Title: Digital Creativity Visual Project: Für Elise through Different Mediums
Brief Project Description: Watch this video for a unique musical exploration comparing Beethoven’s Für Elise across three different mediums: traditional piano, a mobile piano app, and AI-generated music. This project examines how digital technology affects sound quality, timing, and musical expression, revealing differences in key weight, sound duration, and overall musicality. Join me as I demonstrate how modern technology is transforming the way we create, perform, and experience music.
Courtney: This project explores the differences in sound quality, timing, and musical expression using Für Elise by Beethoven. The comparison provides insights into how technology mediates musical performance and potentially transforms the listening experience. In the traditional physical piano video I recorded on my iPhone, you can hear how the keyboard keys are not weighted much more noticeably than you can when I play it in person. The sound is much clearer on “The Piano” mobile application and “Beatoven AI,” which I screen-recorded on my iPhone. There was a noticeable musical timing difference as well through these different mediums. There was a much shorter key sound duration on the app, versus the traditional physical piano, while the AI musical generator rarely had a silent moment and moved fluidly. In regards to musical expression, the AI composition sounds nothing like Beethoven’s Für Elise, which I played on the traditional physical piano and app. Based on the project I created, even though the mediums varied through composition, I think if I had to rank which one sounded the best or had the highest quality music, I would first rank the “Beatoven AI,” then the traditional physical piano video, and lastly “The Piano” mobile application. When first creating this project, “The Piano” mobile application and “Canva” proved to be difficult tools as sometimes the sound would stop working randomly, the uploading of my videos would be upside down, and I could not figure out how to add free audio to some of my video clips. Luckily, I have not had any of those same issues or any new ones during my revision process. iPhone recording and screen recording were much easier to use, but I also had a lot of experience with those tools going into this project. “Beatoven AI” was easy to navigate, but I felt like it did not follow the prompt I entered which was: 15-20 seconds of Für Elise by Beethoven on the piano keyboard. I learned how digital transformation impacts musical performance in a direct, experiential way, and I hope you did as well. Thank you for watching.
Title: Courtney’s Corner: Generational Dynamics and TikTok
Brief Project Description: Join me as I explore how TikTok’s audio-visual format shapes generational dynamics. Through interviews with users from five generations, I examine how different age groups interpret and create content using a viral TikTok sound. This podcast episode offers a unique perspective on the intersection of social media, creativity, and generational differences in our evolving digital culture.
Courtney: Hello everyone! Welcome to Courtney’s Corner! I’m Courtney Chaney and today I will discuss how TikTok’s combination of an audio and visual component influences generational dynamics. Generational dynamics is the relationship between people’s age and their perspectives, preferences, or expectations and how they differ across generations. I’ve been a TikTok user since it was created in 2016 and have seen firsthand how TikTok is increasingly becoming a more and more important component of digital culture. Knowing how this platform affects you and other users of all ages is beneficial for establishing a profound digital identity. So for this podcast, let’s dive into the study of how TikTok users of different ages express their digital identities based on their interpretation and description of how they would create content using a viral sound. To study this relationship, I used the number one trending sound on TikTok as of October 15th called She Knows by J. Cole. It sounds like this:
J. Cole: Me, A black star, Mos Def, Kweli, Good, so them bad hoes try me, they try me, huh, This is Martin Luther King in the club, getting dubs, huh, With a bad bitch in his ear, sayin’ that she down for whatever, In the back of his mind is Coretta, And she knows, she knows, And I know she knows, and I know she knows, And deep down, she knows, she knows, And I know she knows, and I know she knows.
Courtney: I used this 30-second clip when interviewing 1 TikTok user from the Baby Boom Generation, Generation X, the Millennial Generation, Generation Z, and Generation Alpha. Now Typically, I have seen users create a multitude of conspiracy-type TikToks surrounding Beyonce, Kanye West, and Diddy with this sound. Without giving my interviewees this background info, I played the sound and asked them how they would interpret it and asked them to describe what kind of TikTok video they would create based on that sound. The first interview I conducted was with a user born during the baby boom generation, which spans from 1946 to 1964. Here is what she said:
Interviewee 1: I was born in 1950. I would interpret the Sound by hip hop and I would create a dance video with Martin Luther King in the A.I., kind of a TikTok video, and it would have that sound in the background.
