So, CT 101. Where to begin?

Before our first meeting, I envisioned this class being about using storyboards online to craft a narrative. It was a CT course, after all! Then I saw we would be using WordPress.

I figured it would be similar to the online journalism course. And the syllabus did nothing to dissuade me from that opinion. Then the first day of class happened. And Prof. Seslow started going through the plan for the semester. It was like the sky opened up!

After that first meeting, I walked away from class happy.

After all, you’re saying to forget the rules of academia that have governed me for decades.

I started my academic career as an English major. There was a lot of creative freedom there. However, that freedom did not extend visually. It was usually just blocks of words.

Now, my mind is racing with ideas to incorporate what I will be learning here in other areas of my work. I can make an email seem more personable if I use a Gif for example. And now I know that I do not need to be constrained by black and white anymore. It’s time to:

 

Making our first GIF & GIF Post Narratives!

Assignment #2 –

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

Exciting times!

Lets make some GIFS and explore the history, contexts and potentials of this Internet Culture Sensation! GIFs are obviously here to stay! How far will they go?

But First, and Importantly:

What makes a successful, compelling and engaging Blog Post?

We have a contrast and a result to work from now that we have published our first assignment, looking back, did you cover all of these aspects listed below? (you can always edit and update your existing posts, I highly encourage it!)

Good Blogging:

• is 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 media and narratives.
• backing up your resources, inspiration and research with links, we need to see where the information has come from.
• proof reading your grammar and punctuation. Its 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 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 and added the URL)

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

They have a HUGE repository to choose from! In our zoom class this week lets check out both of these platforms in a series of live video tutorials, both Imgur & Giphy are free to use and work with. (You can sign up for your own account, both are free) Lets experiment with both platforms this week as we work on this post.

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

*The Assignment Details:

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

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!

Lets get creative and address: 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?

What are the potentials of this class?

How do you feel abut 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.

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

Here is an example of me responding in GIF expressing above : “Demonstrations and examples will be shared and executed in our class Zoom lab time, don’t miss it!” (and if you do miss it, Ill post the video tutorial from class here below) Sinister audio fades in and out as Skeletor GIFs himself into oblivion!

Lets get started!

 

Here is the class video tutorial below:

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/il_xKUFmymnUwLAqR8UgXwhpw3Y6ArO6yE1qaARkO8AJA7lx0gtRpmCdO3pXTpmM.UWuJLJXQAo-udx_l

Passcode: *x%1%$bh

 

**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! And the Internet will not ever let us 

Oh, and what about some GIF history?

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

Lets Do it!

 

The internet is crazy but yet incredible.

As a young kid I have been amazed of what the internet can do. When I got my first phone I discovered the wondrous app YouTube. I mainly use it to listen to music because it has so many different genres available. I like to listen to slowed and reverb because it gives me a sense of nostalgia and serenity.

(HERE IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE SLOWED + REVERB SONGS I LISTENED TO YESTERDAY)

Not only can the internet provide me with a place to listen to music but a place that offers movie streaming services. One of my favorites is Prime Video. It has a lot of options for movies and tv shows. With exclusive original content including a new remake about the Lord of the Rings. So far I am watching Malcolm in the middle I recommend it for a good 2000’s throwback.

Another reason the internet brings me joy this week and mostly every other day is the school apps such as Mail, Blackboard and Cunyfirst. Each of these are valuable for school one for checking emails from professors, the other for viewing grades and starting homework and lastly Cunyfirst for adding important information to my school database. These apps allow me to be a good student every day by keeping up with necessary information.

 

The internet contains many websites, you can scroll the internet for ages.

One thing that makes me happy is I’ve been enjoying watching Anime on Crunchyroll.  The discovery page on Crunchyroll helps me find anime that I may enjoy based on the animes I’ve already watched. Anime has really great animations and it’s extremely different from what’s aired on television. There is a wide selection of anime and each one is extremely different and I just love watching different animes to see the character developments and the story move forward.

Another thing that makes me happy on the internet is I like scrolling through is Twitter, I follow a lot of people that share the same interests as me and I can log on and be updated with what’s going on in the world, see funny tweets, etc.

