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Better Late Than Never…Please Forgive Me

Monday, June 4th, 2012

Greetings from Camp Magic MacGuffin and Bunkhouse 2 (aka Wäscälly Wäbbits)! Sorry I didn’t write home sooner; I started my journey a little behind schedule and got lost along the way. I am happy to report I arrived safe and sound, albeit a little frazzled.

I am slowly, but surely, getting up to speed with the camp agenda, activities, and, of course, the technologies. Arriving a little late and a little naive left me lost in the woods for a week or so, but following the sounds of activity at camp and sending out the occasional smoke signal, I found my way to camp, gathered my supplies, and dove (or belly flopped) into the stream of other campers, counselors, and the activities!

My social networking experience was limited to Facebook, LinkedIn, and very limitedly Google, so I had to sign up and learn to use Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, and SoundCloud. It’s pretty cool that these tools have apps I have added to my iPhone and iPad to make my participation easier while away from my laptop.

I also got to chose my very own domain name, set up a blog site, and started blogging! Be proud…it was quite an accomplishment for me! This is where you can follow my progress through the summer. So far, I’ve been able to add a Gallery that posts by Flickr photos, a Twitter feed, and a little window dressing to pretty it up a bit!

Everyone here has been helpful and nice so far, except for one rogue camper that raised some hackles. The camp directors have him sequestered now, so we can get on with the fun and games. Looking forward to meeting new people, getting new perspectives and trying new things. That was one of my New Year’s resolutions this year, and as it turns out, this camp is a great opportunity to do just that!

The Daily Creates (TDC) are a lot of fun. This camp’s visual assignments gave me excuse I’ve been looking for to buy a new camera. I chose the Canon Powershot SX260 for its compact, point and shoot size with a megazoom (80x!!!) So far, I am LOVING it and the ds106 TDCs are giving my great way to play with my new toy and explore its features and capabilities. It also took awesome photos at the ZZ Top concert yesterday!

I’ve been sharing the TDCs on my blog individually as I completed them, but I think in the coming weeks as my blogging become more frequent, I will be transitioning to a “once-per-week recap” format. Maybe. I get so excited about each one that I can’t help but share, share, share it!

I also learned about Vonnegut and The Shape of Stories. This gave me a get opportunity to share my newest literary (ok, I use that term loosely) obsession with Fifty Shades of Grey! I’m on book #2 now, Fifty Shades Darker. True, it’s kinda like “mommy porn” but all the hoopla and controversy over this book trilogy seems a little miss placed. If you’d be offended by a sexually explicit language or acts, don’t read it. But if you’re open-minded and not a prude, give it a try. It’s making my commutes from work to camp (more than 2 hours each way everyday), MUCH more interesting! Hahaha! :)

Due to my other obligations and responsibilities, I have yet to be able to join the others at the campfire, but I trying to get there this coming Thursday, if I can de-conflict my schedule. In addition, I still have a few things to do to get completely up to speed and get some badges, including:

  • Complete TDC136, a video recap of a family legend. But which one to share? And I HATE myself on video. Guess I’m gonna have to suck it up and get used to it. I doubt I can avoid video assignment for the entire experience.
  • Watch the Mike Wesch video on internet culture and media learning and write a reflection of the material on my blog. I’ve started watching it, but boy, is it long. I rarely make it through watching an entire movie these days. All my activities are exhausting, but watch for it. I’ll have it done by the end of the week.
  • I’ve spent a significant amount of time on Bryan Alexander’s (author of Introduction to Digital Storytelling) website and checking out his stories and links. Now I just have to put pen to paper, so to speak, pick one and discuss it.
  • Minecraft. Well, I’m not really looking forward to this one. I’m not much of a video game person. Okay, except for maybe Angry Birds, if you consider that a video game. A shortage of funds has kept me from starting on this adventure, but I’ll be starting soon. I hope to find a lot of help there; as I’m sure my inexperience in these types of forums will have me in a learning curve. Maybe I’ll type a rope around my waist or leave a trail of bread crumbs, in case my bunk mates need to send out a search party

All this and more will be accomplished by my next weekly letter home this coming weekend. I’ve already seen the Week 3 announcements and agenda and I’m optimistic that I’m proficient enough with the tools to set a good pace forward. Time to wrap up my rambling…

