Exploration of DS106
Upon entering the DS106 site, I found it a bit overwhelming with so many different options and aspects of the site to explore. But after some use with it I became comfortable. The participants view the commons as a shared space that we can all use and which better us in the advancement of learning and sharing digital pieces. The site is like the center of a web that branches out and displays information and art from all over. There were many mashups and the underlying theme was ART. In terms of entering these pieces of art onto the site, http://ds106.us/handbook/blogging/ ,seemed to be of great use and help for participants. It grazes over the importance of including a url back to where you attained certain pieces, which is important in regard to fair-use. As Phillip mentioned in his post, I did find it a bit similar to our Digital History site in the sense that we are both collaborating with each other in a digital way to explore the web, share art, and at the same time take a class! In the future we will be seeing many more sites and networks similar to this.
I agree, the website is a bit overwhelming. It took me sometime to learn how to navigate through it.
I agree with you and in the beginning I also was getting lost on this site. I couldn’t find the information that I was looking for. However, just like with everything else that is new, after couple of tries I became familiar with it.
Thanks for sharing these reflections, Robert. Can you say more about the web that you use as a metaphor for describing the DS106 community? How wide is this web and who is active within that space? In what ways does information travel through this web? Exactly what form does collaboration take in this environment?
The metaphor I tried to use in describing the community was actually depicting a spider web, in the sense that it branches out all over the commons and the users grab whatever it can that sticks and is of use to the site. In terms of collaboration, we are using information, articles, and art that we find among the commons. We bring them together and share them with each other in our DH much like they do on DS106. We are collaborating to form new ideas and critique the information that we share and post. The info that is presented to us by fellow classmates and users can ultimately help us in decision making. The election is an example of information and articles we are gathering and collaborating upon, which ultimately in the long run may affect our voting choices.