Courtney: The next interview I conducted was with a user born during Generation X, which spans from 1965 to 1980. Here is what she said:
Interviewee 2: I was born in 1976. I would interpret this sound as a blend of old-school hip-hop, with a modern edge. I don’t create TikTok videos, but if I did, my video would be visual storytelling juxtaposing a younger, carefree version of myself with a more established, responsible, and mature lifestyle.
Courtney: Next, I interviewed a user born during the Millenial Generation, which spans from 1981 to 1996. This user was born in 1982 and here is what she said:
Interviewee 3: I would interpret this sound as being aggressive and I would create a funny video by pranking my husband with my fake aggression and to pretend to throw his stuff away video on TikTok with that sound.
Courtney: The next interview was with a user born in Generation Z, which spans from 1997 to 2010. Here is what he said:
Interviewee 4: I was born in 2005. I would interpret this sound for conspiracy theories surrounding Diddy and I would create a conspiracy kind of TikTok video with that sound using Diddy, the white party, and The Simpsons.
Courtney: The last generation I interviewed was a user from Generation Alpha, which spans from 2010 to 2024. Here is what she said:
Interviewee 5: I was born in 2015. I would interpret this sound as a savage mother and I would create a TikTok of a father hiding from his savage wife for the kind of TikTok video I would make with that sound.
Courtney: As we have heard, there are a lot of creative TikTok video ideas and interpretations from these various generations. Both the baby boom generation and Generation X interpret the sound as some form of hip-hop, while the millennial generation and Generation Alpha interpret the sound as some form of aggression. The oddball out is Generation Z, who interprets this sound most closely to the trending conspiracy videos using this sound on TikTok. Based on these results, it appears that the older generations interpret the sound in a more literal sense, while the newer generations interpret it more emotionally or creatively. For content creation, each generation had a unique idea and purpose for their TikTok that would evoke different emotions from their viewers. The baby boom and millennial generation went for a humorous type of TikTok, while Generation X went for conflictual, Generation Z went for educational or thought-provoking, and Generation Alpha went for a fearful type. These conclusions reflect the impact TikTok and TikTok’s trending sounds have on shaping the ways people understand each other, based on their interpretation of the sound, and themselves, based on their content creation ideas. As we conclude our exploration of TikTok’s influence on generational dynamics, let’s reflect on what we’ve discovered. Remember our initial question: How do TikTok users of different ages express their digital identities based on their interpretation and TikTok creation ideas for a viral sound? Well, the research has shown that there’s a clear generational divide in both interpretation and content creation ideas. Older generations tend to interpret the sound more literally and straightforward by the musicality of the sound or genre, while younger generations approach it with more emotional, abstract, or creative responses. Generation Z’s interpretation aligns most closely with current TikTok trends, suggesting they are most in tune with the platform’s culture. By contrast, older generations appear to be less influenced by current TikTok trends, so they are less in tune with the platform’s culture. The diversity in content ideas reflects how different generations express their digital identities and engage with the platform. TikTok’s format encourages users of all ages to engage creatively with audio-visual content, shaping each user’s digital identity in a unique way. As digital consumers and creators, understanding these generational dynamics is crucial. It can help you navigate the complex landscape of social media, specifically TikTok, enhancing your ability to communicate across age groups and refine your own digital identity. I hope this exploration has opened your eyes to the intricate ways TikTok shapes our digital culture. Thank you for joining me on Courtney’s Corner. Feel free to leave any questions or comments below. Until next time, keep scrolling, keep creating, and keep connecting across generations!