Stay tuned until next time…

 

 

Posted in bunk2, ds106, magicmacguffin, umwsum12, weeklyletter | Comments Off on Better Late Than Never…Please Forgive Me

Enrolling in Camp Magic MacGuffin

Monday, June 4th, 2012

Headin’ off to camp…

Posted in bunkx, ds106, magicmacguffin, openonline | Comments Off on Enrolling in Camp Magic MacGuffin

Postcard Home: Week 1

Monday, June 4th, 2012

Dear Loving Parents,
I pray that you are doing well. I hope that you did not miss me too much. I know that my presence brings joy to your lives and not being around as much is a terrible thing. Don’t worry, I will write you often. That way you will not miss me too much.

I survived my first week at camp (even though you said I wouldn’t). Now, don’t you feel silly? I met so many wonderful people here at Camp Magic MacGuffin.

Today, I ventured into new places. It’s quite exciting actually. I created accounts with Twitter, Youtube, Flickr, SoundCloud, and created my own site along with other exciting things. I am still figuring how to use these sites because I am a complete loser when it comes to the internet. Nonetheless, I am slowly getting the hang of it.

I also watched a video on Dr. Michael Wesch. He is such an inspiring person. The video opened my eyes to many things and have really enhanced my understanding on the issue of education and students. His video also encouraged me to continue exploring and shaping my identity through means of media. You would be very proud of me right now. Alright, I will write you later.

Take care of yourselves,
Sincerely,
Your favorite daughter.

 

Posted in bunk3, magicmacguffin, umwsum12 | Comments Off on Postcard Home: Week 1

Just What IS this “CVI”

Monday, June 4th, 2012

DID YOU SEE MARTHA’S SCREWUP? She distributed a memo about Jim Groom by mistake, and it’s sent to the corporate CVI offiices. Now, I am NO internet detective, and I’m no Jim Groom apologist, but this memo, along with Alan’s allusions to visiting a corporate office for CVI (the owners of Camp Magic MacGuffin) in Canada got me scared. So I got to thinking: Why not Google this “CVI + Canada” and see what comes up. Here’s an image of what I got, followed by a little in-depth analysis:

Click for full-size screenshot of search results

Canada Voluntarism Initiative: This site, a seemingly innocuous bit of Canadian pork, has as its tagline “Partnering for the Benefit of Canadians.” Now if this isn’t a wolf in sheep’s clothing, I don’t know what is. I don’t know about you, but I signed up for a summer of self-actualization, NOT to be the object of some kind of crazy Canuck body snatchers.

Canadian Value Investors: This looks like a ghost company if I ever saw one. They didn’t even get their own domain name — just some cheesy “blogspot” thing. No doubt covering their tracks. They supposedly focus on investing in undervalued assets. Mostly, the site is pretty vague. An interesting “front” for Canadian real estate investors wanting to invade the U.S.? Well you’ll have to get through China first. AND Jim Groom.

CVI Chilliwack: This one is so onnocuous it’s the perfect cover: Equine vault-jumpers from Canada. But read this: “Vaulters learn to have the agility and athleticism of gymnasts, the grace and expression of dancers and the balance and feel of equestrians.” Sounds like they are training an army, and getting us to comply with their rules may be just a way of weeding out the rebels. So Jim is on a private island. Who’s next?

Canadian Home Builders Association of Central Vancouver Island: This professional association supports rampant sprawling building projects. Is this why we are in Minecraft, Martha? Doing their bidding? Letting them not only invade our country with their landscape-destrying monstrosities, but our cyberspace, too? Answers, PLEASE!

Calvalley Patroluem: According to their website, “Calvalley has established a strong base of cash flow and earnings from its exploration success in Block 9.” What’s Block 9 you ask? Yemen, my friends. Is Camp Magic MacGuffin next? I’m wondering if the humming in the blue shed that Alan referred to is an exploratory drill. What better front to send the Sierra Club off its scent than to run a summer camp on a future oil field. Despicable.

CVI Automotive: Sure, it’s disguised as a car service place, but look again at this operation’s fiendishly simple and information-free website. Read this customer testimonial, obviously in code: “They will take the time to go through your van with you and want to keep it running well by educating you.” Is this the training that Alan had to undergo? Did he just pull in for a tune-up, and get brainwashed into smuggling something across the border? Is there an underground bunker beneath those hydraulic lifts? I want answers.

