I walked into this semester with very little knowledge of digital publishing and technology in general. I expected some things from this course, which was mostly the long complex readings used to facilitate class discussion. What I did not expect was how much I was going to learn from my classmates during these discussions. Each student brought interesting ideas, examples, and experiences to the topics, expanding my understanding of how broad digital publishing is.
There were many topics we went over in class, that not only expanded my knowledge of digital publishing, but helped me when I was completing the projects. One of these topics was interactivity in digital publishing, and how many digital texts incorporate interactivity for their audiences. I gained a better understanding of the relationship in digital texts between the audience and the author. It was interesting to see how with digital platforms, these lines can become blurred, allowing co-authorship. In class, we went over examples of hypertexts and other platforms for remix and storytelling, which allow the user to interact with text through the use of hyperlinks, icons, markers, and much more. This helped me when creating my remix and transmedia storytelling project, as I had to decide what type of and how much interactivity was appropriate for my audience. Awareness of my audience was also helpful when completing my projects. As many of us are writers, we usually take audience into account after we write or when we are revising. We usually only take it into consideration for commercial reasons when we go to publish, or if it is a key part to interpreting the text. Defining my audience for my remix and transmedia storytelling project, helped me with the entire design of my projects. Through this, I was able to make appropriate decisions about the media elements, colors, text, spacing, and interactivity.
Overall I learned more about distribution, circulation, and spreadability through this course. I was not expecting to learn so much about how digital texts are circulated, but it gave me more of an outlook about publishing as a whole. Last semester we went over the many gatekeeping mechanisms in print publishing. I understood that it was easier to publish through digital publishing because digital platforms are easier to access than going through traditional print publishing houses. However, I did not truly understand how accessible digital platforms are until I realized that I was publishing my work through small ways. The blog posts we wrote throughout the semester are available online. I had to make a google site in order to submit my remix to blackboard. My entire transmedia storytelling project is published on a website and so is this portfolio. Even though I never circulated the websites for my projects, it surprised me how easy it was to publish my work. However, understanding more about circulation shows me that if I wanted to, I could see my work circulate through other digital platforms, especially through social media.
I am stunned by what I created this semester. Many of us have limited knowledge when it comes to technology, but there are probably only a couple of us who are familiar with the many programs used to create content. Personally, I am the type of person who usually avoids any type of project that involves technology. I also walked into the semester thinking that if I were to create any project with heavy technological influence, I would have to learn complex computer science skills such as coding. I was relieved to be proved wrong. Like many of my classmates, I used genially for my remix, which is a free and simple platform to use. I was able to easily incorporate images and outside sources to expand the interpretation of my short short “Divided”, turning the simple text into a sophisticated and interesting digital text. I would never have thought I would have learned how to embed images or screen shot pieces of online text into another platform. But I have learned that it is not as complicated as I once thought. With the help of my classmates, I was introduced to weebly, which is the platform I used to make my websites. As with genially, weebly is a simple and easy platform to use. I learned that it is not difficult to upload files, embed other projects, and to overall make a website, while creating my website for my transmedia storytelling project. For that project I used a shot story I wrote last semester and made a radio play and a web comic to show three different character’s perspectives. I am especially surprised by how I created the radio play. This was the first time I have edited audio. I used audacity to record the script I wrote, with the help of a classmate and friend who voiced the other characters. By the time I had finished editing the audio I had four tracks going, and in one of the tracks I had pasted in a recording of a clock. Even though I had some help in learning how to edit audio, I am still stunned that I was able to make the radio play mostly on my own.
This semester has taught me not to fear technology, because some digital tools are quite simple to use. Focusing digital publishing has opened my view of publishing as a whole. Through this course, I have expanded my options for jobs that I would like to pursue, as well as have learned more about myself as a content producer and a writer.
There were many topics we went over in class, that not only expanded my knowledge of digital publishing, but helped me when I was completing the projects. One of these topics was interactivity in digital publishing, and how many digital texts incorporate interactivity for their audiences. I gained a better understanding of the relationship in digital texts between the audience and the author. It was interesting to see how with digital platforms, these lines can become blurred, allowing co-authorship. In class, we went over examples of hypertexts and other platforms for remix and storytelling, which allow the user to interact with text through the use of hyperlinks, icons, markers, and much more. This helped me when creating my remix and transmedia storytelling project, as I had to decide what type of and how much interactivity was appropriate for my audience. Awareness of my audience was also helpful when completing my projects. As many of us are writers, we usually take audience into account after we write or when we are revising. We usually only take it into consideration for commercial reasons when we go to publish, or if it is a key part to interpreting the text. Defining my audience for my remix and transmedia storytelling project, helped me with the entire design of my projects. Through this, I was able to make appropriate decisions about the media elements, colors, text, spacing, and interactivity.
Overall I learned more about distribution, circulation, and spreadability through this course. I was not expecting to learn so much about how digital texts are circulated, but it gave me more of an outlook about publishing as a whole. Last semester we went over the many gatekeeping mechanisms in print publishing. I understood that it was easier to publish through digital publishing because digital platforms are easier to access than going through traditional print publishing houses. However, I did not truly understand how accessible digital platforms are until I realized that I was publishing my work through small ways. The blog posts we wrote throughout the semester are available online. I had to make a google site in order to submit my remix to blackboard. My entire transmedia storytelling project is published on a website and so is this portfolio. Even though I never circulated the websites for my projects, it surprised me how easy it was to publish my work. However, understanding more about circulation shows me that if I wanted to, I could see my work circulate through other digital platforms, especially through social media.
I am stunned by what I created this semester. Many of us have limited knowledge when it comes to technology, but there are probably only a couple of us who are familiar with the many programs used to create content. Personally, I am the type of person who usually avoids any type of project that involves technology. I also walked into the semester thinking that if I were to create any project with heavy technological influence, I would have to learn complex computer science skills such as coding. I was relieved to be proved wrong. Like many of my classmates, I used genially for my remix, which is a free and simple platform to use. I was able to easily incorporate images and outside sources to expand the interpretation of my short short “Divided”, turning the simple text into a sophisticated and interesting digital text. I would never have thought I would have learned how to embed images or screen shot pieces of online text into another platform. But I have learned that it is not as complicated as I once thought. With the help of my classmates, I was introduced to weebly, which is the platform I used to make my websites. As with genially, weebly is a simple and easy platform to use. I learned that it is not difficult to upload files, embed other projects, and to overall make a website, while creating my website for my transmedia storytelling project. For that project I used a shot story I wrote last semester and made a radio play and a web comic to show three different character’s perspectives. I am especially surprised by how I created the radio play. This was the first time I have edited audio. I used audacity to record the script I wrote, with the help of a classmate and friend who voiced the other characters. By the time I had finished editing the audio I had four tracks going, and in one of the tracks I had pasted in a recording of a clock. Even though I had some help in learning how to edit audio, I am still stunned that I was able to make the radio play mostly on my own.
This semester has taught me not to fear technology, because some digital tools are quite simple to use. Focusing digital publishing has opened my view of publishing as a whole. Through this course, I have expanded my options for jobs that I would like to pursue, as well as have learned more about myself as a content producer and a writer.