The week began with a foundational understanding of Digital Studies, which involved joining Discord for communication and collaboration. Researching and registering a domain was an enlightening experience, underscoring the importance of owning a digital space to build and sustain an engaged digital identity.
On Day 2, the focus was on building digital content and identity, which involved creating initial content for a website, reflecting on and articulating one’s digital identity, and securing and enhancing the functionality of the site. This day’s activities contributed to building, promoting, and sustaining an active digital identity.
On Day 3, the focus was on website security and digital creativity, which involved securing and optimizing the website, discussing the conceptual origins of the web, and exploring the Digital Creativity module. These tasks reinforced the need for robust security measures in digital projects and the importance of using digital tools ethically. The Digital Creativity module was particularly exciting, as it encouraged the use of various digital media, aligning with the course outcome of creatively using digital text, media, and data.
On Thursday, the focus was on exploring the potential of digital creativity through experimentation with various tools. This hands-on approach fostered a creative adaptation to evolving technology, resulting in a project that exemplifies the integration of multimodal, procedural, and networked capabilities of digital tools.
The project involved planning the plot, setting, and characters, with a player as a new barista on their first day. The story was set up using Twine, with passages organized to represent different scenes and choices. Descriptive text, dialogue, and interactive choices were carefully written, and variables were implemented to track important elements and player decisions. Conditional logic with (if:) and (else:) macros allowed for branching paths, leading to different outcomes based on player choices. Playtesting was crucial for ensuring a smooth narrative flow and refining the player experience.
The week’s summary and self-assessment showed confidence in the progress towards learning outcomes, with the student feeling confident in their ability to locate and evaluate information, use digital tools ethically and effectively, and build a robust digital identity.
I believe an “B” is appropriate for my work this week. I have been proactive in engaging with the course materials, demonstrated a strong understanding of the digital tools and concepts introduced, and actively participated in discussions and collaborative tasks. My progress reflects a thorough grasp of the course objectives, and I am excited to continue building on this foundation.