Oh my God! This semester is already coming to an end, CT 101 is the easiest class I am taking this semester. So far I’ve learned a lot from this course, every assignment teaches me new things. For me, the best part of the course is when we learned about GIFs and memes because it shows that we can communicate without saying too much.

The only thing that’s giving me a hard time is customizing WordPress.

I am currently working on my website by following steps from lecture recordings. This is how my website looks like at the moment click here. I must say the professor has been very helpful throughout the semester.

I would give myself an A in this class because I believe I did good in assignments and I made progress in each blog. So, I am really hoping to get a grade in As.

Good luck everyone for the rest of the semester.

 

After spending a few weeks on our websites, it’s finally time to see our progress.

The first website I checked out was by Clark Vaillant, at https://clarkv4.com/. His website is a website for gamers, and he talks about news such as the hottest console of 2020, the PS5.

I left a comment on his website talking about how great it was that he was creating a website centered around video games. As a gamer myself, I love hearing about the newest consoles or video games being released. I also really love the background image he uses for his website. The logo combined with the controller really sells the website’s theme as a whole.

The next website I checked out was by Louannie Smith, at https://raaiwlou.com. First of all, I absolutely love the background image on her website. It’s a gorgeous but light hearted image that puts my mind at ease.

After observing Louannie’s website, I left a comment talking about what I liked about it. I personally love the overall light hearted themes and the fact that it’s more of a personal journal website rather than a business/portfolio website makes it casual and relatable.

All in all, I love the designs and themes of our websites so far.

Hey CT 101. I’m happy to share that I finally added an Instagram social feed directly to my personal website, paperpig.net!

I decided to place it in the Blog Sidebar widget so that it can remain visible while on the homepage. I also managed to embed both the Instagram social feed and an Instagram post into a blog post!

All in all, I’m really enjoying the updates and improvements I’m making on my website. Can’t wait to learn more!

Mid-semester already??!? I refuse to believe that this semester is halfway already. It feels like just last week I learned how to make memes, how to include hyperlinks in my posts, and how to customize my own website. In previous classes, I’ve created websites but it wasn’t anything like the one where I can create the website of my dreams. For years I wanted to create a website with personal hacks I know of, tips, how-to, recipes, blog posts, and so much more but never knew how. However, now I do and can’t wait to fill my website with all these.

A strength of mine in this class I believe would be my blog post. I’ve always enjoyed reading a blog post and always wanted to create one myself. In CT101 I have a serval blog post all of which I enjoy doing so much. It’s so relaxing to sit after a stressful day and write blogs about whatever interests you.

I do feel like in this class I’ve learned many new skills but still need more improvements. I would like to work on adding more hyperlinks to my blog post because I feel like I lack in that. I remember the first blog post I’ve created, Internet Happiness. I included a few hyperlinks there but now that I know more, I’m going to be adding more to my blogs. I also feel like blogs have helped me as a communicator because I can use pictures, GIFs, Memes, and more as a way of communicating. I feel confident in this class and I feel like I’ve earned an A. I’m in each class, have a hot drink along with Professor Seslow, do the assignments, and comment on other’s amazing post. Something else I need to continue working on is customizing my website. For my domain name, I went with Vibewithcindy.com. I was nervous about creating my website but also so excited because it felt like a beginning to something great. If you would like to see what my website looks like now, click here. I know that whenever I’m stressed out I can go on my website and type away my stress. I always had a passion for writing and through this class and my website, I can fulfill this 🙂

 

By far this has been my favorite class this semester. Its an extremely organized, well compressed, clean-cut class, unlike others. As a student that never did their studies from home, this class was a huge reliever. One thing that I enjoyed learning the most Is how to make GIF’s . This was my favorite thing to learn and do thus far because GIF is animated art.

