http://www.tiki-toki.com/timeline/entry/336108/The/
The story of my digital literacy dates back to preschool as far as I can recall. It all began with pencil and paper, as I became quite influenced by one of my teachers. She believed I was some sort of artistic genius just from looking at what I would draw and was my inspiration to begin painting (but that interest didn’t last long at all). It didn’t seem to matter much at the time, but drawing and painting were my first forms of expression and I feel that it makes them somewhat important for orienting the context of this timeline.
As I entered elementary school, I had already been acquainted with a computer at home and started playing videogames almost constantly in my free time, while at Wolftrap I learned how to read and write the alphabet. The importance of videogames and this area of technology was mostly magnified by my dad and his side of the family, who were really into a game called Diablo 2. It was odd actually, the entire family would gather together to play the game cooperatively at times and I think what I began to crave most was finding more games like this. Perhaps it was because I had some of my best memories during my early childhood just playing that game with my relatives and I realized it was more than just a game but a way to connect with people.
Throughout the later years of elementary school, I still spent plenty of time on the computer, but meanwhile I became a fanatic of fantasy and fiction novels and would read straight through an entire series as fast as I could. Simultaneously, I was drawn to movies like the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Harry Potter of course (though I refrained from reading them until much later and I have no idea why).
In middle school and early high school, social media played a much bigger role in my life than I’m willing to admit. It was mostly Facebook that I wasted my time with (and still do) though I was never a fan of actually making posts. When I got my first smart phone in 9th grade, the amount of time I spent communicating digitally drastically increased and ever since I’ve felt less human for constantly retreating to the cyber domain to talk to people.
In my last two years of high school, I became much more aware of the intellectual importance of almost every art form, including literature, film, music, and even videogames. It began when I started listening to a much wider range of music and ended with the discovery that gaming has always been an art form in it’s own right, I just never took the time to realize why I played and what games meant to me.
I found your reflection very easy to read as well as interesting. The choice to inform the reader of pieces of media that meant something to you in broad sections of your life was an effective way of presenting this information. Did this project, specifically using the timeline tool on tikitok.com, have any effect on your personal history with media?
Kas,
Your reflection considered different aspects of digital media, that of human interaction. You talked about relating to your family with video games and retreating from people through social media. This was very interesting to read about and how you came to find the artistic and creative side of technology in your life and how you can take part in it. What you don’t mention is how you came to create your timeline project and how evolved, maybe you could elaborate on that during your presentation. But it was really great to read.
First off, I really like the style this was written in. As mentioned above, it was very easy to read. I think it’s interesting how your first experience with writing was through art. As your timeline progresses you become more interested in games and I think this and the art demonstrates how visual media has had an affect on your life. Did the creation of this timeline help you come to realize how all of your bouts with new media fit together?