When I first began this class within the first two weeks I was convinced it would be a piece of cake. As the semester went by I realized slowly that I am falling behind. I learned that there are so many platforms out there to create art digitally. One thing I would say is that I retained is using gifs, hyperlinks, and photos make blogs better.

I included this gif of Spongebob because this is how I felt during spring break, overwhelmed with my other three classes which made me fall behind in Digital Storytelling. 

• Assignment #5 : DS106 
• Assignment #6: Digital Art Immediacy 
• Assignment #9: Domain Name Registration, Hosting Set Up and WordPress Installation
• Assignment #10: The WordPress Customizing Series Part 1
• Assignment #11: Exploring the WordPress Potentials Part 

Yes, I have been commenting on my classmates posts since I began CT 101! I have not replied to comments given to me by Professor Ryan, however I have been taking his suggestions into consideration by resubmitting my posts. I do try to attend every class , ask questions on blog posts I’m unclear about, participate here and there. Out of the entire semester I have only been absent two times which I am proud of since my class is small. 

Based on my reflection, I’d have to complete my missing assignments before the final grades go in which I know I will be able too. I still have leave a few more comments on my classmates posts which is more than doable. I will make my improvements by reviewing the comments left by Professor Ryan and peers. 

Creating a domain name, from my understanding, is easy and hard at the same time. The easy part is to submit your domain name and build your website but brainstorming and coming up with a few domains can be the hard and tricky part. As for the domain that I would like to come with, I want to make it associated with my bubble tea shop. These are few of the name that I was able to brainstorm:

• feedmeboba
• everybobaever
• thebestboba
• bobaworld
• toomuchboba

Brainstorming domain names can be a struggle if you are trying to look for perfection. But these are a few of the names that I was able to come up with and have not yet decided the domain that I would pick to create my website on.

As we are midway through the semester, I have learned a few things during this class. We have learned about using gifs in our posts and how to create blogs with gifs. Prof. Seslow has shown us to use giphy.com, ds106 and mmm.page along with other useful websites. These websites that we have been introduced to can be very useful in order to create any type of visual content. When signing up for the class, I had an idea of how this class would be because I’ve taken Prof. Seslow for CT201 and honestly that class was one of the best classes that I’ve had so far. 

In regards to making my weekly blog posts, I’ve been behind on creating them due to other classwork that I have been busy with. But I do enjoy making blog posts on the CT101 website. I feel like us as students can express our inner creativity and show what we are capable of by taking this course. So far, I have enjoyed this course and believe that most if all students should take a course related to digital storytelling because it can spark the creativity inside of you. For the assignment that I am missing, I am completing them soon as possible and putting my best effort into them. The improvements that I need to make are to obviously submit assignments on time and try to be more creative when creating blogs. 

Other ways of improving in this course would be to interact and engage with my peers who are also taking this course alongside me. I believe that time goes so fast with a snap of a finger so trying to maintain all the blog posts with other classwork can be difficult at times but very doable. All in all, so far hoping for the best for the rest of the semester.

For this assignment, I decided to use mmm.page to create something that I would like to have in the future. When using the website, I was able to create an account and start making my post. Using the website was clear and easy to use because of the instructions on the first main page. It walks you through on how to customize your main page. From messing around with all the tools on the side toolbar, you are able to add images and text boxes and adjust them to your liking. 

I believe that the tools provided on the sidebar make it very efficient to create any type of post and customize them to one’s liking. As for using shapes and lines, it is also very easy when scrolling and hovering over with your cursor on screen. I have created a small page of two vehicles that I would like to own in the near future. I have provided my link below:

https://mmm.page/umarkashem.main?first_page/

While looking through the DS106 daily create website, I’ve selected two assignments that I am able to accomplish. I have linked them below:

https://assignments.ds106.us/assignments/looking-back-to-the-past/

https://assignments.ds106.us/assignments/create-finsta-instagram/

Both of these selected assignments are similar and the way that I believe I can tackle these assignments is through the current business that I own. As to my prior blog to this one, I’ve mentioned my bubble tea that I currently have, Pila de Boba, where I have created an instagram for and have posted multiple different types of posts. Opening an Instagram account for any business can be a terrific way to market your brand, engage with your audience, and highlight your goods and services. There are a few steps that I have used to market/advertise on the platform:

1. Open a new account: Click the “Sign Up” or “Create New Account” option after opening the Instagram app or website. You can choose to register using your phone number or email address. To create your account, select the way that suits you the most and then follow the on-screen instructions.
2. Once your account is set up, go to your profile and tap on the three horizontal lines in the top-right corner (or the gear icon on the website) to access the settings. This will change your account from a personal account to a business account. Then, choose “Switch to Business Account.” Making the switch from a personal account to a corporate profile is something Instagram will walk you through.
3. Create your business profile: After your account is changed to a business profile, you can enter the information about your company. Go to your profile, select “Edit Profile,” and add pertinent details such as your company name, username, website address, contact details, and a succinct bio. Use a profile photo that effectively conveys your brand, such as a logo or a stunning image.
4.  Adjust your settings: Review and adjust your account settings as needed. Filters for comments, notifications, and other features are all under your control. Think about turning on tools like “Business Category” to help Instagram better understand your company and provide pertinent content to users.

