Category Archives: digital storytelling

Gun Crazy GIFs

The 1950 film Gun Crazy has been on my mind a bit these days, particularly the first scene wherein the protagonist steals a gun from the local hardware store. The whole film centers around the morbid fascination with guns in … Continue reading

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An Internet of Attractions

As of late my two year old son, very soon to be three, has eschewed all forms of narrative video on YouTube. He’s dispensed with the Thomas the Tank Engine scam (that series is all about being a useful worker, akin … Continue reading

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Give it Up for the GIF

I come to this news late, I know, but I certainly would hate to pass up the chance to engage in some gratuitous GIF love. The word of the year, according to the Oxford University Press, is GIF. That has … Continue reading

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A Minimalistic Thing is Front Page Material

I didn’t make it up to Middletown, PA for the showing of The Thing last night to benefit the Elks Theatre that needs to raise money to convert its project equipment to digital—as do all exisiting theaters in the U.S. … Continue reading

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What do Escape from New York, John Carpenter, and ds106 have in common?

This made my day—hell, it made my year. Andrew Forgrave asked the great John Carpenter to dedicate an Escape from New York poster to me (with some #ds106 love no less). Amazing, what an awesome confluence of culture: Carpenter, Snake Plisken, ds106, and movie … Continue reading

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The Credit She Never Gets

Earlier today I posted a quick video about using the ds106 assignments repository to create engagement in an online learning experience. To be clear there are many things that go into such an experience, but I’ve found the ds106 assignment … Continue reading

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ds106 Assignments: Designing for Engagement in Online Learning

ds106 Assignments: Effective Engagement in Online Classes from Jim Groom on Vimeo. Alexandra Pickett, who’s having students create an engaging online course space, asked if I would share some quick advice for thinking about how one might approach designing engagement … Continue reading

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Metal Mushrooms in Stereo

I have been dying to do the Wiggly Stereoscopy assignment by Bill Genereux—it basically uses the animated GIF method to create a 3D effect with just two images. It sounds easier than it really is—nailing it is all in the … Continue reading

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ds106 Breakfast Club Edition Post-Mortem

And now for something totally tiny, as opposed to massive. Yesterday I finished up a two-week whirlwind class of ds106 (which I fondly refer to as the Breakfast Club edition) with five local high schoolers. To be more specific they … Continue reading

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Greetings from the Overlook Hotel

Inspired by the work of the Breakfast Club edition of ds106 on their design assignments today (more on that anon), I took a shot at the Postcards from Magical Places assignment—3 stars! I spent the afternoon showing them how to … Continue reading

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