Canadian Value Investing: This is supposedly a blog from a chemical engineer who likes to tinker with his stock portfolio and windbag to others about investing. While it’s a terrible read, it could contain hidden messages that can only be read in code and that may be guiding what’s going on behind the scenes at Camp Magic MacGuffin. I’m no cryptographer, so this one’s just too much for me. Any takers?

Central Vancouver Island Tourism: This one has legs if we want to believe that CVI is merely scoping out the camp to build a new resort. But, I’m not that easy a mark. The people in their web site photos look brainwashed. It’s kind of like watching old episodes of The Prisoner: a supposedly happy, happy life, but no room for dissent of any kind. A sentence disguised as a vacation (much like Club Med — little known fact). Are we going to see a CVI photo of a lobotomized Jim Groom on waterskis soon?

The Chidren’s Vision Initiative: This is an initiative of the Canadian Optometrists Association ensuring that “all children in Canada access and receive appropriate, quality eye health and vision care throughout the developmental years.” Does that mean harvesting corneas from unsuspecting Americans? Is the blue shed an operating room?

That’s all I  got. I leave it to any and all of you to pick up these threads, and try to piece together what’s going on here that Martha and Alan seem loathe to come clean about. Something’s up — it’s up to us to find out. Just sayin’.

 

 

 

Posted in bunk4, Camp Magic MacGuffin, corporate espionage, counselor, CVI, magicmacguffin, openonline, what's going on in the blue shed | Comments Off on Just What IS this “CVI”

Michael Wesch Video Reflection

Monday, June 4th, 2012

I watched the video of Michael Wesch’s presentation. I have never been so inspired. It has enhanced my outlook on life.  It is so beautiful to find people who possess the passion and strong well like Wesch. I aspire to be an educator in the future, and Dr. Wesch approach regarding the US educational system is something that I completely agree with. I too, have a problem with the educational system. The lack of motivation in schools is a great problem in today’s society. The educational system sets very low standards for students and focuses on grades more than what matters more, which is relating real life experiences to their educational experiences. A student can perform well on a test but lacks social ability or “street smarts.” On the other hand, there are many students who may not perform well on exams but are in fact very intelligent and are capable beings. The educational system is biased and restricts children from developing to their full potentials.

I have always been in the blogging scene. I enjoy having a personal space online, where I can share my thoughts and ideas on certain things or even interact with others who can teach me new things. Dr. Wesch explanation and views on media and creating a personal space is helpful in reflecting and pondering on deeper thoughts and being able to convey these feelings through writing, photography or other means of expression. Dr. Wesch also talked about “a lot of our identity is actually a reflection of our environment/people,” which makes sense on many levels. Our surroundings from people, school, family, friends, workplace, and everything we are exposed to defines who we are as individuals and shapes your identity. It also helps you find who you are in life. I find through blogging that I transform. Into someone I would have never imagined to become. I am constantly transitioning. I found the experience of blogging to be rewarding on many levels. Through this site, I will continue to discover myself. and I would like to invite you to join me on this journey of self-discovery.

Posted in bunk3, magicmacguffin, umwsum12 | Comments Off on Michael Wesch Video Reflection

Playing with Blabberize

Monday, June 4th, 2012

It’s been around a long time, and I’ve always thought I could have a use for it by having historical figures speak.

Today my online class started, and I was just too lazy to do my hair and get on the webcam, so I did this instead.

Blabberize is very intuitive, but my trouble was I needed it small to embed it in my class. To get a small blabber, you must upload a small picture (resizing it’s flash embed code doesn’t really work), and that makes it much harder to get the mouth right!

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Cloudy Canine

Monday, June 4th, 2012
Cloudy Canine by chanda0703
Cloudy Canine, a photo by chanda0703 on Flickr.

You’ve met Duke is previous photo assignments. Here’s Gracie. Cloudy and out of focus. Had to play with the camera a bit, using the fish-eye lens and be quick to beat the focus feature. Took me a while to get it but I had fun trying!

**Note: I just got the great new camera on Friday (Canon PowerShot SX260). Still getting to know the features, but the assignments for ds106 are really making it fun!

