on how to do this and I will record all of the demonstrations and tutorials.

But, what exactly is Web Hosting?

We use a company called Reclaim Hosting, with which we have a contract with so you can enter a coupon code and start your account for free.

**The coupon code will be e-emailed to everyone via blackboard starting next week and the week after – so I will be reminding you to check your York college e-mail address to get the code.

******************************************

**This Week’s Blog Post Assignment: Assignment #7 –

Write a new blog post that shares a few of the potential domain names that you would consider using for your website. List them (at least 5-10 potential names) and say a few words about why they would be good examples for the website that you will build. 

Let’s also speculate:

What might your new website be about? This part is totally up to you! If you wish, you can use the website project itself for a specific niche project, for example, perhaps you want to share your passion for cooking and poetry. Which means you will be primarily writing blog posts about cooking and poetry while building the website simultaneously. This can also be applied to sports, or gaming, or politics or journalism, or simply put, website that fused together many interests as well as your ct101 assignments. 

Share your thoughts, excitements, fears and any other sentiments about how you are feeling about this next chapter in your life as a website owner!

Please apply all of the existing blogging skills that you have developed and include a few images, GIFs, memes and hyperlinks. Also – lets add a few screen shots of some of your favorite existing websites, let us know why you like them! 

 

Its Mid-Semester Re-Cap Time!

Week #8!

Wow, here we are at the midpoint of our CT-101 semester! Time… goes by waaaaaay too fast.. Let’s take a minute to reflect, let’s take a minute to regroup, let’s induce a class reflection!

Class recording from – 11/1/22

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/vFF7cR1gpVz2-E8fsX8p7YYqSeRA4dJZvxOV1t_SuAha0QBYtrd5J64ahlvb9VNu.gN0G01sQet-DsB7n

Passcode: N86?5vN!

Let us ask ourselves the following questions, and reflect:

“How am I doing in CT101?  What have I learned? What new skills have I developed, cultivated and displayed regularly? How does this contribute to my weekly progress? How do I assess my performance through a self-reflection in this class?”

The assessment part is very tangible and clear as we have been producing results over the last 7 weeks in the form of blogging, commenting, creating visual imagery, discussion via various forms and class participation.

Let’s take stock, follow me below,

The CT 101 Course Schedule page is where everything is – this is the CT 101 HUB – this is the space where all the assignments and learning details take form each week – (just in case you forgot) – this is where you can recap and catch up on all assignments –  https://ct101.commons.gc.cuny.edu/course-schedule/

In fact, before we move into the next phase of our course, I want to take a week and reflect upon what has already been accomplished, as well as take accountability for what might be missing and in need of improvement.

Let’s title this next post:

Assignment #6 – The Mid-Semester Assessment Post

Assignment Details:

In a new blog post titled:

“Assignment #6 – The Mid-Semester Assessment Post”, please assess and reflect upon your last 7 weeks here in CT 101. Please answer and address the following questions below, and also provide hyperlinks back to all of your previous completed blog posts. This will help illustrate some of the questions below as you tell a compelling story here in the CT 101 blog space: (of course, the use of imagery is helpful and needed but please don’t default to using too many GIFs or memes to fill in the gaps, the emphasis should be on the written word.) 

How am I doing in CT101?

What have I learned and retained the most?

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

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

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

What grade do I believe I am maintaining? 

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?

Are there any assignments that you are missing? If so, list them. Are you commenting regularly on your classmates posts? Are you responding back to comments given to you by the professor & your classmates? Are you participating during the class time? If not, explain why. This is the time to be accountable. How will you make needed improvements?

Have fun with this!

Feel free to include useful relatedness in the form of links, images, video or Make Something New to express how you feel about this post! (a technique learned from the dS106 assignment bank perhaps?)

Digital Art Making Immediacy

Week # 7 (WOW!) 