Something that makes me happy as well as I enjoy watching react content on Youtube, when I watch a show I want to know how others reacted to the same scene and I like hearing people’s inputs on the show and all that. For example, I like watching The Normies. Along with reacting content I enjoy watching gameplay on Youtube as well like Jacksepticeye, he has amazing commentary, he has had some crazy collabs and he’s good at playing video games.

 

 

 

As a journalism major, telling a story is a crucial part of my life. But even before becoming a journalism major, stories played a huge role in my life. From as far back as I can remember, I’ve always had a book in my hand, whether it was a physical copy or on a Kindle. Books are portals to many realms.

I haven’t read as much in recent years. But I am trying to remedy that this year. In the early hours of this morning, I found myself unable to sleep. And my sleep-deprived brain started to get nostalgic for books I used to read as a child. The books were small squares and had some amazing illustrations in them. One story that I remember clearly is Jules Verne’s A Journey to the Center of the Earth. But I could not remember the publisher. So Google made me quite happy when I typed in a few vague search terms and was able to find it. The books are the Great Illustrated Classics. I was excited to find them but disappointed to see that they now cost a whopping $500 for the complete set. I should’ve held on to my copies. 😫

Another thing that has made me happy this week is a video profile by the BBC of Billy Menezes, a street magician. He has wowed the likes of Dua Lipa and Rita Ora. While the magic that we see on tv or read about in books may not exist, magic like this can still captivate minds.

The video is bound to put a smile on your face. And that’s it for the things that have made me happy this week!

I love reading about crime stories. Watching videos about mysteries, abduction cases, and missing people cases on YouTube all interest me. This has been making me happy this week. These cases can be in the form of articles, stories, or videos. I mostly watch the video formats though. I would like to get into the podcast formats as well. I discovered these videos by watching one video in particular about a specific case and that eventually led me to more videos about a similar subject. I then discovered that there were different YouTubers who did stories like the one I was interested in and ever since I have just been watching them. 

---

Things I like to do on the internet!

First of all, I like to use the internet because it is the most essential part of our life currently. Without it, we can’t even access our school information. We cant search for any issues or solve any problems without the internet in today’s world.

I use Youtube to search for videos on solving certain issues related to education and real-life situation problems. Vlogs of traveling and foods around the world.

Check out this video Vlog posted in Bangladesh Chittagong. The vlog shows a glimpse of one of the most beautiful lakes in Bangladesh, a place is called Kaptai.

Continue reading “Things that I like about the internet.. Assignment#1”

The activities that I personally like to do in the internet are quite diverse but there aren’t that many.

1.the main thing that I like to do and use is to watch YouTube and  channels that I like, those channels vary between content such as gaming, story telling, reviews and shows.

2.The second activity that I like to do in the internet is to talk through social media such as Discord, Facebook  and rarely reddit but my main social media is Discord and that is the place that I’m the most active in for most of the time since I always checking it and is relatively easy for me to open it and check if anyone has said something to me.

3.The third activity that I do and I think I enjoy the most is listen to music in pages like SoundCloud, a page that I been personally using since 2013 if I remember correctly, my taste of music varies a lot can be from electric to pop, alternative, Hip Hop to even classic music depending on how I feel at the moment.

4.My fourth activity and one that I been picking up lately again is to draw digital art in the style of pixel art, I have a software named Aseprite that I use to draw digital art in a pixelated art style, a style that used to be use in video games back in the 80s-90s videos games of the moment, such as Street Fighter and Metal Slug which are games that I really liked when I was a kid playing in my PSP and PS2, when ever I finish the art that I do I’m always posting them in places like reddit and discord, places where people can see it and sometimes give feedback about my drawings and how I can improve them.

5.My fifth activity and the one that I been doing the longest in the internet is playing videos games, I been playing videos games since I was 5-6 years old, when I first manage to put my hands into a computer and look to pages like Friv, which used to be a page full of flash games that sadly I cannot play anymore due to googles new policies and how flash has become outdated throughout the years, and since then I been playing games and games until these days even though I can see my decline in gaming since I’m getting more busier with school work and chores.

Week #2 – A Recap & Forward Motion!

The Course Schedule page is here (this is our most important page as it hosts all of our weekly assignments and their specifications – please check this page each week at the beginning of class.)

