So what is ds106? Personally, I have never heard of this type of literature until I looked up more information on it. I was and still kind of in the same boat as you all, confused about it’s real purpose. ds106 is known as digital storytelling. Within this frame, people are able to write about their own real- life events and encounters. With that being said, I think this type of idea is great, because it always “ordinary people” the opportunity to write/ speak on behalves of themselves. I would also say that it is an uncommon approach to digital literacy.
ds106 is a free 15 week course where you can design and build as you narrate. This type of course reminds me of the one we are all currently in. We blog about something we are doing or have done and then others in the class have the opportunity to respond to what you wrote. ds106 trains students on technology and also for critical interrogation, because we spend most of our time communicating with those around us in a digital form. I think the course objectives listed by http://ds106.us/about/ do a great job of explaining what the class is all about and what the outcome should be:
- Develop skills in using technology as a tool for networking, sharing, narrating, and creative self- expression.
- Frame a digital identity wherein you become both a practitioner in and interrogator of various new modes of networking.
- Critically examine the digital landscape of communication technologies as emergent narrative forms and genres.
While searching around for more information on ds106, I came across http://ds106.us/ . As I looked through this site, I found numerous outlooks to try. One of the five that I looked at was called an Assignment Bank. In this component, it says you that you can explore more than 800 media assignments created for and by members of ds106, allowing access to try one or create your own. Another one I found interesting is called The Daily Create (which is what we will start participating in). You receive a new creative challenge everyday, whether it be in photo, drawing, audio, video, or writing form that you can do in less than 20 minutes. Remix Machine is another component I found interesting. Here you can interpret a random remix of the ds106 assignments. And even give a new twist on an existing ds106 assignment.
Resources:
ENG 361 
Madison,
This is a great post! You found out a ton about ds106! This concept still kind of confuses me but after reading around on a few websites, like you did, I have the major idea of it.
-Tatum
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Tatum,
Not gonna lie, it’s still kinda confuse to me in a way. But like you said, I think I got a majority of it figured out. Thanks for the comment!
Madison
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I didn’t get a chance to check out the remix machine yet! That sounds really interesting. Good research!!
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I haven’t looked too much into it as well so I’m interested to see what I find while fiddling with it!
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