Your telling a story or a reaction through an animated and or moving picture of an expression made by various people. One thing that I am getting really good at is inserting hyperlinks, and making them open in another tab while keeping the current tab open. In addition, I’ve learned how to screenshot which is something I’m super excited about. Now that I’ve learned that I’m able to show someone what I’m talking about through an email with pictures and proof not just with words. This comes in handy when you want to explore different things yet keep several tabs open. The blog post has helped each student learn from each other. Many of us share the same ideas yet we are so different in the way we express ourselves through our blog post and our upcoming websites. One thing that gave me a hard time but I was able to struggle through and figure out was regarding my domain name and haveing my already existing Reclaim Hosting account connected to WordPress. I realized that when using Safari often times it does not update its software. This caused my domain name (deandrajohns.com) to open in Reclaim Hosting like this.  

This only happens when I type my domain name in Safari. After reaching out to Reclaim Hosting they notified me that my domain name actually does work and that Safari was outdated. As of right, this is how my Website looks, I’m still working on it and you will see the change as the weeks go on.

I am feeling inspired, yet motivated to keep pushing forward to finish my website I’m super optimistic to see how the finished product would look.

Hello CT101 Class,

When I discovered we were creating a fully functional website for this class I came to the realization that we will be using this website to reflect our own lives and experiences. This means we can take our websites in any path we want. Having this freedom means you can market yourself, create a social hub, voice your opinion.

Growing up I’ve had a growing interest in making videos and putting images, film, or music together. Something involving the creation of visually appealing things connected with me. When thinking of a domain name for my website I began imagining how I would brand myself as a creator for product videos, footage editing, or cinematography.

Instead of creating a name to brand myself I decided to create an online space where aspiring creators can share their work. The domain name I chose is “CreativesStayCurious”. This domain name was adequate for me because I am advocating the curiosity of creating things that are visually enticing. I stray from putting an emphasis on having experience because when I began I was unfamiliar with all editing interfaces that existed.

Having an online portfolio from the beginning of your creation is a privilege that many creators miss out on. This is why the starting point of making anything is so crucial. You never know how far you will go with something, looking back on your journey can help you grow as a creator and understand your attachment to your passion.

Throughout the class of CT101 we have studied many useful techniques in navigating online spaces. Some of these techniques include, setting up and using a Zoom account, creating CUNY Academic Commons posts, completing digital story telling projects on the DS106 Assignment bank, creating and uploading moving images in .gif format, registering a domain for a functional website, adding widgets, installing plug-ins, and embedding things into our website. All of these skills can be applied in many aspects of our lives from productivity to entertainment. Personally, I believe understanding how to create and change your own domain website is one of the most useful skills. Before beginning this class, I did not know there was so much back-end work that goes into coding and designing a website. Although I know they can be complicated, on the surface websites give a simplistic impression on the user. 

I believe to make improvements in this class I need to become more familiar with editing and updating previous work. This class has taught me that you work is never truly complete when creating a project. Without editing and updating previous work things are left half complete with no room for growth. For example, in my first post to the CUNY Academic Commons “Assignment #1 – What Makes You Happy on the Internet?” there was a lack of content in my post. Professor Seslow suggested adding extra hyperlinks and GIFS. “Good Stuff! Lets add a few GIFS and hyperlinks into this post to expand it a bit!”. This shows that failing to refer back to my previously complete work led to low quality completion. 

These assignments on the CUNY Academic Commons have helped me as a communicator because it has shown me that communicating requires active effort. Without applying active effort, connections and communication is less likely to occur. This is shown in the form of comments. Without actively seeking posts to comment on you will receive no replies. 

I believe my current status in this class would resemble a B grade student. This is because not enough focus has been spent staying up to date with posts, comments, and replies 

The domain name I have chosen for my website is http://creativesstaycurious.com. I have chosen this domain name because I have an attraction to the vast ideas’ humans come up with. Initially I was interested in making it a hub-like area to share your most recent creative works. On the other hand, if I’m interested in marketing myself, I would use it as a portfolio for any videography, and editing work I have created. This would bring me closer to my ambition of working in this field. 

This is everyone’s favorite and worst time of the year . It’s a blissful feeling knowing that half of the semester is behind us but it’s also nerve wracking . 

