Reflections - Life as a Blind Person

Storyboard Reflection:

I didn’t know this existed before the class. I learned this is basically an outline, which can be narrated but not required. I brushed up my skills with PowerPoint and added a narrated voice for each page. This was the first time I ever added audio to a PowerPoint.

I did a fair amount of research on the storyboard. I went through at least a half dozen websites reading up on the limitations of what a storyboard is. I also researched for a narrated voice on the web to accommodate my disability. I also had to research how to add audio to a PowerPoint.

I can see this tool being useful in the future. Due to my disabilities, being able to put narrated audio onto a PowerPoint will make my presentation stand out. This could be either job or school related. I don’t see any negative with this skill.

I had some challenges doing Storyboard. It took me a day freshening up my skills with PowerPoint for a while. Then I had to learn how to add audio to the PowerPoint. A really big challenge is I had to rely on other people to verify the audio is there because there was no indication that it was uploaded.

I learned several skills with Storyboard. I learned how to create a PowerPoint. I learned how to put text to voice and then upload it to each page on the PowerPoint.

The storyboard assignment met the objective of the class on social media. I created a PowerPoint that discussed personal online safety with the social media. I discussed the importance of having strong passwords, don’t share your accounts with others, and being mindful when posting things on social media. This was a fun assignment discussing social media.

Blog Reflection:

There’re several things I learned from this activity. I didn’t know that blogs are websites. I thought blogs were journals, like for bakers and international travelers. I learned it’s not easy creating a website from scratch. It takes a lot of creativity to make something nice, and that’s not easy to do when you’re blind.

I used Google for all of my research on how to create a blog. I used about seven or eight different websites before picking my webhost and Word Press. The rest of the research was playing the tools and seeing how it works.

I’m not sure how this knowledge will help me in the present and in the future, but I’ve got profound respect for those who build website from scratch and get super creative with it. If I keep my website, it could benefit me in the future with employment opportunity because they can see more of me than just LinkedIn.

I had many challenges when creating a blog. Being blind, it wasn’t intuitively friendly, and it took time to get a feel for where everything is. So many tools on Word Press. It’s also hard to be creative and that was a real challenge for me.

There’re some skills that I learned. I’ve got the skills now to create a new website. I got the skills now to use templates and some of the other tools in Word Press. I also developed the skills to add new pages.

The outcome of this website was all about social media. The objective was to create a blog to house our storyboard, podcasts, videocasts, etc. Also, in the creation of the blog, we learned the importance of online ethics, avoiding copyright issues, cybersecurity, and another related subject. This helps us make and keep our content professional.

Podcast Reflection:

I learned a few things about podcasts. Podcasts is just simply audio between two or more people. It can just be an audio version, or it can be on video. It can length from a few minutes to a few hours plus. It was fun creating one in an alternate format using a narrated voice.

I used Google to do my research. I knew extraordinarily little about podcasts, so I took the time to explore a few different websites and audio tools that were available for recording.

This knowledge can help me in the future now that I know how to use a narrated voice. Not everyone is going to want to read what I type out, and having the ability to use a narrated voice will help reach a broader audience.

The challenge that I faced was not hearing the narrated voice of my typed speech. I hope I picked a good voice to do my narrating. Another challenge is this prevents me from editing, so however it speaks is how it speaks.

Some of the skills that I learned in creating podcasts. I developed the skills to use the text to voice tool on a website to be saved as a mp3. I would then upload it to the audio tool to adjust length. I also developed the skills to upload the podcast to my website.

The outcome of this podcast activity was related to social media. The written content that I created discussed how to protect yourself on the internet. This includes cybersecurity, online ethics, and accountability.

Videocast Reflection:

I didn’t create a real videocast because of my disabilities. As per accommodation, I did an audio file instead. This reflection will be a little shorter than the other, but I did research what I can so I can at least understand it. Through research, I learned that people could make their own videos. It can be done on platforms like YouTube or expensive video equipment that can be uploaded to the internet. Microphone quality is especially important if you want to capture your audience. Computer microphone often sound generic.

The research that I did was all Google related. I glanced over close to a dozen websites to get an idea about Videocasting. It was interesting to learn about making videos.

I don’t watch videos because of my disabilities, so it has no real place in my life. But it’s growing rapidly on place like YouTube. People are able to get creative, making content on about every subject imaginable.

I didn’t do a videocast, so I didn’t have any challenges. The only skills learned are material that I read that other people uses when making videos.

Although I did an audio file, it met the objective of the class assignment on social media. What I did was expand upon my storyboard created earlier this semester. I wrote it up and did the text to voice audio. It discusses personal safety online tips on social media. It’s important we’re mindful of what we say, knowing that WE’RE always in professional mode. I also discussed the importance of using VPN and antivirus software where applicable. This was an enjoyable assignment as I learned a lot this semester.