straight down the line

Week One: Bootcamp and Introduction to Noir

1/12/15 – 1/18/15

 All work is due by midnight on 1/18/15

 The first week of class is dedicated to getting setup for ds106: set up your domain and Web hosting; install your WordPress site; and create other social media accounts such as Twitter, Flickr, SoundCloud, YouTube, etc. Complete Introductions via posts, twitter, Flickr, video, audio, etc.

 In addition, we’ll be using this week to get acquainted with the concept of noir.

 Welcome to Week 1 of ds106. The first thing you should do this week (and every week) is watch the video (above). In it, your course instructors lay out the plan for the week. These videos are a vital resource for you and you should never skip them! We cannot emphasize this enough. If you try to rely on just the list below of what you need to complete, there is a good chance you will get confused or miss out on important tips and information!

 OUR APOLOGIES ABOUT THE SOUND AND SOME VIDEO ISSUES THAT OCCURRED DURING THIS FIRST VIDEO. WE’RE WORKING DILIGENTLY TO ADDRESS THESE TECHNICAL PROBLEMS, AND WE’RE HOPEFUL THAT THEY’RE NOT THE SIGN OF SOME DEEPER, ONGOING SABOTAGE THAT MIGHT BE OCCURRING THIS SEMESTER IN DS106.

 Below is a detailed list of what’s to be completed this week.

  1. Review the Syllabus
    You need to spend some time reading and familiarizing yourself with the syllabus for this class. As we said in our welcome email last week, this course is likely like no other you’ve ever taken. The syllabus is your roadmap for understanding the work of the class and what your activities will entail.We did not spend this week’s video going over the syllabus in great detail, because, frankly, that would have made it twice as long. Instead, we’re expecting each of you to read and review it and then email us or send us a message via Twitter of any questions you have about it. In next week’s video, we’ll answer those questions. If you have immediate concerns about the syllabus that can’t wait until then, just email your instructor directly and they will work with you to answer your questions.
  2. Get a Domain and Webhosting
    After review the syllabus, first thing you need to do is choose a domain name for yourself. A domain name is a just a fancy name for a URL or Web address. For this class, you will register a domain name (free through UMW’s Domain of One’s Own project) of your own. Check out some advice about choosing a domain name.  Once you choose your domain name, you need to register it and set up web hosting through Domain of One’s Own (login with your UMW netid/password). Detailed instructions can be found here. If you already have a domain through Domain of One’s Own, then you are one step ahead :)For more details on how to navigate your web hosting account, i.e. cPanel (your control panel), creating subdomains, using Installatron, etc., we have extensive documentation here: http://docs.umwdomains.com/domain-of-ones-own/domain-of-ones-ownShortly after you sign up for your domain and Web hosting, you will receive an email requiring you to verify your domain. This is a legitimate email, and you must follow the instructions in it! If you do not, in two weeks, your domain will go into a state of “limbo” making your site basically unavailable.
  3. Install WordPress
    This tutorial will take you through installing the publishing platform WordPress. Keep in mind if you already have WordPress installed on your UMW Domains, you can use your existing site (and just tag or categorize your ds106 work accordingly) or choose to create a new WordPress site in a separate subdomain, such as ds106.myawesomedomains.com.Find out what a subdomain is and how to set up a subdomain on our documentation site.You will be using WordPress A LOT in this class. If you’re not already familiar with it, please keep this set of WordPress resources handy.
  4. Register Your Blog at the Main ds106 Web Site
    Once your blog is available on the web (it should be almost immediate) register yourself and your new blog on the DS106 site. You MUST do this in order for everyone to see the posts you’ll be writing for the class.NOTE: In order to register your site, you will need to give us a Twitter userid. You may want to skip ahead to the Twitter portion of #5 if you don’t already have a Twitter account.
  5. Get an Avatar
    You will need to select an “avatar” for yourself. This is an icon or image that can represent you online (it need not be your face). This should preferably be a square image. Create a “gravatar” for yourself at http://gravatar.com using the email address you most likely will use for course work (and keep in mind you can associate your gravatar with several email accounts). Many sites (such as our class site) will automatically use this image as your avatar.
  1. Set up Your Social Media
    Create accounts and fill out profiles for yourself (if any of these let you set an avatar, use the same icon as you set up on Gravatar) on:
  • Flickr (photo sharing) http://flickr.com
    If you are new to Flickr or have no images in your account, you MUST post at least 5 images to your flickr account right away (they can be whatever you want); Flickr may not verify and make your account public until there are 5 images there. When you upload your photos, tag them with ds106. Get in the habit of doing this!
  • Soundcloud (audio publishing) http://soundcloud.com/
    Set up an account if you don’t already have one.
  • Google / Youtube (video sharing) http://www.google.com/accounts/
    If you have a Gmail account, you are already set with this. If not create a Google account. This is what will allow you to join any synchronous video discussions we have (in Google Hangout) and gives you access to YouTube.
  • Vimeo (video sharing) http://vimeo.com
    Alternatively, if you don’t want to (or can’t) get a YouTube account (like me), feel free to use Vimeo for your videos.
  • Twitter http://twitter.com
    Twitter will be one of the main channels for communication in ds106. If you already have an account for personal purposes, you are welcome to use it or create a new account for communication related to this class. Make sure you customize your profile! Send your first message of greeting and be sure to use #ds106 hashtag in your tweets. Learn how to search on the #ds106 hashtag.
  1. Make some Multimodal Introductions
    Now that you have all your accounts, it’s time to use them to introduce yourself to the class. Use Twitter, SoundCloud, YouTube, and Flickr to introduce yourself to the community, be creative. Once you’ve done that you need to embed them all into a WordPress blog post. Here are some tips for embedding media in WordPress.