 

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Daily Create 148: Create a photograph today where some/all of…

Monday, June 4th, 2012



Daily Create 148: Create a photograph today where some/all of your subject isn’t in focus. (Taken with Instagram at George Washington Hall)

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Announcing The Daily Rounds

Monday, June 4th, 2012

I need to send a big thank you to Alan for suggesting a better way to use iShowU for capturing video from the desktop. Though I’ve got a long way to go until I’m able get to where I’d like to be with this screencasting thing, I’m pleased as punch with the progress I’ve made in a fairly short time. Again, big thanks Alan!

The video above was captured using “folow cursor” technique described by Alan with capture dimensions of 852×480. It was perfectly fine for capturing a portion of the Second Life window. It might be more tricky when doing a tutorial in which multipel applications and windows are in play. I’ll soon have a chance to try that out when I complete the series of Animated GIF to SL texture.

This video is not a tutorial of anysort. It is supposed to be a trailer for an new project slated to begin tomorrow. Scottlo’s Daily Rounds will consist of a daily Google + Hangout which is originated from some location in Second Life. During which I will be checking to see if SL is dead yet or not. These hangouts will occur at random times and will be announced briefly before they commence.

All are welcome to join in either through Google + or in Second Life.

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Another Week Closes at Camp Magic MacGuffin: Bunkhouses, New Campers, and Sunsets

Monday, June 4th, 2012

Hello Beloved Family,

I’m writing at the close of the second week of Camp Magic MacGuffin. It’s been a whirlwind of a week—I’m not even really sure where to start…

The week started out strong. We divided our campers into bunkhouses and assigned counselors. Some of the bunks started to quickly get organized. Others were a little slow on the uptake. Perhaps they’ve never been to camp before and are a little shy? Hopefully, we can come up with some good ice-breaking activities to make them more comfortable.

Bunkhouse 4, in particular, got off to a strong start this week. Ol’ Hatchet Jack and Zazzy are obviously taking their counseling responsibilities seriously. Perhaps a bit too seriously: 

I certainly want to encourage healthy competition at Camp MM, but, obviously, given my own past history, I’m a bit anxious when counselors begin to threaten each other with violence. I know too well that something wicked lies…well, thataway.

Zazzy seems to have some issues of her own, what with encouraging unsuspecting campers to partake of the food she is hoarding in her trunk. Hasn’t she ever heard of rats?!

One of the other bunkhouses, the DigiSqueegies, are already experiencing some internal strife. You won’t be surprised when I tell you which camper has been the one causing trouble!

In other news, my co-director, Alan, returned from his trip to headquarters with a very strange, suspicious package in tow. He had directions to deliver it to Marco in building #4. That is, by far, the scariest building in the campgrounds. I can’t even find a door!!

We did get to spend sometime getting campers oriented to the campgrounds and they started to make some art, damnit!! I followed along as best I could (what with all of the crazy administrative tasks involved in running a virtual/real summer camp/online course in digital storytelling/art making). I think I’m most proud of my “I <3 DS106” video.

Although, color me befuddled when, after uploading the video, I couldn’t find it anywhere in my YouTube account the next day!! I don’t want to suggest that something evil is afoot, but I’m wondering if some questionable camper hacked my account and tried to silence me. There is this one, unsavory camper who showed up out of nowhere this week. I don’t want to judge him before I get to know him, but check out his first tweet! :

I’ve been searching everywhere for the crate he mentioned it, hoping it might provide a clue to his origin, but I haven’t found it …yet…

Oh! I forgot to mention the awesome campfire session we had on Wednesday. The one-and-only Dr. Nemo joined us for a great conversation about the origins and underpinnings of Digital Storytelling. It was great to have so many people pop in and out for the conversation. The only thing missing was s’mores and a rousing round of Kumbaya! I did snap a picture as we all gathered around the fire.

There’s so much more I could tell you about, but I think I should probably turn in. The doctor told me when I asked for advice about teaching this summer that the very best thing I could do this summer to avoid a repeat of last summer is to get my beauty sleep! I’ll leave you with one last photo of the campgrounds that I caught as the sun was setting a few days ago.

Hope things are well back home!

Love,

Martha

Posted in magicmacguffin | Comments Off on Another Week Closes at Camp Magic MacGuffin: Bunkhouses, New Campers, and Sunsets

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