Assignment #5

Recording from today’s class session on 10/25:

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/0pLujyb8mseMU68uJROkcaXJecSeCYfgJ7z5SAWcLGDu3XO9FQ6-nUtNvqx3-N4H.q2t2emRmRYFGSZEw
Passcode: NFqvd+7?

Let’s talk a little bit about Creativity, Immediacy and Intuition. In this post, let’s learn how it can inspire your storytelling:

***For this assignment you will need to follow the video tutorial created by prof. Ryan. I will walk you through many of the steps needed to stylize your work and complete the assignment. There are several aspects to this assignment so please take notes along the way and make sure that you address all the questions being asked.

**This is a long post so please spend time with it and absorb it as many times as necessary! And remember, my posts are also digital storytelling examples**

 

Creativity is…

Immediacy is…

Intuition is…

In what order do these words go?

Creativity + Intuition + Immediacy = …….. 

Let’s pause, and become aware of this very passing second. I mean REALLY AWARE, so stop, and be still, very still…

You are alive. Contemplate that. What does being alive mean to you? Have you ever defined it beyond someone else’s interpretation? Where do those interpretations come from anyway? If not, its time to do this, and no, it can not be done in the next 3 seconds.. I believe that a big part of this life is to create and express that unique ability we all can contribute.

It will take some reflection.. More than a single blog post, but perhaps this is a metaphor, a portal that lures you in and activates you.

You are a thinking, breathing, feeling, sensory being processing this exact passing moment. Exactly as you read this from the specific location that you are in, with the age that your body is, in the time zone of the highest level of what you understand consciousness to be. We can always expand this awareness. Its a metaphor (there is that word again), because all the while, you are simultaneously existing on a seemingly gigantic rock spinning through the “space” that the best of the best of the best world’s scientists keep discovering only keeps expanding into more….well, space. In the grand scheme of things, our gigantic rock may not be so gigantic when we think from this perspective. It’s actually the size we think it is relative to our awareness of it.

How do you develop the ability to audit this awareness and ask yourself what potentials lay in this metaphor? And, how can we apply this to other things that we wish to change or create from scratch.

It will require creativity, intuition and imagination. So go ahead and ASK.

Ask yourself: “What is the creative potential of my awareness of this moment, and how may I intervene?

When we turn this directly to our weekly creativity exercise and re-propose the question:

“What is the creative potential of this assignment?

What is the creative potential of my web browser?”

What would you like to express about this moment and the awareness of it? How might or will you do it?

Chances are, you are holding your “device or viewing this through a computer” as you read this.

You know what device I am referring to. Perhaps it’s a laptop, desktop, iPhone, android or a tablet? It doesn’t matter and either way, it first started simply as an idea. An expression of a collective need to expand, grow, learn and express. Much like the infinite expanding space that we mentioned above your device(s) is an intermediary tool to express the potentials of creative space. Our viewing screens are rectangles… sometimes they are held and viewed vertically and sometimes they are turned horizontally, but before any content is consumed, it’s a rectangle in its form. That rectangle is a window, and so is a web browser window..

Your tech device(s) are remote controls for the planet..

We interacted with simple geometric shapes every single day, we take all of them for granted and rarely think of the doorways we are passing through as rectangles. Or the TV that we watch as “the rectangle.” As we walk up steps we rarely think of them as the horizontal rectangles that stack upwards or downwards.. You get the idea..

What is the creative potential of YOU and the rectangle that you are holding or looking through? (this is the part of things where you think Im a little weird, right? lol..)

SO what are you passionate about? What is that you always wanted to express and share with the world? What is it that holds you back? Is what holds you back on the other side of the window?

If you never “Start” then you will never have a result to work from. The only metric you have are the ones that you fear your expression wont compliment.

So, let’s start. Let’s express. Let’s share this into that rectangle / window that you are looking through and make it a practice.

Let’s jump into our assignment – let’s experiment and create a space on the web that is yours and personalize it.

Broadcast yourself!

