Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Dear Avicia...

Just look at the semester we have had!

Do you see me? Do you see yourself? What's your place in the network?

Well, well, NetNarr, it's been a while. I feel almost as if I have been in another world....a mirror world, you might say. Weirder still, I feel another presence, as if someone else has been with me in this class for a month or so. I feel as if they've been watching and learning alongside me.
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What's this?
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A letter? Who would be sending me a letter?
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It's signed from....Avicia? She seems to know a lot about me. This is so weird, maybe my suspicions were right? Maybe someone else has been here all along....in fact, I'm sure she has been. In that case, I suppose I should respond...


Dear Avicia,

I'm so glad you wrote to me. I had a suspicion that I was not along this semester. When I found your letter from the mirror world, I searched further and found your story. Hard as it was for you to come from your home world to earth, I'm glad you did. Us "Earthlings" can use all of the help was can get.

I think it is interesting that you say we are not beyond saving. Some days, it feels as if we are. But, I suppose you are right that goodness, kindness, and justice still exist in this world-- those are the things we need to hold on to.

In this semester, I have read and heard stories very different than my own. I have visited places around the world and seen students just like myself, despite the thousands of miles between us. I have learned that stories have become even stronger, now that we have power of the internet in our hands.

Stories have always been important. From the days when our ancestors etched images into cave walls, we have always known the importance of stories. Even now, in some ways, sharing our stories in our pockets of space in the digital world is not unlike etching them on the walls of a cave, for people to stumble upon, God-knows-when.

This world is full of stories, and people can interpret the same stories in radically different ways. I think that is where some of our problems being. You see, Avicia, our world is so polarized. During this semester, I've gained a deeper understanding of the conflicting stories that surround me. We all value different things, live by different moral codes, and wear blinders to the people around us. We attack those with different opinions, we attack them, we call them names, we make moral judgments-- instead of just listening. We all have agendas, Avicia. Some more powerful than others, some far scarier.

That being said, I think I agree with you, that we are not beyond saving. This semester, I was able to deeply consider the power that we have in the digital world-- the power to tell our stories the way we want them told. We all have a voice, and we are now able to communicate without third-party filters. Gone are the days when other people had to tell our stories. Now, we are the ones with the influence.

In the course of the semester, I saw kids stand up and tell the stories in their hearts, via The Young Writers' Project. I learned about the communities that have formed online to spin stories out of stories, and call it fanfiction. I've listened to professors and students around the world talk about what storytelling means to them, and how the digital world has enhanced our ability to share stories. In the end, this is what digital storytelling means to me. It is the tool we now have to share stories far beyond the bounds of all we once dreamed possible.

I enjoyed the Daily Digital Alchemy assignments because they allowed me to interact on a regular basis with the people in my class (and the other participants) by giving us a creative outlet in which we could communicate. I enjoyed the snippets of work that we shared, and looked forward to participating each week. It was never a burden to look at the @netnarr twitter and see the daily prompts, in fact, I'm pretty sure I'll miss them most of all!

As far as favorite assignments go, I loved when we worked on blackout poetry. It's very interesting to take media that exists and "remix" it into something new.  Here was the blackout poem that I worked on:

I've seen blackout poems online before, but I never made one myself, and I certainly never thought about the idea of them acting as ways of remixing other people's work.

Speaking of "remixing," I loved the conversations we had about memes. Memes make me laugh every day of my life, as you might see from this one DDA I submitted:
Even so, I never thought about the implications of memes. I never considered how they are far more than internet culture, they can be social commentary. Here's an example of one I made regarding slactivism, based on a class discussion:
(Although I suppose "you" made that one, didn't you, Avicia? ;) )

I was also quite proud of the stories I told and altered in the #4iconstory and #altbookcover assignments. The Little Prince is one of my favorite stories, and I was so glad to be able to weave it into my work in this class (albeit in quite a different way than the story was intended!).



Over the semester, I struggled greatly with the audio assignments. Audio is certainly not my forte, but even so, I'm glad to have had the experience of working with it. Now I am able to see how the manipulation of audio can add to the stories we see online. It also led me to the realization that so many of the things I once wrote off as "internet culture" are far greater than just that. Every post, tweet, video, and podcast are part of a greater over arching journey that transcends the individual parts.

I value the co-learners who traveled on this journey alongside us. I am grateful that they took the time to care about the students stepping up into their world. Every class, every blog, and every tweet acted as a support system, an investment, where a person made the decision to take their time and invest in students willing to stand beside them and learn. Because of this kindness, this investment, the story of Digital Storytelling at Kean University will live on, written on the "walls" of the internet forever.

I'm also grateful for alchemy, and the alchemists. Often, students are taught to suppress the creative in favor of the practical. We are taught to embrace subjects for what they are, and not to go beyond that boundary. This class destroyed those boundaries. It met on Wednesday nights, but it also met every single day in the infinite online space of the internet. The internet is a pretty magical place, it's only fitting that we were joined in our class journey by magical alchemists. So Avicia, I guess I have to thank you for joining us in this journey, as well as M, Rebeg, and all of the other alchemists they brought together to refine our stories, as gold might be refined from lead.

Finally, to the alchemists who will travel to this world in the future: get ready for it, all of it. Get ready for the fun, the laughs, the tears, and the struggles. Get ready to collaborate and be a part of something that is far bigger than "just another class at Kean University." Get ready for the best ride. I have walked away from this course with an appreciation for the realm of digital storytelling that is far bigger than I would have ever imagined.

I don't think it's right to say goodbye, because we know better than that. After all, when is a story really over? Even "happily ever after" isn't the end of the story-- just the part of the story we are aware of. So, instead of goodbye, I'll sign off for now. Thanks again for your letter, Avicia.

We've had fun this semester. Here's to all that is to come!
Marissa








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