BLOG POST 8

Participation in ENGSSCHAT
It was a bit of a maelstrom to get into a twitter conversation. The technical hassle and difficulties establishing a hashtag made me not even want to bother with the assignment. Once I got a groove of what was going on and what I was supposed to do I finally was able to enjoy this unique way of using message boards.
The conversation that I participated in was regarding collective intelligence and how it affects the classroom and others. I chimed in that we must harness the power of the group instead of just being individuals.
  I was shocked to realize that what I said managed to get retweeted and sparked discussion among my peers. At first I was just trying to reference Rheingold for the sake of getting my participation points, but hearing people who are also in my field agree made my thought feel much more relevant in the scope of education,
Twitter is not something I am particularly fond of, but the quick and dirty format helped make this conversation much more efficient and allow everyone to give their two cents. The approach to how it manages a message board lets everyone drop in or out, making it much more accessible and welcoming than your average page.

Space time project

I have had quite the difficult time with this project.
It is not so much about the writing aspects than it is the technical ones with google earth
doesn't matter now
here it is
http://goo.gl/maps/q1ghf

Standards Narrative reflection (Also available on chalk and wire)

Oscar Alvarez

Dr. Ryan Rish

English 3241

December 12, 2012

Standards Narrative Reflection

1.      Students Articulate and analyze how the combination of language and image influences thinking and composing for all students. Ø  The majority of the projects revolved around this concept. We explored our own interests in order to educate others of the intricacies of them eloquently and creatively. Sharing our own ongoing process in discussions should have been more encouraged in my opinion, since it would create a better system of creative exchange than simple blog posts of the final product could ever do. The relaxed deadline system worked well for the most part. The only time I did not feel so motivated to do anything was during the time space project, since it feels like a wasted opportunity when I do not have the chance to share it with everyone else.

2.      Compose and respond to film, video, graphic, photographic, audio, and multimedia Ø  Composing products across different mediums allowed for everyone to tap into their particular skills. Matt made music, Samantha did photography, and I tapped into trading cards. The DS106 assignments I think were when the class reached its true potential on this course objective. Perhaps if you made these a higher priority and remixed the assignment to have us explain the educational purpose to others, it would make them feel much more relevant.

3.   Interpret (i.e., “read”) and critique a variety of non-print and multimodal texts. Ø  The articles we read tended to be relatively good reads, but the chapters in the Rheingold book devolved into trite redundancy. The jarring change between sharing our videos and creative projects to writing about the book probably alienated too many, it certainly made me lose interest. It was not until I stopped to read the book on my own accord without the ties of the blog post that I was able to stop and interpret what Rheingold was really trying to relay.

4. Create lessons that require students to construct, analyze, and evaluate meaning from media, digital, and non-print texts. Ø  The This I believe and affinity space videos achieved this the most. The crap detection did accomplish this as well, but the lack of focus across the groups made it get lost in the shuffle. The comment system for our blogs perhaps should have been done as an in-class activity. Similarly to the where I am from poem, this might have made the groups evaluate each other with more urgency and care.

5.      Identify and explain the range and influence of print and non-print media and technology in contemporary culture, across social networks and on local and global levels. Ø  The affinity space and transmedia activities highlighted this concept the most when I was in this class. It angered me I did not get to talk at all about my transmedia analysis about James Bond (Damn you Whovians!) but it was great to hear how these different pieces of pop culture have affected us all. The social networking is a particularly great aspect to look at, since communities and fandoms on the scale that they are now is a relatively recent development. The internet is rife with websites and boards solely dedicated to people with passions for one subject matter, allowing everyone to jump onboard and be informed on all the aspects about said matter.

6.      Use current technology to enhance learning and demonstrate confidence in exploring and critiquing emerging and historical technological applications. Ø  I do not think this course objective was emphasized that much during my time in this class. As previously mentioned, I think the DS106 assignments could easily be given more emphasis to achieve an educational goal. The variety of ways the student can explore a particular concept will allow everyone to experience the power of technology in the classroom more than just a simple blog post about a book. I would certainly use them for when I teach English one day…

Blog Post 7

I decided to focus away from my professional learning network for the sake of variety. In many ways it is diminutive at the moment so that would be wasting my time. 