It makes me realize that time is not here to serve our graces . During this semester we’ve been challenged with new expectations . This class was hard because it involved me to tap into my creative state . During COVID I experienced dips in my creative state and felt like I was in a fog . This class allowed me to see that visual learning is able to convey messages words can’t . I love being able to use gifs , pictures and symbolism to communicate with my peers . We live in a world that’s a melting pot but the one language we all understand are visuals . There were some questions asked throughout the semester. What were challenges you’ve experienced in CT? Some challenges were managing how to learn photoshop . It’s not easy to create the illusion and takes practice . This class forced me to dig deep and be patient while learning the logistics .

What did you take away from CT? I learned that visuals are the one language that ties all of us together . People flip though magazines , see billboards , and watch television to receive important messages . Whether people realize it or not , messages are conveyed and leave us with lasting memories . I feel as though a visual will stick with an individual longer than mere words would .  Another question we got is how can we use our knowledge towards our websites. I will take my lessons on visuals and keep it mind for my audience . When creating these websites we were supposed to create statements that attract the audience it’s catered to . Colors , font , and even the pictures you choose all make a difference within the website .  It’s all about knowing your impact of what you produce . 

I picked the assignment that highlights my favorite moment . My favorite moment was when I went to Bahamas and it was the last vacation I’ve taken since COVID . It holds a special place in my heart because I got to meet amazing people , try new foods , and riding jet skis along the coast . I stayed at a beautiful resort that was next to people that owned their own shares of private beaches . This wasn’t the highlight of the trip but it was much needed motivation . I loved being able to see that and made a promise to myself that one day I will live a life of luxury and exclusivity. It’s much needed and deserved because I can’t see myself working behind a desk for the rest of my life . In Bahamas I also swam in the ocean and got to experience the country life . Many people wouldn’t journey into the city with locals , but I’m not everyone . Funny enough the most flavorful food was there . I had fresh lobster the size of my arm , steak that was seasoned to perfection and fresh vegetables. It made me want to eat fresh food daily and ditch fast food all together . Fresh food taste better and it also digest better . Being in another atmosphere brought light to ways I could change my own life .

I also was able to tan on the beautiful beach and get served cocktails poolside . Not to mention the fun clubs and activities after dark to take part in . My only regret is that I lived in the moment in complete bliss . The trip was so fun I couldn’t help but already think about my next adventure . Sometimes we get so caught up in the future we don’t fully grasp our present . Now that COVID came , I wish I knew what I had . This has made traveling and keeping busy a nightmare . I miss my old life where I could get up and go anywhere just because there were no restrictions . The bright side is that I have found more simple ways to interact and make memorable moments with loved ones like picnics and trying new takeout restaurants . This picture makes me want to take full advantage of my present and soak it in .

 

 

 

Here’s the link>

Who Said What

Hello there :). I stumbled upon this assignment in the DS106 Assignment Bank, I was hooked when it involved using our creativity in combining secret agents in the form of speech and visual. So for starters this meant brainstorming who to use for what, my choices are as follows:

I decided to use the image of Daniel Craig, the english actor who plays the role of James Bond is some films.

Why I chose him? Look at him, this picture is gold to use! I realized I need to find a quote of a deep thought to go with his expression in the photo.

So brainstorming I ended up using a quote from a Bourne film!!!

Jason Bourne had said a lot within his films but I decided to use the following quote:

“They lived with the intensity of two people aware that change would come. And when it came, it would come quickly; so there were things to talk about which could not be avoided any longer.”- Robert Ludlum, The Bourne Identity

So now only 1 more agent to brainstorm to use as the person who “supposedly” said the quote.

AND WHO ELSE THAN>

WILL SMITH!

Now with all the pieces I just had to combine them all and I did so using powerpoint 😀

This is the end result> Hope you ENJOY AND UNDERSTAND 

Hi there 😀

For the first part of this assignment I will share what 2 assignments from DS106 grabbed my attention. SO LETS BEGIN:

Here’s the link> https://assignments.ds106.us/assignments/who-said-what/

So this Visual Assignment grabbed my attention because it offered a mass of creative ideas to use. To combine different agents from movies into 1 image was gold, because it is to combine them by using 1 of the 3’s photo, 1 quote from one of them, and then referencing the quote to another actor/agent that didnt say it but would fit their character.