J. Cole: And she knows, she knows, And I know she knows, and I know she knows.
Title: Video Production Essentials- Key Takeaways from Friday’s Workshop
Summary: The DKC provided a workshop on Friday that gave insights into various video production tools and techniques. The session covered multiple recording platforms including Canva, Clipchamp, Microsoft Stream, YouTube, Vimeo, and iMovie, with the most focus on Canva’s functionality. Key features discussed included screen recording, video/audio uploading, clip editing, and file exporting capabilities. The workshop also highlighted important accessibility considerations, specifically the use of captions and transcripts, demonstrating auto-caption features available on platforms like Microsoft Stream and YouTube. It was also noted how different platforms affect video screen dimensions and different specialized effects like Clipchamp’s green screen effect.
● Browse your active media profiles and give yourself a Google. What does your current online identity reflect? My current online identity is very minimal. Although I have social media accounts, I have privacy settings turned on and do not post anything too personal or often. When I Googled my name the only thing I found was my LinkedIn. ● What kind of online identity do you wish to present by the end of your time in college? I wish to present a larger online identity by the end of my time in college. To expand my online identity, I hope to showcase my academic achievements, as well as athletic achievements for cheer. ● How do you envision your Domain of One’s Own page contributing to that identity? Will you use this primarily as a space to practice with digital tools and technology for coursework or is this a platform you hope to maintain and continue to develop over time as a public-facing personal website for various personal and/or professional goals? Said another way, what ideas and goals do you have for yourself in terms of personal website development for this semester? I envision my Domain of One’s Own page contributing to that identity by uploading my academic and athletic achievements. In the meantime, I will use this space primarily to practice with digital tools and technology for coursework as I do not have any experience with designing or operating my own website. As time goes on, however, this is a platform I hope to maintain and continue to develop as a public-facing personal website for various personal and/or professional goals. This semester, the ideas and goals I have for myself in personal website development are to focus on designing/experimenting with my website and successfully uploading the required coursework for this class. ● In terms of web design: ○ This class requires you have at least a primary domain (your landing page) and two pages (a place to document your digital engagements and showcase your projects). What other pages do you hope to establish? See the Personal Website assignment for more ideas. Other pages I hope to establish are a resume page and social media links.
○ You may also choose to create a subdomain or subdomains – this type of page allows you to organize smaller projects under the umbrella of your primary domain. Unlike a page on your domain, which maintains consistency with your primary website, a subdomain can have its own differing style and organization, including different sets of pages. I’m curious and would like to learn more about subdomains. ○ What type of aesthetic do you hope to cultivate? Font choices, color choices? I hope to cultivate a very clean and professional type of aesthetic with a touch of girliness. I find the fonts “Book Antiqua” and “Calibri” aesthetically pleasing. For color choices, I think pastel colors or black and white would look nice. ● Select a domain name you will use for your personal website. This looks like www.[yourdomainname].com www.courtneychaney.com
At the start of this class, I knew very little about digital tools and creating content online. I’ve made a few TikToks and Snapchat posts, but producing content for a website that is my own was an entirely new challenge. Through different projects, I learned how to use programs like Soundtrap and Canva to make effective videos, images, and audio recordings for my website. I enjoyed being able to choose my own topics to express my online identity in an educational yet personal way. Each time I tried something new, I improved my digital fluency – understanding how to create and share things successfully in the digital world. I learned a lot about accessibility, from colors to transcripts and captions, and I am proud to have incorporated what I learned into my website. I also learned about the limits of digital tools and how to overcome them, such as having to convert files to insert them into my projects or having to use more than one tool to achieve my end goal. My digital fluency is much stronger now than when I started the class, which I feel is reflected through my work. I feel more comfortable using different digital tools and understanding how to create content online. I’ve learned how to navigate various platforms, express myself digitally, and think critically about the content I make through reflection assignments and visits from the D.K.C. I was very intimidated when I first came into this class as digital studies were not my strong suit whatsoever and I had very limited prior knowledge. However, this class has given me the skills and competence needed to be more creative and purposeful in my digital work, helping me to become a more skilled, advanced, and thoughtful digital creator.