1. Did you Read the welcome blog post here <–it has an assignment that prepares us for this week – the details are located at the bottom of the post, it asks you to leave a comment, and also respond to one, did you? 

2. Lets get signed up! Did you sign up for the CUNY commons and the CT101 website? If not, please review the process for access to the CUNY commons and the CT101 website here –this post has the “how-to” video tutorial link  – Read this blog post for details < —

And now… this week, its time to get blogging!

Lets learn about and tour our WordPress blogging interface. We will discuss and learn how to add text, images, GIFs, videos, hyperlinks and contextual content into the blogging interface! We will begin by sharing some sentiments accompanied by visual media to help tell our stories.

Each week I will screen record a video tutorial that demonstrates techniques and tips for each assignment – The tutorials will always be posted shortly after class directly into the blog post with the assignment details.

The video recording / tutorial is below! Enjoy!

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/HbQQ-PABxFoih7gpmi6gWqHTA5u4U0WK9x4IzD7Bv4f7voxaOgauPOM283bXMswP.2RDAO7UnkynwVeM1

Passcode: 5*v+@h5!

This week’s Assignment…

Assignment #1 – What Makes You Happy on the Internet?

Your goal for this week will be to read and follow the info / links listed in this blog post. Absorb the information and then begin to prepare and gather all of needed media, images, links and content that you need to create and publish your first blog post here on our class website!

(This assignment was originally created by Professor Michael B. Smith a few years ago, it still holds true as a great example and ice-breaker for our first blogging assignment.)

In a new blog post, take the time to introduce anything you want about yourself and describe a piece, or multiple pieces of the internet that is “making you happy” this week. Share what the content is about, the media format, and the online space in which it was discovered. Let us know why this (or these things) make you happy! Make sure it’s something you can ’embed’ into your post and be sure to link back to the original source of the the item (hyperlink).

(I shared my example, its at the bottom of this post in the form of a hyperlink )

Below is also an example:

“I discovered recently a writer who made side-by-side comparisons of frames from the Simpsons with frames from the original movies that inspired the cartoon. I love this kind work because it shows how culture is seemingly endlessly recycled and remixed.”

Also, here’s a video short from the original, famous “shower scene” from the 1960 film Psycho that the inspiration is drawn from.

For another example of “how” your assignment #1 post can potentially look, check out professor Seslow’s example here:

https://ct101.commons.gc.cuny.edu/assignment-1-example-fun/

PS – THIS whole blog post is an example of a good quality post! Notice the length, the amount of media added, links and content to help support the verbiage. It all just take a little regular practice.

Lets do it!

 

Hi everyone my name is Savita and I am currently a senior at York. My major Community Health Education and minor is Public Health. I do not really have a favorite movie but some of my favorite shows are sex in the city, the nanny, and friends. My favorite ice cream flavor is strawberry. In my free time I join shopping, reading and eating new foods.

I have to say, Im excited to be back to teaching again!

Here we are in the Spring semester of 2022. I have a particular love for teaching CT101 at York College! “CT” is short for Communications Technology, and the course is called “Digital Storytelling”.. (I know, the name of the course says it all!) It has quite a bit of history and I will share more on its origins soon. CT101 makes me happy. CT101 takes place on the Internet! I love this class because it can literally help everyone. There is something here that everyone can learn from and help evolve. I say and mean everyone because lets face it, “we” spend a lot of time using the Internet.

Its a relationship, really!

We can all benefit from learning new digital tools, techniques, applications of self-expression and participating in a cross CUNY community here on the commons. (Which is a piece of the Internet that makes me happy! Oh I already said that..) CT101 puts an emphasis on publishing content to a class blog whilst experimenting with what the potentials of a blog post can be. This also makes me happy. WordPress makes me happy!

What is making you happy on the Internet?

So here we are, officially jumping into CT101 this second week. We have a ton of great stuff to cover, learn, share, create, apply, rinse and repeat this semester! Assignment #1 asks you to share; What is making you happy on the Internet?  We can do cool things like hyperlink text and verbiage.. We can make an image or ten, an animated GIF like the one above and below – also a “clickable thing” that redirects to another page or place on the Internet. That IDEA in and or itself makes me very happy! So in essence, the creative and practical functionality of the Internet as a whole makes me really happy.

