My keychain is not much different from the last time I did this assignment for the Daily Create
The Daily Create for August 28, 2012 told us to make a video:
Show us your keychain and tell us a story about the keys or things you have on it.
Yes, i still have the scuffed up bike tool whose main function is the bottle opener (well worn). What is more significant now is that I am still carrying my house and mailbox keys from my home in Strawberry, Arizona, although I have not been there for weeks, and will not be there for maybe a long time. It was a short touching reminder of how much I love my little place in the mountains (and after doing this video, I put them away in a safe hiding place… hmm, where was that place?)
Unlike many people in the videos for today, I like not having a lot of stuff on my key chain. During my road trip last year, all I had was the truck keys.
Yes, the truck for my big baby, Red Dog, now crusing with 125,000 miles and showing now signs of slowing down (1998 Ford F-150)
cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by cogdogblog
The truck means a lot to me, she is my road companion. We spend ALOT of time together.
This assignment is very interesting for ds106. We first did it in January, 2011, back when the Daily Create was a young pup, and it was the start of the semester for the Spring 2012 ds10 classes at UMW. It became a powerful way of really getting to know each other.
A lot of people are nervous about talking on video (here is a secret, folks- EVERYONE is). This was the clever thing about the idea that was created by the inimitable Noiseprofessor – talking about on object like keys is a fantastic opener to tapping into stories. Stuff we carry are tied to things, people, memories, places, etc- almost every items is a doorway to more story.
The other things that was enlightening was that the videos revealed something personal about each person by them doing it in a place where we get to see them in their home, or the place they do their work. This was the reason I decided to repeat the assignment (we try not to repeat the Daily Creates), because it is approachable, and gets people over their camera shyness. And it is a way to get to know people.
This is even more important in an online class as away for us to know each other, so much shared in a 2 minute video talking about a keychain.
Can you see this?
Keys are just dripping with biblical significance – think St. Peter. Some years ago I had to give a report at a missions conference. I used my keys as my outline. I was sometimes criticized for my lack of aggressive proselytizing. Holding up keys to the school, power plant, a neighbour’s home (and I forget what else), I told anecdotes hinting at the trust I had earned by my non-traditional missionary activities. I was surprised by the favourable response from such a simple prop.