Take your phone and go and find and record 7-10 different 3-second long audio clips. These will be small glimpses of sound: a bird noise, the ambient sound of a street, a weird glimpse of conversation, etc. When you are done, use the tools on our course site to edit these clips together into a short collage of sound. Try to juxtapose the sounds to give the listener and interesting experience. When you're done, write a short (250-300 word) post to your blog about this process: How did it go? Why did you make the choices you did? What surprised you?
As a reminder: These sounds may be humorous, but should not be inappropriate. Similarly, follow our course privacy guidelines when recording audio.
Listen to the soundtrack, music, or a podcast related to [class subject] on Spotify, YouTube, or through some other service. Post a response to your Mission Log that considers the following:
What do you notice? What about the soundtrack stands out to you? What do you see the soundtrack doing to the listener? Why does this matter? How does this relate to the [subject] itself?
Compose (individually, or collaboratively) a playlist on either Spotify or YouTube with tracks from or related to [class subject, or just studying]. (These might be songs that remind you of [subject], songs from [subject], songs about [subject], songs you think belong in [subject], etc.). You should include at least 15 tracks (at least 20 if collaborative).
Write a brief (350-400 word) introduction to your playlist, explaining why you’ve chosen to include what you have so far. Be sure to address what you see the common effort of the playlist is, and your intended purpose. Post your playlist and introduction to your blog (if you worked with teammates– post it to all your logs). If you wish, you may send the link to me, and he will include it on our course site for the whole class to listen in to!
Collaboratively record and edit a team podcast of your group. This recording might look like any of the following:
Having someone outside your group interview your team about your projects.
Your group members talking broadly about the topics that influenced your projects, social or political things you are trying to respond to, etc.
An “Ask me anything” format, where the focus is learning about the project and development team.
The podcast may also work as a kind of “trailer” for the project, or an audio prologue.
Your group can decide how serious or humorous you want to make this podcast. The only real ground rule is that it should be at least two minutes long.
When you are done, post your podcast to your blogs.
(Optional) You may also choose to release short ‘follow-up’ episodes, thereby serializing your podcast. If you do so, your group can earn an additional [X bonus points] for each ‘Episode’ of your podcast. These follow-ups must also be at least 60 seconds, and should be released with at least 48 hours between releases.
Hear Me Now?
Incorporating Audio | Portfolio
Incorporate an audio-component into your “About Me” page OR your blog. This can be a playlist, a narration, or a sample of your own audio work from outside this class. The only guideline is that it should support the rest of your site and introduce something about you. This might be personal, it might be comical, or it might be focused on you as a writer, researcher, etc..
Some examples that would fulfill this include (but are certainly not limited to!):
An audio-component you made in another activity.
A voiceover, narration, or ‘dramatic reading’ of your revised Intro Letter.
An audio version of your Reflection Essay (which will count!).
While listening to this segment of All Things Considered and take notes of what this podcast is trying to accomplish. What are the intentions behind this podcast? Were they effective? (Think/Pair/Share)
·How was sound/music used in the story? (use specific examples)
·What was surprising?
·What was confusing?
·What did the podcast remind you of?
·How would you summarize the podcast?
Music meets creativity For many of us, music is an essential part of our daily routines: we wake up to it, listen to music on the way to work or school, and even fall asleep to it. For some of us, podcasts are also an essential part of our daily routine— and there’s a reason for that. Music and routine boost creativity and imagination (Ritter & Ferguson). Alternatively, for some music can serve as a distraction (Threadgold et al. 2019).
Take a few minutes to consider some examples of music or podcasts that you can’t live without. Now, take a few minutes to find some audio examples of at least 15 of your favorite music or podcast episodes. Include this on your website along with a 200-word reflection/introduction that sets the scene for the reader.
These may change from time to time, so throughout the semester, feel free to update your playlist. Be prepared to provide a brief presentation of your playlist and play a short piece.
Works Cited
Threadgold, Emma, et al. “Background music stints creativity: Evidence from compound remote associate tasks.” Applied Cognitive Psychology 33.5 (2019): 873-888.