And from there on you can create content and start posting it to engage your audience after your business profile is put up. Posts that are aesthetically appealing and interesting should represent the tone and style of your company. Share compelling images, motion pictures, and captions with your target audience. As for Pila de Boba our instagram (@piladeboba_) has various types of content posted frequently and we try to interact with our customers everyday.

Growing up, my friends and I used to always grab bubble tea during high school. I witnessed many people start their first businesses while I was growing up, and they consistently achieved great success. So, from the beginning, there was a spark that made me want to open my own business someday. At the time, my childhood friend who also wanted to launch his own business but I wasn’t aware we both had a strong desire to start a highly profitable business. 

As the years passed, we were unaware that we had a desire to run our own company. Toward the conclusion of high school, we were having a talk when the subject of business came up. We both aspired to launch our own businesses, which shocked me at the time because I had finally met someone who shared my perspective. As our conversation progressed, we came to the conclusion that we should launch a company together. We made the decision to come up with an idea that would work rather well and would bring people together as we were both nearing the end of our high school careers. Consequently, we agreed to launch a joint venture to create a business that suited people of any nationality.

We had time on our hands during COVID since we were under lockdown and everyone was confined to their homes. We both came up with ideas that we could combine to make something that the broader public could use. So, a bubble shop was a concept that we both came up with. However, we didn’t want to create a typical bubble tea establishment, so we thought of the concept of giving it a South-Asian touch. From there, we traveled to a bubble store called Pila de Boba, which serves South Asian or Desi Bubble tea that is infused with bubble tea and contains a variety of desi ice cream flavors known as kulfi.

For my blogging I will be showing stop gun violence pictures also I will be showing different types of colors, shapes for the pictures for stopping gun violence. Also I will  show a context of stopping gun violence around the world for the youth, adults so I can let people know I’m creating an change for our life everyday.

Signing up for the reclaim hosting finding a perfect name to come up with was very easy for me, because I knew what I wanted to talk about throughout my experience going through all of the steps was good for me to create my website. This website mainly going to be talking about more of stopping gun violence in a positive way to create change around the whole world, because guns need to stop today.

How am I doing in CT101?

I think I’m doing ok in CT101 but, theres definitely room for improvement. I try to watch back the lessons that I may miss part of or just to get an understanding of the assignment. Even though I am still working through some of those assignments I’m almost caught up with everything. One thing I know I have to work on is keeping up with my posts and responding to comments.

What have I learned and retained the most?

I never blogged before as much as I have this semester so one thing I can say I retained was that ability lol. Even the aspect of telling a story through images is something Ive gotten better at. Also to some extent my troubleshooting has gotten better since having to learn how to format different types of media in order for it to function.

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

I try to incorporate all the necessities in my weekly posts whether it be GIF or hyperlink. I usually try to create my posts to be quick and to the point like a synopsis but, still apply the storytelling techniques that we were taught.

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

Before taking this class I was unaware of the history of things like blogging and meme culture. Something that seemingly came out of nowhere was actually an idea started long ago that we were late to the party for. I also learned a lot about AI and the different programs available using that feature.

What grade do I believe I am maintaining and why do I deserve that grade?

I think I’m hovering around the B- area since I have turned in the majority of my assignments and I participate when I can. My work shows growth throughout each assignment.

Do I see my weekly blogging work expanding creatively? If so, please explain why –  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 feel like my posts have been expanding creatively especially when discussing more personal topics. It was easier for me to expound on my ideas about my passions per se instead of drawing on personal experiences for other topics. I do feel like I have a formula when writing my blog posts which may lead to a bit of sameness to them.

Are there any assignments that you are missing? If so, list them.

Right now the only assignment I’m missing is number 6 because Im having trouble conceptualizing what i want to do for my pages.

Assignment #1: What’s making me happy on the internet?

Assignment #2: Making a GIF and CT101 so far…

Assignment #3 – Are Memes Art?

Assignment #4 – The Passion Blog

Assignment #5 Digital Storytelling Project Flexibility

Are you commenting regularly on your classmates posts? Are you responding back to comments given to you by the professor & your classmates?

This is something I definitely need to work on because I don’t respond to comments as often as I should.

Are you participating during the class time? If not, explain why.