Taking risks that benefit your growth and personal development while impacting and including your fellow human beings has serious mental, spiritual & emotional value.

This is your story, and storytelling is the communication pilot of the Electric Landscapes that we navigate.

LETS MAKE SOME ART!

Assignment  #5 – Digital Art Making Immediacy

Assignment Description:

1. Experiment with this “Free to Use” Digital Tool: Lets create an account page using mmm.page (its Free!) – https://mmm.page

mmm.page is a web browser based digital collage / website making platform / space. It works perfectly in your web browser. It also works on mobile devices! Based on the blog post here above, what are you inspired to do? What are you inspired to make or create? Each student will produce 1-2 pages using the mmm.page platform. Each published page that you create generates its own URL. Be sure to locate those.

2. In a new blog post, share your experiences working with mmm.page. What are you compelled to create? What did you create? Be sure to share the published link to your page(s) – its a good idea to take screenshots and hyperlink directly to the screenshots. (we already know how to do this)

I personally got pretty excited about mmm.page and began working on an exhibition of digital art collage pages. Here is an example I made with mmm.page below:

https://mmm.page/ryanseslow.main

Last week we chatted in class about using image manipulating software to creating graphic assets – do you recall the photpea.com tutorial? If not, you can check last weeks tutorial for that.

Photopea.com – is a free web browser based digital image making and manipulating application, we can alter and manipulate and prepare images in this space!

Places to find Images online – Creative Commons based:

Pixabay.com – great resource for images and transparent assets! (we will use this for the workshop)

Pexels.com  – great resource for images, videos and transparent assets!

Giphy.com – Well, we know Giphy by now – but animated stickers! 

National Gallery of Art  With the launch of NGA Images, the National Gallery of Art implements an open access policy for digital images of works of art that the Gallery believes to be in the public domain.

Digital Public Library of America The Digital Public Library of America brings together the riches of America’s libraries, archives, and museums, and makes them freely available to the world.

NYPL – The New York Public Library Digital Collections Archive

Flickr CC – Creative Commons on Flickr.

Gif Cities – Internet Archive

Let’s get creating!

Weeks #5 & #6- Assignment #4 – Digital Storytelling Project Flexibility

There is A LOT of CT101 Digital Storytelling Project Flexibility..

**This assignment has been extended for 2 weeks through weeks #5 & #6

**the video recordings & tutorials from class on 10/18 & 10/11 can be found below – Please review it for examples and context for assignment #4:

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/3nDdGHMlYkO83MFHputilsiY0rdNSGmCCwAmmlmdkWcVn7h_8kum84PyFf6qWukR.xltxGNjRWte2OIKv

Passcode: .@D0Fe2%

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/UmJm_8xZih7iR8Qt6qrjo1uHEQg1QsvuLofEVNvWF0mNSjoOBrK52z6ol1reRqud.7wM0AQwFqBGsnOnA

Passcode: 9p=a1*cS

Professor Michael Smith introduced me to the DS106 Assignment Repository many many years ago..

I am glad that he did! 

Now that we are getting comfortable with publishing blog posts to our class website, embedding media like images, GIFS, videos and hyperlinks, it’s time to push things further with content creation and deciding on how you will go about it.

Prof. Smith wrote the following in a blog post from a previous semester;

“In CT-101 you will have the opportunity to create many, many different pieces of media throughout the semester. Inspiration for these projects can come from a number of places. Two great websites that inspired this class and are hosted by a digital storytelling class at the University of Mary Washington.

One, is their ds106 assignment repository which has project prompts that are categorized by a variety of media types (visual, design, audio, video, mashup, writing, fanfic, and animated gifs). Visitors can browse through and sort by most examples completed, most viewed, newest, and more.. 

The second, is also a site known as the daily create which gives a daily project prompt to “make something” using various types of media.

Finally, you, yourself can also find a particular website that has a media piece and/or project type of interest to you (Tumblr and/or Reddit can be fun for this – Photoshop Battles is a favorite of mine.