When practicing creating with AI tools in class, I developed and learned many things. First, I gave Claude this prompt: Create the first sentence of an action story involving a suspicious creature with 7 legs, 5 eyes, and 3 tails crawling through a dark cave searching for something. It generated this response: Here’s the first sentence of an action story: The skittering creature, its seven legs moving in an unsettling, synchronized rhythm, cast monstrous shadows across the jagged cave walls as its trio of tails swept back and forth and its five eyes—each a different size and an unnatural shade of iridescent green—scanned the darkness for the ancient artifact it had pursued across three continents. Then, I found someone else’s post and used an image-generating service, Copilot, to create an illustration for that story. I gave Copilot this prompt: create an illustration for this story: Once upon a time, in a lush, emerald jungle, a wise capybara named Coco embarked on an adventure to uncover the secrets of the enchanted waterfall that could grant any wish. It generated this response: I’ll try to create that.
Next, I found another person’s AI-generated image,
copy and pasted it to Claude, and asked this: generate a haiku for this photo. It gave me this response: Here is a haiku inspired by the magical forest scene in the image:
Moonlight whispers through
Whispering trees, glowing green
Ethereal dream.
I learned about the versatility of different AI platforms during my practice with AI tools. Claude responded with a very detailed sentence that incorporated all the elements in my prompt while building suspense and atmosphere. It also produced a nature-themed haiku that captured the ethereal qualities of the forest image. My exploration with Copilot for image generation taught me that AI could transform written context into visual art. Through these interactions, I learned that AI tools have a variety of specialties and can work together effectively in a creative workflow. I also discovered that providing specific, detailed prompts tends to yield better results and that AI can assist with various creative tasks ranging from storytelling to poetry to visual art.
24-Hour Internet of Things (IoT) Interaction Journal (Saturday 10/19 – Sunday 10/20)
10:50 AM
– The alarm on my Wi-Fi-connected iPhone goes off, waking me up
– Check notifications on my phone: weather, news, text messages, and Snapchat
11:30 AM
– Put on Airpods to listen to music on my Macbook while I do homework
2:00 PM
– Arm home security system
– Receive a notification on my phone about my motion at the front door from our Ring doorbell
– Get in the car and the car’s infotainment system syncs with my phone’s Bluetooth, playing music from Spotify
4:00 PM
– Check Snapchat and text notifications on my phone
– Continue homework on my Macbook
7:30 PM
– GPS notification about traffic delay on usual route home
– Get in the car and the car’s infotainment system syncs with my phone’s Bluetooth, playing music from Spotify
8:00 PM
– Receive a notification on my phone about my motion at the front door from our Ring doorbell
– Motion-censored light comes on outside
– Security system disarms
8:15 PM
– Send Japanese homework from my phone to our Wi-Fi-connected printer
– Put on Airpods to listen to music on my phone while I do homework
11:00 PM
– Check any notifications on my phone before bed
10:50 AM
– The alarm on my Wi-Fi-connected iPhone goes off, waking me up
– Check notifications on my phone: weather, news, text messages, and Snapchat
Reflection
Throughout this 24-hour period, I’ve interacted with numerous IoT devices, often without consciously realizing it. These devices have become deeply integrated into my daily routine, offering convenience, security, and information. However, a constant stream of notifications from my phone can sometimes feel overwhelming, especially when it takes me a few hours to get the chance to check them. The interconnectedness of these devices is both impressive and slightly concerning. While it’s convenient to have my car, phone, and Macbook systems working together seamlessly, it also highlights the amount of personal data being collected and shared. This experience has made me more aware of the prevalence of IoT in my life but has also served as a humbling revelation when comparing my IoT relationship to others. To elaborate, I do not have a smart refrigerator, digital thermostat, manufacturing robot, automated inventory tracker, apple watch, air tag, or smart washers and dryers. Although my daily life does involve some level of connectedness with the IoT, it feels like others are much higher.
