My new learning experiences

My new learning experiences:

​I am a big fan of blog, I read and follow blogs a lot. Although I am a big fan of blogs unfortunately I don’t have one on my own. I am looking forward to create one someday. Throughout the process of writing in our digital storytelling project I found the story become more interesting, one group after another. As I am not a native speaker of English, sometimes Ifind it difficult to write an excellent essay. I admit that I am not proficient and need to learn and practice more to perform well in this class.

In my opinion, the digital storytelling assignment project being assigned is such an interactive way of learning. Everything looks simple and easy to handle by  using the Google site or even the blogger. Everything seems interconnected with each other and makes  writing more interesting. I did not even realize that a blog can be a part of a class assignment. Maybe people who live in states is used to this kind of learning, but this is brand new for me. I am feeling lucky to be introduced to this method of learning. This method of storytelling is very reachable and allows two way communication between the writer and the readers through the comment section and such. Hence, this enables the writer to get a very quick response from the reader either it is good or bad.

As for the research paper, I am still working on mine. Working on the secondary sources to find information to  support my argument is not that easy. At first I thought that the book that I borrowed from the library going to help me a lot, unfortunately it didn’t, luckily I found one  earlier this week and I see hope in it. I am still working on it and hopefully I can come out with a good research paper. I really hope that everyone in the class  can assist me, especially in  my writing because I am not so good in writing. I am too worried when it comes to essay writing and such. Hopefully we can work together.

Lone Wolf

Worrisome Over Group Work

            I have always been captivated by the art of storytelling.  When first presented with the opportunity to write a digital story I was eager to begin.  The thought of being a writer is one that I have entertained for quite some time.  However, as I learned that I was going to be put into a group I became a bit apprehensive about the task in front of me.  Although I enjoyed writing the digital story and found it fairly easy to complete, I cannot deny the fact that I am not a fan of group work and would have preferred to work on it alone.

            Overall, the digital storytelling page was relatively easy to navigate and did not require much technical skill to be successful.  Instructions were clear and the writing box was simple. I was not happy with the process of integrating media to the story, however.  This is probably because my high school ran on Mac rather than PC so I had a natural tendency to want to drag and drop pictures directly into the post itself.  Other than that I was pleased with Google sites and had no trouble at all in completing my section of the digital story.  Regrettably, I must admit that I would have preferred working on the digital story alone rather than in groups. 

            I cannot stress enough how this is not a slight toward my fellow classmates who worked on the digital story with me or any of the students in English 1110.01.  Group work has simply never been near the top of the list of things I am fond of.  Unfortunately, I possess a constant worrisome attitude when it comes to working with other people when I know my grade is on the line.  Referring to myself as a control freak would be a going a little too far, however, I do have a hard time relying on other people in situations where I know that it is possible for me to handle all the work on my own.  Again, I do not have a problem with any of the students in class.  Any of my close friends or family would tell you that I am very easy to get along with and have exceptional people skills.  I definitely agree with this notion.  An open mind is something that I pride myself on having so as to never judge a book by its cover. 

            Luckily, I have found that the only time I have trouble working with others is when it is something related to academics.  In contrast, I was a captain on the football in high school.  Our team made the Ohio State Playoffs for the first time in fifteen seasons and it was achieved through eleven men on the field working toward a common goal.  Today’s world is so interconnected that it is vital to be able to understand individuals and have the ability to work as a group.  At the end of the day the digital story project was a helpful assignment and one that I enjoyed.  However, due to my apprehension when it comes to group work, I believe that the project would have come out differently if I had worked on it alone.  

Storytelling and new media

Storytelling has always been around, and new technological advancements change it directly. Advancements such as writing and language change literature and storytelling drastically. With the new technologies of television, radio, and cinema, there are many new ways and outlets for storytelling to change and evolve. New media has had the greatest influence of all to the change and development of storytelling.

            My digital storytelling project was my first firsthand experience with storytelling using websites and blogs. I have written on websites before, and have read many blogs, but have never actually written a blog before. It opens a new perspective on storytelling. What already had multiple alcoves in cinema, television, radio, written paper, and mouth to mouth, storytelling now has brand new ones in blogging and websites; and with these new outlets has new abilities to convey stories.

            New media has completely changed the ways stories are told. With websites and blogs you now have the ability to have videos, images, sounds, and written text all in one, to bring a whole new storytelling experience. What once took imagination, now you can hear what the author meant for you to hear, and see what the author meant for you to see. Now stories can be told solely through sounds, still images, and videos. This completely throws traditional storytelling methods and ideologies on their heads.

            Now the audiences for storytelling have expanded tenfold. Before, when stories were told mostly through written text or film, you had to pay for the ticket to see the movie, or you had to pay for a copy of the book to read. Now, you have the ability to mix the good qualities of both, into one, and it’s now on the internet, where billions of people can see it for free. Youth and old alike now have easy, instant, and free access to this new and amazing form of storytelling.

            Think about how different old stories would be if they had had the ability to use new media in their storytelling process. Stories like Lord of The Rings would feel so much more impressive and grand. To be able to hear the different languages of the different races, and be able to see the look and grand scale of the large battles in the novel, would give a whole new life to it. All movies and games made after it would follow the original intentions that J.R.R Tolkien had intended. Other great and classic stories could have been so different, hearing the voices and seeing the different scenes.

Stories such as the Iliad and other classic stories would be so different. After such long periods of time, the stories change with every new translation, but with new media you’d be able to keep a consistent story. The images, sounds, and texts the author originally intended wouldn’t be changed and tainted with different interpretations from different readers over time. You’d have the original version of the story online, with original links, sounds, texts, and videos.

            With all the new technological advancements authors have, storytelling has changed drastically. Now authors have the ability to truly get across their feelings and meanings behind their works of art, to a wide audience, without the fear of their feelings and meanings getting corrupted. So many things have changed in the new modern era of the world, and so has storytelling.