I feel like I participate during class time when I can but, there aren’t many opportunities to do so. Primarily because I usually chime in during our history breaks instead of during instruction time.

The reason why I chose this domain name is, because this name means a lot to me a lot of young black men is getting killed from gun violence for no reason is getting out of hand. I really chose this domain name is, because I lost two  of my friends from gun violence one was 17 the other one was 15 that was a struggle for me losing my two friends at a early age. I will create change for the youth that’s coming up after me so they won’t have to experience violence while their outside playing in the parks, and going to school.

The last 7.5 weeks was very well learning something new every week for this class it open my eyes during this class, and outside of school as well. Also I learned a lot from this class this class is very amazing, fun in my eyes. This class will help me outside of school for my life for a job also help me to run my own business down the line ,and just being  a human being in life moving forward.

Overall, I am doing good in CT101 as I am a particularly creative person.  CT101 has given me a way describe my creativity as some of it simply cannot be explained in words. So through this course I am able to display it via the internet.

CT101 Final Blog Post & Course Completion Information

Here we are in the final week of our Spring 2023 semester!

(Class recordings from 5/9 & 5//11 will be placed below after class)

Class recording and Final Post Tutorial from Tuesday 5/9 –> https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/7831cqzcapSvi3itZAL6J3icrTmoIK-sdtwGebX_6l6ZXBXj88AKoYaiLQdkuJ_F.qLPuwqf-awlIZyOF

Passcode: 2!#XUs^7

Class recording and Final Post Tutorial from Thusday 5/11 –>

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/iPO-qfk2BwM5KztkJdL-MNaAi7EPlT5D_PPUFj_Ik9-3izVENpjrm7vztZc0Gxsh.ODWtA1I-nkg2V0th

Passcode: 3S&?95uQ

***I gave a detailed tutorial on the final semester completion, final blog post / submission & website project in classes this week – see above for recordings.***

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 – [email protected]

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 for the Tuesday section is May 16th..

The last day of regular CT101 classes for the Thursday section is May 11th..

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.

**All course work must be completed and published no later than Tuesday May 23rd at 6pm – that is the absolute deadline for both CT101 sections**

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

**Final Blog Post Submission Guidelines**

Please make sure that you follow each step below – it is really important to illustrate each retained skill and the 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 – [email protected] – no later than Tuesday May 23rd by 6 pm and NOT before Thursday May 18th. 

***Please do not publish or e-mail the final blog post link to me before Thursday May 18th. 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 your e-mail by replying “Received” 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 will you 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 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 that came with the initial theme and must have at least 3-5 published blog posts, 3-5 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 Thursday May 17th @ 10am in our classroom or Tuesday May 23rd @10am in our classroom.

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

**All course work must be completed and published no later than Tuesday May 23rd at 6pm – that is the absolute deadline for both CT101 sections**

All questions should be sent to – [email protected]

Im here to help!

this is the project I chose!!This video game cover mashup seemed like it would be the coolest choice being how I get to showcase two of my favorite games at once.

this game is called Apex Legends and is one of my favorite games atm .Apex Legends is a popular free-to-play first-person shooter battle royale game developed by Respawn Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts. It was released in February 2019 for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4, and later for Nintendo Switch in March 2021.

The game takes place in the futuristic world of the Frontier, where players form squads of three to compete in a last-team-standing-style match against other squads. Each player can choose from a roster of unique “Legends” characters, each with their own special abilities and personalities. The game also features a variety of weapons, equipment, and map locations to explore.

Apex Legends has become a popular esports title, with a dedicated player base and frequent updates and events. It has won numerous awards and accolades for its gameplay, graphics, and innovative features.

Brawlhalla is a free-to-play 2D fighting game developed and published by Blue Mammoth Games. It was first released for Microsoft Windows and macOS in 2017, and has since been made available on several platforms, including Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and mobile devices.

In Brawlhalla, players choose from a roster of characters, each with their own unique abilities and play styles, and engage in battles against other players or AI-controlled opponents in various game modes, including free-for-all and team-based modes. The objective is to knock opponents off the stage and prevent them from returning while staying alive yourself.

my first step was to find the perfect apex background to use for a Brawlhalla character

after selecting an image it is now time to load it into Photopea

the next step in this process  was finding a transparent image t0 pair with my previous one(fun fact  I choose these characters because there names are both mirage)

and lastly we have the finished product of mirage x mirage!!!!!!

if i were to try another assignment I think it would have to be stories through games because I actually live stream on YouTube and Twitch from time to time and used to upload videos so I think it would be a fun task.

This is the first time I am making a website after finally getting WordPress to work, turns out I forgot to do something important on the hosting website so I had to go back to fix it. Finally after so many hours of figuring out what to do, I can finally make a blog post with my website!

Now to figure out the rest of this, but for now, this is all I am going to do for today.

Sample Page