The digital history creation from a previous week that I am choosing to expand on is the podcast. Though this assignment took longer to complete than any of the other blog posts, it was still my favorite one to do. This came as a huge surprise to me as well because in my first blog post, I named the podcasting week as the week I was most dreading. In my podcast I chose to question the morals of the American people during slavery in that there were children who were set up for a life of slavery. Obviously it is horrible for anyone to be a slave, but I saw it as even more sickening that people were fine with children being born into slavery and possibly staying slaves until their death. Though I did enjoy making my podcast, it did not come out perfect. There was much I could improve upon if I were to do it all over again. I did not do much editing or add any music into it at all, and I feel if I were to do it again, I would definitely try and make it more entertaining for the listeners by adding these things. I was actually surprised as well with how easily I reached five minutes. I wrote a script, and I recorded me talking through it thinking it would be too short. However, on just my first attempt, I reached five minutes and was able to submit it then and there. Podcasts have always been entertaining to me, and I like them even more when there is a special guest appearance. If I were to do it again, I would definitely have someone else come on and talk because a dialogue is more enjoyable to listen to than a monologue in my opinion. That added person just adds differing opinions that could possibly be discussed, which is better for both the listener’s enjoyment and the two taking part in the conversation. Overall, Audacity was very easy and fun to use. The tutorials helped out a bit, but I feel like I could have figured out how to record and edit had we not been provided a tutorial. That is not to say the tutorial was a bad idea. The tutorial definitely helped with some of the more advanced functions of Audacity, which made it very useful.
Looking back at my entire portfolio of work in Doing Digital History, I am, overall, pleased with how it turned out. I completed all but one of the blog assignments, and each one was completed with a good amount of effort. As previously mentioned, my favorite blog assignment was definitely creating the podcast because I had never done anything like that before. I did not particularly dislike any of the assignments, but if I had to pick a least favorite one, it would be the blog post in week 4. I picked this one simply because it did not have us create any form of digital figure. Each of the assignments were very unique, though. As I was doing each one, it never felt repetitive, and I never said to myself that it was something I had already done previously. There were a lot of cool tools that we were tasked with using that I could definitely see myself using in the future. I still have Audacity installed, and I would definitely like to use it again if I ever decide that I want to make another podcast someday. I would also use Flourish again because it was very easy to use, and the data visualization came out very nicely. I much prefer using Flourish over using Excel because it is easier to understand, and the final product looks much better in my opinion.
I originally took this class only because I had dropped CSE 232 early on in the semester, and I wanted another class to take its place. I did not know what to expect coming into the class, but I would like to say I was pleasantly surprised with the structure of the class and the topics taught. I honestly did not even know digital history was as big as it is in today’s world, and I am glad my eyes are open to that fact now. The class never made me too stressed out, and I really quite enjoyed tuning into class every Monday and Wednesday. I feel the class had very thoughtful discussions on all of the readings, and I am glad I was able to be a part of it. There was a lot of useful things I can take away from being in this class. For example: I did not know that it is offensive to call people who were enslaved laves. I understand now that it is important to refer to them as “enslaved people” because them being enslaved does not define them as people at all. Those people were much more as just slaves and I will try not to refer to them as that anymore. I am so glad I chose to take this class, though I still had the 12 credits I needed without it. I would not change a thing about how the class is presented. It was very professional, and I was incredibly shocked when Professor Andrella told us this was her first semester teaching. Given that the class was forced to be over zoom for the semester, it turned out fantastic. I would have loved to be in an actual classroom setting for this class, but I feel I got just as much out of it being online as I would have in person. In person discussions would have been much more fun, but in terms of the assignments, I would not change any of them when it comes time to teach this class in person. Me being a computer engineering major means that I do not get to take many classes like this one often. I am so glad I chose to take a class that is so different from my field of study. I would absolutely recommend it to anyone that is contemplating on taking it or not because it was worth it!
I really enjoyed reading about your reflection on the podcast assignment; I remember your episode it turned out very well! That’s funny how in the introductory blogging assignment, it was the one week that you weren’t looking forward to doing., but ended up being your favorite! I’m glad that you ultimately enjoyed producing a podcast and that you might do things differently if you reattempted it. I think self-critiques are a very important process, because it gives you the creative freedom to imagine the growth of projects.
You should be very proud of how much you accomplished this semester and the amount of skills that you acquired. Your portfolio of work is a testament to that fact. I also appreciated your reflections about the course over all. I’m glad that you found all of the tools to bring fresh, unique skills every week and that you find them useful for things beyond this course. This website will always be here if you need to look back to a specific skill/tool. Please don’t hesitate to reach out either if you need a recommendation! Thank you for your note about week 4—perhaps in the future I could offer a demonstration of basic web design.
Lastly, I really appreciate your candidness about your expectations and the results of this course. Thank you so much for your kind words. I will definitely miss our class! You brought such a profound perspective to this course and that meant a lot to me. I wish you the best in your studies and your future!