I instead focused on the learning network I have regarding my personal life, the club I lead at the University with my friend, and the collective that I seem to have conjured upon this campus. 

At first I thought the Rheingold chapter on social networking was a bit redundant to the one on collaboration. It was not until I looked at the way he demonstrates the graphs that I got an idea of the message he was trying to relay. The ways groups connect so much easier thanks to digital networking is truly astounding, The centrality, degrees, and bridges example is essentially how the hierarchy of the group my friend and me  control has become. We have individuals who are established in other groups and have joined us via the horror club, they introduce us to their friends, and quickly we end up becoming popular individuals with considerable influence. The section Rheingold speaks about regarding contexts in networking individualism really resonates. I have been able to blend in with very different groups and adjust my vocabulary and norms accordingly: from metalheads to Otaku, our club brings in very different people who have given us much social capital.

Blog Post 6: Affinity Space

I must say, the script I made for this video essentially answers all the questions and concerns about this project.

I chose a piece of pop culture as eclectic as the Wu-Tang Clan because it has always bothered me how people refuse to think that a group of musicians cannot expand beyond their medium into other creative endeavors properly. The Wu-Tang Clan is a rap collective of not just a bunch of cool rappers, but martial arts connoisseurs, filmmakers, and visual designers. Their presence is a subtle, but powerful one. Composing the scores of the films by Auteurs like Jim Jarmusch (Ghost Dog, Dead Man, Broken Flowers) and Quentin Tarantino (Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction) to restoring lost films from the golden era of Hong Kong Kung Fu. Their best-selling rap albums are just a footnote to their influence on American pop culture.

   The rappers of the Clan are all well versed in Eastern philosophy and culture, most notably the world renowned RZA, who has even published philosophy books like the Tao of Wu. RZA has so much clout in Hollywood due to his famous connections that he even managed to get his own martial arts film made, The Man with the Iron Fists, a love letter to the '70s Kung Fu films the members of the Clan all grew up with.

Getting into their groove is not hard at all. The discographies of the main group along with all of the affiliates are easily available for purchase digitally and via retail, the books are still in print, and the RZA's film is still showing in theaters.

People tend to interpret Hip-Hop as a single minded genre of music incapable of expanding beyond what is playing on the radio, by introducing others into the Wu-Tang, I hope to enlighten people with the myriad of ways that a great musical act can achieve.

PROCESS:
Similarly to my this is believe video. I used Adobe Premiere to mix all of the video footage together. I downloaded the instrumental to one of their songs to frame the entire video, which I then adjusted in volume to allow my voice to be heard. Nothing too hard like my previous video, especially since I did not have to deal with stuff like editing myself into a chroma keyed background.

BLOG POST 9

Blog Post 4

Collaboration

    I actually sat down and read the bloody chapter! I am shocked at how entertaining it was to read about the author's experiences with networking and collaboration over the web. We live in an era in which we are lucky to forge true friendships and fellowships with others across the globe with ease. Problems are not isolated, we can share our obstacles and eventually have someone give us the boost to hurdle over it. Modern networking is about more than just sharing pictures of your food and drunken stupors, it is about exploring and curating our interests with different kinds of people, and always discovering something new in the process.
    The whole talk about collective intelligence was very fascinating, since it is a concept that has not truly existed until recently. The internet has allowed everyone to chime in on any form of conversation across the world. High concept communications are not isolated to clubs and institutions, everyone can establish whatever group they so desire and address whatever concerns they might have. As it is expected from, we tend to focus on the negative; many individuals instantly associate internet groups with trolls and 4chan forum boards. Internet communities are not just that, as a group we can explore horizons that one person's narrow scope could never find.
    Crowd-sourcing was something that I never took that seriously, it was not until I saw Kickstarter single-handedly save PC videogame developers. Anyone with a developed vision can get help from others through the internet resonate with the idea. The DS106 site is a perfect example, this guy needed a server, he pitched it to others, he got funding way before he met the deadline.
    The one website that encompasses everything about internet collaboration is Wikipedia to me. It is a fountain of general knowledge about almost anything the average person can think of. It is funded solely through donations. The information is reviewed and revised constantly. It is truly remarkable to have resources like that available to us.