The Internet archive makes me happy too! (did you know about this?)

Lets dig a bit deeper..

The GIF above is taken from my profile on GIPHY. (go ahead and click on the image of the hyperlinked word to find my “stock” of animated GIFS. You can use them and embed them almost anywhere on the web. Thats the beauty of GIPHY.com – its a search engine for animated GIFs and animated Stickers, like I said, its Internet culture and Internet culture makes me happy! Website’s like Giphy have a lot of utility, they give us the opportunity to share our emotions and feelings through looping visual imagery. This helps me express myself in so many ways.

I love to make animated GIFS! And guess what, you are going to learn how to make them in our class! I love GIFs and I feel that they are a huge part of Internet culture. Come on now, we all love animated GIFS! I made most of the GIFs in this blog post. These are just a few of the many of thousands that I have made (did I say thousands? Yikes, its true, I cant stop!) I blame Professor Michael B. Smith for this as he got me into GIFs and making them! Be sure to check out his blog here.

September is Deaf Awareness Month, that makes me happy!  It gives me an opportunity to use the Internet as a platform to share information about Deaf culture and to help people get a better insight and understanding of what it is like to be deaf and hard of hearing. 

OK, so those are a few things that are making me happy on the Internet as well as a few ways that I use the Internet. Lets get started!

PS – Did you notice the formatting for this blog post? Notice how my images are the same size and how everything has been aligned to the left? This is intentional and it helps the viewer/reader easily absorb the content. You too will learn how to apply a similar format, though it may see a bit tricky to manage at first, you will easily get the hang of it!

 

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

Welcome Digital Storytellers!

Please follow along with me during our zoom class session to get signed up for both the CUNY Academic Commons and for this website, follow me and scroll down.. (or watch the video recording later – posted here after class below)

(here is the video screen recording of this process ) – https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/lLrRV93KNj2bWVpr0tTNPT1DWIARVQMLeoJjliH0b6C82Us5C3AGvahfcjl22lts.M4VDG6MeHP-T7xvL 

Video Passcode: v!33PTTM

As we know, a big part of CT101 is the class the 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 [email protected]

Lets Get Started!

We must follow the sign up steps in the order below (I will demonstrate the process in our Zoom class on 2/1 and record it to post here after class.)

*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” (ill 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 here on CT101 until you have completed the sign up process steps above. Please let me know if you have any issues.

(here is the video screen recording of this process ) – https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/lLrRV93KNj2bWVpr0tTNPT1DWIARVQMLeoJjliH0b6C82Us5C3AGvahfcjl22lts.M4VDG6MeHP-T7xvL 

Video Passcode: v!33PTTM

More to come!

 

Welcome Everyone!

I hope that you are safe and healthy!

Here we are: CT101 – Digital Storytelling! The Spring Semester of 2022!

Ok, this blog post is a lot things, but first and foremost it is a welcoming! Im excited to meet everyone and share our 1st class session to connect and learn about each other. That’s Nyle DiMarco below, he’s a Deaf Actor and Artist, he is showing us how to say: “Nice to Meet You” in American Sign Language. Im also Deaf and Hard of Hearing, 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.

Im not a fan of blackboard and will only use it to remind the class about password sensitive things, like the zoom info.. Please make sure you are familiar with the CUNY academic calendar for the semester,

*Next Tuesday – 2/8 you will follow a Friday class schedule, which means the Tuesday section of CT101 does not meet..

CT101 has 2 sections this semester- one on Tuesday and one on Thursday. You should only attend the day for the section that you are registered for, not both please. 🙂

The CT101 Class Structure – CT101 will main be taught synchronously via Zoom and asynchronously for the lab session. Ill explain all of this in our first class.  We will also meet 4 times IN Person this semester on campus.

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 – Lets 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 to visit on the web? What are you most interested in at this moment? Etc..) Feel free to add some links! Lets get to know each other. Also – Reply to someone’s comment, say hello and share some interests. Commenting and activity on the site 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.

 

Coming Soon! – CT101 – Spring Semester 2022