Do you know of one? If so, share that link here!

*The ASSIGNMENT – (assignment #4)

In a New Blog Post this Week – Let us address and execute the following:

Browse through the mentioned websites above (ds106 & daily create) and find two projects that you think you would like to do. One that you believe you already have the skills to do – or you believe you could figure out on your own. And another (hopefully of a different media type) you don’t know how to do yet and would like to learn. Working from the DS106 site, the Daily Create site or otherness – select, describe and hyperlink to two assignments/project ideas and tell us why you’ve chosen them. What do you think you’d need learn to do them? How many of these kinds of projects do you think you should be doing in this semester so that you might learn and build both emergent storytelling skills and use new tools to create them? Why do you think these skills are or are not important? Be sure to narrate your steps and support your descriptions with screen shots of the process. Be sure to actually complete one of the assignments and add it into your blog post.

***Also, be sure to leave a comment or two on one or more of your classmate’s blog posts! Prof. Seslow will go over an example in our class time and screen record the process.

**the video recording & tutorial from class on 10/11 or can be found below – Please review it for examples and context for assignment #4:

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/UmJm_8xZih7iR8Qt6qrjo1uHEQg1QsvuLofEVNvWF0mNSjoOBrK52z6ol1reRqud.7wM0AQwFqBGsnOnA

Passcode: 9p=a1*cS

Are Internet Memes ART? 

Let’s discuss! You know that you want to!

**The class video recording and tutorial for this assignment is posted below:

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/ZuwpEQcb7mOXgKpxjnIaVcmDb_-JnHBILq9dp9SEonqV-Oavfo6pqvPLlXtT3qo9.qBZyRXHg9odVoid-

Passcode: ^7h3Z!QC

First – lets screen the video above together and then later read the hyperlinked articles below for more context.

Second – The Assignment #3 Details: A New Blog Post is in order.

Assignment #3 – Are MEME’s ART?

Start by doing an Internet search for; “Are memes ART?”

See what you discover, gather those website links and be prepared to share them in your new post. (at least 2-3 should be fairly easy to find)

No matter how you cut it, memes are here to stay… but is this good or bad for Art? Is this good or bad for communication? Are memes simply just forms of self-expression? Or are they MORE? Well, why or why not? I want to know what you think.

Can MEMEs be used for storytelling? If so, How? Explain how they are used in your experience here on the Web.

Let’s create a compelling way to share our responses! Remember to pay attention to the good blogging skills list example in last week’s post?

And by all means plan to create, search for, discover and share your favorite existing Memes via an image or URL, or embed them into your new blog post for this coming week. You must share at least 3 of your favorite all time MEMEs in this post.

How will you craft a narrative between using Memes and your own personal experiences?

**Oh, and, you MUST create at least 2-4 of your own memes to express your sentiments for our CT101 class! Be sure to include the words: “CT101” in your meme!

Perhaps, you will say “CT101 be like…”

OR, “What if I told you that CT101….”

All of this nestles quite well into in new Blog post! (thats your assignment!) Please consider the formatting of this blog post that you are reading right now. Notice how we see a mixture of images, video and hyperlinks that help give context and reference to where we are drawing resources from.

Some Online Tools for making Memes:

Giphy.com – (create a free account)

Imgur.com – (create a free account)

Make a Meme – work with some of the Internet’s classic templates

Are there others that you know of? Please share them in your post!

More Insight on MEMEs: 

Read the articles below and be sure to reference them for context in your post!

Thrillist top 100 memes of all time

The Wiki Definition(s)

A good synopsis via how-to-geek.com

Another Take via theVerge.com

Are Memes the Pop Culture Art of our Era? Kate Knibbs

(I know, I know, its a dream come true assignment!)

Have fun!

Making our first GIF & GIF Post Narratives!

Assignment #2 – (week #3)

***the full video tutorial will posted after class at the bottom of this post***

Exciting Times!