BLOG POST 10 (updated): Where I am from (poem)

Oscar Alvarez
English 3241

I am from the tropics
from segregated Mulattos and Sambos
I am from the smell of sope and the sound of torogoz
from hanging palm fronds and summertime blacktops
from action figures melted in the sun and cocooned butterflies in untrimmed bushes
I am all of the history I was too young to comprehend
the politics I was too naive to care for
the religion I was too innocent to question

I am from dormant volcanoes and sunbaked hair
the ambient noise of street markets and wild life
I am rain and earthquakes and sunshine and dust
from the rolling R's that rumble in my tongue
from contradictory comanchero

The oversized runt who had to fight back
the cultured creature with an askew view
trained in the ways of beautiful savagery
No one comes up to you and gives you power
you have to take it

Analysis and master/counter narrative:
People associate El Salvador and its people as a third world nation with little to no value.
Central American nations in general are disregarded as breeding grounds for uneducated individuals and violence. As an individual who comes from a very peculiar background in said nation, I must say that the nation does fall into many of the faults other perceived it to be, but it is also one that is constantly overlooked.
I do not define myself by my ethnicity, nationality, or first language. In El Salvador though, the background of an individual marks them for the rest of their lives. My father was outcasted for all of his childhood and teenage years due to him being a mixed child borne out of wedlock. This sort of unfair judgment traumatized him, leading up to how he raised my siblings and me to fight through any prejudice we might encounter and to not be perpetrators of it also. My mother is also of partial Black descent, but her pale complexion shielded her from any discrimination. Blacks are almost nonexistent in El Salvador due to the civil wars that occurred in the 20th century, thus my parents' existence is quite the anomaly, the fact that they found each other and are both of similar mixed breeds is even stranger.
When I wrote this poem, I thought of the ways I experienced treatment of others when compared to my siblings. My sister is of a pale complexion and has very soft features, many individuals think she is Asian until they realize her hair is curly. My brother has a very neutral look, one that is not that attention grabbing by Salvadorian standards. When I was presented as a member of my family, I clearly remember it causing quite the stir. My strange complexion when compared to my parents, my odd semi blond kinky hair, and my strange ability to go from pale to dark vexed my teachers. The sort of misconceptions people had about my family and me led to much violence in my early childhood, one that is clearly mentioned in the end of the poem. It seems as if I was meant to relive my dad's troubles in modern times, but instead of pure discrimination, it was willful ignorance.

BLOG POST CINCO: DS106 Assignment B: Breaking Bad: The Trading Card Game

     I made a set of Breaking Bad trading cards for my ds106 assignment b, using an empty template of the Pokemon trading card game. The information on the cards explore specific aspects of the characters while still providing a fun read for others.
Creating them was a relatively simple process. I took photos that gave a good impression of the characters' presence and distinctness, resized them to fit the template allotted. The basic template was of the design used for the Walter card, I used Photoshop cs5 to change the colors, insert the appropriate symbols, and add text in the appropriate font. Each one took about 40-60 minutes to make, not challenging, but it did get a little  tedious at times.
 I chose the three most complex characters of the show: Gus the kingpin, Walter the master chemist, and Jesse the troubled criminal. When making this assignment, I thought of ways that students can analyze characters from literature and film in a very specific, yet fun manner. They have to fill in the moves section of the trading cards which will demonstrate their insight into what they would be reading.