Are you exhausted yet? There a lot more still :) If you wait until the weekend to do your all work you will be crushed!

  1. Learn about Noir
    As we keep saying, we’ll be using the concept of noir as a storytelling lens for this iteration of #ds160. This week, you’ll be familiarizing yourself with what noir is by reading/viewing some examplesRead Notes on Film Noir, Paul Schrader, Film Comment, Spring 1972 (PDF)Read “This is Where I Came In” James Naremore, introduction to More Than NightFrom the following list, choose 5-6 examples of noir to review
  1. Scooby Doo, The Backstage Rage episode (Available to rent for $1.99 on iTunes & Vudu)
  2. Courageous Cat, The Case of the Cat Cave Treasure episode
  3. Bugs Bunny, Racketeer Rabbit episode
  4. Nightmare Town, Dashiell Hammett short story (PDF)
  5. The Dark Knight, (Available to rent for $2.99 on iTunes and others)
  6. Sin City, (Available to rent for $2.99 on iTunes and others)
  7. Watchmen (Available for Kindle/Kindle cloud app on Amazon for $4.99)
  8. Welcome to Night Vale, any episode (Free podcast download. Read more here.)
  9. Suspense! any episode from the listing on this page
  10. The Truth Podcast, Moon Graffiti episode, (Free podcast. Read more here.)
  11. Pretty Little Liars, Shadow Play episode, (Available for $2.99 from iTunes)
  1. Suggest Some Noir
    After completing the readings/viewings, we’re interested in you suggesting media that you think meets the criteria of being noir. Share at least one example.
  2. Write your Weekly Summary
    You’ll be completing these summary posts on your blog every week. This week, write a post that shares your reflections on the first week and your impressions of Noir.These posts are REALLY important. We use them to grade you every week, so you need to link to other posts you’ve written, embed media you’ve created, and narrate the process of learning that you went through this week. What did you learn? What was harder than you thought it would be? What was easier? What drove you crazy? Why? What did you really enjoy? Why?Final Note: If you’re in Paul or Martha’s class you MUST submit the link to this weekly post in Canvas by midnight on Sunday, January 19th.NO EXCEPTIONS. NO LATE WORK ACCEPTED.

Featured Image Credit: noir city by IKO on Flickr

 

1 Comment

  1. Dispatch from the dark 1/15/15 | raptnrent.me on January 16, 2015 at 2:11 am

    […] Blog Get an Avatar Social Media Introductions: Flickr, Soundcloud, Youtube (or Vimeo), Twitter Learn about Noir Suggest Some Noir Weekly […]

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