Digital Literacy & Me

I can't believe I'm actually on this blog!  It was a titanic struggle against technology; but creating a virgin gmail account coupled by a new invite from Jess finally tamed the blog monster. Best get assignment #1 posted.

The video tutorials on YouTube make creating a podcast sound so easy. Indeed, iMovie and Garage Band were surprisingly user-friendly to a neophyte. It's clear why the digital generation chose these tools and this medium to tell their stories.

Unfortunately for me, the tools' ease of use does not automatically translate into product quality, as evidenced by my very first, and very wince-worthy, podcast. Please forgive the mumbling, strange intonations, choppy transitions, uneven sound quality, and all the other areas for improvement on this podcast. Though I have to say, the tool are such that there is an allure to continue the exploration.  Hmm...do a Christmas podcast instead of the annual letter? Hmm....

I've always loathed seeing myself on film - my exuberant expressions looks like caricatures, and we won't even talk about the magic 10 pound weight gain.  So the podcast is composed of photos only, which is  not what I saw in my mind's eye when I first mulled over this assignment.  Popular media provides the example and the measure for professionals and amateurs alike. When I first thought through the podcast, what I saw and heard in my head was drawn from the visual styles of multi-million dollar Hollywood productions, and this first attempt falls way, way, way short of my mental visuals.  In doing this assignment, I realized how many factors are at play in creating a good product, right from the script to vocals and sound, visuals, colour, editing...the list goes on. Will having these skills be something that is expected of my kids' generation, much like typing is for us today? Will they be expected to create and submit "professional" quality hyperlinked video CV's for judgement by their prospective employer, even for entry-level administrative jobs?  Will immersion in new media mean mandatory expertise as well? Who determines expertise? Is expertise arrived at by consensus: more thumbs-up than downs?

Doing this podcast brought home the depth and breadth of knowledge a digital native may be expected to have. The world is at your fingertips, but you are obligated in turn to build the world. Will that be paralyzing or liberating for my kids? I hope it's the latter.

Digital Literacy & Me

When I first read the instructions for Assignment # 1, I felt that drop in the pit of my stomach that comes when I think I am into something I can’t accomplish.  A podcast? The idea that I might have to quit this course and signup for another elective did cross my mind. 

But after a skype call with a group of classmates who have been more instrumental in getting me through this program than they may realize, I felt re-nourished and challenged in a good way.  

So I spent one weekend teaching myself i-movie on my Mac.  And figuring out how to load it to YouTube.  To digital natives, that is not such a big deal, but it was for me. In fact, this assignment has helped me to break through another digital barrier.

So, I present this with some trepidation as well as apologies to any professional videographers out there. I remember when computers first gave people access to different fonts, styles and colours and they produced horrid-looking publications. I have done just that but with i-movie.  There are some cheesy moments but I decided to go over the top a bit in lieu of having fined tuned professional skills.  I will have to wait for my next production to fine-tune the editing skills – I can see the errors in this one and hope you can forgive this was produced early in my learning curve. 

In the end, I hope the message about my transliteracy life (which I thought was a joke at first but after finishing this, perhaps I am more transliterate than I realized) is clear to those who watch.

My Transliteracy Life

Hi folks,

I too encountered some difficulties with audioboo - but rapidly learned how to use garage band to make a podcast (but not too well just yet!). There are a few audio VOLUME issues - but hey - that will just keep it interesting or REALLY show my learning nature in my digital learning journey.

I see my digital literary pathway as one that springs wide but has gaps - I just can't keep up with all the tools.

COMM 597 - Digital Literacy and me

Digital Literacy & Me

Snakes and Ladders

Digital Literacy and Me

I chose to do an audio podcast. It's the podcast medium I'm most familiar with and Jessica did suggest Audioboo.fm, so I thought, "That will work." 

My first roll of the dice and I moved four spaces and went up the ladder to 14. 

Rolled a 3. Wouldn't you know it, Audioboo only allows a three minute podcast and my script was going over that unless I wanted to edit it more than I was willing.

 Back to square 7, so I recorded my first version using the Voicememo app on my iPhone and dubbed in the background music by playing it on my computer. Okay, it sounded amateurish but was legible and I thought if I was unable to figure out a better way, I'd go with that. 

Read some info at Top 5 Pieces of Free Podcasting Software | Richard Farrar's Blog recommended to me and decided to download Audacity and use the Logitech microphone on my desktop. That gave me a roll of 2 and an advance to 31. 

 After another roll, I figured out how to save the recorded in an MP3 format by downloading Lame1, which described how I was feeling.

 So far so good, though, until I tried to copy and paste the MP3 file into my post. I landed on 34 and found myself back at 24. More reading and downloading, first Filezilla - too complicated - and then FileDen, which was a whole lot easier. 

I was stuck on the bottom half of the gameboard when I couldn't figure out how to embed the link to the MP3 file into the image of the gameboard, but I figure I'll be on 61 facing two snakes until I've posted this. 

The experience of creating my podcast and its subject matter are eerily similar...


With apologies for the sound quality, but really, it's apt, rather like shooting a movie about the Great Depression in black and white.