BLOG POST NUMERO DOS: I believe in the horror club: log, essay, and video

August 29, 2012

    I decided today on what to make my video about. Since the professor seemed to imply that the essay itself does not have to be exactly like my video, I decided to make it about the club I am currently leading with my friend. I contacted my friend on which programs to use and how to make a video efficiently. He suggested I used Adobe Premiere and offered to guide me as I concocted my project. This took away a huge weight of my shoulders, I have never made a video before, and knowing very well how good my friend’s video skills are, it allowed for a much smoother creative process.

August 31, 2012

     Since my computer is a piece of garbage and I do not have too much time in my hands to be at the library, I had to settle for making the entire video project at my friend’s place. This might seem cumbersome, but since he lives right around the corner from my apartment, it did not bother either of us. He tells me that he has a good range of visuals that would complement my own, so I guess I have nothing to worry about.

September 5, 2012

    I decided that the essay would be the last thing I would make, since the tone of it is starkly different from the video itself. I am trying to make the video very light-hearted. Poking fun at the clique-esque nature of this University I have noticed during my past two semesters here. I already have an art direction for the video and music choices, all that is left is for me to find the clips I want to use and edit them myself.

September 10, 2012

     Everything that is needed to make the video is in place. Jon and I make the montage first and pooft! It got erased! This incident happens three times! We almost lose our minds and contemplate switching programs, but our plan is too premeditated to change our vision.  My friend records me in the late hours of the night (bad hair and all) as a surprise appearance in the video. I despise how I sound and look on camera, but he insists on having me perform (probably to his own amusement.)

September 11, 2012

We almost lost all of my video footage! His phone decides to go haywire and not let us merge the clip to Adobe Premiere. We are so lucky we made a back-up of the clips after the incidents with the montage, if not we would have had to start all over. We pretty much have everything edited and placed in the right order. We figured the sources are not formal at all to really function in an MLA setting so we decided to insert them into the end of the presentation. We added some last minute ideas like using the Chroma key trick to incorporate my footage into another video, which only took about two minutes of clicking and merging, and some voiceovers from him to start the video.

September 12, 2012

After all the smoke cleared of the maelstrom that was making that video, I finally get the chance to write the essay for NPR. It only took about forty-five minutes to write it, especially since it explores very different aspects of why I made the KSU Horror Club. The voiceovers from the beginning really helped tie the two compositions together, so glad my friend came up with that!

ESSAY

     Kennesaw State University is an institution that wishes its students to express themselves. When my friend and I first arrived here, we were impressed by the variety of groups of people.  We checked out the clubs the University had available, but none of them suited our quite particular tastes.  Out of this frustration with the options for extracurricular activities, The KSU Horror Club was born.  For almost the entirety of the 2011 fall semester, my friend and I fought to get our club off the ground, with many false starts and obstacles in our way, it seemed like we were never going to be able to achieve our goal. All our efforts did pay off in the end; we managed to secure room and funding for our screenings and activities in the spring and we have going strong ever since. This silly little tale was written by yours truly not to be just a stupid piece of propaganda for my college club, but to inspire others to create their own groups as well.

     As an individual in my fourth year of higher education, the University landscape is not unfamiliar to me, but to many freshmen it is an eye-opening experience. I see many young students walking around with a bewildered look on their faces, as if their vision of a College was not realized in the one they attend. In many ways, this was the same for me, had it not been for my co-founding member to truly push for our crazy idea, I would have never truly enjoyed my college experience.  Universities offer funds to any student who gets their club approved; they guide and assist them in all ways possible. If a student cannot find a group for his/her particular interests, they are more than welcome to make their own. There will always be people like you to cooperate and make your vision come true.

Credits

I put all of the credits at the end of the video. The credits consisted of the clips, music, and assets that were incorporated into it. None of them were used in the essay itself.

HERE IS THE FINAL BEAST (in case you missed it above) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81SXuO-SaH0

Reflection on composition

    At first I thought working on this assignment was going to be rather trite. It was not until I realized that I had to not just inform the audience but also entertain them that my creativity appeared. I used the essay as a way to ease the audience into the overall message that I was trying to convey with joining or making a club at KSU; the video was there to show the final outcome of it all.