I chose to watch the film Ready Player One. This film did a very good job depicting a digital future with both its dystopian and utopian features. Ready Player One has utopian features through its virtual reality world: OASIS. OASIS is filled with vibrant colors, fantastical locations/planets, and endless possibilities. However, the film is also dystopian as reality is set in 2045 Columbus Ohio, where there are dull colors, trailer-type houses stacked up high on top of each other, graffiti, junkyards, and poverty all over. The film’s dystopian elements are further showcased by the presence of Innovative Online Industries (IOI), a powerful corporation that seeks to control the OASIS. IOI operates “loyalty centers,” which are essentially prisons for those in debt, highlighting the dark side of corporate dominance in this future. The everyday use of VR headsets and advanced technology, like omnidirectional treadmills with quadraphonic pressure-sensitive underlays, provides an immersive experience to escape a dystopian reality. The use of these headsets and technology in search of utopia with OASIS was a neat film feature. The OASIS, created in 2025 by James Halliday, is a virtual world where the limits of reality are bound only by one’s imagination. Users can do anything and go anywhere, such as climbing Mount Everest with Batman or going to the Vacation Planet. In the OASIS, users create their own avatars, allowing for complete self-expression and anonymity in this digital future (unless they decide to share their real-life identities). The film’s digital future showcases many elements, such as futuristic vehicles equipped with various gadgets, advanced armor suits, railguns, antipersonnel ordinance cannons, holograms, floating dance spaces, an iron giant, and the Orb of Osuvox. Throughout the film, it is evident that digital technology has permeated every aspect of society, from entertainment and social interaction to economy and warfare. Ready Player One presents a complex depiction of a digital future, where technology offers both an escape from and a reflection of societal issues in real life.
This audio clip, presented by me (Courtney), outlines best practices and tips for audio production. It covers pre-production planning, recording and editing techniques, and sharing guidelines. The tips range from basic preparation/accessibility measures to specific technical considerations for audio levels and editing software. These tips are a courtesy of the University of Mary Washington’s Digital Knowledge Center.
I intended to create some of the same images I used to design my digital studies subdomain for my personal website. For instance, my favicon and logo are the same black cursive “C” as on my digital studies website to act as a common denominator between my sites. Also, my hero image is the same black and white design, but instead of “Digital Studies” it says “Welcome!” to greet my audience. Additionally, I put the same cheerleading image I have on my digital studies home section on my personal website home section because I am the creator of both. I linked my social media icons such as Facebook, X, and my personal email as ways to get a sense of my life/get to know me, and how to contact me. I also showcased some images from my cheerleading career as a header in my home section to add visual interest and personal flair. My monochromatic palette accompanied by the slight pop of color in the cheerleading images created a visual contrast that draws attention to my personal interests and achievements. These images effectively communicate my digital identity to support my personal interests related to my online presence by showcasing my clean aesthetic with the black and white designs and what I enjoy doing with my time by including cheerleading pictures. I created my images using Canva and the tools offered on iPhone photo editing. I chose to use Canva because of the easy customization of fonts, shapes, templates, and other design elements. I chose to use iPhone photo editing to enhance and crop my photos. My experience using these tools and technologies to generate images was relatively good and successful. The challenges I faced involved the social media icons I wanted to customize. I wanted to use Canva to customize social media icons that I could place in the social links section at the bottom of my website, but I could not figure out how to replace the already existing appearances of the icons on my website. I had my friend who works at the DKC take a look at it and she said I was not able to do that. As a result, I just kept the icon buttons from WordPress and attached my links to them. It was also a challenge having to edit filters on my cheer images using my iPhone photo editing tools. It was a challenge because I had to adjust the settings of the filters to get the perfect shade for these overlay images. I felt most confident using Canva to crop, resize, and adjust my cheerleading images on the background design. I hope to learn tips and tricks on how to further enhance my images using these digital tools/methods in the future. The outcomes of my project at this stage are pretty decent and its implications for my intended audience should be positive as my images reflect my interests and design style successfully. I also incorporated accessibility in my images with the use of alt text, high contrast in most of my images by using black and white, and using a large font size for my welcome image. Here are my images:
