Digital
storytelling and blogging are two completely new concepts to me. Before this
class I had never heard of digital storytelling and blogging was just something
you would hear a few girls giggling about from across the room. Being the type of
person who believes in trying anything once, I decided this would be the
perfect opportunity to become more acquainted with new digital media and an excellent
chance to network with classmates.
Meeting to write
our groups part of the digital story was like my mother dropping me off at the
front door of the kindergarten for my first day and driving off with my
backpack still in the back seat. Intimidating at first, but I quickly realized
that it was a new experience for all of us and we would make it through
unscathed. After figuring out how to sign in to be able to actually post the
story, I would say the most difficult part of the paper was figuring out the
title. Luckily as we became more comfortable with each other and the project,
it was more like high school acquaintances spit balling ideas at a lunch table.
Many times I am
hesitant when working on group projects because leaving your grade in the hands
of other people sometimes can be scary; but sometimes you have to take new
opportunities as they come and I have confidence in my groups work though and thoroughly
enjoyed working together on this project with my classmates. Also, I am very
lucky, for if I hadn't had classmates to help, I might have not figured out how
to put together the story.
As I sit here and
type this blog, it is also a new experience for me. The closest I can say I have
ever been to blogging before this class would've been twitter, if you consider
that a form of blogging. I have learned through researching and reading other
blogs that it is the way of the future. People use blogs to post news, keep
people informed on others lives and for the simple use of giving ones opinion
or insight on a topic.
Although I do not
feel as queasy as I might have if I had forgotten my backpack in the back seat of
the car, being a new blogger can be just as intimidating as digital storytelling.
Questions continually run through your mind such as; is my writing too formal, will
people read this, and is what I’m writing relevant to anything? That is when you move on to your concluding
paragraph.
Not only is digital
storytelling and blogging but also the digital medium in general are the
future. If one thing could be said about the project is that it was a fantastic
opportunity to not only gain experience but also other classmates insight into
the class and the project in general. At this point in the project I can now
say that my mother has finally brought my backpack back to me, but now, I do not
need it.
Your post aptly highlights all the experiences encountered through the different stages of this project. From the initial anxiousness of meeting a group of new people, to getting more familiar and discussing ideas for the title, your post mirrors what many groups felt at the same time.
ReplyDeleteIn group projects, people often hold back on expressing their ideas, thinking that someone else would see them as stupid. Especially in a creative writing project where imagination has no bounds. However, what we don't realize is that other members of the group feel exactly the same way. The experience of digital story telling and blogging has been new for about 90% of the class. Thus, when each group met up, they stepped onto uncharted territory together. They were able to help each other out and come up with very interesting ideas for their stories.