This sort of assignment is very compatible with students in a high school setting, since by then they already have established tastes and know how to properly communicate them with personality and energy. It also allows for the students to explore aspects and interests of others on a level that a written piece just cannot achieve. This assignment also alleviates the stress from writing a paper on a composing standpoint; since the student is writing about something they are familiar with and are exploring it in the way he/she wants.

BLOG POST TRES (finished!) Double Team Gifs for my ds106 visual project

I really enjoyed creating these gifs. My friend and me are big fans of the bad/awesome insanity of Double Team, thus we decided to make these gifs to honor its greatness. Exploring film using very specific frames is actually a very unique exercise. You are not just picking out your favorite scenes, but which ones resonate and you can directly pick out from memory. Picking a movie I enjoy for ironic reasons might not be the best example, but it also demonstrates the ways one can manipulate simple frames to create a desired effect.

I used VLC media player to have the film play on the PC from a DVD. The media player allows me to make all kinds of adjustment to the frame rate, speed, angle, and size of what I am playing. Using a frame by frame screenshot add-on from the player, about 4 to 8 shots were taken per gif. The shots were then taken to adobe premiere to be turned into gifs by just having them run in quick succession. A few of them were harder to make than others, but thankfully the program never crashed and allowed me to convert them with ease.

This I believe (ESSAY)

I believe in the Horror Club

      Kennesaw State University is an institution that wishes its students to express themselves. When my friend and I first arrived here, we were impressed by the variety of groups of people.  We checked out the clubs the University had available, but none of them suited our quite particular tastes.  Out of this frustration with the options for extracurricular activities, The KSU Horror Club was born.  For almost the entirety of the 2011 fall semester, my friend and I fought to get our club off the ground, with many false starts and obstacles in our way, it seemed like we were never going to be able to achieve our goal. All our efforts did pay off in the end; we managed to secure room and funding for our screenings and activities in the spring and we have going strong ever since. This silly little tale was written by yours truly not to be just a stupid piece of propaganda for my college club, but to inspire others to create their own groups as well.

      As an individual in my fourth year of higher education, the University landscape is not unfamiliar to me, but to many freshmen it is an eye-opening experience. I see many young students walking around with a bewildered look on their faces, as if their vision of a College was not realized in the one they attend. In many ways, this was the same for me, had it not been for my co-founding member to truly push for our crazy idea, I would have never truly enjoyed my college experience.  Universities offer funds to any student who gets their club approved; they guide and assist them in all ways possible. If a student cannot find a group for his/her particular interests, they are more than welcome to make their own. There will always be people like you to cooperate and make your vision come true.

BLOG POST 3241 NUMERO UNO: Is google making us stupid?

It is funny that after reading this article more than twice now, I can honestly say that I still have the ability to concentrate on a long piece of text from start to finish without any stops or distractions.
    The gimmick behind this reading and the one in the book that was assigned was that they were supposed to tamper with the way we perceived our own reading ability. I managed to completely ignore the outside world on both of the readings. The online article proved to be much more engrossing than the Netsmart chapter, especially when Nietzsche's experience with the typewriter was brought up. The way it explores how the individual will adapt to the way the technology is either processed or communicated really made me think about the way I do my work.
    In order to really test myself, I read the online article three times. The first time I managed to avoid all distractions from both the computer and the outside world. The second time I decided to make it more interesting by letting music play in the background, but surprisingly it failed to make me lose focus. The last time I decided to read the article on my mobile device, which resulted in me losing the trail of what I was reading a couple of times. I believe this occurred because I was in a public place, the screen was smaller, and the writing was already familiar.
     It is funny to me to read an article that is designed to test whether I fit with the average American's attention span. Distractions are something that I can easily avoid, but only with more reflection and experimentation I think I will be able to say that with absolute confidence.