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To say that ds106 is a massively open online course designed to help learners explore new ways to create digital stories through a variety of media is akin to keeping a feral wolf pup as a pet. They both sound like cute and cuddly ideas, but after spending a bit of time with both, chances are you’ll realize you’ve gotten yourself in way over your head.
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It’s not that ds106 is a monstrous beast of a course that can threaten to occupy every single free moment of your life, it’s just that if you’re not careful, it can…and most likely will if you let it. Because ds106 isn’t just about learning how to stitch video clips together in iMovie, or how to successfully use Photoshop or Audacity to create visual and audio art.ds106 is about creativity, carefully observing the world around you, and manipulating media to produce a story that helps others see the world as you see it. It’s about finding ways to tell your story, create opportunities to get passed the feeling of “what I’m doing isn’t good enough”, and surround yourself with an amazingly supportive group of creative thinkers.
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ds106 is a commitment to “make stuff”, share it with the world, and discover how your inner creativity can empower you to “push past disappointment.” Ira Glass can explain it much better than I can:
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Ira Glass on Storytelling
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That’s not to say ds106 is all wine and roses. There are certainly challenges and obstacles to overcome, especially the healthy dose of role-play that smudges the line between reality and make believe.
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Many newcomers to ds106 are often startled by the unabashed egos and alternate realities that are created during the course of a typical ds106 semester, and quite often the narrative role play can lead to some interesting scenarios during the semester.I was actually banished from the course mid-term the first semester I participated as an open online participant, and the course itself teetered on the brink of fictional destruction.
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“@techsavvyed BANISHED from #ds106 for cahllenging my power. BANISHED!!!
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But I digress. While a heavy dollop of role-playing can occur throughout ds106, at its heart is a desire to explore media in all of its forms. Throughout the semester-long journey that is ds106 you can expect to create a variety of stories, art, and media, including:
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VISUAL ASSIGNMENTS
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WRITING ASSIGNMENTSYou are so lazy cat
When I’m working really hard at school
You are sleeping at home -
VIDEO ASSIGNMENTS
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AUDIO ASSIGNMENTS
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Ds106 Radio Ad Final by beach-wood
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MASHUP ASSIGNMENTS
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Transformers vs The Fox And The Hound (Movie Trailer Mashup) -
DESIGN ASSIGNMENTS
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In short, ds106 will challenge you, confuse you, and forever change the very notion of what an online course can and should be. Completely student driven, ds106 is the epitome of “you get out what you put in”. All of the assignments throughout the course are submitted by the learners themselves, and those in the course decide which assignments they want to complete; it’s a veritable “choose your own adventure” approach to learning that will always challenge you to push yourself further.Mix in a healthy dose of Twitter, blogging, and community support, ds106 is a trip that you need not take alone, nor would you want to, because as the course’s unofficial motto goes, “ds106 is for life!”
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DS106 Course Links
Ready to venture down the rabbit hole with ds106? Follow the links below for course information, objectives, and how you can participate as an open online participant for Spring of 2012.DS106 Course Site – All participant’s blogs get aggregated here, so the conversation blends together during the semester.About DS106 – Course objectives, the emerging definition of digital storytelling, and some crazy art.Welcome to DS106 and how to get started with the Spring 2012 Term
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Hi Ben,
I’ve recently signed up for ds106 with some of the worries about time/egos/confidence that you alluded to above.
Your post is pretty reassuring and also the best description of ds106 I’ve seen to pass on to other folk to try and explain what it is.
The other thing I’ve noticed already is that although some of the ds106 rhetoric seems pretty hot and heavy from the outside it is as welcoming an online community as I’ve seen.
The community really is key for this course, especially since there’s no artificial impetus of paying for credits (at least for the open online students). Whether you’re losing sleep over the assignments or just chiming in now and then, you can always find a nice welcome embrace from the community, especially if you’re willing to pass on a few comments on others’ work.
Well said Ben. Well said.
Thanks for the information. I’m still trying to wrap my head around what ds106 is and this really helped me out.
It’s incredibly difficult to capture the typical experience one has with ds106 because it’s both very young still, and doesn’t follow a typical course format that ensures everyone has the same experience.
In the brief time that it’s been in existence (a little more than a year I believe), it’s gone through several versions, complete with different fictional course narratives, and participants being able to pick and choose which assignments they complete, means they have a bit more autonomy to stay away from the portions that don’t “speak” to them.