They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Quite often we see pictures on different social media outlets. They are funny, awkward, or beautifully portrayed moments but we don’t know what led up to that point in time. Your task for this assignment is to find a picture and write a background or short story for it. It can be a photo you took yourself or found on the internet. This story could be based on a true event if the picture is from your personal collection, or completely made up if you are using a funny picture you found online. Be sure to tag it properly!

Pick a time, place, and if you want a building from then (real or fake) that you would want to live. It can be from any time period or any place, be creative. You can create your own building or find one already made. Write a story about why you would live there and what you would do if you did.

News releases have a long history and follow a specific format used by media outlets for organization and prioritizing. Search for news release templates and formats and then create a news release that adds to the story line of your ds106 iteration (i.e. Noir, Prisoner, FairyTales, or your personal theme of direction). 

Publish on your blog and TWEET the news release as if it was real for others to build upon your story.

Have you ever made a mental list of things you wanted to do or try or jokingly said “That’s going on my bucket list!” Well, now is the time to stop messing around and actually make a bucket list. Write down a list of at least five things that you want to do or try, but do not stop there! Give the world a reason why those things are on your list regardless of how crazy or lame it may be. 

Write a blog post on your dream vacation. Why did you pick that location? Who and what would you bring with you to make this an ideal vacation. Embed pictures and videos, if possible.

Around my home you will find a growing collection of broken debris of the digital age gone awry. Examples of these include a digital camera with a stripped gear that refuses to push the lens out anymore; a 1 TB hard drive containing irreplaceable family photos that my computer no longer recognizes; my first laptop computer, a 486 Toshiba with monochrome screen that refuses to power on; my current Macbook Pro which still functions but had coffee spilt on the keyboard and now requires an external keyboard because I’ve been too busy to have it repaired; an iPod Shuffle accidentally left out in the rain, a weatherproof video camera crushed last summer by a John Deere tractor; or heck, even the iPad upon which I am typing this has a cracked screen.

My point is, over the years digital mishaps have happened. I hate to throw these things out because they were expensive, representing now literally thousands of dollars, and also because they tell stories about an ever increasing part of our lives—our digital lives. It seems that everyone has these stories of suffering digital losses. It doesn’t even have to be a hardware mishap. Sometimes things that happen with our software or with our wetware that cause us the most angst. The person accidentally deletes the school database that wasn’t backed up, a virus corrupts an operating system, a person who unthinkingly tweets an insensitive tweet that gets them fired, the grieving spouse who deletes a deceased spouse’s Facebook account without warning to family or friends—anything that connects our lives to technology has the potential to cause us to suffer loss.

For this writing assignment, please describe a time in which you felt that your life might have been better if you had never laid eyes upon a computer because of some digital loss that you suffered. Describe in detail what happened, the emotions you felt at the time, and how you worked through it towards the best resolution that you could manage. In what ways was your life and outlook changed by the experience?  How did the experience affect how you interact with technology and other human beings through digital media? What advice to others can you offer?

As an introduction, write a haiku about you! It’s a small, simple 3 line, 17 syllable poem that doesn’t have to rhyme. The first and third lines have 5 syllables and the second line has 7 syllables. It can be about anything, and even though it doesn’t have to rhyme some usually rhyme the first and third lines for added fun. It can be about you, a hobby or something you’re really passionate about.

Since almost every college student has access to a TV or netflix, for this assignment you’re gonna to watch tv (yes). Watch any show of your choosing that is atleast 30 min along. BUT pay special attention to the extras in it, the background people. Note their acting skills, what their wearing (bright clothes, dull clothes, name brand).. how many extras did the show have? did any of them talk? what age were they?

Share a moment or memory from your freshman move in day. What was your favorite part? Least favorite? Was it hard saying goodbye? The possibilites are endless!

Skip the filters and the art of cropping–we are going old school…..DESCRIBE your (or your character’s) lunches! So whatever it is you’re eating or ate earlier, or would love to eat, describe it! Don’t be afraid to be silly, and don’t skimp on the details. What color is it? What does it taste like? What does it remind you of? If you make it into a poem–that would be even better!