Let’s make some GIFS and explore their history, contexts and the potentials of this Internet culture sensation! GIFs are obviously here to stay! How far will they go? Can you tell a story with GIFs?

Some of you have already applied some great GIFS to your posts from last week!

But First, and Importantly:

What makes a successful, compelling and engaging Blog Post?

You can certainly see my examples, but now, you have a contrast and a result to work from now that we have published our first assignment (did you publish assignment #1?), looking back, did you cover all of these aspects listed below? (you can always edit and update your existing posts, I highly encourage it! And make sure that you are responding to your comments!)

Good Blogging is:

• being thoughtful with your post titles –  How will your audience know what the post is about if you don’t make this clear and engaging?
• giving your opinions, feelings, insights & philosophies – Ct101 is a platform for you to share, express and discover the potentials of creative writing through embedded media and well crafted narratives.
• backing up your resources, inspiration and research with hyperlinks, we need to see where the source information has come from.
• proof reading your grammar and punctuation. It’s OK to work stylistically, but it should be kept consistent.
• and always embedding cool media that’s made or found from elsewhere to give context and keep the audience engaged.
• what else could we add to this list?

(You can click on the images above and they will re-direct you to their websites. I did this by selecting the “custom URL” option in the media / image uploading specifications area in the blogging editor and added the URL – watch my demo)

Imgur and Giphy are great platforms to explore and create GIFS with!

They both have a HUGE repository to choose from! In our class this week let’s check out both of these platforms in a series of video tutorials, both Imgur & Giphy are free to use and work with. (I encourage you to sign up for your own account, both are free) Let’s experiment with both platforms this week as we work on this week’s new assignment blog post.

Be sure to share your thoughts on what you think about both platforms, did one work better for you? If so, what were those features?

*The Assignment #2 Details:

Let’s publish a NEW BLOG POST of your own and be sure to comment on one or two of your Classmate’s GIF Posts too!

Video tutorial from today’s class on 9/13 – 

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/wkNQuBZd1SlZnAJKX2fXnHpKjRhfUDWrcvb7Ay3KY7VbbjqpdR02DPyxIvjJl7Fh.naDxMPOMs4HZDUQH

Passcode: 47.JuH8P

Create a NEW blog post on our class website and embed a series of new Reaction GIF s that narrates your feelings about our CT101 class so far!

Let’s get creative, how can you tell your story in GIFs so far? Hmm?

Think about these questions, and answer them:

What did you think on the first day of the CT101?

Did you like hearing about the course and its creative content? How did it make you feel?

How does CT101 compare to some of your other classes so far?

What are the creative potentials of this class?

How do you feel about learning new skills that use Internet tools?

(yes, you can make this post as long you wish and make it flow like a story – This assignment description that you are reading is also a BLOG post example of the assignment!)

***Each reaction GIF that you use should be accompanied by a sentence or two or three of verbiage to help describe the GIF and narrative you are communicating.

Here is an example of me responding in GIF expressing the above GIF:

“Demonstrations and examples will be shared and executed during our class time, don’t miss it!” (and if you do miss it, I’ll post the video tutorial from class here below) Sinister audio fades in and out as Skeletor mercilessly GIFs himself into oblivion!

**PS – Here is a handy tutorial on how to make a GIF from a YouTube URL using Imgur from Prof. Smith a few years back –  My first GIF post

How do you say it / pronounce it? Gi-f or Ji-f?

The battle continues! 

Oh, wait, you cant possible publish your new post without referencing and discovering some GIF history! How will you incorporate it into your new post?

Here is the WIKI for the GIF file format – its a good read.

Smithsonian – History of the GIF

A good article for WIRED on the 30th Birthday of the GIF

GIF History via – VOX

Let’s get started!

Here is the class video tutorial below:

(to be posted after class on 9/13)

**And be sure to also comment on one of your Classmate’s GIF Posts!

Let’s Do it!