The endless combinations one can make is what makes it fun. Some skills one must know here are editing and taking a screenshot of your screen. Also, use the power of your creativity here!

The 2nd one was the following:

Here’s the link> https://assignments.ds106.us/assignments/80s-product-radio-commercial/

This Audio Assignment was actually the first one in the page for its section, I scrolled around to check the others but this seemed like the most interesting one to do, since you gotta be creative of the object you choose as well as creative on how you will present the commercial.

For this project all you will need is your phone or any recording device to record you choice. A notepad in my opinion to memorize or just read what you are gonna say. The object I have in mind if end up choosing this project is a walkman, one of the first devices used to jamming.

Like mentioned before some of the skills you’ll need here are editing skills and the rest is on your creativity, doesn’t sound like much but they are important to have. Being able edit things is most needed to many situations, fun ones and unexpected ones such as this fun one for the assignments. More assignments like so are needed, it pushes one to use their creativity and the more you use it the better. So, I wonder what i’ll choose in the end, wonder what you chose as well reader. Bye bye 🙂

From Internet Happiness to My Expectations of this class, it has been a very exciting and informing experience. To me, Digital Storytelling is a very useful tool in the media world today, and more surprisingly, it involves many aspects of media that I didn’t know about before now.

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First, the concept of memes was a very big revelation to me on how much engagement and communication one can achieve using memes. This possibly inspired one of our assignments – Are Memes Art? Obviously, I learned a lot from this exercise that memes can evoke certain emotions or feelings like love, anger, happiness or excitement. The process of blogging my response to this question could not have been complete without some of these resources – Make a Meme and  Giphy. From these resources I got the memes that reflected my response. This is a link to my completed project.

 

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Second, we also explored GIFs and their relation to the digital world. Similarly, GIFs are like memes in terms of expressing a particular feeling. However, it involves moving images like short videos. It can be used to express happiness, excitement or disappointment. Whether memes and gifs will completely dominate media communication, only time will tell. I also used Giphy for the resources. This is a link to my completed project.

 

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Third, we were introduced to DS106 Assignments, a repository from where we chose two different assignments to replicate. I went for “Pop Star Out of Place.” I used Photopea to accomplish this. Photopea is like an online photoshop that allows image manipulations. My second DS10 project was to choose an unregistered company and brand their logo. I also achieved this using Photopea and Publisher. Below are the completed works.

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Fourth, the Internet Own’s Boy was another good revelation about Aaron Swartz.  His primary intention to make public many contents on the internet considered private publications got him into trouble but he did not quit, he was resilient until it led to his arrest and unending litigation. According to Aaron, “On the internet, everyone can have a channel, everyone can have a blog, or myspace page, everyone has a way of expressing themselves. And so what you see now is not a question of who gets access to the air waves, it is a question of who get control of the ways you find people.” This is a strong reflection of his passion. The documentary is very informing.

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Fifth, we were introduced to the real situation of creating website where most of our works will be published. The first process was to choose a domain name and sign up with Reclaim Hosting. From here I acquired my domain name and went on to install the WordPress Application that will enable me to start working on my website. It was very fun experience as I was able to understand the backend activities of creating a website. Generally, I believe that WordPress simplifies the whole process of creating website for people with little or no knowledge of coding. The ability to choose and edit the themes give one absolute control of the contents. So far, I have been able to change my site title, color, images and few other functionalities. Here is a link to my site – www.selladsonline.com

 

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Generally, the class has been thrilling and more importantly, my knowledge and about digital storytelling has significantly grown. When next I receive a gif or meme on my phone, I will not only see images but read beyond the power of the communication. When next I see a website, I look beyond the physical designs but the backend architecture of of what went on before it’s completion. So far, I am having fun and learning in this class.